How to Replace a Toilet Seat

This cracked wooden toilet seat needs replacing...

Sooner or later we have to change out the toilet seat, especially when it cracks or breaks. The process is straight forward. Here's how.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• New seat
• wrench or pliers (unless you are lucky and can twist off the bolt by hand)
• Possibly a screwdriver(depending on the fittings of both old and new seats)
• Possibly oil if the bolts are stuck

1. 

   Buy your new toilet seat. There are lots of styles, colors and fashions to choose from so have fun here. This is something your will be living with for a while.

2. This new seat shows the plastic covers hiding the mounting bolts.

   Find the mounting bolts on either side of the back of the old toilet seat. You will see they go through the top of the ceramic bowl fixture (though they may be covered with plastic covers you can lift up) and they will screw through 2 holes in the toilet itself. The (usually plastic) nuts holding the bolts in place are on the underside of the ceramic toilet.

3. This is a view from the floor up to the underside of the toilet where the nuts on the mounting bolts are screwed on.

   Unscrew these nuts. This is the only place you may have difficulty if the mounting bolts (sometimes you might also have washers with the nuts) and nuts have been in place and are difficult to unfasten. Occasionally it does require a little strength and reaching the area may be difficult depending on the configuration of your bathroom. Try letting some oil soak in to ease removal. You may need to use a deep socket wrench if an ordinary wrench won't fit. Whether or not this is a quick and easy job will depend on how easily these nuts can be released.

4. Slip the freed bolts out of the holes in the ceramic. Remove the old toilet seat.

5. Examples of plastic mounting bolts and nuts

   Wipe clean the ceramic parts of the toilet.

6. 

   Slip the new mounting bolts through the holes in the toilet and screw on the new nuts from the bottom to affix the new seat much as the old one had been held in place. Don't over tighten as you never know when you may have to remove it again and you don't want it to stick.

7. 

   And now you're ready to (pardon the pun) 'go'!

Tips & Warnings

• If you have difficulty untwisting the nuts, be careful not to whack the toilet with the wrench and risk cracking the ceramic.