A bathroom in which the toilet seat will just not stay up can be very annoying. You might have encountered this infuriating situation in a public place, a friend’s bathroom, or if this is a problem in your own bathroom then it’s more likely that you are almost certainly deliberating on how to get the toilet seat to stay up.
The most likely reason why your toilet seats will refuse to stay up could be because the seat was put in too far back in the direction of the tank. What you have to do if this is the case is; unscrew the seat, pull it to the front as far forward as you can, and then retighten it. This option should probably give your seat the additional angle it requires to stay erect.
This is the most common problem, but it may not be the only reason your toilet seat is falling. There are other reasons which are enumerated below, continue reading to find out the other problems which you could have and how exactly.
How Do I Keep My Toilet Seat from Falling Down?
1. Slacken the Lid of the Toilet Seat
There are two screws that attach the toilet seat and its lid to your toilet. Try to loosen these screws just an adequate amount so that you can move the seat. You might have to make use of a wrench to get them started. If you are having a bit of trouble loosening up the screws, then you might need to use a screwdriver (or a plier as the case could be) on the top of the bolt so as to keep it from spinning.
Please note that if you cannot find the screws that some toilet models hide the tops of the screws underneath a small plastic cover for aesthetics, so be sure to check your toilet to see if this is the case. If this is the situation, just carefully lift the cover up in order to get access to the screw. Once you’re done, you can simply snap the cover back shut.
2. Pull the Toilet Seat Forward
As soon as you have the screws loosened, then you can pull the seat as far to the front of the toilet as is possible. This should give the seat that extra angle it needs to keep from falling.
3. Re-secure the Lid
After all that is done, then, you just have to tighten the two screws back up and check if your toilet seat stays upright.
Reasons Your Toilet Seat Won’t Stay Up
1. Seat Too Far Back
As was mentioned in the beginning, this is in all likelihood the most common reason why toilet seats won’t stay up. As soon as a new toilet seat is installed, the angle of the toilet seat to the bowl should as a prerequisite be beyond 90-degrees, this is so that the seat can rest alongside the toilet tank. The angle between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat should not be less than 90 degrees. Otherwise, the toilet seat will continue to fall down.
As luck would have it, this problem is really easy to fix by following the steps above;
2. Toilet Not Level
Another reason why the toilet seat will not stay up could be that the toilet itself is not level with the ground. This is a really easy issue to check and all you have to do is grab a level, put it on the toilet lid when it is closed, and see what it says. Even If you do not have access to a level, you could check your smartphone as some phones now come along with a level/measuring app.
To correct this, you will need toilet wedges or toilet shims. The little plastic devices look like miniature door stops and They are used by sliding them under the base of the toilet to make it level. They are also really inexpensive and very easy to install. All you have to do is just space them around the base of the toilet and push them as far in as you possibly can with your fingers.
As the problem is with the toilet seat, you might want to position the shims around the front of the toilet and this will with a bit of luck give you the additional angle needed to keep that toilet seat up.
On a note of caution, do not attempt to push the shims in too hard or too fast as there is a wax ring put under the toilet in order to keep any nasty water from leaking out. If you push the shims too hard or lift too far, there is a chance that you could move or damage this ring and this will give you a bigger problem.
Once you have the shims in place, go back and check the toilet. Hopefully, it gives you a spot on level. However, if the toilet seat still does not stay upright after this solution then you might need to combine a couple of these solutions in order to get it right.
3. Toilet Lid Too Thick
The final reason for why your toilet lid might continuously fall is that the lid and seat combination could be too thick and this will make the seat sit just short of 90 degrees, thus making it fall. One item that could cause this to happen is a toilet seat or lid cover. The covers that look like shag rugs are most common.
If the seat stops falling after you have removed the cover, that’s your solution. If you do not have a toilet cover then you might just have to get a new toilet seat or probably just a new lid that is thinner than the last.
Before you make this investment though, you could try pushing the lid on the toilet back as much as you possibly can to the tank. This little shift might be all that is needed to keep the toilet seat upright.
How Do I Fix a Wobbly Toilet Seat?
Now, whereas a toilet seat staying upright may be a problem for the guys, but for the ladies, nothing is more infuriating than sitting on a shaky toilet seat. There are two key reasons why the toilet seat might be wobbly;
1. Loose Toilet Seat Screws
Loose toilet seat screws could be caused by a lot of things which includes every day wear and tear, residue build-up underneath the screws, etc. In order to fix loose screws, the very first thing you will need to do is remove the screws. In some toilet models, you might have to flip up a small plastic cover on the topmost side of your toilet seat to get access to the screws.
Use a screwdriver on the top of the screw in order to loosen it. If the screw spins without loosening, then you will need a pair of pliers or a wrench. Use these tools to hold the nut on the underside of the toilet so as to loosen the screws. As soon as the toilet seat is detached, clean the space where the screws were to get rid of any residue that may have built up there. Be sure to check the underside as well.
Performing this cleaning may be adequate to resolve the problem. So you just need to re-install the toilet seat and then check to see if the problem is fixed.
Subsequently, if after this quick fix, your toilet seat becomes wobbly again, try getting a few rubber toilet seat washers. These little devices help give your toilet seat the extra stick it needs to stay in place. You will need to remove the toilet seat in the same manner as before. Place the washers between your toilet and the top screw. Secure your seat back in place and you should be good to go.
2. Wrong Size Seat
An additional reason why your seat might wobble on your porcelain throne is that you probably have the wrong sized toilet seat for it. There are spacers on the bottom of every toilet seat to prevent it from colliding against the toilet. If the seat is not the right size, then these spacers could slip either into or outside of the rim of the toilet and end up giving you a wild ride.
The main reason this mix-up sometimes happens is that someone purchased the wrong sort of toilet seat. Toilets have two shapes, round and elongated, and just like you cannot fit a square peg in a round hole, a round toilet seat will not do on an elongated toilet.
This type of problem really has only one solution, which is that you need to get the right-sized toilet seat for your toilet. You could take a picture of your toilet, and/or take your toilet seat with you as soon as you go to the hardware store. The minute you get a new seat, just refasten it to your toilet and revel in a wobble-free experience.
Can I Make My Toilet Seat Soft Close?
You could make a toilet seat close softly by putting in a soft close toilet seat. Soft-close toilet seats are intended to prevent slams and this is done by slowly lowering the seat down to the bowl. While objectively maintenance-free, they might need a little adjustment from time to time.
Although the lowering action on most soft-close seats cannot be adjusted, it is stress-free to make slight adjustments to the seat hinges if needed. Depending on the style of your soft-close seat, you might have to take away the seat and lid to make the adjustments.
How Do You Adjust a Soft-close Toilet Seat?
Look under the bowl, just below where the hinges are located. If you can see a wing nut or some other type of holding nut threaded onto a bolt, then you can adjust the seat location without removing the seat and lid. If not, remove the seat and lid to gain access to the hinge screws or bolts.
You can remove all wings and retaining nuts so that you can move your seat. Adjust the seat to align it with the bowl’s sides and front. Retighten the nuts and be careful not to overtighten them.
Some models might have concealed hinge screws so remove the lid and seat by first lifting them to the most upright position. If you see a release button located on the lowest center of the seat, press it. If not, press both the release buttons at the hinges’ ends.
While holding the lid and seat, pull upwards to lift them off the hinge pins. Loosen the screws you find with a screwdriver sufficient just so you can adjust the hinges to reposition the seat. Reinstall the lid and seat.
