MAYFAIR 1848SLOWB 000 Toilet Seat will Slow Close, Never Loosen and Easily Remove, ELONGATED, Durable Enameled Wood, White

As the title of my review notes, this is not really the kind of thing you like showing off to your friends, such as that new 4G iPhone or giant HDTV, but nonetheless, it's about the best product of its type available. Just the details, first. First, this toilet seat was much easier to install than most others, because the underbowl plastic nut on the nylon bolt has an integral elongated plastic wing that makes it quite easy to grasp the nut, while the top bolt is tightened with either a phillips or flathead screwdriver. Unlike most other seats, you won't need a pair of pliers to grasp that nut to tighten this one down. Another very clever feature with this is that the seat can be completely removed without the use of tools, simply by rotating both securing latches that cover the boltheads about 90 degrees counterclockwise. The complete seat can then easily be lifted off so that the area under the backside of the hinge can be cleaned, and the seat itself can even be hosed down if needed. Of course, the main selling point of this seat is the "Whisper Close" feature that gently lowers both the seat and seat cover, completely making the characteristic seat crash when lowered, a thing of the past. This feature works so well that I sat on the edge of the tub when I first lowered it, and the whole thing took about a full minute to close fully, first the seat, then the cover. I could BARELY hear each close, and I would not have heard them at all only standing a yard away outside the bathroom. Also, you don't necessarily have to wait for the slow close feature, as you can simply push both down by hand if in some kind of hurry, so you get the best of both worlds. The slow close is a real winner here. I was also favorably impressed with the construction, with the seat being constructed of very stout wood, which did not flex even slightly with even my 230 pounds on it. Some of the cheap plastic seats will flex pretty easily, so this is just right. I also found the hinge assembly very solid, again not allowing the seat to slide sideways, as some of the lesser quality seats have done with me. One more thing that really pleases me with this product is that it is made in USA, a VERY important selling point to me. I like this seat so much that I intend to recommend it to all of my extended family members, or I just might give each of them one of their own. Top shelf product, even if you might get a bit of a chuckle out of a toilet seat review. ***UPDATE*** About a year after I originally bought this seat, the wood screws holding the lid onto its hinge pulled out. I didn't like that they were standard wood screws anyway, so I fixed it by drilling the lid all the way through and using four machine screws with lock washers to keep the nuts from backing out. It's actually better now than as it came stock. The seat is still working perfectly and nearly silently. I'd still recommend it to anyone, but would suggest getting the four machine screws, lock washers, and nuts for the lid.

I searched Lowes and Home Depot and they had this one on sale but it was out of stock. I loved the reviews where they say you can just pop the whole seat out to clean. It was such an easy installation for as girly girl as I am and the no slam is such a treat to have! Now that I have it I can say that the feature of it popping out easy to clean is phenomenal! All toilet seats should have this feature!! I have waited a few weeks to ensure that it stays in place and it has not budged. All previous toilet seats including high end have always shifted. Not this one!!

The seat is almost twice as heavy as the thin cheap plastic one it replaced, but feels and looks more substantial. As comfy as any toilet seat I ever sat on, solid wood with what looks like pretty thick coats of enamel in white all over it. Really neat installation hardware and technique -- two proprietary design bolts which lock into the underside of each hinge mount tab, and two each of the proprietary nuts (really double nuts) all in white nylon. When you put the bolts in the seat mount tabs then drop them thru the toilet bowl from the top, you hand tighten the nylon double nuts, then us a wrench (socket, box end or crescent) to keep tightening up the lower of the double-nuts until you break it off (yes, break it off) leaving the upper nut firmly tightened and in place with a strong tight fit. In essence tightening the lower nut to break off point is like using a poor man's torque wrench -- once the upper-lower nut is tight enough, just a little more effort breaks the lower nut off the upper nut at just the right amount of tightening. Amazing design actually. So you literally cannot over-tighten if you follow the directions. Ingenious. Also, both the lid and the seat have slow closing hinges, so no more midnight "bang" - oops in the dark I dropped the seat or the lid and woke up half the house. Good looking seat too. I don't break toilet lids very often, but I hope I remember the name of this one next time I break another one.

The Mayfair 148E2 toilet seat is vastly superior to our old toilet seats. I bought just one seat at first -- to check it out -- and now I'll buy more for the rest of our bathrooms. Pros: 1. The attachment between the seat and the toilet bowl is easy to set up and much more solid than with the old seats. It attaches with plastic bolts, as usual, but the heads of the Mayfair bolts have a deep slot that accepts either a standard or a Philips-head screwdriver. Our old seat bolts had a shallow, curved-bottom slot and could only be tightened -- weakly -- using a dime. Once you have the bolts in place -- 5 minutes at most -- the whole Mayfair seat locks onto the bolt assembly. There are no awkward, hard-to-pry-off plastic caps over the bolt heads either. 2. Because the bolts can be tightened so thoroughly, the seat doesn't come loose. Our old seats were constantly loosening and shifting sideways, but not the Mayfair. 3. These seats are made of wood and feel much more substantial than the old plastic ones. 4. The seat's quick release knobs let you easily remove it to clean underneath. No one in our house had bothered with that before, but removing the old seat showed me just how much "dirt" can accumulate there! Cons(sort of): 1. The damper that slows the closing of the seat is still pretty tight -- the seat closes reeeaaally sloooowly. Presumably this will improve as the damper mechanism breaks in.

This is the second seat that I have purchased. They are easy to install, very stable to use and comfortable. The slow close mechanism works well and is a real benefit in homes with young children or elderly residents. The only problem I have encountered is that the finish seems to wear off in "rub areas" quite quickly i.e.: within the first year. I purchased the second seat to be able to do a "snap on" change out so that I can refinish the first seat I purchased. A little Tremclad works wonders! Strongly suggest the company invest in a more durable finish as this is the only weakness in the product.