Tank Lid Handling Tips

Below are some tips to help you avoid damaging your toilet tank lid.

Toilets and their tank lids are made of vitreous china. This vitreous, glazed surface is glass-like and therefore smooth and slippery, the same as glass. The china body is made of clay, much like pottery, and therefore heavy, the same as pottery.

Toilet tank lids weigh 10 pounds on average. The ratio of a lid's weight to its size is high. This is deceiving to one's natural instinct when seeing a lid and deciding how to pick it up.

In summary, toilet tank lids are heavy, slippery, and fragile. So, with these factoids in mind, here is how we recommend you handle toilet tank lids:

Handling a lid:

~ Handle with dry hands only.

~ Always use two hands.

~ Lift and carry from the under-side.

~ When removing or installing a lid, stand or sit directly in front of the toilet and hold the lid on the left and right sides.

~ Use care not to hit or bump the lid against the tank.

Storing a lid off of a toilet:

~ Do not lean it vertically against a wall or other support. (Odds are it will slip, fall, and break.)

~ Do not set the lid on, or in contact with, a hard surface such as tile, marble, cast iron, steel. (If you must do this, insulate it with a towel or blanket.)

~ Do not set the lid on a counter. (Odds are it will get bumped and fall.)

~ Do not store the lid in the bath tub. (Odds are it will slip, fall and break.)

~ Do not set the lid on the floor. (Odds are it will get kicked and broken.)

~ In other words, do not store the lid in the bathroom. Take it to a bedroom and set it on the bed. (Then place an orange cone on top of it. ...Just kidding!)

~ Second choice is another room on carpet or a cushioned chair with side arms.