Which Toilet Seat Height is Best for You?

Did you know there are different heights for toilet seats?

Which one is best for you?

We’re going to go more into depth on different toilet seat heights and which height would work best for you in your situation. Keep reading to find out or watch the video below!

Toilet Seat Height

When I talk about toilet heights, I’m talking about the height between the top of the toilet seat and the floor in inches. For a standard toilet height, you’ll typically find the height will be between 14-16 inches tall.

Toilets that are taller go by many a name: comfort height toilets, chair height toilets, and ADA toilets. All of these toilets range in height between 17-19 inches. Some of these toilets are available in even taller heights up to 21 inches!

Benefits of the Right Toilet Height

Having the right toilet seat height is more important than you realize.

When you have the right toilet seat height and your feet are flat on the ground, you stand up better, you sit down better, and you wipe better! If you’re sitting on the toilet and you find that your feet are dangling, you’re working your body harder to keep your balance. You’re actually giving yourself an unnecessary ten minute core workout!

Toilet time does NOT equal work out time, my friend!

The goal is to sit on the toilet with your hips, knees, and ankles at 90 degree angles after sitting down, while you wipe, and before you stand up from the toilet. This position stabilizes you and helps you balance better.

(Side note: If you need to prop your feet on a stool while you have a bowel movement, that’s completely fine! Do the doo however you got to!)

Tall Toilets Don’t Help Everyone

I’m going to tell you a quick story about my grandmother.

My grandmother was very petite. She was probably 4’10” tall. Just really really short-statured!

One day her standard toilet broke and was irreparable. My mother bought her a chair height toilet thinking that a taller toilet would help out Granny in the bathroom compared to her last one.

Well sadly, Granny’s feet definitely dangled while she sat on the chair height toilet, which was way taller than her previous toilet. It was harder for her to keep her balance on the toilet and she struggled to wipe herself.

That was a big toilet fail, my friend! We don’t want to make things more difficult for Granny to take care of herself!

How to Pick the Right Height

A general rule to follow with picking the right height is if you’re 5’4” or taller, you can comfortably use a toilet seat height of 17—19 inches. If you’re under 5’4”, standard height toilets 14-16” tall will work better for you.

Are you unsure if your toilet height is right for you?

It can be a little tricky, especially in households with more than one person. So make sure to call your friendly neighborhood occupational therapist to come on over to your house and figure it out with you!

Or you can check out my course, “Hard Time Wiping? Let’s Talk A-booty It!” and it’ll tell you different ways you can tinker the toilet to make it perfect for you!

Toilet Tiff

I’m not sorry to say that I’ve got a bone to pick with senior living communities!

Senior living communities, why do you automatically install taller toilets? I’ve got news for you, there are some shriveled up old ladies and old men who don’t appreciate those tall toilets, okay?

The tall toilets put pressure on the back of their old legs, which they’re sitting on too long anyway because of the slowed motility in their GI systems. Do you know how bad that feels? How painful?

Don’t force those poor old people to sit on your toilets with their legs a-danglin’! We need to make sure that residents have the right toilet height for them!

What I would recommend is for you to consult with an occupational therapist and have them assess your resident’s needs before they move in. That way you can make sure that you have the right height toilet for your residents.

Senior living communities, don’t just think about the money, honey! You need to think about your residents and their happiness and their overall well-being.

Plus having less residents fall off toilets is a pretty good outcome for your reputation too!


Who would’ve know that there’s so much information on toilet seat heights? Toilet heights are super important to make sure people go to the bathroom safely and independently!

Do you have questions about your toilet seat height? Please put them in the comments below so I can help you out!

Have you changed your toilet seat height? Please share your experience about it!