If you’re on a tight budget or don’t want to spend much on replacing your toilet, a bidet attachment is the way to go. But, if you’re looking to maximize your comfort and convenience, a bidet seat is the clear winner between the two.
When looking into a bidet conversion kit, you may believe that the choice between a bidet attachment and a seat should be simple.
However, there are several factors that affect the choice between the two kinds of bidets that may skew your decision in one’s favor over the other. So, which should you pick: a bidet attachment or a bidet seat?
What follows is a guide enlisting the differences between the two, as well as where one triumphs over the other. You can access all the necessary information with just a simple scroll!
Bidet Attachment Vs Seat
Table of Contents
Bidet Seats
Bidet seats are designed to replace your existing toilet seat and provide you with several functions to enhance your toilet experience. These come in electric and non-electric variants with minor differences between the two kinds.
You’ll find a control panel accompanying the bidet toilet seat that gives you access to all of its features. These range from the basic bidet function of providing high-pressure water spray to more premium features, such as toilet seat heating and warm spray water.
Bidet seats are usually the premium option when compared to a bidet seat attachment. They have their pros and cons, and depending on what you’re looking for, they may prove to be the perfect fixture for your toilet.
Pros
1. Warm Water Spray
If you live in colder climates, you know how important it is for the bidet water to be warm. There is nothing worse than the feeling of cold water touching your bare skin during winter.
Bidet seats can draw from the hot water supply and allow you to adjust the warmth of the water as per your preference. Electric bidet seats have a heating function inherently, negating the need to connect them to a hot water supply. On the other hand, non-electric bidets need to be connected to the hot water supply directly, as the lack of electricity prevents them from performing more advanced functions.
2. Built-In Air Dryer
Electronic bidet seats have air dryers built onto them, which can be turned on using the control panel. A warm air dryer is located behind the bidet toilet seat, blowing air that is comfortably hot until you are completely dry.
Much like the water heater, the dryer temperature can be adjusted. And naturally, since non-electric bidets do not have access to electrical functions, a dryer is absent in them.
3. Nozzle Position Adjustment
Using the control panel, you can properly direct the water spray to the desired location. The bidet seat nozzle protrudes forward and can be adjusted in all directions. Some bidet toilet seats have two nozzles: one at the front and the other at the rear.
Irrespective of the user’s body size, with this feature, a bidet seat can effectively clean all kinds of people.
4. Heated Seat
A cold toilet seat is a rude greeting in the middle of the night. Electronic bidet toilet seats circumvent this by providing you with a heated seat, the temperature of which can also be controlled through the panel.
This feature is not necessarily present in all bidet seats, but you can invest in the models that do have it. Consider it an investment well-made.
5. Oscillating And Pulsating Wash
Your bidet seat may be able to vary the speed at which the water sprays out. The seat will also actively move the nozzle to cover a greater area and ensure relaxation.
Much like most other features of the bidet seat, this feature is also customizable.
6. Built-In Deodorizer
Bidet seats offer a built-in deodorizer that activates after the toilet seat has been used. The deodorizer does a great job masking foul odors, so you won’t have to endure a stinky toilet once it has been used by someone else.
7. Auto Lid
Bidet seat lids can automatically open or close when someone approaches the toilet. This feature is made possible through a sensor on the seat that detects movement in its direct vicinity. This auto-lid premium feature is typically found in high-end bidet seats.
8. Remote Control
You needn’t bother fiddling with the panel if you have a remote control available. The remote control has all the functionality of the control panel in a smaller casing and with higher mobility. This feature is especially desirable for those who may have trouble operating a traditional panel.
9. Nightlight
With a nightlight, you can find your way to the toilet seat in complete darkness without turning the lights on. These are LED lights that line the seat, illuminating the bowl in blue light.
You can opt to have these installed separately from the bidet seat, as they are not exclusive to the seats.
Cons
1. Price
An electric bidet seat is quite expensive, setting you back a few hundred dollars at the very least. Its dependence on electricity also means that maintaining it is a costly affair.
Bidet seats also have an impact on your electricity bill, so you may want to expect higher bills after installing one.
2. Requires Electrical Outlet Nearby
If you have an electrical outlet close to your toilet seat, you have nothing to worry about. But if you don’t, you’ll incur further expenses to have one installed.
Depending on your bathroom, installing a new outlet simply might not be feasible, making the installation process more complicated than it needs to be.
Bidet Attachments
Bidet attachments are non-electric additions that you can make to your toilet seat and reap the benefits of using a bidet. Since they involve no electricity, they lack many features that come with electronic bidets.
There are a few different varieties of bidet attachments that can either be affixed directly to the toilet seat or to the water inlet faucet. Some come with a mechanically operated control panel that have several knobs to access the features, while others are simple lever-operated and handheld ones.
Let’s see what you can get out of a bidet attachment over a bidet seat.
Pros
1. Low Costs
One of the first things that will catch your eye about bidet attachments is the price. Even the most high-end bidets are significantly more affordable than most bidet seats. The affordability has made bidet attachments quite a bit more popular as a result.
It may be better to install an attachment over a bidet seat if you live in a temperate or tropical environment.
2. Extremely Low Maintenance
Bidet attachments require little, if any, maintenance to perform well. Though they lack the bells and whistles of bidet seats, the tradeoff is that you only have to clean them as you do your toilet seat.
It’s an added layer of convenience in face of the absence of premium bidet seat features.
3. Low Running Cost
The water consumed by bidets is low enough as is, and without the involvement of electricity, the cost of running a bidet attachment plummets. No increases in electricity bills due to bidet toilet power requirements and water bills, and no installation charges incurred from having to install a new power outlet.
4. It Leaves The Seat Intact
Bidet seats replace your existing seat entirely, but with attachments, you don’t have to discard your existing one. If you prefer a wooden toilet seat over a plastic one, you can simply affix an attachment to it.
The changes to your toilet seats are minimal and often barely noticeable at first glance.
Cons
1. No Heating Functions
The area where the bidet seats have a definitive leg up on attachments is the latter’s lack of heating functions. This means that attachments will not be able to provide you with hot water spray, nor will they heat up the seat. The former concern, you can overcome by connecting it to the hot water supply, but there is no way to get around the latter.
If you live in a colder area where temperatures frequently plummet to freezing temperatures, it might be better to stick to a bidet seat instead.
2. No Hot Air Dryer
The lack of electrical components brings with it several missing features, another one of which is the complete absence of an air dryer. You’ll have to resort to using toilet paper to dry off, which is less than ideal if you’re trying to move away from using toilet paper.
3. Can Cause Discomfort
Not all toilets have a liberal amount of space between the seat and the bowl. As a result, some toilets may struggle to properly house a bidet attachment, resulting in an uneven seat. With enough pressure, the seat can crack or even break in severe cases.
Bidet Attachment Vs Bidet Seat: The Winner
If the price of admission is not an issue for you, there is a clear-cut winner between the two and that is the bidet seat. The additional features of bidet seats are too great to gloss over, and it can truly alter one’s view of a typical toilet experience. Some find it extremely difficult to revert to toilet paper after having experienced using a bidet seat.
That said, bidet attachments can be favorable for you if you’re not looking to spend too much. This is doubly so if you don’t feel the need to have a heated seat, an air dryer, or nightlights in your toilet. A bidet attachment performs perfectly fine with the functions it does offer.
Yes, bidet attachments are absolutely worth the money. Fact of the matter is, the benefits of simply having a bidet of any kind are too great to not have one. They are affordable, give you no trouble during installation and no matter the kind of model you own, they all perform their basic functions well. Bidets are the de-facto replacement to toilet paper, and chances are, you’ll never go back to it after using a bidet. You can install one of the smaller models as a test before upgrading to one that fits your needs better, if you’re on the fence. So, you can examine bidet models with a closer eye and look up questions like does home depot sell bidets? You can clean your bidet seat as often as you clean your toilets, which is to say that once or twice a month should suffice. While cleaning, take extra care to ensure that the nozzle remains clean. If your bidet seat has the functionality, you can have the nozzle come forward while cleaning. And use a mixture of water and vinegar, along with a toothbrush to clean the nozzle properly. Doing so will kill all the harmful bacteria that may have found a home on the nozzle. Bidet attachments may outlast bidet seats simply due to lesser number of moving parts and general low maintenance requirements. That said, bidet seats will last six to nine years before requiring replacement, which is a lot of time for the lifespan of any electrical device. The drawbacks of bidets are minor enough to pass unnoticed by the masses, so that should give you an idea of how convenient they are. That said, there are drawbacks to them and they can cause you temporary setbacks. For a first-time user, a bidet is a foreign experience and it can be tricky for them to switch from toilet paper to bidets completely. Some people will require a brief adjustment period with bidets before they get accustomed to them. As for the other drawback, you may see concerns of bacterial infections when an unclean bidet seat or attachment is involved. The nozzle or shower head can become a home for bacteria and not cleaning the bidet for a long time can result in contamination. Bidet Attachment Vs Seat FAQ
Bidet Attachment Vs Seat Conclusion
No matter the kind of bidet you use, its increasing popularity is a testament to the benefits it brings over conventional toilet paper.
Adding a bidet to your toilet is a one-time occurrence, one that is likely to become a permanent fixture in your life going forward. Even if you settle for the most basic bidet, you’ll have solved many concerns that are associated with toilet paper.
Environment-friendly, hygienic, and easier on your bills, bidet seats and attachments look to completely overhaul your toilet experience. Which of the two to choose, the ball is in your court.
