How to Remove a Toilet Seat

Removing a toilet seat is easy! We'll tell you how to remove your toilet seat in this easy-to-read article.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Gloves (optional)
• Slip-joint pliers

1. Identify the bolts on the back of the toilet seat hinge.
   
   The bolts are perpendicular to the seat and run from the hinges down through the body of the toilet. In the image, the top of the bolts is labeled.

2. Remove the nuts on the bottom of the bolts by turning them counterclockwise. Remember that they are on long bolts, so keep turning! When you have removed the nuts from the bolts, set them aside.

3. Once the nuts are removed from the bolts, grasp the toilet seat in both hands, wiggling it slightly from side to side to loosen the seat in case the bolts are stuck to the toilet body at the hinges.

4. When the seat is loosened, lift it straight up to remove it from the body of the toilet. Because the bolts are long, keep lifting until they clear the back of the opening for the seat.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove your toilet seat before you buy a new one--make a pattern or take it with you to ensure you buy the right size and shape replacement.
• The nuts may be plastic or metal.
• If the nuts are stuck, use the pliers.
• Open the pliers to the wider setting.
• It's a toilet--wear protective gloves (you can never really get toilets as clean as we'd like to believe!).
• The body of the toilet is porcelain: never use a hammer or strike the toilet bowl as this may crack it.
• Debris that has collected around the base of the bolts may be knocked loose as a result of removing the toilet seat.