Plastic Toilet Seats vs. Wooden Toilet Seats

Many debates and decisions in the toilet world have the classic answer of “it depends” at the beginning and end of it. The topic of whether or not a plastic toilet seat is better than an wooden toilet seat is no exception…although the answer is usually a little clearer.

Whether you are in need of a replacement seat, are remodeling, or need to buy a toilet seat for a new toilet you’ve purchased, you may need some extra information of which side of the plastic / wooden fence you fall down on. That’s what we’re here to settle.

Types of Wooden Toilet Seats

First off, it should be known that there are actually a couple different kinds of “wooden” seats:

• Actual wood seat
• Enameled wooden seats

Enameled wooden seats can be thought of like a “middle ground” between plastic and pure wooden toilet seats. However, for purposes of this post, we’ll focus on the differences between an actual wooden seat and a plastic seat.

Factors We’ll Consider

To get to the bottom of this debate, we’re going to be weighing several factors and picking a “winner” within each category. Here are the areas we’ll be covering:

Durability

This isn’t as clear cut as you might think. For example, wooden seats have a few things going for them. They are sturdy and strong, and can absorb pressure very well.

However, this has a downside as well: wear and tear on the connective pieces. The hinges are going to be either plastic or metal, and these take a beating over the years because of the weight. These will likely be the first parts to break for a wooden seat. These aren’t hard or expensive to replace, but a hassle nonetheless.

Additionally, as you use the seat and clean it over the years, it’s possible that the the finish will wear down, and the wood will be exposed or crack (just think about all the times it slams shut!). If this happens, the wood could warp with the temperature changes. Remember, bathrooms are extremely humid places, and this could be an eventual death sentence for a wooden seat that isn’t protected from the elements.

Plastic toilet seats are also quite durable. Obviously they don’t have environmental exposure potential that you would have to worry about, which also plays a part in the cleaning (more on that below).

You will still have some potential issues with the connective pieces, but this is less of a problem if you buy a seat that isn’t super cheap. The connections will need to be more durable the heavier the seat is. But again, plastic seats are much lighter than their wooden counterparts, so it shouldn’t be a huge concern.

Comfort

In the last decade or so, the advances of toilet technology and design (yes, that’s a thing) have been substantial. Unfortunately, these advances don’t really stretch into the arena of wooden seat design.

For better or worse, the design of the wooden seat has remained mostly the same as it was 20+ years ago. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you like the “flatness” of the wooden seats to begin with.

Plastic toilet seats, on the other hand, have plenty of tweaks and improvements over the years. For instance, plastic seats are designed to have a specific arch to it, creating a more natural “seat” for you.

Temperature

This could fit into the ‘Comfort’ category, but I believe it needs special attention. Most people will put this solely in the wooden seat win column. The reason for this is because of how plastic can get quite cold in winter months. Who wants to sit on a cold toilet seat? That’s basically torture. Wooden seats remain at room temperature because they can retain small amounts of heat.

However, remember when I said that there have been toilet advancements? One of this advancements is a wonderful thing called heated seats. Forget room temperature, heated toilet seats are a comfortable prospect no matter what the season outside is.

These heated seats come with various settings of heat, and often have other bells and whistles too. Soft closing capabilities, nightlight, etc. Take that, wood.

Closing

Have you accidently slammed a toilet seat down after finishing up? We all have. This can be easily heard throughout adjacent rooms, especially at night. No one wants that.

Unfortunately, again, wood loses the battle here. There aren’t any easy solutions for this with a wooden toilet seat.

On the other hand, a many plastic toilets are soft close seats (newer wooden ones sometimes have the soft close function too, but they often aren’t as good). Meaning, they don’t slam when you close them. Often, you have to physically close them yourself, as they are built to have friction as they close.

Additionally, if you are in the market for an intelligent toilet or a bidet seat, they will often raise up and close automatically. Thus, negating the need for closing it yourself altogether.

Style

Now we have a battle on our hands. There’s no denying it, a nice wooden toilet can make a bathroom really pop. Look at these examples!

Plastic toilet seats generally don’t have the same ‘oomph’ in regards to color. However, their style points rack up when you consider the bidet toilets and smart toilets. Those seats are plastic, and take the shape of the generally futuristic-looking toilet they’re mounted on.

As mentioned previously, they will often have other bells and whistles too. Things like a nightlight and bidet aren’t uncommon.

All that said, the winner here goes to the wooden toilet seat. It’s close, and at the end of the day it really comes down to personal preference.

Cleaning

Cleaning a plastic toilet seat is pretty easy. For the most part, there isn’t any big barrier to keeping them clean. You can use most any cleaner on them, or even remove them altogether and soak them in soapy water.

This isn’t really the case with a wooden seat. Most newer wooden seats have a veneer on them, but that doesn’t mean that you can treat them like plastic either. You have to be careful not to scratch the veneer, for example. If you do, you risk exposing the wood to the air, and that’s a whole other issue that you have to tackle (warping, etc).

And while it isn’t the case every time, some older wooden seats will be harder to take off to clean.

Cost

This is a category that isn’t as up-in-the-air as you might think. One look at Amazon or Home Depot and you can see that plastic toilet seats are cheaper than wooden seats.

The prices of wooden seats are generally dictated by what wood is used. Oak is going to be cheaper than Brazilian Walnut, for example. But regardless, rarely will you see a wooden toilet be cheaper than the cheapest plastic seat.

All that said, if you upgrade either toilet seat from the original seat, you will see both plastic and wooden seats be closer together in price.

Verdict

If we go by the total vote counts, a plastic seat is definitely the more favorable type of seat to use. However, the total score doesn’t tell the complete story. There’s a few categories that are probably up for debate based on your own personal preferences and upgrades: temperature, comfort, and style.

When it comes to you deciding on a plastic toilet seat versus a wood toilet seat, choose what feels best and right for you.