Know how tight should toilet bolts be
The bolts of your toilet must be sufficiently tight to maintain its firm position and prevent its rocking during use. However, the bolts must not be overtightened. There is a proper procedure for tightening toilet bolts that you must follow. It involves ample lubrication and a watch for the right fit.
Different types of tools can be employed for tightening. The most common tool utilized for tightening bolts is the air wrench. Ensure that you utilize the bolts in the correct order to accomplish the best fit. Read ahead to know more about the best level of tightness for your toilet bolts.
So How Tight Should Toilet Bolts Be-A Step By Step Guide
One must note that the toilet bolts must never be overtightened. However, they should be sufficiently tight to prevent the unwanted motion of the toilet and keep it fixed in a place. Your reliable guide to tightening bolts can be the sound of metal on porcelain. As soon as the bolts are tightened ahead of the wax ring, you must stop tightening further.
Follow these steps to adequately tighten your toilet bolts
Step 1: lubricate your nuts and bolts
The initial step before beginning the tightening of bolts is to ensure that they are sufficiently lubricated. Extensive lubrication will ensure that the nuts and bolts slide freely into their required position.
Step 2: hand tighten first
Before you utilize a special instrument to tighten your toilet bolts, ensure that they are adequately hand tightened. Make sure that the bolts fit closely against the flange of your toilet upon force application by hand.
Step 3: utilize an air wrench
It is wise to utilize an air wrench for the application of reliable force into driving the bolts firmly into the flange. Set the pressure of your air wrench at a minimum and then use it to tighten the
bolts.
Step 4: choose the correct size of bolts
A toilet bolt serves to create a watertight seal between the toilet flange and the toilet bowl. This seal helps in securing the toilet firmly in one position and preventing any unwanted motion of the toilet during use. You must ensure that your bolts are of the correct size so that there is no possibility of leakage.
You ought to consider the measurement of the toilet bolts from the wall. It must lie between ten and fourteen inches. Twelve-inch distance is most commonly utilized.
Step 5: use bolts in the correct order
It is essential that the bolts be utilized in the correct order for fixing the flange.
Step 6: Caulk around the toilet
You can also choose to caulk around the toilet to ensure a better fit. Only remember that you must leave a gap of about one inch behind the toilet so that excess water can escape. Fitting plastic shims and caulking around the toilet is a good way to ensure that fit of the toilet is snug.
Step 7: check for wobbling of the toilet
Any unwanted movement or wobbling of the toilet during use would mean that there is a loose bolt in the toilet tank. Check the stability of your toilet and ensure that all your bolts are adequately tight.
Prevent the sideways motion of your toilet
The aim of bolting down the toilet is to prevent its unnecessary sideways motion. A rocky or wobbling toilet can be very uncomfortable to sit on. Not only will it spoil your comfort and stability, but a wobbly toilet could also lead to a leakage of sewer gases. A more harmful water leak could even damage the construction of your home.
Ensure that the flange of your toilet is adequately fastened to the floor of your bathroom. It is suggested that you free your toilet of all water and fix down a dry toilet because it wouldn’t rock during work. All the more, it is very important to be careful while tightening the bolts as excessive pressure could result in cracks in your toilet rather than increase its stability.
The most appropriate suggestion is to tighten your toilet bolts only as far as they’ll go comfortably by hand. The rest of the work must be done with an air wrench or adjustable pliers. The direct use of an air wrench might push the bolt too far into the hole.
Don’t over tighten your toilet bolts
It is important that your bolts are only sufficiently tight and not tighter than that. Employ the maximum torque but ensure that the force isn’t too hard. There must not be any cracking of the toilet upon sheer force application. Oftentimes, relevant instructions are supplied along with the bolts so that they are only adequately tightened. At times, the maximum torque that can be sustained by the bolts is mentioned.
Overtightening can also result in snapping screw heads and stripping screws. This could also damage the threading.
Know how to tighten stubborn bolts
Sometimes, you might come across bolts that aren’t so easy to tighten. In this case, you must take the help of adequate instruments such as a plier. If it isn’t possible to turn the bolt with the help of a pair of pliers, secure the nut tightly and bolt it down with the help of a wrench. This should help in turning a nut that isn’t easy to tighten otherwise.
At times, you only require a little extra pressure while firmly holding the bolt so that it is adequately tightened. If the bolt keeps turning without tightening any further, utilize a small set of pliers to clamp the nut underneath. Once the nut is adequately twisted, the wing on the nut would prevent further turning.
Note that you must not stop just when the bolt feels tight. When it feels sufficiently tight, give it another quarter turn to ensure a firm hold.
Know how to tighten seats with no access underside
If your toilet really does not have holes for access on the underside, you must realign the toilet seat and then tighten the bolts. Once the tension has been determined, you can close the lid.
Know how to change hidden bolts
Some toilet seats have hidden hinges. You need protective rubber gloves before indulging in such a procedure. The orientation of the bolts and hinges covering the cap must be scrutinized. Once you remove the plastic case, a simple flathead screwdriver can be utilized to remove the hidden bolts.
Replace bolts without removing the toilet
While it is essential in most cases to remove the toilet before tightening the bolts, there are certainly other means to accomplish this task without disconnecting the toilet. This involves the use of a flat screwdriver through which you can remove the plastic caps on the bolts of the toilet.
The bolts can then be unscrewed in an anticlockwise direction. The nut should be firmly held in your hand during the rotation.
Different types of toilet seats will have different tightening mechanisms
There are more than six different types of toilet seats. Some of them include top fixing sats, quick-release seats, bottom fixing seats, seats with plastic bolts, and seats with metal bolts. The same method of tightening can be utilized for top fixing and bottom fixing toilet seats.
However, the top fixing toilet seats can be tightened directly from the top. Bottom fixing toilet seats require a special wing nut and washer on the bolt. At the same time, the screwdriver tightens the bolt from the top.
Tightening a quick-release seat is done by the press of a simple button. Adequate mounting hardware can be utilized to attach it. The bolt head can be exposed by removing the plastic tabs on top. The bolt can then be tightened with the help of a screwdriver as the wingnut is firmly held.
You need to be extra cautious while fixing a toilet seat with plastic bolts. There always lies a chance of stripping the bolts. A toilet with metallic bolts is generally easier to tighten.
Although, every toilet seat is easy to tighten and doesn’t pose any more of a challenge. You would generally require an adjustable wrench and a flathead screwdriver for this task.
Conclusion
Toilet bolts should be sufficiently tight but must never be overtightened. Over tightening could cause cracking of the porcelain and you might have to replace the whole toilet. The ideal fitness of a bolt is explained by the sound of metal on porcelain. As soon as you hear this sound, you must stop tightening. If there hasn’t been any sound yet, you can keep tightening over the wax ring.
Ensure that the bolts are adequately lubricated during the tightening process. Hand tightening should precede tightening with the help of an instrument. We hope that you will maintain the required caution while tightening the bolts on your toilet seat. Set the right pressure on the air wrench and always use the bolts in the correct order. Happy fixing!