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Ugly toilet seat? Here’s how to swap it out in minutes

Step-by-step repair

ORLANDO, Fla. – Destiny’s toilet seat was peeling and stained (ewwww!) – so I showed her how to remove it and replace it.

A lot of people think an old seat means getting a new toilet, but that’s not the case at all. We purchased a $20 plastic replacement seat at Walmart. Just make sure to buy the right seat for your bowl! Bowls generally come in round and elongated standard sizes.

If you have a project you’d like Erik to tackle, send us an email at GettingResultsAtHome@wkmg.com and next week Erik might just show up at your door!

We purchased:

Elongated toilet seat

We brought with us:

1/2″ wrench

Flat-blade screwdriver

Step 1

Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Remove the old seat. This is easy. There are 2 screws holding the seat in place usually hidden by caps at the seat hinges. Flip up the caps (you might need to use a flat-blade screwdriver) and unscrew the screws - sometimes you can do this by hand, otherwise use the screwdriver.

Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)
Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Step 2

Assemble the hardware on the new seat. The seat we purchased is held in place by similar but different screws. We put both screws each through square washers and then dropped the screws and washers into the two hinges. On the other side of the hinges (bottom of the seat), we screwed one small plastic nut onto each screw to hold the hardware in place. Then we placed the seat over the bowl.

Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Step 3

Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Tighten the hardware. The seat comes with 2 large plastic nuts. Screw each nut onto each screw sticking out under seat as tightly as possible using your hand. Then, grab a 1/2″ wrench or socket (pliers work too) and tighten the big nut the rest of the way until it breaks off. Yes, the end of the nut will break off! That’s an intentional design, that’s how you know it’s tight but you don’t overtighten. Close the caps covering the screws and you’re done!

Getting Results At Home: Ugly toilet seat? Just swap it out in minutes! (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

You just got results at home!


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