My toilet seat lid came off the other day, and I was surprised to find the seat hinge broken. Luckily, the incident got me to learn how to fix a toilet seat hinge quickly, and it saved me from having to call professionals for help.
So, keep reading to learn easy ways to fix your broken, stiff, or loose toilet seat hinges. Otherwise, you may lose balance and fall onto the cold bathroom floor while doing your business.
Table of Contents
Ways to Fix a Toilet Seat Hinge
Fixing a wobbly or loose toilet seat hinge is quite easy. All you need to do is determine what type of hinge you have in your toilet seat, whether it’s plastic or metal.
1. Fixing a Plastic Toilet Seat Hinge
Look around your toilet seat. If you see rectangular plastic covers at the back, then your seat is designed with plastic clip-on hinges.
- Pull up the plastic hinge covers behind the seat, then hold the seat on both sides and pull it straight towards you to remove it.
Tip: If the toilet doesn’t come off, there might be toilet seat hinge bolts under the bowl. Try to unscrew these bolts before detaching the seat.
- Turn the seat over to find the hinge assembly and the cylindrical dampers on each side. If there’s a plastic covering, remove it with your hands.
- Using a pair of pliers, pull the dampers halfway out and take out the hinge assembly. Then remove the dampers with needle-nose pliers.
- Move the damper to a second or third notch, depending on the speed you want your seat to close at. If you have a broken toilet seat hinge, there’s no option but to replace it.
- Once you’re done, put the hinge assembly back into the seat and snap back the plastic cover if there’s any.
- Place the seat back onto the bowl. With the clips aligned to the bolt holes, push the seat forward into position.
2. Repairing a Toilet Seat With Metal Hinges
If you found no plastic hinge assembly, then you probably have those metal hinges that are attached to the seat and lid separately. The common problem with these metal hinges is that they close the seat either too fast or too stiffly.
- Open up the seat fully. Using both hands, gently lift the seat off the toilet bowl. If it doesn’t lift off, check the toilet seat fixings and loosen the hinge screws.
In case you have to fix a toilet seat with hidden fixings, the toilet seat with no screws often opens with chrome buttons at the side. Simply remove the chrome caps to see fasteners underneath them.
- If your seat is closing too roughly, remove the dampers and rotate them back towards the seat or to the notch position you prefer.
- If the hinge is broken, consider placing an epoxy or any adhesive that will put the broken parts together.
- You can apply some wax to soften a stiff hinge or apply several layers of cellophane tape around the hinge pin’s tip to remedy a loose fitting.
If no amount of toilet seat hinges repair solves the problem, consider replacing them with an identical model.
Conclusion
At this point, I hope you know how to fix a toilet seat hinge by yourself. You can adjust the dampers to slow down or quicken the speed of your soft-closing toilet seat. If the hinge is broken, get it fixed with some glue or replace it with a new one.
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I’m Paulk Webb, and I work as a writer for Saveourwaterrebates. I’m happy to put in the time and effort to conduct market research to identify the most pressing issues faced by households concerning their plumbing. Feel free to check out our guides to get the most informed recommendations for how to solve your problems.