My toilet seat keeps sliding sideways!

[David W.E. Roberts]

Hi,

O.K. I should lose weight and keep the movements to a minimum (..err...don't shuffle my bum around...) but still the seat insists on sliding sideways.

It is a standard fitting - round brass(ish) plate at the top, plasic washer, stud which goes down through the (large) hole in the porcelain (no, not the largest one, just large in relation to the stud size, oh..) and plastic/nylon nut underneath.

As far as I can tell the only thing holding the seat steady is the friction between the nylon washer (above) the nylon nut (below) and the shiny porcelain.

Does anyone have any tricks to make this arrangement more stable?

I am even considering trying to pack the holes out with plastic pipe and silicone sealant but this is a last resort.

TIA Dave R

[Nigel Mercier ®]

Other way around, wrap tape around the studs.

[Serial Bodger]

Have had his problem in the past. The seat would get so lose that I was afraid I would end up in the bowl ;-)

The problem appeared to stem from the fact that I could never get the nylon nut tight enough to stop the seat from slowly working it's way lose.

The seat I had a M6 metal screw stud which affixed to the hinge, went trough the holes either side then through a nylon/rubber washer and finally a nylon nut. I popped to the local shed and got my self a M6 metal wing nut, a M6 large metal washer, and a M6 star washer.

Reassembled tightened up as far as I dared and the seat never moved again.

Hope this helps..

[Mary Fisher]

I was going to re-name the adviser Big Hammer Jackson but Serial Bodger is even more appealing.

Mary

[David W.E. Roberts]

Given the gap it would be about one roll of tape per stud :-( This is why I was looking at bulkier options such as pipe. I don't want to use anything which fastens the seat in permanently in case I want to remove/renovate/change it later. Also, knowing my luck, it would fix in permanently just off centre at a really irritating angle. Me, pessimist?

Dave R

[David W.E. Roberts]

Update - the cheap and shonky nylon wingnut things underneath have partially disintegrated. The 'washer' part which presses against the porcelain has crumbled. However, if given lemons make lemonade :-)

It turns out that if you trim the nylon wing nuts down, removing washer and finger grip wing bits, you are left with a tapered nylon plug which screws up the M6 stud to hold the top washer in place against the brass plate, and fits snugly into the hole in the porcelain.

Marginally too long, but rather than cut it down I am going to get an M12 washer to go with the M6 washer to spread the load, and then screw the whole thing together and hopefully have a stable bum at last :-))

Cheers Dave R

[Serial Bodger]

Good Bodge :-)

-- "If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger hammer"

[Phil Addison]

Take care if using metal washers. That area gets an aerosol spray of acid pee around it, and will corrode. I noticed B&Q are selling a kit of plastic cone washers designed for your purpose. I find that using silicone sanitary sealant to glue the flat part to the pan is pretty effective.

You can make a handy tool for positioning and tightening the awkward wing nuts by cutting slots into the end of a short length of 15mm copper pipe. Steel would be more durable but 15mm copper is likely to be to hand.

-- Phil Addison The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

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