Installing a New Toilet Seat

I just finished cleaning the bathroom. The mirror is spotless, the sink is clean, and the toilet is cl... ARGH! I just cleaned the toilet and that flaking hinge just dropped another metal flake on the seat!

Do any of you have a similar problem? Or is your seat old and looks dirty no matter how much elbow grease you use?

Don't put up with ugly toilet seats any longer! This fix is inexpensive and takes about 15 minutes.

New toilet seats start at $20. I splurged on this soft close lid for $35. I'll tell you why later.

You will need pliers and a phillips or flat head screw driver (depending on your bolts).

I received the adjustable Irwin Groove Lock pliers from Irwin to test, and I do have to say that I like the convenience of adjusting it with the push of a button. That sure beats looking for the right size socket or crescent wrench! {I was not paid to say that, see my product review disclosure here}

Locate the bolt and nut under your toilet bowl. Use your pliers to loosen the nut (remember lefty loosey to unscrew.)

Once the nuts on both sides have been removed, you should be able to lift the old seat straight up and off the toilet.

Locate the two seat bolts for your new seat. (Be sure to familiarize yourself with the instructions for your new seat since they may vary slightly from this post. Some seats have the bolts attached to the seat already.)

 Insert them into the holes in the toilet.

Thread the nut onto the bolts from underneath. Then tighten the bolts with a screwdriver and hold the nut with your pliers. Be careful not to over-tighten the bolts or your toilet bowl could crack.

The seat I bought has a quick release hinge so you can thoroughly clean the seat and around the hinges. Simply snap the seat on top of the bolts and then rotate the hinge cap clockwise to lock it in place.

And the seat is installed. I love that our toilet seat has a soft close feature.

Now the true reason I bought the soft close seat:

These two boys in training think it is pretty cool and are MORE likely to lift up the toilet seat when using it and return it to the down position when done! Any of you who have little boys in your home, you know what I'm talking about, right?! You have to start training them young! (I never want to sit down in droplets of pee ever again. Ewwww!)

Linking to the Gitter Done Party....because I finally did Gitter Done!