It is definitely time for a new toilet seat. You drive for an hour to your local plumber’s, discount or DiY (Do it yourself) store and pick up a new one. You get out the tool box and remove the old sit upon which is when you discover that there is more than one standard size in toilet seats on the market. You bought the wrong size seat replacement…
Please avoid the following scenario which once happened to me in a German DiY store:
I was observing the consumer behaviour of people shopping toilet seats. There was one elderly woman who had a toilet seat in her hand – obviously it was none of the DiY store’s seats, but HER OWN WHICH SHE BROUGHT FROM AT HOME. Even worse: she approached me and asked me to find a correct size toilet seat for her and then I had the doubtful pleasure to watch her seat from very close. It wasn’t the cleanest one I have seen in my life. And then she even asked me to hold this seat for a moment…
As mentioned: selling toilet seats is a real adventure!
Points to measure
A: Measure from post hole to post hole at the back of the seat area. The standard measurement is
about 155mm (5 and 1/2 inches for US pots) between the holes.
B: Measure the width of the bowl where it is the broadest.
C: Hold the measuring tape at the center front of the toilet bowl and stretch it to the center of the hinges between the post holes.
In the USA, you will find mainly two seat shapes:
– round (measurement C about 16.5 inches)
– elongated (measurement C about 18 inches, most frequently used in commercial applications)
Record your measurements!
Most common European shapes
Examples of “round” and “elongated” shapes – mainly used in the USA
Round toilet seat
Open front seat
Open front toilet seats are most common in public restrooms (airports, hospitals). The seat looks like a U. There is some debate over why the U design developed. Some say it protects the toilet from drips during male urination, while others claim it safeguards people from spreading disease since the genitals do not touch that area. Another explanation is that it helps cleaning less abled persons.
Children’s seat
A children’s seat accommodates both adult and child users equally, making it the perfect seat for
all of your potty training needs. With a children’s toilet seat, toddlers can use the seat with confidence, knowing it is sized to hold them, is securely attached to the toilet, and will not shift underneath them. Once your toddler no longer needs it, the child seat can be easily removed. many models today come with the potty seat which secures magnetically into the cover when not in use to reduce clutter.
Raised or elevated toilet seat
If you have ever had back trouble or serious surgery, you know how important a raised toilet seat can be. By increasing the height of the bowl, it helps you getting up.
Not every raised toilet seat is alike. The key in selecting a raised toilet seat is to educate yourself about the types, and then select the one that best meets your needs.
Once you have measured your toilet pan, use the toilet seat finder form on this webpage for free, and I ll help you to find a toilet seat which will fit perfectly on your toilet pan!
The fastest option to find a good seat is my recommendation for a universal toilet seat which you can buy at Amazon.
All you will get is a link to Amazon which shows you the seat which I recommend. For sure I do not give you any guarantee that this seat will 100% for fit your toilet, but it did so far in 99% of all cases. Trust me, it is really a great seat and good value for money.
So simply click below to buy my “recommendation for the best toilet seat”.
OEM seats
OEM means original equipment manufacturer. We understand manufacturers of sanitary ware or simply spoken “ceramic bowl” manufacturer by OEMs. Very famous producers are companies like Roca, Toto, American Standard, Ideal Standard, Sanitec group (Keramag, Ifo, Ido, Slavuta etc.).Whenever these companies launch a new toilet bowl on the market, they ask toilet seat manufacturer to develop a toilet seat which fits perfectly on the new bowl. As a result of this, you will find 1000 of different toilet seat shapes on the market, but some of them are very famous and have penetrated the markets very well.
You can normally buy the original OEM toilet seat at a plumber’s merchant or any professional trade, but not necessarily in a DiY store, because the toilet seats in DiY stores have a more universal, standard shape.
If you want to replace an OEM seat and you know hte name of your toilet bowl manufacturer, the offers you will get are normally very highly priced, as you will get the “original” seat.
But there is a solution to this: normally you can also find some far cheaper copies of the original OEM seat.