I’m guessing you’re in a position where your toilet seat has broken down and needs to be replaced.
Toilet seats come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors.
You have to consider the shape of your toilet bowl.
You should not buy elongated seats if you have a round bowl and you should not buy a round toilet seat if you have an elongated bowl.
Plus there are all the options to choose from like a heated toilet seat or padded toilet seats.
And all these options can make replacing your old seat very confusing.
This article will tell you how to measure your seat size and how to fit the right toilet seat replacement.
Is there a Standard Toilet Seat Size?
There are a few important toilet standards to know before we get into the two most popular toilet seat sizes.
To begin, the distance between the two toilet seat bolts that hold your toilet seat to your toilet bowl is consistent across almost all toilets, regardless of the toilet seat shapes.
These are known as seat post holes and should be separated by about 5.5 inches from one hole to the other.
Second, the toilet bowl’s width is generally the same regardless of form. If there is a variance in any respect, it is usually less than half an inch.
Elongated Toilet Seats
The most common toilet seat size is known as an elongated toilet seat.
They are characterized by the long oval shape and corresponding elongated dimensions (19-22 inches in length, 13-15 inches in width).
These seats are usually preferred by men mostly because of the increased surface area when sitting on it.
Elongated toilet seats are usually about four inches longer than round bo standard toilet seats, which may make a difference if you have smaller bathrooms or are putting together an accessible bathroom.
Round Toilet Seats
Round toilet seats are the standard for most bathrooms.
These come in a variety of sizes and dimensions (13-15 inches wide, 16 to 18 inches long) and shapes (round or oval).
They offer maximum comfort as they fit more easily on your existing toilet bowl than elongated toilet seats do. Toilet bowls that have round seats also allow for easier cleaning, and they can be moved easily when you need to do some toilet bowl scrubbing.
Round toilet seats may not offer much additional convenience in terms of size or space; however, they are often found the be more affordable than their elongated counterpart.
How to Measure Your Toilet Seat?
It is not difficult to find out the toilet seat size you need, but it can be a little confusing if this is your first time buying one. Toilet seats come in many different shapes and sizes which make them slightly different from standard measurements.
To measure your toilets, you will need to collect these 3 measurements:
- Length
- Width
- Seat post holes
1. Measuring toilet seat length
This measurement is the one you will want to pay the most attention to as it’s the one that is the most likely to vary, the other 2 being standard usually.
To determine the distance between the seat post holes and the end of your bowl, take a measurement from in between them to the toilet bowl’s outside edge.
You’ll get a shorter measure than you need if you measure to the toilet bowl’s inside edge rather than its outside edge so be careful to get the measurement properly.
This is also where you find out if your toilet bowl is elongated or round. Toilet bowls that are elongated will have a longer outside edge than those that are round (usually around 18-19 inches).
Once you’ve determined your toilet bowl’s length, take note of it and move on to measuring the width.
2. Measure toilet seat width
For this measurement, you will need to find out how wide your toilet seat is.
Simply place your tape measure all the way across the widest part of your toilet bowl to obtain this measurement. Make sure you’re measuring from the outside edge to the outside edge.
A standard toilet seat will measure about 13-15 inches wide. Toilet bowls that are round may be slightly more than this, while elongated toilet seats tend to fall short of it (usually by an inch or two).
Once you’ve got your width measurement, take note and move on to the last step which is determining how far apart your toilet seat’s post holes are.
3. Measuring seat post holes
To find this measurement, you’ll need to measure the distance between your toilet bowl’s mounting holes. To do so, simply take a ruler and place it next to each hole as if to press its edge against them.
Take note of how far apart they are from one another (the distance will almost certainly vary by at least half an inch, so be sure you’re taking note of your furthest gap).
If you measure a distance of 5.5 inches, all standard toilet seats should fit your toilets whether they are round or elongated but you will probably want to buy a seat that matches your toilet’s shape.
What about Non-Standard Toilet Seats?
So what should you do if you did all the measurements properly and your toilets don’t match the standard seat size?
You can still buy a toilet seat that will fit your round or elongated toilet bowls, you just need to find one that’s made for it.
For that, you will need to either work with your local plumbing shop or browse Amazon’s toilet seats section and refine your search using the specific measurements you require.
How to Replace a Toilet Seat
To replace your toilet seat, start with a flathead screwdriver and a new seat.
First, gently pry off the old toilet seat by inserting your screwdriver into its crevice (the gap between where it meets the bowl) and moving it towards you as if to open the lid of a jar. To avoid scratching or damaging anything, make sure you do this very carefully. Toilet seats are made from plastic and glass, so they can be very fragile.
Once you’ve removed the old toilet seat, simply place the new one onto your bowl where it is most likely to fit snugly with a gentle downwards push.
The screws should hold it in place just fine on their own as long as everything’s aligned properly. To tighten them, simply use your screwdriver again to gently turn each one clockwise until they’re nice and tight against the bowl.
That’s all there is to it! Toilet seats are very easy to install if you have a flathead screwdriver on hand so don’t be afraid of doing this yourself instead of hiring someone.
To Conclude
You’ve made it! You probably managed to install your new toilet seat by now 😎.
We hope you found these directions helpful and that you managed to replace the old, worn-out toilet seat on your own without any help from a professional.
Thanks for reading our blog post and good luck with the rest of your project!