Let’s be honest, most of us don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about how we clean ourselves after using the bathroom. It’s simply a habit. But when you take a moment to think about it, washing with water is clearly superior to using dry toilet paper for cleaning. We use water when laundering our clothes, doing the dishes, washing our cars. And of course we use water for showers and baths. It doesn’t take long to realize that a bidet is superior to toilet paper when cleaning ourselves after using the bathroom. But besides being healthier and more hygienic than toilet paper, a bidet seat is also better in other ways.

Something that many people find surprising is that bidet seats can actually help conserve water compared with using toilet paper. Modern electronic bidet seats use a concentrated spray to clean and don’t need to use a lot of water to be effective. The amount of water a person typically uses in one month with a bidet is less than the amount of water used in an average shower. Compare this to toilet paper which uses around 37 gallons of water to produce a single roll. While many bidet users still use a small amount of toilet paper to help dry residual moisture after washing, the overall reduction in toilet paper consumption with a bidet not only saves water, it also saves a good deal of money in TP costs over the life of the seat!

Besides all the water used in the manufacturing of toilet paper, there are also a lot of trees that go into our bathroom rolls. Our infographic has more details about how many trees are used for our bathroom tissue along with how much money we spend on it each year. The average person in the U.S. uses 50% more toilet paper as the average person in Japan and Western Europe where bidet use is more common. So clearly cutting back on toilet paper consumption saves bidet users money, but there’s another way cutting back can save money and lessen the strain on infrastructure: plumbing and sewage costs.

Thicker toilet paper more easily clogs pipes which can require a plumber to clear, not exactly a cheap job in most cases. Water treatment facilities have had problems not only with toilet paper but also with wet wipes. Because the fibers in these products do not break down as well as thinner toilet paper (which most people don’t like using to begin with), treatment plants all over the US have experienced backed up pipes and damaged equipment from all this material being flushed. The equipment and the workers dealing with these problems would no doubt be in favor of everyone installing bidet toilet seats and putting an end to the headaches brought on by fibrous paper material.

It’s easy to see that reducing your toilet paper consumption is a good thing for the environment, not to mention your pocketbook. But the best reason for switching to a bidet seat is that it’s just a better way to clean. Besides being cleaner, people with issues like UTIs or itchiness or sensitivity and discomfort see drastic improvements simply by cleaning with water rather than wiping. And with all of the adjustable features, the electric seats on the market today are very user friendly and can be adjusted for personal comfort. We have even made changing from TP to a bidet easier for our customers with several seats available under our 30 Day Risk Free Trial. So make the change and see for yourself why a bidet is better!

Say the word “bidet” and what comes to mind to some people is a large, old fashioned water fountain for your bottom that looks like something between a toilet bowl and a bathroom sink. Perhaps 50 years ago this image might have been accurate, but over the past few decades the notion of what a bidet is and should be has drastically changed. No longer are they separate fixtures only fit for extravagantly large bathrooms only to be found in stately European estates. Far from it: today’s electric bidet seats are sleek, efficient machines that are modernizing bathrooms and improving hygiene and health every day. And with their do-it-yourself design, most people can install them in about 30 minutes. Here are some things to know about installing your new bidet seat.

While these units are compatible with almost all toilets, you will want to first determine if you need Elongated or Round size based on your toilet. Our useful measuring guide shows you how to check your toilet bowl size as well as how to check the rear to make sure you have the appropriate space to fit the bidet. As mentioned, the vast majority of toilets easily fit, but there are some rare commodes with severely curved tanks or other irregular design dimensions that make them difficult for many bidets to fit on them. When it doubt, you can always check with an expert here at bidetsPLUS if you have any fitting questions.

After you know which size you need and you have your seat, you will first want to ready your toilet by removing the existing seat and lid. Then you can secure the mounting bracket using the hardware included. The bidet will simply slide in and lock into place on the mounting bracket once it is secured. The bracket itself can be adjusted farther forward or backward on your toilet so you can adjust it to get an optimal fit. One special note: some toilets have what’s called a “skirted” design, which means that the mounting holes cannot be accessed from below to tighten the bolts of the mounting bracket. Not to worry if you have a skirted toilet, as there are special "top-mount" bolts we can provide for this type of situation.

Next is the installation of the water connection. Included with your bidet seat is a T-connection which "splits" the existing water line that refills your toilet. Before installing the T-connection, of course, you will need to turn off the water shut off valve (also called an angle stop) and flush your toilet. Then simply unscrew the supply hose going to the toilet tank and then attach the T-connection directly to the tank. With the T-connection screwed on, you can reconnect the water supply line to the bottom of the T-connection. The bidet hose included then screws onto the T-connection’s side inlet. Once all the connections are securely tightened, open the angle stop and make sure there aren’t any leaks. Now all you need is to plug it in and your new bidet seat is ready to go!

Upgrading your bathroom can be an easy do-it-yourself project when you install one of our seats. We have several options and you can check out our comparison chart and the customer reviews on the product pages if you need help deciding on a model. You could be an easy installation away from transforming your bathroom into a modern marvel of better health and cleanliness!