Using a toilet must be one of the easiest things anyone can do. Yet there’s a section of the population that requires assistance for doing this. But no matter how lethargic and immobile these set of people may be, they’ve not been left behind by the fast-paced world. Technological advancements have come to their rescue in different ways, including raised toilet seats.
With raised toilet seats, people with restricted mobility or flexibility, including those with arthritis, or returning from surgery, can walk in and out of restrooms without a hassle. As the name implies, a raised toilet seat is akin to a regular toilet seat, with the only major difference being the extra height advantage that the former has over the latter. In essence, raised toilet seats reduce the degree to which a user must bend to mount a toilet.
Many raised toilet seats offer more than just the elevated height advantage, providing handles and legs for extra support and safety when the user sit or stand over the toilet. In fact, there are different types of raised toilet seats best suited for use by people with varying conditions of health. For instance, some come with unique asymmetrical form factors geared towards people who’ve undergone hip, knee or back surgery. Read on to find out how to choose the raised toilet seats best-suited to specific health conditions..
What Is A Raised Toilet Seat?
As noted earlier, a raised toilet seat is basically a toilet seat that provides a height advantage. Some are adjustable, allowing users to raise and lower them according to their needs. But many others are just a single piece of plastic, and their height is not adjustable. Also, some raised toilet seats are placed permanently atop the toilet, right underneath the existing toilet seat, while others are placed temporarily on the toilet on demand. The portable models placed on-demand are lightweight, made of plastic, with rubber inserts or non-skid padding to hold them securely in place.
On average, raised toilet seats provide an elevation of about 3.5 inches. An increased height implies less bending for seniors and surgery patients, reducing the risk of falls and injuries. Also, since they’re mounted on the toilet seat, they can carry any weight that the toilet itself can hold.
But even if all raised toilet seats can reduce the risks of falling with an elevated height, and can carry any weight that the toilet can bear, you still need to consider many other factors to ensure you’ve made an effective pick. For example, you need to make sure that your chosen model matches with your toilet’s measurement. A good fit is necessary for users’ optimum safety, as a sliding seat might make the user lose balance, resulting in injuries.
Why We Settled For Our Picks
While some unique personal factors determine which is the best raised toilet seat for you, some other general factors are also critical. We’ve chosen our picks based on the latter criteria. We’ve spent copious hours sifting through various products based on these factors. Our picks are high fliers in terms of safety, sturdiness, ease of installation and maintenance, and durability. Since the health of seniors and surgery patients is quite fragile, we’ve ensured our picked can be easily cleaned and maintained to minimize any hygiene-related health risk resulting from the use of the raised toilet seats.
Some of our picks come with a metal frame and padded arms for extra support and comfort. The others in our list that are not raised toilet seats with safety frame come with anti-skid properties.
We’ve not completely ignored personal needs in our selection. We’ve identified the products best suited for regular round and elongated toilet seats, as well as for specific health conditions like arthritis and hip replacement surgery. Besides these, our picks come only from reputable manufacturers, and they also come with reassuring warranties.
Review Of The Best Raised Toilet Seats For 2019
1. Maddak SP Ableware Tall-Ette Elevated Toilet Seat – The Best Extra Width
With a height of 4 inches and a width of 18 inches, this model provides as much comfort and sturdiness as any raised toilet seat can offer. Its frame provides an arm and leg that allows it to be securely attached to the toilet, with enough width to hold users in place comfortably. You can use it both for regular round and elongated toilet seats. The arm sports a foam armrest for extra comfort. There’s also an anti-slip bracket to provide additional support and stability.
Since its height is adjustable, it’s an ideal long-term solution that can be altered to suit your changing personal needs.
Pros
- Excellent anti-slip qualities
- Options for adjusting the height with or without legs
- Snug-fit fixation on the toilet
- Compatibility with both round and elongated toilets
- Easy installation
Cons
- Height adjustment requires trimming the arm padding — extra work.
- Its metal frame makes it quite weighty.
2. Vive Toilet Seat Riser with Handles — Best with Handles
With this model of the raised toilet seat with handles, you get not only an armrest but a sturdy armrest that can stand up to grips, pushing and pulling. Providing greater support and sturdiness, it’s therefore ideal for the elderly and people recovering from surgery, who aren’t strong enough to mount and alight from the toilet seat without assistance. The handles are padded and covered with a soft comfort grip.
The model provides an extra height of 3.5 inches, enough to save seniors and surgery patients the discomforts of squatting. This elevated height, together with the anti-slip handles provides seniors with more than adequate support to sit over and stand up from a toilet.
This raised toilet seat with handles is created for the regular round toilet, but it also has an elongated version. The frame of the handles comes with ample room to accommodate users with various sizes. Installation can be done without the need for just about any tool or special skills. To install it, you simply need to attach it with the supplied screws under the existing toilet seat.
Pros
- Soft, anti-slip grip handles for enhanced safety and comfort
- Fits snugly into the toilet without slipping or sliding
- Split-resistant design for greater durability
- A sizable seat opening that minimizes spillage
Cons
- Installation of the arms might prove quite difficult.
3. DMI Elevated Raised Toilet Seat — Best Height
This model provides seniors and surgery patients with an astounding 5-inch elevation over a toilet. It also provides ergonomic handlebars that further enhance the safety and convenience of usage. The handle flairs out slightly to enhance firmer grip that makes users exert themselves less when getting on and off the seat.
The frame is made from rust-resistant aluminum, making the product less weighty for caregivers and elderly users to move and store. And with three clamps, the fixture can be secured tightly in place. It’s designed to fit with most regular round toilets. However, the model replaces existing toilet seats, and that might raise some issues if the toilet is being shared with others.
At its current price, the product is one of the most affordable; its greater height advantage and lightweight aluminum armrest could have easily commanded a higher price.
Pros
- Great value-to-price ratio
- Can be easily installed without any tool or technical skill
- Ergonomically designed handle that reduces strain when users sit and stand up from the toilet
- Rust-resistant frame and contoured plastic make it easier to clean, store and maintain
Cons
- Replaces existing seats, raising concerns if the toilet is used by others who don’t need raised toilet seat
- Designed only for regular round toilets.
4. Carex Toilet Seat Elevator with Handles — Best for Post Hip Surgery
This is a product from a company with over 35 years of trailblazing history in the self-care and in-home medical devices industry. By raising the height of a toilet by 3.5 inches through a sturdy fixture with padded handles, this product makes life easier for people with mobility issues resulting from aging, surgery, and some medical conditions.
Everything you need to install this raised toilet seat comes in the package, including the bolts, screws and an easy-to-follow installation manual. To install, take out the components and assemble them following the installation manual, and make sure that you fasten it securely to keep it from sliding or slipping during use. The handles are detachable, so you can choose not to use them if you’re running short of space.
There are separate models for standard round and elongated toilets, so you can get one that’s a match for your bathroom.
Pros
- Doesn’t require taking out the existing toilet seat
- Comes with detachable padded handles for firmer support and greater comfort
- Easy installation
Cons
- The metal bolts are more prone to rust, in comparison to nylon bolts used in other products
- There have been several reports of the toilet seat not fitting firmly on the toilet.
Essential Medical Supply Elevated Toilet — Best Elongated
Measuring 19.5 inches in length and 14 inches in width, this model has got you covered if the original weight and size of your toilet is higher than those of standard toilets. The wider opening of elongated seats is better-suited to many seniors because of their plus-size.
With this elongated raised toilet seat, you don’t need to take out the existing toilet seat. Installed under a toilet seat, it provides an additional 3.5-inch elevation to your current toilet seat. It also provides users with detachable padded arms to allow them to sit and stand up from the toilet with less strain. And if the padded arms are rather too clumsy for a user, they can be easily set aside.
Everything needed for the installation is supplied along with the package, including the installation manual. Caregivers can install this elongated raised toilet seat hassle-free.
Pros
- Perfect for elongated seats for plus-sized seniors
- Detachable armrests that make it easy to sit and stand over the toilet
- Breezy installation
- Tight bolts that hold the seat firmly and securely in place
Cons
- The width of the handle frame is too narrow for large individuals
- The product is subject to a no-return policy.
6. PCP Raised Toilet Seat and Safety Frame — Best with Arms and Legs
This seat is a high flier in terms of safety and convenience. It’s built with exceptional attention to details that matter the most to the unique mobility problems of older adults. It gives seniors optimal control over the degree to which they bend when using a toilet, thanks to its adjustable lift. This feature also makes it a viable long-term solution, allowing users to adjust their toilet seat height as their needs change with time.
The product not only provides a raiser, but it also provides a safety frame for enhanced support. There’s a walker-like, medical-grade aluminum safety frame which provides handles for both arms and sturdy legs for well-grounded balance. This raised toilet seat with arm’s handles also comes with a snug-fit gripping texture to further minimize the risks of slips and falls. The aluminum make up of the frame is lightweight, making it easy for caregivers and seniors to whisk it in and out of storage anytime they come in need of it. And if not needed, the frame can be set aside easily.
Pros
- Leg and gripping rubber handles for safe and convenient usage
- A splash guard that prevents spillage
- Adjustable lift to adjust the height according to unique needs
- Easy installation
- Easy to clean, carry and maintain
Cons
- Attached liner are frail and must be changed frequently
- Arm width may be too narrow for larger users.
7. Carex Elongated Hinged Capacity — Best With a Lid
Another release from an industry leader, this Carex raised toilet seat model provides a raiser accompanied by a lid for a higher sanitary standard. It gives an extra 3.5-inch elevation to an existing toilet seat and can hold up to 300 pounds. Also, since you don’t need to take out your current toilet seat to make use of this one, you’ll end up with an extra lid for enhanced hygiene.
The model can easily fit with most elongated toilets. The package comes with everything needed to install the raiser tightly and securely. Older adults will definitely appreciate the stability, safety, and comfort that this product provides.
Pros
- Does not require you to remove the existing toilet seats
- Can fit most elongated toilets and even some round toilets
- Provides an extra lid for enhanced hygiene
Cons
- Despite being designed for elongated toilets, it’s opening is relatively small
- The fixture might turn out a bit unsteady.
8. Yunga Tart Raised Toilet Seat — Best Portable
While most raised toilet seats can only be put to use permanently in one place, this portable model gives you the flexibility of adding extra height to just about any toilet. A highly compact option for trips, this model can be used on-demand in just about any toilet, regardless of the toilet’s dimensions. It’s suitable for use for both elongated and standard round seats. And with a raised seat height of 4-3/4″, the product is ideal for people with arthritis and older adults with restricted mobility in the lower part of their body.
While it comes with a flexible design, it also features 4 anti-skid pads to hold it securely in place regardless of the toilet’s dimensions. To further prevent slips and sliding, the seat sports a contoured surface for extra comfort and stability.
Overall, the product strikes a delicate balance between flexibility and sturdiness, making it a well-rounded portable model. Its portability is also complemented by its lightweightness, making it quite easy to carry about on-demand. Also, the seat can hold as much as 275 pounds and comes with an ergonomic design, featuring hand holes and special grips on the bottom to prevent slips and skids.
Pros
- Recesses at both the front and back of the seat for easier reach during use
- Non-skid pads that hold the seats in place for enhanced safety
- Flexible, yet sturdy design
- Seamless edges that make cleaning easier
- Hand holes on the seat to enhance grip.
Cons
- The opening might be too small for larger adults
- The cutouts may turn out too small.
9. AquaSense Portable Raised Toilet Seat — Best for Budget
Don’t let your tight budget deny you an essential in-home medical device like a raised toilet seat. With this model, you can obtain not only an affordable raiser but a high-quality raiser as well. This product gives seniors a sturdy, comfortable lift to provide them with full confidence when using the toilet.
With an inner lip that makes a snug fit fixation, this AquaSense toilet seat provides up to 4 inches of elevation for their toilet. To further increase its value-to-price ratio, the product comes with a portable and lightweight design that makes it easy to move it around on-demand and even for use when traveling. Also, despite its compact design, it can support up to 400 pounds.
In addition to being easy on your pocket and easy to carry, the product is also easy to install, clean, and maintain. This AquaSense toilet is compatible with most standard toilets.
Pros
- An inner lip that makes for a skid-free, snug-fit fixture
- Adds up to 4 inches of extra elevation to your toilet
- A polythene makeover that makes it easy to clean
- Fits in sturdily on the toilet while also being portable and lightweight for easy carry
- Though it’s designed for standard round toilets, it’s also ideal for larger adults, holding weights of up to 400 pounds.
Cons
- It’s not compatible with elongated toilets
- There are some spaces between the seat and existing toilet seat where liquids can slip into to make a mess.
- Lacks handles and hand holes.
10. Drive Medical Elevated Raised Toilet Seat – Best Overall
This is the best all-rounder in our list. It ticks all the boxes for a convenient and highly reliable raiser, ranking highly in terms of safety, portability, flexibility, adjustability, durability, and affordability. With a height of 5 inches plus an extra 5 inch when arm support is added, this product does an incredible job in minimizing the risks of strains and slips when using the toilet. Any large senior will especially be appreciative of the 18-inch width of this raised toilet seat with arms. The seat can handle weights of up to 300lb, which is far more than what most seniors weigh. With the appendage attached, the seat depth is a snugly 9 inch.
To ensure that all they do is only to enhance comfort, the seat’s handles are detachable. Users can take them off easily when they seem to get in the way. In general, maintenance and cleaning have been made easy thanks to the product’s design. Also, you don’t need any special tools or special skills to install it, as it comes with a simple lock that allows you to buckle it securely in place. The product’s outstanding flexibility implies that it can fit into just about any toilet, whether it’s a standard or elongated type.
Another outstanding aspect of this product is that you’ll be given a window of opportunity to try it out and return it if you find it unsuitable.
Pros
- Flexible, adjustable and affordable
- Adds up to 5 inches of elevation to an existing toilet seat
- Tool-free installation thanks to its simple locking device that snaps it securely in place in almost any toilet
Cons
- Restocking fee is quite costly.
Ultimate Buying Guide For The Best Raised Toilet Seat
Personalized factors That Can Make Your Raised Toilet Seats Unsuitable
As noted earlier, your unique personal needs also dictate what’s best for you when it comes to raised toilet seats. For starters, the raised toilet seat you choose must match the dimensions of your existing toilet to make for a secure fit. The following are other factors that you must consider keenly to avoid making the wrong choice of product.
- Height
Raised toilet seats typically provide extra elevation of 2 – 6 inches to a toilet. The right level of extra elevation for a user should allow the user’s feet to rest freely on the floor, with the user’s knees and hips at a level height. It’s advisable for users to make measurements of the suitable elevation they need before choosing a product, to minimize any margin of error.
- Gender
Raised toilet seats explicitly designed for men come with a cutout in front that reduces the likelihood of users urinating on the seat. Other models come with a splash guard that helps prevent messes.
- Installation and Removal
In many cases where the user shares the toilet with others, a raiser that’s permanently fixated may not make the cut. There are portable models that can be easily attached and removed on demand. But whether it’s designed as a permanent or temporary fixture, the raiser must be attached securely in place to eliminate the risks of slips and falls.
- Component Specifications
Some models come with a metal frame that has a leg, and this provides a whole lot more room for height adjustment. These models can turn out much taller or shorter with or without the legs, so you need to examine these options. Raisers with support frames also come with specifications for their width, so check for that too. The arms of raiser’s metal frame also determine the level of elevation that the product can offer. The arms can also provide extra support to bolster the user’s confidence. However, the arms are usually not designed to bear a lot of weight. If you need a sturdier arm structure, you can consider installing a rail.
- Material
Some users are comfortable with hard, yet durable plastic, but others would prefer the more comfy feel of a padded vinyl seat. Padded seats are the most ideal for people who’re vulnerable to pressure sores.
- Weight Capacity
Raised toilet seats ought to bear as much weight as the toilet itself can bear. Most are designed to support up to 180 pounds. However, for larger users weighing 250 pounds and above, it’s advisable to go for a bariatric seat.
Other Key Consideration For Making Highly Effective Choices
- Price
The cheapest raisers are those that are a single piece of plastic. And as with just about anything, the greater the range of features, the higher the cost. However, it’s always advisable to put safety and sturdiness first when considering the range of features.
- Locks
Raisers without locks can slide more easily than those with one. If a user has stability issues, it’s always advisable to use a raiser that locks onto a toilet. However, seats with locks are more difficult to clean since they can’t be quickly removed.
- Asymmetrical designs
Some models come with asymmetrical designs made specially for patients recovering from hip surgery or any particular health challenge. However, it’s essential to consult your doctor before opting for asymmetrical raisers or any other in-house medical device.
FAQS
- Do I still need a grab bar if I choose a seat with handles?
Handles are designed to carry minimal weight, so if you want sturdier arm support, grab bars and rails are a safer bet. Grab bars stand independent of the seat, unlike raiser handles.
- How long should I use a raiser post-surgery?
Bending around your hip post knee or hip surgery is usually prohibited for many weeks. On average, doctors recommend patients recovering from knee or hip surgery to use raised toilet seats for at least 6 – 10 weeks. Your doctor should be the one to determine this.
- How high should my raised toilet seat be?
Most products come with a height between 3 – 5 inches because this is the usual range of extra elevation best suited for most users.
- How do I clean a raised toilet seat?
Owing to differences in design and installation requirements, each product comes with unique cleaning requirements. However, a typical cleaning step is to rinse with water and then wipe with a wet cloth..
Conclusion
Raised toilet seats can help you cope with the inconveniences of restricted movement owing to the aging process and the vicissitudes of life. They can make life significantly easier for seniors and people recovering from hip and knee surgery. With raised toilet seats, people with mobility issues can avoid seeking assistance for anything other than using a restroom.
Users value the level of independence, which raised toilet seats can offer. Raised toilet seats minimize the energy and effort it takes to get up and down from a toilet, regardless of how many times a user uses the toilet. And given the fact that bathrooms can be hazardous to seniors and people with mobility issues, they’re essential for comfort as much as they are for the safety of the user. Raised toilet seats can provide extra support to help minimize the risk of slips and falls in the bathroom, which may lead to injuries and other health complications.
As such, a raised toilet seat makes the bathroom safer for seniors and people with limited mobility. Whether it’s used along with the existing toilet seat or not, they provide an additional cushion without compromising the user’s safety.
All in all, you need to ensure that your choice of raised seat matches the unique dimensions of your toilet and also suits your personal needs. Nonetheless, we’ve done much of the groundwork for you by reviewing the best raised toilet seats you can buy.