I replaced the toilet seat on our most used toilet less than two years ago. I can’t remember what was broken on it. I think it might have been the little things that the seat rests on. I replaced it was a Bemis toilet seat from Home Depot. But this last week, this toilet seat broke. It was the hinge part. So as you sat on it, it might slide around a little bit. I don’t mind replacing stuff, but two years seems like a pretty short life for a toilet seat.
I thought I might try gluing the broken hinge as a temporary solution. I thought I had some two-part epoxy in the garage. So I removed the broken hinge part, and got the epoxy out. I had used it before, but had the little cap on. I popped the plastic cap off, and tried to squeeze some epoxy stuff onto a paper bag so I could mix it together. Unfortunately, I could only get the one part to come out, and not the other. I finally gave up, and threw it out into the trash.
I headed to Home Depot to maybe buy some more epoxy. But while I was there, I decided to look at toilet seats. I didn’t particularly want to cough up $40 for a toilet seat. But I found they had some less expensive toilet seats. I didn’t need anything fancy. Just a reasonably solid toilet seat. There was a Bemis toilet seat similar to what we had, or maybe a little cheaper for $12. Hey, that’s as bad as I was expecting. And there was another one for $15. The one for $15 had a stronger looking hinge. Both seats had a new feature that allowed them to be easily removed from the toilet for cleaning, but releasing a couple latches. Great idea! I ended up buying the $15 seat. I wasn’t sure if the epoxy would even hold, and it might have been a cheesy fix anyway. $15 isn’t bad. I just hope to get more than a couple years out of it.
I too like the writer of this article had my toilet seat hinge on a Bemis crack and fall apart. I called them and to my suprise they don’t sell replacement parts. Imagine that—no way to replace a simple hinge. I would never, ever buy Bemis again. I called them and basically they were no help at all. It’s a wonder they’re the biggest seller with a policy like that. I fixed the problem and I look elsewhere if it breaks again.
Comment by Don — November 12, 2009 @ 12:50 am
I’m on the second Bemis toilet seat in less than five mounths.The hardware store where I bought it replaced the seat the first time.Put the seat on and the hinge didn’t last a week before it broke.I have an old bemis seat that the hinges are made different and I have had no trouble from.There seems to be a flaw in the new hinges that cause them to break.This is the last bemis seat I will have.
Comment by george — February 16, 2010 @ 9:42 pm
Its a real shame that they dont sell the hinges, it seems strange that they don’t. Maybe its a ploy to get you to buy a new seat. Try a different brand.
Comment by garage roller shutter doors — May 26, 2010 @ 11:10 am