Lid for toilet: varieties, selection tips, installation instructions

Amir Gumarov
Checked by a specialist: Amir Gumarov
Author: Oleg Zubarev
Last update: April 2019

Although the lid for the toilet is just a companion accessory, but it provides convenience when using the bathroom, and many appreciate it. In addition, this is an important aesthetic component. Therefore, a potential buyer should not purchase the first model that catches your eye. Do you agree?

We will talk about how to competently approach the choice of workmanship, shape, seat size for a very important sanitary attribute. The article we presented describes the design of the device and its popular varieties. Based on our tips, finding the right cover will be extremely fast, accurate and easy.

Features of the device cover

Today, manufacturers massively produce both universal covers that are suitable for most classic (oval) toilets, and model ones designed for their specific look.

Each such product serves to provide comfort to the user, to prevent moisture, bacteria, odors from entering the toilet. Why this type of equipment consists of two independent parts that perform different functions.

These include:

  • seat - its task is to provide sufficient convenience;
  • cap, eliminating the spread of odor, bacteria, moisture.

In addition, the entire structure must have aesthetic and hygienic properties.

To make the best choice, you should know that all equipment of the presented type is divided not only by shape, size, but also by a number of other features. This is done because the needs and perceptions of comfort among users are fundamentally different.

Duroplast cover
The lid of this toilet bowl is made of duroplast - a durable modern polymer plastic with high decorative qualities.

The following varieties of caps:

  1. Standard - Designed for adults without special needs.
  2. Special - they are produced for users with disabilities or for other categories. For example, there are folding models for travelers.
  3. Baby - this includes small-sized options made taking into account the anatomical structure of small users. For convenience on the road, they are even folding.

All of the above varieties to meet the needs of people are divided by a number of features. This allows you to take into account many nuances, and a potential buyer just needs to make the right choice.

Varieties of plumbing fixtures

Today, with a pre-installed lid on the toilet, only electronic models and hanging options. For ordinary plumbing products, the seat needs to be selected separately.

However, a person who wants to purchase such a product will not complicate this choice, since only a few factors should be taken into account when buying: dimensions, shape, material of manufacture, functionality.

That is, all that is required from a potential buyer is to combine the necessary parameters relating to four different groups together, and then it will turn out to get the best option for a product that will last a long time.

Why is cap size important?

The user should always remember that the covers are only, at first glance, similar in size. In fact, everything is more complicated - there are hundreds of variations of toilets and accessories for them.

Cap measurement
To get the right model, you need to take measurements from the model you are using or from the toilet itself, this will help make the best choice

But everything is simplified by the universal rule for determining the size of the desired product. It indicates that the size of such a product should correspond to the dimensions of the toilet bowl or slightly exceed them. Moreover, the latter option is considered optimal. This is necessary so that the body does not come into contact with the cold and not always clean surface of the toilet.

Decide on the size toilet seats simple enough - to do this, measure the maximum width and length. And look for an identical option, taking into account the shape of the toilet used.

With the dimensions of the attachment points, everything is even simpler, since the distance between them is always standard. Therefore, it is 150 mm, which will avoid any error.

Form is always important

It should be remembered that the comfort of using the toilet depends on the shape of the lid, so you should be careful about it. When choosing, you need to look so that the product matches the dimensions of the toilet bowl and is convenient.

On sale there are covers of various shapes, for example, made in the form of musical instruments, frogs, ducks. But such design solutions do not always contribute to increased comfort, especially for protruding parts.

In addition, a load may be applied to the protruding sections of the structure, which they will not be able to withstand for a long time, which will lead to premature failure of the cover.

Creating a template will help to avoid mistakes when buying. For this, a piece of polyethylene, paper or cardboard is applied to the installed toilet bowl and its contours together with the attachment points are most accurately outlined. The resulting drawing needs to be cut out - it will be more convenient.

Cover design
Today, the industry offers a huge selection of forms of covers, but before buying it is worth making sure of their practicality, reliability

When choosing a lid, you should always have a blank with you and, applying it to your favorite sample, choose the best option. You can also take a photo of the toilet bowl or the old cover, which together with the measurements will also help to make a successful purchase.

All of the above indicates that you should not choose the shape and size you like among the whole variety of options.It will be correct to select the specified parameters for the corresponding characteristics of the existing toilet.

Production material - the key to durability

Strength, wear resistance, functionality depend on the material, which directly affects the life of the purchased cover. Additionally, antibacterial properties and comfort depend on it.

For example, precisely because of this, metals are not used for manufacturing. They are always cool, which does not add pleasant sensations when the body comes in contact with steel, aluminum and other similar materials.

In view of the listed features, the covers are made of the following substances:

  • plastic;
  • duroplast;
  • PVC
  • wood and other lumber.

Since any type of raw material has its positive and negative sides, a potential buyer needs to get acquainted with each of them. Or after the acquisition, all sorts of surprises are possible, most often disappointing.

Budget option made of plastic

Plastic has only one important advantage - its low cost. At the same time, all the technical characteristics are mediocre. In addition, it is susceptible even to mild mechanical influences, therefore, its most loaded part, the attachment to the toilet bowl, often breaks.

Plastic cap
Plastic covers do not shine with aesthetic qualities, reliability and do not provide the necessary comfort, but they are affordable, and therefore in demand

Relatively low are the decorative qualities of this material. The level of comfort is also ranked among the minuses of any plastic cover - they are the coldest of the rest.

All of the above indicates that a plastic accessory should be treated as carefully as possible and only in this case will it last a long time and will have a decent appearance.

Optimum cover material

With a high degree of certainty, it can be stated that duroplast is by far the best material from which covers are made for all kinds of toilets. Although it is also plastic, but it belongs to high-tech modern products. This is confirmed by excellent performance.

So, duroplast is durable, therefore, it easily withstands significant mechanical loads, including shock. In addition, it does not respond to the effects of many chemicals.

Microlift Lid
In the photo, a duroplast cover with a microlift. This combination gives the user everything you need: comfort, durability, high aesthetic qualities

Aesthetic qualities are also high. Duroplast looks like ceramics, and it also shines the entire period of use, creating the impression of purity and novelty.

Performance characteristics make it possible to equip covers with additional equipment that adds comfort when using:

  • micro lift;
  • auto discharge;
  • water heating;
  • other functions.

And the polymer plastic from which duroplast is made is often mixed with antibacterial additives. Such a solution during the entire operation provides the caps with high hygienic qualities, and this is a significant advantage over other types of materials.

PVC base and soft top

All caps with a soft top were given the name PVC because of the base material, because in fact, the frame of the structure is hard plastic, duroplast, and foam provides softness. The product is multi-layered, which ensures use at high rates of comfort. This option is at its height and aesthetics.

PVC cover
Any PVC cover is characterized by high decorative qualities, practicality, but its service life is short, which is a significant minus

In addition, the PVC coating material perfectly repels moisture, is easy to clean and always looks like new. But such an idyll will not last long - polyvinyl chloride wears out quickly, so the seams diverge, scuffs appear. As a result, such a product will often have to be changed.

And you need to know that it is not worth repairing the PVC cover, since the decomposition process cannot be stopped. Attempts to reanimate coverage will not lead to anything - time and money will be wasted. Typically, the service life of any PVC-coated cover does not exceed a moderate 3 years.

Expensive and not always practical tree

We can definitely say that wood, particleboard, MDF are environmentally friendly and warm materials, that is, they provide sufficient comfort in contact with the body. Otherwise, such covers give users a double impression.

As for the service life, it directly depends on the level of the manufacturer and the quality of the materials used. That is, a wooden lid can be quite durable, attractive and comfortable.

But in many cases, everything is exactly the opposite, so the service life of such products does not exceed 5 years. This happens due to poor-quality treatment with moisture repellents, as a result of which the tree begins to rot after contact with moisture.

In addition, aesthetic qualities and comfort are often mediocre. And the products from the tree itself, in addition, are quite heavy and can even cause injury to the child or damage to the toilet.

You also need to know that a wooden lid will be an appropriate design decision if other elements from this material are used in the decoration of the bathroom. In other cases, such a product will look out of place.

Wood lid
The wooden cover should be combined with other elements of the bathroom decoration or it will be just an alien and eye-cutting object

And wooden equipment is much more expensive than its plastic counterparts, and for many potential buyers this is also a weighty argument to refuse to choose a lid made of wood.

A purchased plywood product will provide only durability, as it has an impressive margin of safety. All other characteristics are below any criticism, in addition, sets in the form of a seat and a cover are not made of this material, because it is suitable for the manufacture of only seats.

A few words about the functionality of products

Modern covers are capable of providing not only the performance of traditional operations, which significantly expands their capabilities.

For example, a microlift has become far from uncommon. Its task is to lower the lid without any harsh and unpleasant sounds, which are a depressing feature of many toilet accessories. Additionally, this mechanism protects structural elements from damage.

Multifunctional products are becoming more popular. equipped with bidet, control panel, other technological solutions.

With their help, the user is able to adjust the temperature of water heating, activate all kinds of functions, including washing, draining. It is also easy to control the height of the lid, program its automatic closing, opening, and set other commands.

How to choose a cover?

The first item when choosing a fixture should be a check for compliance with the size of the toilet. This point is especially relevant in view of the fact that the standardization of such equipment is rather arbitrary. This feature can lead to annoying errors. As mentioned above, the best option is if the product is slightly larger than the toilet itself.

Children's folding cover
Children's folding lid can be useful both at home, and on a visit or on a trip. Its advantage is that manufacturers take into account the features of this category of users.

Next, you need to address the issue of strength, because only it will provide durability. To do this, they pay attention to the quality of materials, read reviews about the selected model, and also make sure that there are no damages, which can be cracks, chips.

In addition, the following points should be monitored:

  1. Comfort to use. This applies not only to the appropriate form, but also to checking the sharpness of the closing sound - it annoys many users. Additionally, it is worth paying attention to checking for the presence / absence of roughness, nicks, because such defects are a significant minus.
  2. Functionality, which must fully meet the requirements of the potential buyers themselves.
  3. Aesthetics. The cover, in addition to what future owners should like, is required to fit into the interior of the bathroom.

If the buyer can allocate a round sum for the purchase of a cover, then you need to look at the multifunctional products, as they are able to provide a much higher level of comfort than traditional equipment.

DIY installation features

The procedure for installing the cover is quite simple, so you can easily cope with it yourself. And without using any special and rare tool.

First remove the old cover. A wrench of the appropriate size or pliers will help to cope with this, if it is attached to the toilet with plastic or brass bolts. The listed fasteners are not subject to corrosion, so it is easy to unscrew them.

Cover removal
Removing the old cover may be the most difficult stage of work, but there are many simple ways to unscrew the rusted bolts

Next, you need to clean the toilet shelf from traces of dirt. To install the purchased cover, use plastic or brass fittings. This is done due to the fact that steel products in the wet environment of the bathroom quickly corrode.

Lid mounting
Installing a new cover consists in baiting and tightening the connection, that is, it is a very simple operation, which any owner of this thing will handle

At the next stage, it is necessary to place the purchased cover on the toilet and make the cooked screws. Further, the connection is simply delayed, after which the work is considered finished.

If you purchased a multifunctional device, then the owner will definitely have to use the services of professional installers.

With the rules of choice and installation guide bidet-console for the toilet will introduce next article, which we recommend reading.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The first video will provide an opportunity to better understand the types of lids for the toilet:

The following material describes how to choose the right cap size:

You can find out about the advantages of a cover with a micro-lift and how to install it in the video:

Choosing the optimal cover is quite simple. All that is required for such a procedure is a small amount of knowledge and attentiveness, because such products are not subject to strict standardization.

And this leads to the fact that the market has a fairly large number of sizes, shapes of lids for toilets. Installing a new accessory in the workplace will be easy.

Tell us about how to choose and install a seat for your own toilet. Share what has become the decisive argument for you in your choice. Please write comments in the block below, post a photo on the topic of the article, ask questions.

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Visitors Comments
  1. Ekaterina

    In the bathroom, a microlift from a budget plastic was once installed on our toilet bowl a long time ago.If I had taken an interest in advance, before buying the cover, I could have avoided the early breakdown of this micro-lift, we’ll already put a duroplast cover in the new apartment. As for the children's pad, after reading the author’s work, I still do not understand how old it should be used? On a visit we carry our own pot, it is more convenient and familiar with it.

    • Expert
      Amir Gumarov
      Expert

      Hello. Children's pad can be used from the age when the child is taught to the potty. I know quite a few cases when a child did not want to go to the potty, and went to the toilet with pleasure (of course, with his mother’s / father’s support), especially because he was interested in how the flush works.

      So, there are practically no age restrictions. The only thing is, up to 4-5 years old, you should not leave a child alone on the toilet even with an overlay.

  2. Pavel

    About duroplast I agree. Today it is the best option for plumbing parts. But wooden products are doubtful ... Any wood, no matter how it is processed, is not suitable for use in rooms with standard high humidity. Very often the bathroom is combined, and from here there will be problems. Is not it so?! If I'm wrong, you can correct it. I want to trim the lid on top with leather (so that when closed it was, so to speak, a stool), the skin is easy to clean, and this finish will not give additional load on the lid.

    • Lev Vlasov

      Answering your question, yes indeed, in order for the tree to serve in a humid environment for a long time, firstly, you need to use certain hard varieties, and secondly, process it qualitatively. And even in this case, everything may go wrong.

      As for the leather upholstery, here again, I would apply it to a wooden lid, I would also fill it with soft filler. But the question is, does this make any practical sense? Well this is not a throne, what would it be convenient to sit on it. And cash costs will be more substantial. I personally use the most practical option - a duroplast lid.

  3. Nikolay

    It seems to me that the toilet as well as the bathroom are places for the embodiment of your creativity. I really liked the ideas presented above, especially the version with a lid in the shape of a guitar. Why not?! As it turned out, purchasing this product is not so simple. Most plumbing stores in our city offer standard combinations that have long been in circulation.

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