The Best Toilet Locks To Keep Your Bathroom Safe for Kids and Pets

Finding Your Next Toilet Lock: A Buyer’s Guide

Toilet locks may seem a little unnecessary to people who aren’t parents, but anyone with a child can find them to be very helpful. Here’s pretty much all you need to know about toilet locks.

The Struggle of Babyproofing Your Home

One concept that every parent learns eventually is the idea of babyproofing. It’s the act of creating a home or environment that’s safe for babies by limiting access to anything that may be harmful to kids. This can include hazardous chemicals such as bleach or paint, dangerous utensils and tools like knives and hammers or even fragile items like vases and picture frames.

Babyproofing can be a very difficult process, and it’s something you get better at over time. But one place that can be very difficult to manage is your toilet. You can’t just hide a toilet seat like you can with a bottle of bleach. And while you can lock bathroom doors entirely, it can end up being an inconvenience.

That’s why products exist specifically to help make babyproofing an easier process. The use of a toilet lock is one such example — it prevents your kids from using the toilet without making things inconvenient for you in the process.

Dedicated Toilet Locks — A Solid Bet

Toilet locks that are designed specifically for locking toilets are your best bet when it comes to babyproofing a toilet seat. They’re made to support as many different toilet models as possible, and you’re more likely to use this than any other type of toilet-locking mechanism. The advantage of a toilet lock is simple — it’s very easy to use and does its job reliably.

The way that most dedicated toilet locks work is by clicking an extended piece of plastic into place. The plastic then holds the toilet seat lid in place, and if anyone tries to lift the seat, the plastic prevents it from opening. This effectively locks the toilet seat. The only way to open the seat is by unlocking the lock — and you need to move the plastic to the side before you can lift the lid.

While this may seem like a great choice, it comes with one drawback — it doesn’t work on all toilets. Specifically, it doesn’t work on any toilet seat without a flat, 90-degree angled lid. This is due to the design of the lock, it can’t hold a seat in place properly if it isn’t flat. For these sorts of toilet seat lids, you’re going to need something else instead — a latch.

Take a look at this video from Wappa Baby for a visual explanation of installing a toilet lock: 

Toilet Latches — Versatile But At A Cost

Latches are extensions that you can install on almost any flat surface. Once installed, they can either be connected together, with both sides clamping onto each other, or left unconnected. Basically, a latch holds both the toilet seat lid and the base of the toilet together. So, as long as the latch is connected, the lid can’t open. This has the advantage of being able to work with any toilet model, regardless of its shape or design.

If there’s one problem with this approach, it’s that latches are a lot more involved. You need to unlatch and latch the mechanisms every time. There’s also the matter of aesthetics — they won’t look nearly as clean and as sleek as dedicated toilet locks. Sure, aesthetics may not matter much on a toilet of all things, but it’s never a bad idea to have both your toilet and bathroom look presentable.

As for which type of toilet lock is best, there’s no real answer, but if you’re looking for something that’s easy to use and looks better, a good bet is a dedicated lock. Go for latches if you can’t use locks with your specific toilet.