A bidet purchase suddenly appeared wise when toilet paper was hard to come by (Despite the fact that many people have long benefited from this washing device). Its simplest form is using a stream of water to wash your behind after you poop. Using a bidet is more hygienic, which promotes better general ass health, in addition to requiring significantly less toilet paper, which can be harsh on your butthole. According to Dr. Evan Goldstein, an anal surgeon and expert in sexual health and wellness who is also a co-founder of the sex-care company Future Method, “When discussing bidets, we also want to ensure that people understand how to urinate properly, which includes not straining, sitting down too long, and wiping excessively.” Bidets enable us to clean in a far more organized way, with less grating, and are beneficial to the environment. (Goldstein advises against wiping; instead, pat the area with TP once you’ve cleaned it with water.)
The idea grows more intriguing as you learn more about it, but purchasing one can be extremely scary for those new to it. There are many different designs, pricing ranges, and features to consider, such as whether you want an electric seat with a warm water spray and complete adjustment or a straightforward manual bidet attachment. We spoke to bidet specialists, plumbers, and, yes, actual bidet users to help you select the best one for your butt if you’re interested in incorporating a bidet into your hygiene regimen but aren’t sure where to begin. But before you decide, ensure your bathroom has the correct plumbing and outlet access and whether your toilet seat is circular or extended.
What are the advantages of using a bidet?
The advantages of utilizing a bidet to keep your undercarriage a little cleaner are described by experts as follows: “Consider utilizing dry toilet paper. In contrast to using a bidet, you’re wiping away any leftover bacteria and feces, according to Phillip J. Buffington, MD, chief medical officer of the Cincinnati-based Urology Group.
If a bidet isn’t used, you’re probably washing with scratchy wet wipes and toilet paper, which can remove natural oils and hurt the anal region. A colorectal and general surgeon in California named Alan Kamrava, MD, told SELF that users of bidets are far less likely to experience rashes, discomfort, and irritation.
Using a bidet reduces your need for toilet paper significantly (and sometimes even eliminates it), and being careful with your water usage is an excellent habit to get into. To put this into perspective, one roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water, according to Tushy’s founder and chief creative officer, Miki Agrawal. Additionally, if you feel cleaner down there, you could take fewer showers, which is suitable for water conservation.
How should I pick a bidet attachment?
When selecting a bidet seat for comfort, the toilet seat’s shape and style should be considered. Particularly in colder climates, amenities like heated seats can significantly increase the benefits of your bathroom trip in terms of relaxation. The water’s temperature also influences the overall level of luxury of the bidet experience.
How to use a bidet:
Typically, bidets consist of a piece of equipment that you install in your toilet seat. It sprays water onto your underside to help rinse any fecal matter or other debris. A simple guide to using the bidet is provided below:
- You activate the bidet with a button or knob when you’re prepared.
- When properly positioned within your toilet, it will spray water onto your back (advanced models can adjust water temperature and pressure and even dry you afterward)
- Afterward, you can use toilet paper to dry yourself; you’ll generally need much less than usual to do the task.
Top 10 Best Toilet Bidet Attachments for 2023:
The Top 10 Best Bidet Attachments for Toilets in 2023 are listed below.
1. Toto Washlet C2:
We prefer the Toto Washlet C2 if the Toto C5 is not readily accessible. The primary distinction is that the C5 has an outstanding (and elegant) remote, whereas this model has a side control panel made of white plastic that is affixed to the seat. Although this makes the C2 more challenging to use, the side panel is simple enough to learn by feeling, so you won’t need to constantly strain your neck to see it.
The C2 typically costs between $50 and $150 less than the C5, despite having two fewer water temperature options and no programmable user settings. We advise you to hold off until the C5 is once again available. However, the C2 is excellent where it counts—a heated seat, warm water, and pressure settings that (like the C5) move up and down on a +/- scale—if you can’t wait or want a less expensive model for a guest bathroom. (Many rivals’ pressure controls cycle through every setting, including a beam that looks like it came from Waterpik before you can get to the one you want.)
2. FreshSpa Precision Bidet Toilet Attachment:
After installation, the bulky profile of the majority of bidet attachments leaves an uncomfortable gap in the toilet seat. The Bidet FreshSpa by Brondell nearly eliminates the gap for a more seamless, comfortable fit and measures just 0.2 inches thin. This affordable model features a self-cleaning feature, twin retractable nozzles, and precision pressure control for a full front-to-back wash. Even though most toilets may be installed without using any tools, thanks to the simple design, several reviewers have complained about incompatibilities. It’s not only one of the list’s slimmest bidet attachments, but at about $45, it’s also one of the most affordable options.
3. AquaWash 1.0 Non-Electric SpaLet Bidet Seat:
The ideal bidet attachment is from American Standard if you prefer a cold water option. Thanks to our straightforward non-electric construction that makes the bidet attachment as slick as a standard toilet seat, you won’t have the appearance of any additional attachments on your toilet.
The design includes telescoping bidet wands concealed until they are used. A complete clean is achieved using dual bidet nozzles for front and back cleansing. After you’re done, the bidet wand has a self-cleaning feature that allows it to rinse itself after each usage.
You can fully control how much water pressure you experience thanks to the manual lever that is adjustable and located on the side of the seat. However, one possible disadvantage of this manual lever is that it could be challenging for individuals with back issues or mobility concerns to reach back to the lever. Additionally, there’s a potential that the lever will get accidentally bumped.
The act of closing the toilet seat with a lid that closes slowly eliminates loud banging. Additionally, this bidet seat has a single button release that makes it simpler to take out for thoroughly cleaning the toilet and the seat. The type is also simpler to install because this bidet seat doesn’t require power.
4. Brondell Swash SE400:
The Swash 1400’s high-end features are omitted from Brondell’s SE400, and not all components are as robust. However, the side control panel is simple to operate, and the cleaning experience itself is of a high standard considering the budget.
You can change the angle and pressure, and there are also features for hot and cold water, pulsating “massage,” and auto mode, which performs a cleaning cycle for you. Most of the features absent here are less valuable, like the deodorizer. If you don’t need a remote control, this bidet is excellent.
We frequently used the front wash as an all-purpose wash, and the positioning of the nozzles felt odd. Even though that wasn’t the goal, the good news is that it does it exceptionally well.
5. Luxe Bidet Neo 320 Plus Bidet Attachment:
The key to a comfortable and productive cleaning experience with a bidet is having as much control over the adjustability as possible concerning something as personal as cleanliness. The Luxe Bidet Neo 320 Plus Bidet Attachment has numerous modification options available to suit your tastes. Our tester encountered some difficulty with the setup instructions during installation and sought assistance from a tutorial video. But once she did, it only took her five minutes to install the bidet adapter. Removing the toilet seat during installation is unnecessary because the Neo 320 Plus has a slide-in installation compatible with most toilet seats.
The bidet’s controls were simple because they included a lever to change the water pressure and temperature and a mode selection knob to choose between options for the rear and feminine wash. The control panel was placed uncomfortably close to the toilet, to the point where it poked our tester when she sat down, despite the bidet attachment being correctly connected. Therefore, despite the Neo 320 Plus’s simple adjustment, its design might only be ideal for some body shapes.
After washing, our tester observed that it operated admirably and did the job. We particularly valued the model’s self-cleaning mode, retractable dual nozzles, and guard gate security, which partitioned the nozzles and the rest of the toilet.
6. Alpha JX Bidet Seat:
The Alpha JX bidet seat, which offers the most desirable technologies at the lowest price, was the best overall bidet seat we examined. Even though the Toto Washlet C2 came in second, the race between the Alpha JX and our winner, the Alpha JX, was close. The heated seat, dryer, complete control over the stream’s pressure and direction, and warm water, are all features you would expect from a bidet in this price category in both. The Alpha JX, however, has an infinite supply of warm water in contrast to the Toto’s meager supply, which ultimately helped the Alpha claim our prize.
You have two options for a warm water wash with electric bidet seats. Integrating a tank into the bidet is more accessible and less expensive. This tank keeps a certain amount of water warm, but when the tank runs out of hot water, your wash becomes cold. Depending on the bidet, these tanks typically offer 20 to 30 seconds of warm water, which is usually sufficient for a standard wash. You need a bidet with a coil heating system if you want a longer wash or hot water, even when the bidet is used back-to-back. You may sit there and enjoy the warm water for as long as you like because these bidets heat the water instantaneously as it flows through the bidet.
7. Tushy Classic 3.0 Bidet Attachment:
The Tushy Classic 3.0 is unquestionably the bidet for you if you’re searching for a reasonably priced, easily installed, and minimally complicated bidet. We tested the Tushy Spa, not the Classic while developing this narrative. (While we had previously used the Tushy Classic, we did not formally test it for this story.)
The Tushy Classic 3.0 provided the most pleasant stream of all the attachments, and its adjustable nozzle made getting a thorough clean much more straightforward than with others. Even though it’s an essential bidet, you still have a good pressure range and directional adjustability to discover what feels perfect for you. We discovered that we generally used modest pressures with attachments since their streams seemed more forceful than their electric counterparts.
Even if you’re not especially handy, installing the Tushy Classic was relatively simple because of the clear instructions. The most crucial part of installing any bidet is making sure it is compatible with your toilet. To ensure you understand everything, locate the water connections and remove your toilet seat beforehand. Fortunately, the Tushy Classic fits most one-piece and all two-piece toilets (more on below). If you’re still unsure about whether the Tushy will work with your particular toilet, you can learn more about it here and even search through its list of compatible toilets.
The Tushy attachment is fantastic, but there is one major caveat: We discovered that feeding warm water to the Tushy Spa—and all the other bidet attachments we examined—was ineffective.
8. GenieBidet Ellegantz:
The first appliance we attempted to install was a GenieBidet, so we know firsthand how helpful their customer support staff is.
The GenieBidet has many simplified features. Although it doesn’t feel as robust as some of its rivals, the thin plastic is stylish. The controls, limited to a single two-way knob, are rather basic.
The GenieBidet was made up of expensive and durable elements, yet it feels substantial while being light overall. Since this bidet attachment can produce a lot of pressure, a water pressure valve on the T-adapter gives a novel point of water pressure control that is helpful. This GenieBidet was a touch jumpy even at half-power, which caused discomfort more frequently than with some other versions.
It can be frustrating to use the controls. Water will continue to leak out if you don’t turn the knob entirely anticlockwise. However, it successfully meets its target as a brief, easy, and essential experience.
9. Omigo Luxury Bidet Toilet Seat:
The marketing for Omigo is a little bit sly. This is an excellent first bidet because of that and the simple installation.
A front and back wash, pressure and spray width adjustments, and seat and water warmers are all part of the comprehensive list of functions. The temperature and pressure settings for two users can be saved as presets.
Regrettably, the controls are more difficult to use than others, necessitating a careful study of the handbook. For instance, you must push two buttons simultaneously to turn off the LED night light.
Furthermore annoying is the remote. There were symbols indicating features that weren’t present in our model. However, certain features are limited to the seat itself. Four C2032 batteries are needed for the remote, and a screwdriver is always needed to open the battery hatch.
10. Washlet C5 Electronic Bidet Toilet Seat:
It isn’t easy to top Toto when only the best will do, even in the restroom. The Washlet C5 from the company is the most opulent bidet seat we’ve ever used. A self-cleaning, splash-resistant wand, a heated, soft-close seat, a temperature-adjustable air dryer, a filtered air deodorizer, an automatic “premist” function to prevent stickiness and a long number of other features are all included in this model. A built-in remote control and dual memory settings offer quick access to all adjustable features. The Washlet C5 is surprisingly simple to install even though it has the most functionality of any bidet attachment on this list. Our only gripe is the outrageous price tag, which is close to $500.
Conclusion:
Our top recommendation for bidet attachments is the TUSHY Spa 3.0. This adapter attaches to your existing round or elongated toilet seat and is both self-cleaning and environmentally friendly. If you’re looking for a non-electric option that is also easy to install, we advise OMIGO Element Non-Electric Bidet Attachment. It may be placed simply under your toilet seat without a plumber or specialist tools.
Are bidets preferable to toilet paper for use?
According to Goldstein, who contends that toilet paper isn’t the most hygienic alternative, he is astonished that Americans are hesitant to adopt bidets. He points out that toilet paper only spreads fecal bacteria on your skin and doesn’t properly clean the area. People who are over-wiping frequently visit my office. For Americans, it’s a significant issue, according to Goldstein. People are also employing products that are intended for something other than self-wiping. There is typically no need to reach back there and risk getting bacteria on yourself because most bidet models include a self-cleaning feature to get rid of bacteria, and some come with a blow-dry feature.
According to Texas-based rectal surgeon Harold Bailey, MD, excessive toilet paper use can damage the skin. If you wipe too vigorously, the delicate, thin skin surrounding your anus could tear or develop fissures. One study highlighted the lack of evidence for other conditions like bacterial vaginitis while simultaneously connecting continuous bidet use to decreased hemorrhoids and other urogenital symptoms. I advise all of my patients to clean with water, Bailey added. “I would employ it as a means of avoiding discomfort.” There does not appear to be any proof that using toilet paper is inherently wrong for you or, if used correctly, can lead to any health issues, just as there isn’t any direct evidence that using a bidet is inherently good for you or that it leads to any health benefits, even though using bidets involves less friction than using toilet paper.