I’ve had too many toilet seat hinges crack over time. So, this time I chose a toilet seat with a stainless steel hinge. Now, I face a new problem. A toilet seat with plastic hinges usually allow access to the hardware from the above and beneath the toilet seat such that a tight nut (beneath the toilet seat) can still be loosened by a screwdriver from above. In contrast, metal hinges do not allow top access AND the hardware provided has metal threads (vs. all-nylon parts).
Can we expect this hardware (with metal threads on a headless screw and a nut) to rust in time or otherwise become impossible to remove should we need to replace this toilet seat down the road? What is your experience?
(My gut says stick with what I know - even if the plastic hinges should crack.)
Contractor, not plumber, but you bet your bippy those fasteners will corrode. I’m not sure what brand seats you are buying since I have never once gotten a call-back for this issue in 30 years. Even $18 Wal-mart seats have been fine. Costco is calling your name–buy a Toto or Kohler seat if you want to spend a little more $$$, don’t over-tighten it, and it should be fine. Toto in particular tends to not use threaded fasteners, but expansion. To repeat, I’ve never had a toilet hinge fail in hundreds of installs.
If the hardware is stainless, it ought to not have corrosion problems. Although there is no product a Chinese vendor cannot make too cheaply to work well if their customer (the store) and their customer (you) demand it. Use some anti-seize on the threads if you want to be sure you can later remove them.
I’m just a DIY guy and frequent traveler. I’ll second the notion that over 60+ years on earth and lots and lots of toilets both that owned and in hotels and public places around the USA I’ve never seen, or heard of, a cracked seat hinge. I’ve certainly seen loose or missing hardware, a snapped or missing hinge pin.
Assuming you’re not a 15yo, and this is for home use, you will outlive any ordinary cheapass plastic-hinged toilet seat you could buy in 2023. Unless you’re in the habit of abusing hinges somehow by twisting stuff.
I’ve had a couple of hinges break too. I think it maybe because I sit sideways on the toilet seat when I’m getting dressed. That can put a side ways force on it. This one toilet seat broke on me twice.
I’ve had bolts on them freeze up and make it VERY difficult to remove in tight quarters. Damn near pulled the entire toilet off so I could get at 'em
Got my last seat at Lowes a couple of years ago, it’s holding up very well. I think plastic bolts. Brand name is ‘Mayfair’, I got it at Lowes.
Come to think of it, the toilet seat in our main bathroom broke once too. It was about 12 years old. In that case, the plastic bolt completely sheared. It doesn’t get sat on sideways. Both toilets get about the same amount of use, it’s just my wife and I.
Maintenance Coordinator and former handyman here: YES
I have had the misfortune of having to replace several of them. In one instance, out of frustration, I cranked too hard and broke the toilet. I can’t recommend against them enough.
Plumbing fixtures are things that are almost always a pain to work on, the issue is they are installed and never moved until it is time to replace them. Water utilities actually have scheduled preventative maintenance to exercise (open and close) valves just so they don’t freeze up from not being used. I try to do the same with any stop valves in my house.
I’ve started to use a dab of grease on threaded plumbing parts, not to make assembly easier but in the hope that this will help make disassembly easier for the next chump who has to work on it.
Thanks all for sharing your experiences and validating my suspicions. Our seats did come from Lowes. I think the existing (including the one that broke) is American Standard. I’ve heard this company has not been what they once were, so I don’t expect much. The new one with the stainless steel (SS) hinge is Mannigton. It figures that the SS hinge would solve one problem while the hardware creates another. Brilliant!
I guess I’d rather live with the risk of a cracking hinge and nylon hardware I can access from top and bottom to unscrew than a better hinge and masochistic hardware. Besides, the only “nut” that will fit within the clearance within the “cavity” under the toilet is meant for a 1/2" wrench, but you’ll never get a wrench up in there. And, I tried to replace with nylon wong nuts, but the wings won’t fit in the “cavity”. As they say, Murphy was an optimist!
FYI: To those who never saw a hinge crack, this seems to be a piece of the hinge that aids in a “slow closing” lid.
I hate hate hate toilet hinges. Can’t there be another upgrade to this soon? It’s ridiculous how many get broken around here. I can’t believe a plumber has never received a call back about this. I don’t think they’re lying, I think people just DYI them.
The Japanese make better toilets. The Swedish make better toilets. We need to fix this problem.
In conclusion, my wife insists we keep the stainless steel-hinged toilet seat - even if the hardware cannot be accessed as easily as (most) plastic-hinged toilet seats. Let’s hope the stainless holds up!
Depending on you level of handy-person confidence and your access to appropriate tools, you can make the inevitable toilet seat replacement easier.
Cut off any excess threaded rod from the bolts securing the seat to the bowl.
Those bolts are going to corrode and just generally get gunked up. Backing a nut off of two inches of nasty and difficult to access bolt is far more onerous than borrowing or renting a powered metal saw and trimming it off flush with the nut.
A compact reciprocating saw (EXAMPLE) can be a lifesaver for any number of home projects.
Just don’t leave 1/8" of exposed bolt with badly mashed threads from your attempt to saw them off. Destroying threads That’s called “staking” and is a way to permanently locks a nut into place.
The “right” way to shorten a bolt is to figure out how long it needs to be, remove it from the application, run a thread die down on it upside down, cut the bolt with a saw, carefully clean up the cut edge with a file, then run the thread die back off the bolt, cleaning, straightening, and re-cutting the last bit of damaged threads on the way. Now install the bolt of the correct length & run down the nut.
