When we talk about household maintenance, we often think of the most common areas like roofing, plumbing, electricals, etc. While those are considered major ones, it is important as well not to neglect tiny or “not so common” household stuff that in the long run might actually need attention too.
The toilet is a part of our everyday whereabouts regardless when we’re at home or travelling. For the most part, it’s our to-go place when nature calls, or perhaps spending our alone time when the kids annoy us, honestly speaking. We even get to spend minutes sitting “on the throne” while scrolling through our phones. One survey says that an average Australian uses the toilet for at least 30 minutes a week with a smartphone for some entertainment. Do the math and yeah that’s 26 hours per year!
With so much use of toilet seats, when do we actually know when to change and replace it? Or is it even replaceable even though it’s not broken yet?
How long do toilet seats last?
Toilet seats don’t have expiration dates so we think it’s not something that we should replace regularly. Like any other hardware and furniture, we tend to replace it when it’s broken, worn out, or even if we just don’t feel comfortable anymore, because why not? Still, according to littleupgrades.com, an average toilet seat lasts for up to 5 years. In addition, there are also many factors on the life span of toilets; materials used, frequency of usage, and even the room temperature.
Reasons to change your toilet seats
Toilet seat is home to so many bacteria. Disease-causing germs tend to inhabit there even if it’s cleaned regularly. For safety reasons, it is practical to buy new toilet seats change your current toilet in order to prevent colonies of bacteria from multiplying. Still, we tend to be careful as other bacteria like Vibrio cholera, which is found in human feces, causes over 100,000 deaths a year (Fetlman, R., Kaplan, S., The Washington Post, 2016).
Furthermore, when your toilet seats are already stained or the finishing is worn off, it’s probably best to change and replace it. Stains can be an indication of bacteria build-up from urine or other external factors or perhaps your toilet seats are already really old. Apart from the growth of bacteria, stained toilet seats may already seem to be pretty disgusting so why let it bother you?
Toilet seats vary on the materials used. Thin toilet seats tend to break with heavy usage, thus it’s not for a household full of people. If you feel your toilet seats are already about to break, then it’s time to go to the nearest home depot and replace with a new one.
Buying a new toilet seat
First thing to look after when buying a toilet seat is its durability. The durability of thick toilet seats have the capacity to withstand a lot of uses. This is to make sure it never gets broken easily even with so much weight. Moreover, if you’re not on a tight budget, you can also opt for acrylic and polypropylene toilet seats; it does not absorb liquid too much, which can also prevent stains from occurring. Plus, it comes in many colours and designs. Just always make sure the cost exceeds the use.
You can also choose toilet seats made to a soft close. Usually, we hear a loud bang when we drop our toilet covers after using. With the soft close feature, toilet cover goes down inch by inch and finally closes after a few seconds to avoid heavy impact on the seat. So much for loud toilet bangs in the middle of the night!
We possibly think that our toilet seats are okay, but for some reasons they may be actually not. Health, hygiene and safety are top considerations so better yet be mindful. Again, you get to sit on it everyday, so why take your comfort at risk than changing for a new one already?
