11 September

How To Fix A Loose Toilet Seat

If you’ve ever fallen off your toilet or dealt with the irritating squeak of a loose toilet seat, we dedicate this page to you.

You use your toilet multiple times a day—you and everyone in the house may even fight over who has dibs on the upstairs bathroom every morning before work or school. So you can imagine (or you have already experienced) how inconvenient it can be when you have to deal with this situation and don’t know how to fix a loose toilet seat.

Toilet seats loosen for a variety of reasons, but it commonly happens due to the repetitive motion of raising and lowering the seat cover. Remember that a loose toilet seat isn’t just squeaky and uncomfortable; it’s also a safety hazard.

Roll up your sleeves and put your DIY hats on, because you’re about to learn how to fix a loose toilet seat!

The Tools You’ll Need

Before you go into wobbly toilet seat repair mode, you’ll need to suit up with all the right tools. Here’s what you need to complete your toilet seat tightening kit.

• Screwdriver;
• Pliers;
• Ratchet wrench;
• Adjustable wrench (optional); and
• Hacksaw blade (optional).

Loose Toilet Seat Dangers: Beyond the Squeak

A loose, squeaky toilet may seem like a harmless issue at first glance, but ignoring it is not exactly the best idea. In fact, it can lead to more serious damage to other parts of the toilet, such as the bowl and the base. Moreover, if you’re not careful, it could be an understated bathroom hazard.

If a loose toilet is too loose to handle, then you will be better off calling in the expertise of a plumber to provide a remedy.

How to Fix a Loose Toilet Seat: The DIY Method

Depending on the severity of the loose toilet seat, it should take only a few minutes to stop the wobble and reinstate a sense of stability when you sit down to answer the call of nature.

Keep in mind, however, that if it’s in poor condition, it would be best to have a new toilet seat installed.

Let’s get DIY-ing!

1. Locate the Bolts

Some toilet seat bolts are visible, but common designs are equipped with plastic flaps that snap closed to cover them. Take your screwdriver and carefully remove these plastic covers. Keep in mind that these plastic covers are quite flimsy, so be gentle in order to prevent them from snapping in half.

2. Tighten the Bolts

For bolts with slotted heads, tighten them in a clockwise direction with your trusty screwdriver. Keep going until the bolts are evenly tightened on each side.

In the event that the bolt just spins into infinity without actually tightening, grab a set of pliers to grip the nut threaded onto the mounting bolt. Do this from below the toilet while tightening the bolt from above using a screwdriver.

3. Tighten Bolts from Below

Sometimes, in order to solve a problem, you’ve got to look at it from a different angle. So, if necessary, try securing the mounting nut from underneath. All you have to do is find the toilet seat nuts under the bowl in a clockwise motion until they are tight enough.

Your tool of choice to get the best leverage would be either an adjustable wrench or a ratchet wrench with a deep socket.

4. If Needed, Replace the Bolts

If the bolts and nuts don’t seem to go your way, you may need to replace them with new ones. Purchase a new set at your favourite hardware store.

Bonus tip: Some old bolts may be immovable or frozen in place on the toilet seat or bowl. If this is the case, use a mini hacksaw blade to cut them off. Hacksaw blades are pretty thin, so you won’t have to worry about scratching the porcelain material in the process. Your fingers, however, are a different story. Practice caution!

How Often Should I Replace a Toilet Seat?

Now that you know how to fix a loose, squeaky, and downright annoying toilet seat, you might be wondering about when it’s time to replace the toilet seat.

Well, there’s a lot of gray area in the “when” of this subject. Essentially, you would just know.

When it comes down to it, the span of a toilet seat’s usage period depends heavily on how sturdy it was to begin with and how hard it works. For instance, toilet seats made from plastic or wood are more resistant to cracking and discolouration versus their padded counterparts.

Loose Toilet Seat; Secure Solutions

Knowing how to fix a loose toilet seat is a necessary life skill to have, but so is knowing when something should be left to the professionals. If your plumbing issues go beyond a mere broken toilet seat, PlumbWize is here to do the heavy lifting for you. Need a new toilet? A serious unclogging session? Our team can handle it with ease.

If your toilet has stood the test of time, but the time has come for a new one, you can put your trust in the exceptional toilet installation and maintenance solutions at PlumbWize—the leading plumbing service provider in Hamilton, Oakville, and Burlington. Get a quote today!

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