Responsible house owners consciously approach the process of choosing a toilet seat. It must be practical, beautiful, and durable. You can read more about which is better: wood or plastic toilet seat toilet seat in this article.
Selection of the toilet seat material
Before proceeding with the choice of wood vs. plastic toilet seat, you should determine the features of each material.
It is with this parameter that it makes sense to start the comparison. If you prefer warm seats, consider wood options.
The wooden toilet seat has a more attractive appearance.
Wooden toilet seat makes the bathroom more beautiful and is the best solution for traditional designs.Many people wonder what type of material is best for a toilet seat. It all depends on your preferences and capabilities.
Wood does not as resistant and durable as plastic. Often, plastic toilet seats are made from a thermoset or thermoplastic material.
Thermoset plastic toilet seat is more expensive. However, it is not practically covered with scratches, even in case of active use.
Both options are durable. These are good designs for a home toilet that is visited every day.
Plastic toilet seats have a variety of designs, so you can find the best option for your bathroom.
However, plastic is very cold, especially if it gets colder. In winter, plastic toilet seats do not very convenient.
The main nuances that you should pay attention to when choosing toilet seats
To answer the question of which seats are better, you should familiarize yourself with several features. You can read more about wooden and plastic seats below.
Comfort
Everyone is looking for comfort, and toilet seats are no exception. Some people can spend a long time in the toilet. Plastic toilet seats can be a little brittle and cold.
If you use wooden toilet seats in winter, you do not experience any cold. During the manufacturing process, the wood is processed and finished especially.
Therefore, the seats are considered very comfortable. However, the choice still depends on your preferences.
Durability
Wooden toilet seats last longer than plastic toilet seats. The material is stronger and heavier, so you need to make great efforts to deform it.
In the case of a plastic toilet seat, you need to be careful because the joints can crack.
It is possible that after a few months, the plastic toilet seat breaks. If you are looking for a toilet seat that lasts a long time, opt for the wooden toilet seat.
However, it is important to pay attention to how they were processed for protection. After all, it affects wear.
Wooden toilet seats can scratch, resulting in a shorter lifespan. Given that the bathroom has rather high humidity levels, the material can swell and deform.
Moisture resistance and cleaning the toilet seat
As you know, high humidity levels can affect the material. The toilet seat must be resistant to moisture.
Often there are traces of urine on the toilet seat, so careful processing of the wood is required. If this is not done, the wood toilet seat is wet all the time.
Often, wooden toilet seats are covered with mold and other odors that begin to annoy a person. You can avoid such troubles by using plastic toilet seats. Plastic toilet seats are easy to clean.
The closing softness of the toilet seat
On the market, there are options with soft closing, which are made of both wood and plastic. If the closure is abrupt, the surface may crack and warp, requiring replacement.
Often it is the plastic toilet seats that close softly. After all, wooden structures have a heavy lid, which can not only close loudly but also burst.
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Design of the toilet seat
As you know, the better the appearance of the toilet seat, the more attractive the bathroom seems.
Therefore, when choosing a toilet seat, you need to carefully examine it, and also imagine whether it fits into the design of the bathroom.
Choose toilet seats that are combined with other details in the room. If shelves and other wooden elements are installed, wooden toilet seats should be chosen to avoid contrast.
If the furniture in the bathroom is made of plastic, then the toilet seat should also be chosen from such material.
On the market, there is a wide range of shades and patterns of toilet seats. Select those toilet seats that can satisfy all your needs.
Noise factor
Wooden toilet seats are heavier. Therefore, when closed, they can make a loud sound. If you live in an apartment not alone, then you risk waking up the household at night.
The plastic toilet seat has a “soft close” feature. In the wooden toilet seat, unfortunately, you do not find this.
That is why, if you are looking for a quiet design, pay attention to plastic toilet seats. Soft closing prolongs the life of the seat, and you do not injure your little fingers.
Advantages and disadvantages of wooden toilet seats
If you are wondering, what is better a wood or plastic toilet seat, then you can answer it only after studying the pros and cons.
First, you should familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of wooden toilet seats.
Pros
The main advantages of the wood toilet seat are:
- attractive and stylish design;
- density and high weight;
- frost resistance;
- the possibility of grinding with sandpaper to renew the varnish;
- expensive appearance.
Minuses
The main disadvantages of the wood toilet seat are:
- high price;
- instability to deformation;
- instability to moisture;
- difficulty cleaning.
Pros and cons of plastic toilet seats
If you’re thinking about buying plastic toilet seats, take a look at the pros and cons first.
Advantages
The main advantages of the plastic toilet seat are:
- budget cost;
- ease of cleaning;
- ease of operation;
- a wide variety of designs;
- resistance to scratches and moisture.
Flaws
The minuses of the plastic toilet seat are:
- over time, the shade may fade;
- some models look cheap;
- cooling in winter.
FAQ
In the process of choosing a toilet seat, users ask a lot of questions.
Is a wooden seat considered unhygienic?
You need to understand that wooden toilet seats have a more porous texture when compared with plastic options.
That is why various kinds of liquids can penetrate the porous material, which cannot be said about plastic options. That is why wooden structures are not considered hygienic and are slightly inferior to plastic.
If you do not skimp on the goods and select more expensive seats, excellent workmanship distinguishes them. This allows the coating to be more resistant to germs and bacteria.
How to care?
If you constantly monitor the cleanliness of the wooden seat, then you can easily maintain the hygiene of the wooden seat.
If even a slight crack forms, it is likely that bacteria begins to develop. Also, the smell of urine increases in the bathroom, which is very bad.
Why do cracks form in wooden seats?
Wood is considered a natural material. That is why wooden toilet seats can quickly crack. Often this happens if you close the wood toilet seat cover incorrectly.
The wood can shrink and decompress when the weather begins to change. In the cold season, the wood toilet seat shrinks, and as soon as it warms up, the wood heats up and swells. This is what causes cracks to form.
Cracks can appear because the wooden seat has been in contact with high levels of humidity for a long time.
What to do with yellow spots on the plastic seat?
If you purchased a white plastic toilet seat, it gets dirty over time. It is on the white color that traces of urine stains are most noticeable. That is why the operation must be careful.
Periodically, and preferably every day, clean the plastic seat with special antibacterial cleaners. This allows it to stay in its original shade longer.
Cleaning work is recommended to be carried out with a soft cloth or sponge. Choose tools that do not have abrasive particles to avoid scratching the plastic seat.
Why does yellowness appear on plastic seats?
In most cases, yellow plastic toilet seats stain is a sign of urine accumulation. However, yellowness is often formed as a result of the prolonged use of toilet seats. At the same time, you can handle it with care; however, it is quite difficult to prevent yellowness.
This can be explained by the fact that the plastic used in the manufacture of toilet seats is quite cheap. Therefore, over time, plastic on the toilet seats begins to decompose. With active use, plastic seats change their shade.
The paint, which is covered with plastic, begins to fade. Therefore, an imitation of transparent vinyl appears. Yellow spots on the toilet seats do not always indicate the accumulation of urine. It is possible that yellowness formed over time, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.
Wood vs. plastic toilet seats: results
As you can see, there is no clear answer to the question regarding the choice of wood vs. plastic toilet seat. It all depends on what your budget is, as well as the design of the bathroom. You should also determine how much you plan to use the seat. If a temporary option is required, it is better to stay on plastic seats.
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This is really a choice … For a long time I could not collect all the pros and cons in my head. Thank you for doing this for me!