Average Toilet Weight Limit: How Much Weight Can A Toilet Hold?

Let’s face it, big or small, we all need to use the toilet and when that happens, the thing better not give away beneath us. And if you are a heavy person or you have heavy weight visitors coming to your place you might be anxious to know about your toilet’s weight bearing ability. So I decided to research about it and write this post.

How much weight can a toilet hold? The average toilet weight limit is around 1000 pounds (453 kg) for regular floor toilets. The weight limit of wall hung toilets is 500 pounds (227 kg).

There are no Government standards or regulations that specify a minimum or maximum weight limit for standard toilets. For wall hung toilets ASME Standard requires them to support at least 500 pounds.

Most normal toilets can support a higher weight capacity than 1000 pounds. That’s because toilets are made of porcelain. And porcelain is a materiel that is super strong and highly rigid. This is comforting news no doubt. Because a defective toilet can be an awful, awful thing. Fortunately any regular Vitreous China toilet (what we call porcelain) can bear much more weight than the heaviest person on earth. This high weight bearing ability is also partly why its so hard to find an oversize toilet for large person.

But I have to say, even though I have been in the toilet marketing field for years now, I have never seen any toilet model or manufacture mention it’s weight limit or capacity. Even on the Internet information is scarce about toilet weight limits. So, I had to do a lot of researching to unearth the details I’m sharing with you here about toilet weight limits.

Is The Average Toilet Weight Limit Adequate?

In general, the average American man weighs around 196 pounds. The average American woman weighs around 166 pounds. Even severely obese or Bariatric weight range people rarely exceed 400 or 450 pounds. So even the 500 pound wall mounted toilet weight limit is adequate for average household. Therefore, standard toilet weight limit of 1000 pounds is more than adequate for any eventuality you might face.

Weight Limits of Popular Toilets Brands

I tried to find weight limit details for popular toilets brands like Toto, Kohler and American Standard toilets. It proved to be a very difficult task, because these toilet manufacturers don’t give out these details about how much weight their toilets can hold. But I wanted to find some solid answers about the average toilet weight capacity of the best toilet brands and models and below is what I could find about them.

KOHLER Toilet Weight Limit

A support page on the Kohler website provided the only reference to toilet weight bearing ability I could find about any popular toilet brands. According to this support article from Kohler, the regular Kohler mounted toilets can withstand a vertical force of up to 1000 pounds. That’s more than the weight of the heaviest man in recorded history. So, if you are worried you or your visitors might accidentally break a toilet bowl while using it, you can rest easy by getting one of the top rated Kohler toilets.

TOTO and American Standard Toilets Weight Limits

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find any reference or mention of toilet weight limit from these best toilet brands and models. There was not a single mention or reference to weight load from Toto, American Standard or any other famous toilet brands except for some of their wall hung toilet models.

However, I found many Toto and American Standard toilet reviews and comments on different Internet Forums and on Online stores like Amazon from people weighing 250, 300 pounds and more. They were all glad and recommending these top brands for bearing their weight well.

Wall Hung Toilet Weight Limit

Wall hung toilets have a lower average weight limit than normal standard toilets. The average wall hung toilet weight limit is only about 500 pounds. But some models like Toto Aquia wall toilet have higher weight limit like 880 pounds if used with the strong Toto wall toilet carrier frame.

Wall hung toilets also have a 500 pounds minimum weight limit requirement set by the ASME standard (ASME A112.19.2-2005/CSA B4 5.1-05 National Consensus Standards for Vitreous China Plumbing Fixtures.)

So on average wall mounted toilets can support only around half the weight capacity of a normal floor mounted toilet. This is because the weight limit on wall hung toilets depends on the strength of the wall carrier frame that supports the toilet and how securely its attached the floor and wall.

Can You Break A Toilet By Sitting On It?

One thing I observed during my research was, I didn’t find any mention of a toilet ever breaking under the weight of anyone. When I was researching I expected to find many horror stories about toilets cracking and injuring people. However, there were many mentions of toilets wobbling or toilet floor bolts becoming loose or toilet seats breaking. Gladly not a single report about someone breaking a porcelain toilet with their weight.

I think durability of modern toilets is largely due to what toilets are made of, some kind of treated Porcelain or Vitreous China clay. This toilet making material seem to do a great job in holding us safely while helping us relieve.

Why Do Toilet Brands Not Mention Weight Limits?

It is very strange, there is so much lack of information on toilet weight limits. With a growing number of obesity level in the country you might think otherwise.

These days, toilet marketing materials and specification sheets mention almost every little feature and advantage of their toilet models. I think when no one else mentions their toilet models weight limit, mentioning your toilets weight bearing capacity would be a great marketing advantage.

With a increasingly obese and weight conscious population, wouldn’t it be massive marketing advantage for a toilet manufacturer if they mention, how much weight can the regular toilet bowl take, with a ad like, “XX model, supports more than 1000 pounds” etc.?

How much weight can a Toilet Seat hold?

Another related question to toilet weight limit is about the weight limit of toilets seats. Do toilet seats have a weight limit? Yes, they do have a weight limit though its often not mentioned just like the weight limit for toilets.

The average toilet seat weight limit is below 300 pounds. That’s why most normal toilet seats crack and break very soon. Most regular toilet seats aren’t built to withstand even a bit of wriggling even by average weight user. So no wonder when heavy users use a normal toilet seat, you usually find them crack, creek and complain. That’s why special heavy duty seats like the Bariatric Toilet Seat, 800 lb. capacity are sold on Amazon #ad.

When I moved to my new house last year, I found a good normal toilet seat on the hall toilet with a small crack in the middle. Every time I sat on it and got up, it used to pinch my back! I found out the previous occupiers grandson weighed around 300 pounds and used this toilet.

The same is true with toilet bidet seats that spray water and help you clean the back. They are also mostly designed for average weight range person. When I wrote the article on heavy duty bidet seats for large people I found only few models able to withstand a weight of around 300 or 350 pounds.

So if someone heavy is going to use your toilet, I highly recommend getting heavy duty toilet seat designed for heavy users than having a regular toilet seat. They are bit expensive but in the long run you will be saving time and money and won’t become tired of replacing your toilet seat.