Dumbest question I have ever had to ask

[bobg03]

I had a new home built about 5 years ago. It was done by a builder who specializes in one off houses unlike all majority of the subdivision cookie cutter home builders here in Myrtle Beach.

I have been very happy he used all top level materials and there have been no issues before during or after completion of the house, except for one.

The toilet seat in the Master Bath which is the one mostly used has the plastic bolts and nuts holding it down and loosens up over time. I went to the hardware store and got new bolts and that did nothing over time. The next attempt was to wrap the bolts with teflon...that lasted the longest, but it is loose again.

It is an awkward spot for a disabled man to reach, any ideas for a more permanent tightening?

 

[jdm5]

Are you referring to the bolts that hold the seat down, or the toilet itself?

For the seat I found these which seem to work pretty well.

Not sure about the toilet itself

 

[bobg03]

Are you referring to the bolts that hold the seat down, or the toilet itself?

For the seat I found these which seem to work pretty well.

Not sure about the toilet itself

Thank you, I corrected the post to reflect that it is indeed the seat, the Mrs likes the seat and doesn't want a new one. The one we have has the flip down lids that hide the top of the bolt. I have not been able to find anything but the plastic ones that allow this cover over the bolts to snap down and hide them.

 

[CraigStu]

I have pretty much given up w/ this problem. On ours I notice that the front of the seat is no longer centered over the bowl. Ours have all plastic bolts and nuts. So they only tighten so tight, which is a lot less tight than the old brass nut and bolt. But the good thing is the nut on the bottom is a way oversized thing w/ good wings so it can be hand tightened as far as it will go. I think this is a losing battle. Ceramic, or whatever material toilets are made from, doesn't lend itself to tight tolerance forming, so the holes are always oversized. That means that unless the hole were filled w/ something around the bolt, the bolt will always want to move. I now grab the front of the seat and shove it til it is aligned.

 

[David Paul]

Try putting a second nut on the bolt to lock the first one in place.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Is there enough room to maybe slide some fuel line over the bolts? That would take up the play in the hole.

 

[Kaizen]

Two things. Find a plastic lock washer if they make one. And after it is where you want it and tightened fill the space somehow. If it aggravated me enough to ask I’d seal the bottom and use epoxy. Don’t blame me though if the toilet is ruined.
If you tend to use the seat as support that’s not helping either as you are pushing side to side.


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[Fasthotrod]

EDIT: Just saw that you edited the post to reflect a loose toilet seat, not a loose toilet.

In my experience, a toilet that gets loose over time has a mounting issue. I don't mean with the toilet flange and/or bolts necessarily, but with how the toilet sits on the floor. Is the toilet on a tile floor? Linoleum? Is the floor below made of concrete, wood, or...?

When I re-did my bathroom, I gutted it completely and cleaned the floor for new tile. One thing that I noticed is that the toilet flange, and specifically the concrete around it, was not level/flat. I tried to grind it down a bit, but the real challenge was setting the tile and keeping it flat across the entire plane.

When it came time to set the toilet, I simply set the toilet down on top of the flange without using the wax ring or the bolts. I checked all around the toilet and noticed that it wasn't 100% flat on the tile floor. It would rock a bit in a couple of directions. I grabbed some shims, checked it for level, and noted the locations where the shims needed to be installed, then moved the toilet out of the way.

I put down a new wax ring and new bolts into the flange. I used the wooden shims in a few locations to 'prop up' the toilet quite a bit as it was going into place. Then I used my caulk gun to run a bead of caulk around the outside of the toilet frame where it meets the floor tile. Then I slowly lowered the toilet into place by pulling the shims out. I had marked the locations where the shims needed to remain, and once I felt it settle into place I tightened down the flange bolts.

After that, I cut off the ends of the shims and ran the bead of caulk over them to fill the gaps and have a continuous bead around the edge for a clean look.

It's been a few years, and my toilet is rock solid.

Hope this helps.

Mark

 

[Hawk]

If you use the following kit, it includes spacers to keep the plastic bolt in place and the "wrench" will tighten the "nut" sufficiently to keep it in place. I also use a drop or two of blue locktite and have not had any problem with the seat loosening. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073DL5TQ3/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[bobg03]

In my experience, a toilet that gets loose over time has a mounting issue. I don't mean with the toilet flange and/or bolts necessarily, but with how the toilet sits on the floor. Is the toilet on a tile floor? Linoleum? Is the floor below made of concrete, wood, or...?

When I re-did my bathroom, I gutted it completely and cleaned the floor for new tile. One thing that I noticed is that the toilet flange, and specifically the concrete around it, was not level/flat. I tried to grind it down a bit, but the real challenge was setting the tile and keeping it flat across the entire plane.

When it came time to set the toilet, I simply set the toilet down on top of the flange without using the wax ring or the bolts. I checked all around the toilet and noticed that it wasn't 100% flat on the tile floor. It would rock a bit in a couple of directions. I grabbed some shims, checked it for level, and noted the locations where the shims needed to be installed, then moved the toilet out of the way.

I put down a new wax ring and new bolts into the flange. I used the wooden shims in a few locations to 'prop up' the toilet quite a bit as it was going into place. Then I used my caulk gun to run a bead of caulk around the outside of the toilet frame where it meets the floor tile. Then I slowly lowered the toilet into place by pulling the shims out. I had marked the locations where the shims needed to remain, and once I felt it settle into place I tightened down the flange bolts.

After that, I cut off the ends of the shims and ran the bead of caulk over them to fill the gaps and have a continuous bead around the edge for a clean look.

It's been a few years, and my toilet is rock solid.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Toilet is fine, it's the seat. No it is not used as a support hold either.

the way the underside of the holes are it may be difficult ti reach place a second bolt under the winged style nut. I like the idea of a piece of hose and I will also apply the teflon tape first as that idea alone lasted the longest.

 

[DennisK]

I had the same issue, went and got neoprene washers, they grip the nut well.

 

[billwood437]

You may want to try a silicone caulking. Put a small amount on the plastic surface where the seat bolts to the toilet. This will give a little grip to the slick plastic contact to the porcelain. Then fill the bolt holes with caulking and tighten the bolt. This will take up the wiggle room of the bolt. Let this all setup. You can always remove the silicone from the porcelain.

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[nadogail]

I have seen rubber cone shaped washers that compress to fill the holes in the toilet bowl as the seat hold down bolts are tightened.

A hardware store should be able to fix you up.

 

[jdm5]

The link I posted above (#2) has the kit with the rubber washers you need - worked for me and cheap enough.

 

[Is this thing on]

I used 80's g.m. sway bar end bushings cut down, So they are only the angled part 1/16th " . Then the bolts with blue lock tight.
Does not come loose till you want it too. and be ready to install new hardware, as they don't always come back apart.
The rubber bushing, or washers keep the seat from moving , if the holes the bolts go through are larger than the bolts, I use some rtv to take up the gap. It is a little messy when installing,( nothing a rag can't fix after you tight'n it down.) the bolt with the rtv on the shaft that sits in the hole, but it won't move around after it forms, you just can't use that john for about a day to let it set up enough.

 

[qdvuu]

As an alternative to improving the connection, try a different approach by eliminating it. I have a "quick disconnect" toilet seat that makes for easy cleaning. The mounting fasteners hold nice and fast when they should, which is the problem you're wrestling with. As for cleaning, take off the seat and let it soak in the tub for a little while and the bowl is easy to clean especially since there's no bowl/hinge joints that need to be worked around. IIRC I bought this at Home Depot.

 

[ford33]

Second vote for the kit mentioned by Hawk. I have used it on a few toilet seats and it works well.

 

[bobg03]

If you use the following kit, it includes spacers to keep the plastic bolt in place and the "wrench" will tighten the "nut" sufficiently to keep it in place. I also use a drop or two of blue locktite and have not had any problem with the seat loosening. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073DL5TQ3/?tag=atomicindus08-20

This kit was the cats ****...perfect problem solver. It does not come with new screws and seeing as I had cranked mine down so much it damaged the tops so I got four new ones at ace. The amazon kit had enough spacers to do two seats.

Thank you for a valuable link.

 

[SALIV8]

Time to upgrade.

Get a bidet toilet seat.