Finding a new toilet seat can be a fun project. There are all kinds of options for your tush including your basic toilet seat, a slow-close seat, and even heated seats.
But how do you choose the right toilet seat for your bowl? Finding a seat you like is one thing, but making sure it fits your toilet is more important.
You’ll be pleased to know that toilet seats are easy to measure. In most instances, you’ll be able to eyeball your bowl and guess the type of seat you need. Here at Toilet Travels, we prefer not to guess so I’ll share 2 measurements you can take to ensure you have the right size toilet seat.
Measuring Your Toilet Seat (2 Steps)
To make sure you have the right toilet seat you’ll want to take a few measurements. These measurements will confirm the type of bowl you have and allow you to double check the dimensions of the new seat.
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Measuring The Size Of Your Toilet Bowl
The most important thing you should do is to figure out whether you have a round or elongated toilet seat.
If you’re handy around the house and know a little bit about plumbing you already know whether you have a round or elongated toilet seat.
If not, it’s something you should know and it only takes a minute to figure it out. Take a look at your toilet bowl with the seat up (or removed).
- What shape is the bowl?
- Is the bowl oval or perfectly round?
If the bowl is round, it will be the same distance across as it is front to back. If the bowl is elongated it will be slightly longer from front to back as it is side to side.
In the U.S. elongated bowls are just as common as round bowls. Elongated toilets are more convenient for talk and large individuals because it provides a little extra space.
If you don’t feel comfortable eyeballing it, you can measure the distance from the back of the bowl to the front.
- Round bowl – 16.5 inches
- Elongated bowl – 18-18.5 inches
Knowing whether your bowl is round or elongated is the most important step. Once you know this information you can narrow down your choices for a toilet seat.
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Measuring The Distance Between Bots (toilet seat to toilet bowl)
You might be thinking, “what about the distance between the seat bolts?”. Lucky for you, most toilet seats use a standard distance of 5.5 inches.
If the toilet is made by a common brand such as American Standard, Kohler, or Toto, then you can count on the bolts being 5.5 inches across. The only time you’ll need to measure this is if you have a foreign or unique style toilet.
If you’re standing over the toilet because you’ve just measured the toilet bowl, you can double check the distance between the bolts.
Choosing The Right Toilet Seat (So Many Options!)
If you’ve looked at toilet seats you know there are a lot of options. Most people will want a standard plastic toilet seat. Most new toilet seats come with the handy “slow-close” seat and lid. If you have children I highly recommend a “slow-close” lid to avoid slamming (check out my article on the best elongated toilet seat).
A heated toilet seat is one of my favorite options for midnight trips to the toilet in winter. If you live in a place that gets cold in the winter then a heated toilet seat is a must-have.
For kids, a toilet nightlight is handy too. Some toilet seats have them built in while other nightlights hook onto the side of the bowl (check out my article on the best nightlight toilet seats).
The best toilet seat, in my opinion, is the Brondell Bidet seat that has all the extras including a warm water clean, heated seat, slow-close lid, and self-sterilization mechanism (check out my article on the best bidet toilet seats).
Additional Toilet Seat Features:
- Slow-Close
- Colored
- Potty Training Toilet Seat
- Padded Seat
- Nightlight
- Heated
- Wood
- Bidet
Installing Your New Toilet Seat
Once you’ve picked out your new toilet seat (hopefully a good one), make sure to carefully remove the old one. If you don’t see the screws it’s because there are covers over it.
- Use a screwdriver or your nails to open the covers
- Use the screwdriver with your hand under the bowl to unscrew the bolts
- Thoroughly clean the back of the bowl (people seldom clean the area by the bolts).
- Follow the instructions for your new toilet seat (if it’s heated or a bidet it might use electricity so you’ll need a plug).
- Make sure the screws are secure – no one likes a loose toilet seat
Before buying an electric bidet or heated toilet seat, make sure you have or install, an outlet near the back of the toilet.
Enjoy Your New Toilet Seat
You’ve figured out which size toilet seat you need and you’ve installed it. All that’s left is to try it out. Enjoy!
In this article, we learned to places to measure your toilet before buying a new toilet seat. In most cases, you’ll be able to eyeball your toilet bowl, but it’s always good to measure so you don’t second-guess yourself.
Measure the distance of your bowl from front to back.
If it’s 16 inches and the bowl appears to be perfectly round then you’ll want a round toilet seat.
If the toilet bowl measures 18-18.5 inches from front to back then you need an elongated toilet seat.
The second thing you should do is measure the distance between the seat bolts on your bowl. It will probably be 5.5 inches. If not, you’ll need to find a unique toilet seat with the same distance between bolts.
There are plenty of toilet seats to choose from including heated, slow-close, padded, potty training, bidets, wood, and nightlights. Find one that suits your family’s needs and everyone will be pleased.
Let us know which toilet seat you chose and if you encountered any problems with installation. As always, thanks for visiting Toilet Travels.