For most toilets, the outer limit is a 20-year lifespan. A toilet can continue to function after this, but you will be at greater risk of it starting to leak and suffering from numerous clogs and other repair problems. Get ahead of the problem and replace a toilet that is 20 years old or older. Is your toilet a nuisance because it requires soaking more than once a week? Many of the older, low-flush toilets require more than one flush most of the time.
They are also often plagued by random stoppages. It's not nice to have to flush the toilet regularly. If this is a nuisance to you, then it's time to replace your toilet. You don't even have to give up on water savings, as low-flush toilets have come a long way and the new line of water savers work much better.
If you keep it, you should replace those items because moving the toilet will probably bother them enough to cause them to leak. Toilets usually need to be replaced after 25 years of use, so the average lifespan of the toilet can be considered. Some would say that the porcelain toilet itself has a much longer, and even unlimited, service life, and that only the components in the interior need repairs and replacements. Although it may be true that the porcelain part of the toilet is very resistant, it is nowhere near indestructible.
Whether due to age, physical impact, or both, damage to this part of the toilet may indicate an immediate need for replacement.
