Toilet Stored Outside in Below-Freezing Cold?

[MOV]

This is kind of a weird, probably dumb question... We bought a new toilet about 6 months ago because we were anticipating a bathroom remodel to be finished sooner rather than later. All told, the remodel was delayed, involved far more work and took WAY longer (of course), so we are just now finishing and getting ready to install the toilet.

Only thing I was concerned about is, it's been sitting down in my un-heated garage this whole time. Still in the box, never opened or had water in it or anything; we just didn't have room inside. But we are in the midwest where we got hit with that big "Polar Vortex" recently — a very cold winter, some fluctuating temps, and about a week during the polar vortex where it was literally minus -41°F outside and not much warmer in the garage.

Any reason storing that toilet in those super-below-freezing negative temperatures would have affected or damaged it? Aside from finding a visible crack in the porcelain or something... I just don't know enough about toilets to know if anything could be hurt by such freezing cold temps. Or should it be 100% fine to unbox and install with no worries?

Thanks!

 

[Terry]

I would think that it would be fine. There are plenty of toilets in cold climate cabins that spend a Winter while the folks are away, assuming it's been drained and antifreezed.
Yours in the box would do even better.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

Don't pour hot water into it! Other than that, just let it warm up out of direct heat (like with a heat register pointed directly at it and nearby or radiator sitting next to it) on its own. Most things ceramic don't like major thermal shock, but work just fine if you let it acclimate without extreme changes. Like bringing it in from outside where it was below zero and placing it in front of a roaring fireplace grate wouldn't be smart.

 

[MOV]

Thanks guys. It wasn't that cold out in the garage anymore (30s and 40s recently) so I brought it inside and let it warm up slowly & acclimate for about 2 days before installing. Thanks for the advice!