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The toilet is among the most important but neglected parts of our home. Even though it is utilized from time to time, most people hardly think about anything that concerns it since it is expected to work.
However, if you want it to continue functioning correctly, you must learn how to install and maintain it as required.
One of the most overlooked components of your toilet installation is the toilet tank bolts, and questions have been asked about tightening toilet tank bolts. But how tight should toilet tank bolts be?
Toilet tank bolts mustn’t be severely tight, but should be tight enough to ensure that the rubber gasket and seal are snug and leakproof.
Let’s discuss this in detail below!
What Is Toilet Tank Bolts?
Quite simply! The toilet tank bolts are essential to connect the toilet tank and bowl tightly. This connection is a precautionary measure against any form of leakage during flushing. You can also refer to it as tank-to-bowl bolts.
Again, you must always note that these bolts do not bear much strain. In other words, they do not require too much tightening.
The toilet tank bowl seeks to connect the toilet bowl to the tank securely without any leakage. Some bolts may only require tightening with your fingers. Any tightening involving an adjustable wrench must be carefully done.
How Tight Should Toilet Tank Bolts Be?
Given that toilets are produced from vitreous china, overstressing them will result in an unnecessary crack, significantly when you excessively tighten toilet tank bolts.
The surest and safest method is by hand-tightening your nuts on the tank bolts and quarter-turn each of the nuts through an adjustable wrench.
If you are worried about the busting of toilet tanks during home installations, we have suggested the safest means to ensure a functional yet crack-free toilet. Install your toilet bolts using a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench.
Ensure you alternate tightening to enable equal tightening instead of one side. You must tighten the toilet tank bolts by sight and feel. Your toilet’s tight connection may not be similar to the tight installation bolts of your neighbors.
Inspect the tanks for any wobbles or leaks after tightening, and then tighten the bolts a bit whenever your tank seems loose or doesn’t seal the water.
Once your tank sits snug, inspect it for like a day or thereabout. If the leaks persist, tighten the bolts until the toilet stops leaking from the tank bolts. However, if your toilet tank bolts are excessively tightened, they can cause a crack in the toilet tank or the bowl.
Ensure you go for a properly sized wrench as a large wrench while gradually placing too much torque on the toilet bolts.
How to Tighten the Toilet Tank Bolts
The best way to tighten toilet tank bolts is by using your fingers, a screwdriver, and an adjustable wrench. It is straightforward to tighten your toilet tank bolts, which can be completed in a few minutes.
Using the following tips, you’ll be assured of a clear way of tightening your toilet tank bolts without breaking the tank or bowl;
1. Using Rubber Washers
Rubber washers are among the essential requirements for toilet tank bolt tightening. They are readily available in both physical and online stores.
Some of the toilet tank bolt kits come with rubber washers. But you can acquire more, especially when the rubber washers are insufficient.
Given that the toilet contains porcelain, adding a rubber washer between a plastic or metal washer and the porcelain is vital. Place the rubber washer inside and outside your toilet tank, and add the metal flat washer.
The washer serves to absorb strain and avoid cracks during bolt tightening.
2. Tighten the Nuts onto the Toilet Tank Bolts
The second process involves threading the proper nuts onto every toilet tank bolt. You can do it with your fingers, and it could possess two or three tank bolts depending on your toilet model.
If you find it difficult to tighten the nut using your hand, another option is to use a socket wrench or an adjustable wrench. It will help if you choose a small socket or adjustable wrench for this activity.
3. Tighten Every Bolts Equally
Several toilets have model varieties, each with a different number of toilet tank bolts. Some toilet models come with two tank bolts, whereas others possess three. During bolts tightening, ensure you do them equally.
Once you tighten the first bolt slightly, jump to the others and tighten them slightly. That is how you should tighten every bolt bit by bit until you have succeeded in getting a toilet tank that will not wobble.
However, this step is a little time-wasting, but it will ensure you tighten all bolts equally, as unequal tightening of bolts can result in toilet cracks or leaky seals.
How Do I Know When to Stop Tightening?
The best way to know when to stop tightening is to check for wobble. In other words, if your toilet tank is shaky or unsteady, it needs to be tightened more. However, once it stops shaking, you can cease any form of tightening.
Another way to know when you should stop tightening is by checking for any possible leakages, which you must observe for about 24 hours or so.
If there are any leaks, you’ll need to tighten the bolts a little more and in a gradual manner. But avoid tightening the bolts a bit further if there’s no sign of leakage within the timeframe mentioned above.
Conclusion
The toilet tank and bowl are very fragile items and hence require careful handling while tightening the toilet tank bolts. But how tight should toilet tank bolts be?
The simple answer is that it should be extremely tight to avoid breaking the tank or bowl. On the other hand, don’t let the bolts loose to avoid any form of leakage from the tank.
Always remember that the main reason for toilet tank bolt tightening is to hold the tank and bowl together and prevent leakages.
Immediately the rubber washers start squashing or flattening, it is a sign that you have achieved a wobble-free seal, and at this point, it doesn’t require any more tightening.