# ICK!! Cleaning the hinges on a toilet seat. No, seriously **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339 "2020-01-13T05:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/1 "2020-01-13T05:17:40Z")
New toilet, called a Toto raised toilet. The hinges are encased in plastic, nice look, no metal. But these hinges get “icky” splashes, for want of a better description. I am not sure how to clean these things - I have been spraying hydrogen peroxide on them?? Any ideas?? ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/2 "2020-01-13T05:19:29Z")
Apologies if this has come up before, and SHOCKED if it has ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/3 "2020-01-13T05:22:59Z")
409, and a sponge. Wear gloves. Yuk, but oh so satisfying to clean ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/4 "2020-01-13T06:13:06Z")
Ditto on the gloves, but I recommend bleach. And a wood toothpick to get in all those nooks and crannies! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/5 "2020-01-13T06:57:50Z")
I’d use Heavy Duty Fantastic and a nail brush, then clean up with a sponge. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/6 "2020-01-13T14:20:54Z")
We have a new toilet that needs the whole seat taken off to get at the hinge area. You have to push a release button and lift the whole thing up. First step: vacuum “debris”… ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/7 "2020-01-13T16:06:24Z")
Both of our toilets have the hinges under a plastic cover type thing. I’m able to unlock them and slide it right off the toilet to clean. And it is gross - especially when the grandsons have been over! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/8 "2020-01-13T16:09:01Z")
I have a Toto toilet. I remove the seat and clean it in the shower. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/9 "2020-01-13T16:16:51Z")
I have on hand a retired toothbrush that I keep for these tasks. Still icky but gets the job done. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/10 "2020-01-13T16:34:39Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I have a Toto toilet. I remove the seat and clean it in the shower. There was an episode of The Simpsons in which they were expecting someone important to come for dinner and there was a brief shot of the toilet seats being cleaned in the _dishwasher_. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/11 "2020-01-13T17:21:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There was an episode of The Simpsons in which they were expecting someone important to come for dinner and there was a brief shot of the toilet seats being cleaned in the _dishwasher_. I’m gonna be laffin’ my fat butt off ALL DAY over this! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/12 "2020-01-13T18:56:55Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I have a Toto toilet. I remove the seat and clean it in the shower. Interesting. I will have to ask the man of the house about that. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/13 "2020-01-13T19:09:24Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > We have a new toilet that needs the whole seat taken off to get at the hinge area. You have to push a release button and lift the whole thing up. First step: vacuum “debris”… Same. Simply press the button and the whole seat lifts off. Makes cleaning far, far easier when you are trying to get the nooks-n-crany clean vs. just surface cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/14 "2020-01-13T19:52:12Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > Interesting. I will have to ask the man of the house about that. We probably don’t have the same model, but on mine you just unscrew two plastic wingnuts underneath the back of the seat. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/15 "2020-01-14T13:35:26Z")
If you can’t reach the nooks and crannies to clean, you can’t reach them to get contaminated either. And unless there are larger spaces beyond the nooks and crannies where wast amounts of ick can fester, just leave it. How often do you clean the ceiling in there? It probably has a nice coating of bacterial spores due to aerosolized toilet water. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/16 "2020-01-14T14:55:08Z")
I don’t like the screws that join the seat to the hinge rusting, so I put a layer of silicone compound over them. Worked like a charm! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/17 "2020-01-14T19:40:55Z")
Man, so long as you don’t have any open wounds on your hands, just wipe/scrub them with a sponge or cloth, and wash your hands after. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/18 "2020-01-14T19:48:15Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > Any ideas?? Fire, and lots of it. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/19 "2020-01-14T21:46:09Z")
I lift the hinge covers that came wth the seat then spray the seat and the whole toilet down with scrubbing bubbles then use paper towels to wipe it down, from cleanest to dirtiest. Bowl cleaner for the bowl. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339/20 "2020-01-14T22:00:41Z")
> [@naita](#): > > If you can’t reach the nooks and crannies to clean, you can’t reach them to get contaminated either. And unless there are larger spaces beyond the nooks and crannies where wast amounts of ick can fester, just leave it. > > How often do you clean the ceiling in there? It probably has a nice coating of bacterial spores due to aerosolized toilet water. My fingers and the sponge can’t quite reach everywhere. Pee is omnipotent (So are other bodily fluids that I care not to name…) Hence, the inclusion of wooden toothpicks as cleaning devices. ~VOW [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ick-cleaning-the-hinges-on-a-toilet-seat-no-seriously/846339.md?page=2)