Toilet Seat Won’t Stay Up? (Using This Trick Should Fix It)
So, your toilet seat won’t stay up? That must be incredibly annoying. The loud, banging noise that it makes each time you use it must be giving you nightmares already. Thankfully, you can fix it and end those never-ending problems right away.
A toilet seat that won’t stay up can mean that the seat may have loose screws, is too thick, or your toilet seat isn’t at the appropriate distance from the tank. To fix it, you have to attempt to tighten the loose screws or re-adjust the toilet seat’s distance from the toilet tank.
In this article, we’ll discuss why your toilet seat won’t stay up and talk about different easy ways to fix it. We’ll also discuss how to fix a soft-closed toilet seat, so stay tuned for that one because it is pretty interesting!
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Here’s a Quick Pro Tip!
Having a toilet seat that won’t stay up is incredibly frustrating, we’ve all been there! If you’re about to pull your hair out from all the toilet seat slamming, take a breath, we’ve got your back!
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3. Toilet Seat Replacement Kit – Not what you were expecting, but maybe you need to make some changes. This kit is your best friend for toilet seat replacements!
Toilet Lid Problems
A toilet seat that won’t stay up can be very annoying. Yet, before we dig into deeper details about how to fix it, we must discuss why would your toilet seat not stay up. So, let’s talk about it below!
Why Won’t My Plastic Toilet Seat Stay Up?
Many things can make your plastic toilet seat unable to stay up. The location of your seat, the levelness of your toilet, and the thickness of your toilet are factors that you must consider checking to determine the primary cause.
Your seat should have an angle of at least 90 degrees or beyond. Otherwise, it won’t be able to support itself against the tank.
Hence it may drop quite a few times before you decide to fix it. Also, a toilet that isn’t leveled appropriately can also be a contributing cause to a toilet seat that won’t stay up.
As such, you must find a way to level it so it doesn’t wobble or damage your toilet seat.
However, if you are the type of person to use toilet seat covers, know that it’s probably causing your toilet seat to have more thickness than it should.
Therefore, it will weigh more, and it will drop. Note of warning, though. If you have loose screws on your toilet seat, you have to fix that right away.
You risk suffering a serious injury if you don’t.
Why Won’t My Wooden Toilet Seat Stay Up?
Your wooden toilet seat can’t stay up because of one of three possible reasons: it’s not compatible with your toilet type, it has a loose screw, or it’s placed too far from the tank. You may need to explore all these options before fixing the seat.
Just check the way your wooden toilet seat is placed. It may not be at the right angle, and therefore it can’t stay up.
Another thing to consider is if your toilet seat fits your toilet type. If it’s not, you may need to consider replacing it.
Why Won’t My Toilet Seat Tighten?
If your toilet seat doesn’t tighten, you have to be cautious of the size of the bolt or if it has worn out due to constant use. The age of the toilet may be something that could be highly influencing this factor, so you should check it thoroughly.
Sometimes your bolt size is not appropriate for your toilet seat. Other times, the bolt might’ve come with manufacturer damage, so it might not work when trying to tighten your seat.
You may need to consider buying new ones in this case. Or, a whole new toilet seat.
Why Does My Toilet Seat Always Come Loose?
Your toilet seat is coming loose because of a screw that is not tightening your toilet seat correctly. Fortunately, you can fix it, but it will require you to understand your toilet type. And, you have to make sure to be prepared in case you need to replace them.
Toilets come in different types and therefore have different ways to be fixed, so it’s important to understand how it is before attempting to fix the toilet seat.
In addition, old models will require a different fixing process than newer models, so this is something that you must keep in mind.
How to Fix a Loose Toilet Seat
Even though a loose toilet seat can be annoying, it’s fixable, and sometimes it does not require much effort.
So, now that you know what causes your toilet seat to drop, you can learn the appropriate way to fix it. Let’s talk about it!
How Do I Stop My Toilet Seat From Dropping?
To stop your toilet seat from dropping, you have to attempt to fix it by following one of two simple methods that can help you relieve yourself of the problem. Additionally, you must ensure that your seat supports itself against the toilet tank.
Removing the toilet seat and attempting to reinstall it by tightening the screws is not difficult, and it shouldn’t take you more than fifteen minutes.
Thie time may vary depending on the model of the toilet that you have.
However, you have to use plastic shims and a foam wedge to level your toilet tank. First, you put the plastic shim underneath the space between the seat and the toilet tank.
Then, you put the foam wedge behind the gap behind the toilet tank itself.
How Do I Keep My Toilet Seat From Falling Down?
If you want to stop your toilet seat from falling, your best bet is to attempt to fix it or to use an external tool that can help you keep it up. Additionally, you can do most of these methods efficiently, and it won’t take you much time.
You can take the toilet seat out and install it again at the right angle (above 90 degrees), tighten the toilet seat, or purchase magnets to install on your toilet seat.
You can also glue a hook to the tank to keep your toilet seat up.
How Do Keep My Toilet Seat Up?
Keep your toilet seat up by tightening the toilet seat, adding a hook to the tank that keeps your toilet seat up, or using magnets. They are proven to work effectively, although the tool you use will depend on your preference.
If you want to use magnets, simply glue one to the upper part of the toilet lid and then glue another to the lip of the toilet seat.
Make sure that they’re not so big but that they’re strong enough to hold the weight of the toilet seat. This should work just fine.
How Do You Fix a Toilet Seat Hinge?
Often, the best way to fix a toilet seat hinge is to replace it entirely. They come in either stainless steel or plastic. If yours is made of stainless steel, there’s a high chance that it may have worn out, so you may want to replace them with plastic hinges.
Most toilet models only require you to open the bolt cap to remove the screws that are inside. First, you have to loosen the nut that’s often underneath the toilet bowl to remove it.
Then, after removing them, just replace them with the plastic ones and tighten them with a screw.
Is There a Device to Keep My Toilet Seat Up?
There are multiple things you can use to keep your toilet seat up, the easiest fix being to simply tighten the bolts. However, if you’re considering replacing your toilet, you may want to find yourself a toilet with a seat that opens and closes on its own.
There are new innovative toilets that don’t require you to touch them to keep them open or closed.
For this reason, they are often more sanitary than standard toilet seats. Talk about getting fancy while staying clean!
Is There a Magnet to Hold Toilet Seat Up?
You can safely use magnets to hold your toilet seat up. You can find them at your preferred local home improvement store or online. They often come in sets of two small circular-shaped magnets that you can put on your toilet seat.
You have to put these magnets on both the toilet lid and the toilet seat. You put one on the upper part of the back of the toilet lid, and another underneath the toilet seat, specifically on the toilet lid.
This should help you keep your toilet seat up.
Is There a Clip to Hold Toilet Seat Up?
You can use multiple things to keep your toilet seat up, like a hook that you can attach to the toilet tank. This hook is supposed to keep the seat attached to the toilet lid, and therefore it’s much easy to clean the toilet or keep the lid open during use.
Unfortunately, these are not very common to find online. Often, they’re easier to find in local home improvement stores.
But, if you can’t seem to find a clip to hold your toilet seat, you can look for magnets that you can attach to the toilet seat and lid to prevent it from dropping.
How to Tighten a Toilet Seat
We know why a toilet seat may be loose, and we know different ideas to fix it. But, what can we do to tighten toilet seats?
Let’s talk about the tools you need and how you can use them to tighten your toilet seat correctly.
Is There a Tool for Tightening Toilet Seats?
The tools you need to tighten your toilet seat are a socket wrench, an adjustable wrench, and a screwdriver. Their use will depend more on the situation you have with your toilet seat. And, sometimes, you might need to use only one of them.
It’s most common to use a simple screwdriver to remove the hinges and replace them with new ones or simply tighten the toilet seat.
Thankfully, it’s not difficult to do, which is why many people prefer to attempt to do it on their own without consulting an expert.
Is There a Toilet Seat Tightening Kit?
You can purchase a kit that gives you the tools you need to help you tighten your toilet seat. In addition, they’re not expensive since most of them can be found online.
The toilet seat tightening kit often includes three sets of washers, wrenches, and screwdrivers. So, if you buy one, you’ll have all the tools you need to fix your toilet seat.
Plus, it’s beneficial to you because these tools are reusable, so you’ll get to save some cash.
How Do You Tighten a Toilet Seat Bolt?
To tighten a toilet seat bolt correctly, you have to use your wrench to do it. All you need is to rotate the screws clockwise until the bolt stops turning, being cautious of it being too tight, as this pressure can damage them.
Use your wrench delicately when turning them, and avoid over-tightening them. If you try this and it doesn’t work, hold the base with a plier and attempt to rotate the bolt again with a screwdriver.
Make sure to be extra cautious while doing this.
How Do You Tighten a Toilet Seat With Conceal Fittings?
A toilet seat with concealed fittings has a button on the lower part of the toilet lid. Pressing that button will release the toilet seat, revealing two metal caps attached to the toilet bowl. That’s what you have to open to reveal the screws within.
Once you reveal the screws, you’ll notice that they’re loose.
Use a screwdriver to tighten them, and make sure that they’re placed correctly, so when you put the toilet seat back, it’ll be at the proper angle, and it will stay up.
How Do You Tighten a Screwless Toilet Seat?
Your toilet seat does have screws, but they’re hidden. First, you need to press the button located at the middle-lower part of your toilet seat to eject it, where you’ll find two metal caps. You will see the hidden screws once you open them.
This mechanism is often found in modern toilet seats. Old toilet models involve the typical bolt caps and stainless steel or plastic hinges.
So, once you find the screws, tighten them with a screwdriver while keeping them steady and in the right position.
After doing this, you’re safe to place the toilet seat back in the toilet bowl.
How Do I Fix a Wobbly Toilet Seat?
A wobbly toilet seat means that the screws are not properly attached, so you have to tighten them. Some toilet models will require you to use a wrench, but others will simply require you to use a screw.
Older toilet models will require you to open the bolt caps to reveal the assembly within, and fixing them requires you to use a wrench to tighten the nut under the toilet bowl.
Use a wrench or a screwdriver (depending on the case) to tighten them, or remove them to place new ones instead.
Always be wary of overtightening them because it can be dangerous.
Soft Close Toilet Seats
Now that you know about the tools you need to fix a standard toilet seat, you may want to explore the use of soft toilet seats.
So, let’s talk all about it below and see how they can benefit you.
Can I Make My Toilet Seat Soft Close?
You can make your toilet seat soft close by buying special hinges, available at your local store or online. These hinges will help you convert your current toilet seat to a soft-close toilet seat, so you’ll avoid having a noisy toilet.
Generally, soft toilet seat works with specialized hinges that make them close slowly to prevent them from slamming and causing a loud noise.
The hinges mentioned above can help you convert your toilet seat if you can’t afford to replace it at the moment.
How Do You Adjust a Soft-Close Toilet Seat?
To adjust your soft-close toilet seat, you have to move the cylindrical dampers that control its movement and turn them to the back of the seat. How you do this depends on whether you’re working with soft close toilet seats or Clip-On-Soft-Toilet-Seats
Soft-Close seats have metal peg-style hinges that sit on the vertical pegs, while the others have clip-on hinges located at the back.
To adjust a soft-close seat:
- Remove the toilet seat – this process will be different for each style. For example, to remove a toilet seat with metal peg-style hinges, you must lift the seat upright.
But, for the clip-on hinges, you have to open the plastic taps located at the back, then pull them toward you.
- Locate the cylindrical dampers – they are the ones that control the movement of the soft-close toilet seat.
For a metal peg-style soft-close toilet seat, you have to simply pull it out with your hands and then spin it towards the back to slow its movement.
If Clip-On-Soft-Toilet-Seats are the ones you’re working with, you have to use a needle-nose plier to remove the dampers. Then, turn back to the seat to slow the movement.
After adjusting the dampers, re-attach the toilet seat back to the toilet bowl.
Can You Fix a Soft Closing Toilet Seat?
You can fix a soft-close toilet seat when you notice that the seat or the lid isn’t closing anymore. You may need to re-grease the dampers. This grease has to be waterproof, and it helps the cylindrical dampers slow the movement of the seat.
To fix a soft closing toilet:
- Remove the toilet seat from the toilet bowl.
- Locate the area where the dampers are, and attempt to detach the toilet lid from the toilet seat.
- Detach the affected damper by removing the tightening nut to open the cylinder, then apply the waterproof grease to the cylinder.
- Close the cylinder and attach the tightening nut again.
- Put the damper back in place!
You might also enjoy our post on Are Padded Toilet Seats Sanitary?
Related Questions
Why Isn’t My Toilet Seat Sitting Flat?
Your toilet seat isn’t sitting flat because its bolts are bigger than the norm. This is so that they avoid cracking the toilets, especially if they’re made with porcelain. Unfortunately, this is bound to happen over time, so it’s something you must prepare for.
Toilets are fascinating when it comes to analyzing their structure, but they’re not exactly perfect.
For example, the toilet seat will shift sideways because of the bolt, so you have to work on tightening them.
How Do I Stop My Toilet Seat From Moving Sideways?
To stop your toilet seat from moving sideways, you have to remove your toilet seat from the toilet bowl and attempt to re-install it again. This way, you make sure that it’s attached at the right angle while also aiming to tighten it up.
This process will depend on the type of toilet seat you have, so make sure that you check your manufacturer’s instructions to understand it.
To remove the toilet seat, you have to open the bolt caps and attempt to remove the bolts with your hand or your screwdriver.
After, remove the nuts from underneath the toilet bowl. Finally, remove the seat, clean everything around, and attach again following a reverse process.
Tighten the bolts sufficiently, but don’t overdo it.
Final Thoughts
Having a slamming toilet seat can be exhausting and annoying, but you don’t have to worry further. There are many tools you can use to fix them efficiently.
Remember: the way you will fix them depends on the toilet model.
So, for better understanding, you must always read through and understand the instruction manual that came with your toilet.
As a side note, soft toilet seats are very satisfying for those who hate loud noises. So it’s no wonder why people love them so much!
