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The first time the gentle stream of warm water hits your derrière, it’s quite startling. By the second time the water hits its mark, you’re a convert. Why on earth would you use your hand and paper, when a machine can pleasantly and perfectly wash your bum? These exquisite toilets are everywhere in Japan and yet can barely be found in the United States.

Toto G500. Image credit: 3rings.

For anyone who has traveled through Japan, one of the greatest cultural experiences is discovering a modern Japanese toilet. These toilets, known as “washlets”, have many amazing features – the most notable of which is they render toilet paper obsolete. After using one of these washlets for a while, you can’t help but wonder why the American toilet experience is so primitive. Why has technological progress not eviscerated the need for toilet paper in America like it has in Japan?

Not surprisingly, many people don’t know what a bidet or a bidet seat is. And for those who have heard of a bidet, they very likely remember the old-fashioned porcelain bowls with the water spout that sprayed them in the face the first time they turned it on to see what it was.

Today’s advanced bidet toilet seats replace the antiquated, and inefficient cold-water porcelain bidet, and add elements of comfort, style, and affordable luxury to any bathroom.

The word “bidet” is a French word, meaning “pony”, and comes from the notion that a bidet is “ridden”, much like a pony. Bidets were popular in France and Italy in the 17th century and weren’t located in the bathroom, but instead, were in the bedroom. By the 1900s, plumbing advances moved the bidet to the bathroom, and it soon became a standard across Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.

Today’s technology has led to some amazing developments with the integration of the bidet and the toilet, and most bidet users are now enjoying the benefits of integrated “bidet seats” that replace the existing toilet seat on most toilets. These new bidet seats bring a slew of wonderful features, such as sprayers that gently cleanse the genitalia and anus, heated seats, warm air dryers, and even modes to help with constipation.

Nearly 70% of homes and public bathrooms in Japan are equipped with a modern, sanitary bidet seat. In Turkey, an integrated bidet is standard on all toilets. South Korea has adopted them too, and  you’ll also find these amazing seats in Argentina and the Middle East.

While American users have been slow to begin using bidet seats, it’s time to ask why so much of the rest of the world uses them. It appears that everyone else knows how wonderful they are, and once Americans realize this, bidet toilet seats will become standard issue in American bathrooms.

At BidetReviews.org, our goal is to educate new buyers about bidet seats, provide bidet seat reviews, and show the world why every toilet should have a bidet seat installed. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to toilet paper.

So you’re on the fence about buying a bidet toilet seat, eh? Maybe you think it’s too expensive, or maybe you think you really don’t need one – toilet paper is working fine for you. Before you make your final decision, allow us to share with you a few of the best features of the bidet toilet seat that you don’t yet realize you’ll end up loving.

1. The heated seat. There’s nothing like getting out of bed on a cold night or morning and being greeted by a warm toilet seat. You can’t appreciate it until you experience it. It really is that great.
2. The soft close seat. Before I bought my bidet seat, I was looking to buy a Toto soft close seat, but then decided instead to put that money into my bidet seat. The soft close seat is fantastic – no more noise, no more wear and tear, no more annoyance. It’s pure brilliance.
3. The toilet deodorizer (if you choose a bidet toilet seat with one). The integrated deodorizers are so effective at removing bathroom odors, you won’t even know someone was in the bathroom doing a number 2! Before the bidet seat, I double flushed, put droplets of peppermint oil into the toilet bowl, and even lit matches to keep the odors at bay. The deodorizer makes all these remedies obsolete. It’s revolutionary.
4. The warm air dryer. Why? It just feels nice. I usually use a square or two of paper to dab dry, and then let the dryer do the rest of the work.
5. The feeling of being clean. As we’ve mentioned numerous times on this website, using toilet paper in place of water is so ineffective and unsanitary. And once you begin using water to cleanse, you’ll realize how gross using just paper was. And you’ll feel and smell cleaner all day.
6. The anticipation of using the bidet toilet seat the next time. You’ll actually look forward to using your toilet. And so will all your friends and family who know that you have a bidet toilet seat.

So go ahead, take the plunge. Buy a Brondell, Bio Bidet, USPA, Coco or another brand. Install it. And then wonder how you ever lived without a bidet toilet seat.

Editor’s Note: Check out our recommendations for the top bidet toilet seats.

If you’re just starting to research bidet toilet seats, then you’re likely overwhelmed with trying to understand all the features and specifications of each model. (Don’t forget to check our handy bidet seat comparison charts). One of the most important features of any model is the water heater. There are essentially two types of heaters, each with its own pros and cons: The tank type, and the tankless/instant type.

Many of the newer bidet toilet seats are being built with tankless/instant heaters. A tankless heater heats water on demand, meaning there’s no tank keeping the water warm. This is nice for several reasons. First, it means that when you’re not using the bidet seat, there’s no electricity being used to keep a tank of water warm. Second, an instant heater means you’ll never run out of warm water when you’re washing. For users who enjoy or require a longer wash, a tankless/instant heater is your best option. The only drawback of instant heaters is that sometimes the first few seconds of water spray may be cool as the system warms up.

Bidet toilet seats with tanks are still very common, and work just as well as the tankless variety. Water is warm from the first spray, and most tanks are large enough to provide at least 60 seconds of constant warm water before getting cooler. While maintaining a tank of warm may require more electricity, most of the models with tanks offer a power saving feature that learns when you’re most likely to use the bidet seat and reduces power usage during the off hours.

I have been using a Bio Bidet BB-1000 bidet seat for the past 2.5 years, and have no complaints at all. While I sometimes think that a tankless/instant heater would be nice to have, I’ve only run out of warm water once while using my Bio Bidet, and that was because I was exploring all the modes. I’ve found that 60+ seconds of warm water is more than I ever use in one sitting.

Again, if you’re in the market for a Bidet Toilet Seat, take a closer look at our brand/feature comparison chart to better understand each model and its features. As always, feel free to contact us anytime via our chat tool (lower right corner of the site). We’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Enjoy your Bidet!

Most Americans cringe at the thought of using a bidet, even though most Americans have never even tried one. When they think of a bidet toilet, the image of an old-fashioned porcelain bidet comes to mind – the kind that is usually found in old bathrooms, ans is mounted on the floor, right next to the toilet.  You kknow, the kind you have to squat over, whose knobs you have to fumble with and modulate to get the right pressure, and whose water is always cold. So it’s no wonder that most people are afraid of the bidet toilet.

Those same people have never heard of the modern bidet seat. It’s not really a bidet in the classic sense of the word, as it’s a unique, technologically advanced piece of hardware that replaces your current toilet seat. After using one, most everyone will come to a new conclusion about bidet toilets and whether or not they need one.

Imagine a cold winter morning. You don’t want to get out of bed, but work calls, so you do. You stumble into the bathroom and sit, and grimace while you wait for the feeling of the cold toilet seat to wear off. It only takes 10 seconds or so, you remind yourself. Once you’re feeling warmer, you begin to do your business, and when you’re done, you reach for toilet paper to wipe, but your hands are cold, and your bottom is cold, and wiping just isn’t comfortable.

Now imagine you have replaced your boring old toilet seat for a new, advanced bidet toilet seat that knows what time you wake up and is now warmed and ready for your morning visit. You sit down and are greeted by a cozy, warm seat. It feels great. And then you do your business, and instead of reaching for toilet paper (you’ve gone green now that you installed a bidet toilet seat – you don’t use much toilet paper anymore), you press a button on the wireless remote. A soft, warm aerated stream of water hits you and feels great as it gently cleans off your bottom. You then press the “Stop” button, and then the “Dry” button for a nice, warm air dry. In a minute, you’ve done your business, and cleaned & dried your bottom.

Quite simply, it’s a wonderful, satisfying experience and once you get past the unfamiliarity of being sprayed with water on your sensitive bits, you realize that you din’t know how you lived without a bidet seat for so long. The next logical thought is that you want to buy them for your family and friends. That’s how much you’ll love one of these bidet toilet seats.

Try one today. Not only will you not be disappointed, you’ll discover the best item you’ve ever bought for your house.