Toilet seat won't stay tight

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putterer

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Sorry if this was covered under some other thread - I looked but found "squat".

New toilet seat with plastic hardware. It won't stay tight. This was not a cheap seat BTW. I've tightened it several times since installation but within a week or two, it's loose again. I used the parts that came with the seat.
The "screw" is plastic. The "nut" is plastic too but not a hex nut or wing nut - just has (4) little triangle wings that perhaps were to aid in hand tightening, which, so far, is all I have tried.

Any suggestions?
 

Reach4

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Any suggestions?
You may be able to find or make something to serve as a bushing to take up the slop. I presume the symptom is that the toilet seat moves sideways easily. The problem is that the holes in the toilet are bigger than the bolt diameters. Try this search in a search engine:
toilet seat cone washers

I like the Bemis STA-TITE Seat Fastening System. IIRC, it effectively has bushings with springy sides that can adapt to different hole diameters but keep the bolts centered in the holes. Not expensive.
 

Terry

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What brand and model of seat do you have? I once tried to tighten a plastic seat on a Glacier Bay toilet, and gave up in the end. I wound up replacing everything including the toilet.
Most seats will stay in place pretty well, with the lower nut typically having a cone shape that centers in the holes.
 

Dj2

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Start by replacing the plastic bolts and nuts you have now with a new set (very inexpensive).
Now, you have to use the correct screwdriver - usually a large size Phillips (#3). A small screwdriver can damage the bolt head. Get a set where the nuts have cone shape (as said before) and also a wing that helps in the tightening of the nut, by hitting the toilet body.
 

putterer

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You may be able to find or make something to serve as a bushing to take up the slop. I presume the symptom is that the toilet seat moves sideways easily. The problem is that the holes in the toilet are bigger than the bolt diameters. Try this search in a search engine:
toilet seat cone washers

I like the Bemis STA-TITE Seat Fastening System. IIRC, it effectively has bushings with springy sides that can adapt to different hole diameters but keep the bolts centered in the holes. Not expensive.
Thanks.......I'll give it a try
 

putterer

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What brand and model of seat do you have? I once tried to tighten a plastic seat on a Glacier Bay toilet, and gave up in the end. I wound up replacing everything including the toilet.
Most seats will stay in place pretty well, with the lower nut typically having a cone shape that centers in the holes.

Can't find a name on the seat and it's been a month or so since I bought it so....memory fails me
 

Asktom

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I have used a rubber cone washer meant for 3/8" supply tube and a 1/2" slip joint nut pushed up from the bottom before the nut is tightened. It keeps the seat from wiggling and the nut from loosening.
 

Rod Kahn

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also, look under the seat at the 4 contact points. The forward ones have a rubbery pad. but the rear doesnt even touch the rim. Maybe after you sit on it. The front ones are padded to reduce noise.

If you can add some stick on rubber bumper at the rear contact points, that might help keep the seat still. and help keep the bolts from loosening.

Aside from putting a short piece of tubing around the seat bolt to fill the gap. cone washers sound good too.
hmmm.....silicone caulk the bolt in the mounting hole. and let it cure.
 

Plumber69

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I like this style, never comes loose. There are a few other styles too that never come loose.
 

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