Alternative to Toto Soft-Close seat?

[STurner]

I have recently purchased a Toto Clayton elongated bowl toilet (CST784SF) and I need to purchase a matching seat. I thought I had read somewhere here that there was a Bemis soft-close seat that a lot of folks preferred to the Toto seat (I believe it is SS154)? My Clayton is the standard cotton white model. Any advice or experience about this appreciated.

Thanks, Steve

 

[Jadnashua]

Except for some weirdly shaped toilets, there are really only two shapes: round and elongated. For the most part, if you have an elongated toilet, any elongated seat should fit. The Toto seats have the two attachment points sitting on little pads. Some seats have a solid piece across the back. That can work, but will give you problems if the area on the toilet bowl between the two holes is not perfectly flat. Some have a bit of a bow, which isn't an issue with a seat that has two pads, but could be if that part is solid and flat.

The differences you may notice if you choose a non-OEM seat is that they may not match the exact shape (i.e., they may stick out beyond the edge of the toilet), or they may not be quite as good of a color match. But, given one is porcelain and the other is plastic, they won't look identical in all lighting, regardless. The Toto seats on a Toto toilet very closely match the curves of the toilet and the color. Some people prefer the Bemis because it removes easily, should you want to clean underneath that back hinge area more thoroughly.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WJcandee]

The wooden version is Mayfair 128SLOWA 000, and the plastic version is Mayfair 120SLOWE 000. We have the wood, which are firm; the plastic has a little more give, which many folks like. They look great on our Toto Drakes (and a bunch of other toilets in the house). They have the Whisper Close (slow close) function, the Easy Clean And Change Hinges and Stay-Tite attachment system, which works very, very well. (Instead of a bolt from the seat going through the hole and being secured, you insert separate plastic bolts through the holes, which then lock in place without moving. Then, you slide the seat hinges onto the bolt heads, and slide a clip on the seat hinge to the left, securing the seat to the bolt. When you want to clean, you just slide the clips to the right, and pull up the seat, allowing you to clean the whole area. Takes like 5 seconds to remove and 5 seconds to replace.

 

[SAS]

I have used a Bemis wood seat, a Kohler plastic seat and a Toto seat on Toto elongated toilets. All are soft close. Of the three, I like the Toto least. It provides a solid contact across the back from bolt to bolt. When my grandsons miss a bit I find that I have to unbolt the seat to clean under that portion. The Bemis (which now has an easy remove and clean feature but mine doesn't) at least allows me to clean that portion between the bolts. The Kohler is fine but as someone mentioned, the plastic seats seem flimsier than wood.

I would go with one of the easy clean seats from Bemis or Kohler - your choice between wood and plastic.