If anyone wants to explore the bidet space without replacing an entire toilet, I can recommend the Neo line of products from https://luxebidet.com/ They sell kits for under $70 USD that attach to existing toilets, using the space between the seat and bowl, and attach to the toilet's water supply with a tee fitting and one-way valve, either at the wall valve, or at the bottom of the tank. Installation should take less than 30 minutes for anyone handy with a screwdriver and a crescent wrench.
Their bidets are surprising effective, and do not require any electricity or hot water, as the water volume needed to be effective is small, and the water has usually been sitting in the pipes in a home's walls at ambient temperature. 10/10, would spritz again.
Agreed. I’ve got one at home too. Was cheap, easy to install and works pretty well. Admittedly things don’t get very cold where I am, so YMMV.
I do dream of installing a legit Toto with the warmed seat and self cleaning, but didn’t want to deal with the hassle of buying the unit and then having to hire both a plumber and an electrician.
The only real problem is my son has grown up spoiled with a bidet at home, and now hates using the bathroom at school or out in public. I mean, I get it, but when nature calls, she ain’t askin’.
From a plumbing perspective, the Toto is no different from one of the basic units, you just attach the valve to the toilet’s water supply. For electricity, it depends on your situation but if you have an outlet nearby (eg. where you would plug your hair dryer or electric toothbrush) you can just plug into that. The plug doesn’t need to be directly behind the toilet, you run a cord to it.
Get an outdoor-rated, thick gauge extension cord and plug it into a GFCI outlet. There is a teeny-tiny chance of electric shock during thunderstorms, but GFCI will shut the circuit quickly, usually. Consult an electrician before doing this. Or just get a GFCI outlet installed near the toilet. That's safer!
We thought about getting a bidet installed and two electricians said that the (maybe freshly revised?) code explicitly demands a new circuit. It cannot branch off a "countertop" outlet that is meant to feed a hair dryer or something.
Really don’t need an electrician. Just plug in to an outlet on the wall or an extension power strip. Don’t need a plumber as well. It’s really easy to install.
Careful with this advice. There is a tiny risk of electric shock if you use an outdoor-rated extension cord, a bigger risk if you use an indoor-rated strip, and a pretty big risk if you use indoor without a GFCI outlet.
The safest thing to do is always to get that outlet installed.
> There is a tiny risk of electric shock if you use an outdoor-rated extension cord, a bigger risk if you use an indoor-rated strip, and a pretty big risk if you use indoor without a GFCI outlet.
Citation needed. There is certainly not a “pretty big risk” of electric shock. Outdoor vs indoor rated cords should have no bearing on safety inside. Also, if the extension cord is wired to an outlet in the bathroom, the bathroom outlet is almost certainly GFCI unless it’s an extremely old house. If it isn’t, that can be fixed for less than $30 as well. The only thing you’d need to be worried about for an extension cord is the power rating, since bidets can consume a decent bit of power… but most don’t really pull a ton (maybe 600W on full tilt), so almost any extension cord should be able to handle that load.
I'm not able to install anything like this in my current home but if you live somewhere reasonably warm (so it's not super unpleasant to get a wet bum) I can hugely recommend something like this. (I want everyone to get one since I can't).
Living in Asia where the "bumgun" (bidet on a hose) is popular made me realise how barbaric toilet paper is. It's really quite disgusting and also very uncomfortable!
In India it's relatively common to see these retrofitted bidets that fit under the seat. Personally I think they're inferior to the hose but that's a personal preference, these things still work great, and they are less intrusive and probably easier to install. One of my Indian colleagues has one at his home in Europe too.
Kohler has manual ones with a lever arm that can swing the nozzle which I find more effective. Twist for pressure. I have no hope for JP software, waiting for PRC/SV AI powered bidet with brown eye recognition that cleans without aiming.
Manual ones can also have... stupid water pressure depending on your plumbing... which some will find addicting.
I meant the pressure of manual can be relative to the pressure of your plumbing, i.e. eye openning water jet cutter tier pressure. Closer to hose style, can absolutely blast water. Fancy electric Totos cap pressure, feels like trickle in comparison.
Their bidets are surprising effective, and do not require any electricity or hot water, as the water volume needed to be effective is small, and the water has usually been sitting in the pipes in a home's walls at ambient temperature. 10/10, would spritz again.