Benefits That Make A Bidet Toilet Combo The Perfect Buy For Your Bathroom

Whether you're outfitting your bathroom in a new house or just looking for a simpler bathroom renovation, you've probably got all the basics ready to install: a tub, a sink, and of course, the porcelain throne, the toilet. But have you considered taking a note from Europe (and much of Southeast Asia and the Middle East) and opting for a bidet, but with all of the convenience of a standard toilet? That's totally doable with the help of a built-in toilet-bidet combo. 

Stand-alone bidets are entirely separate plumbing features, often installed alongside a standard toilet. However, a popular (and easier) style is a bidet attachment known familiarly as a "bum gun," which is used to spray down the sensitive areas after using the loo. Since few of us want to totally reconfigure our bathroom layout to install a standalone European bidet, the immediate advantage of bidet-toilet combos is that they can be purchased as a bidet-fitted toilet seat, a separate bidet attachment, or purchased in a full toilet-bidet unit.  This modern bidet-toilet perfectly combines the comfort and cleaning power of a stand-alone bidet, without taking up more room in your bathroom. 

The bidet functions typically run electronically, controlled via remote or panel, or manually, and come with as few or as many features as you like. Some models simply provide a cool stream of water for your backside and private areas, while others are more extensive (and the price tag grows higher with more options). The spa attachments from Tushy, for instance, are hooked to your sink line and pipes, providing a stream of warm, clean water to your sensitive areas, and can be installed in less than 10 minutes. But some electronic bidet-toilet models offer cold and warm water, a fan to dry your private areas, and bonus features like self-cleaning and UV-sanitizing functions that leave your toilet bowl cleansed and disinfected after each use, like this one from Bath Butler Bidets. 

The good news is that bidet-toilet combos come in a variety of styles and price points. A well-rated manual bidet toilet seat attachment from Amazon costs under $25, while a high-end all-in-one smart bidet-toilet combo can be $490 and up on Amazon. Many bidets can even be self-installed as long as you have a cursory knowledge of plumbing.

Why opt for a combination bidet-toilet? Anyone who lived through the spring of 2020 will probably have a good answer for that — when some shoppers started hoarding toilet paper at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, store shelves were left empty, and panic set in as the rest of us wondered how we were going to wipe ourselves after using the loo. Bidet attachments for standard toilets started selling at unprecedented rates, as the spray functions could replace or significantly reduce the amount of toilet paper used after bathroom functions. 

Even without the scarcity factor, another good reason to use bidets is for hygiene and convenience purposes. Toilet paper can often be a bit like using a broom to clean up a milkshake, so many prefer giving their bottoms a thorough hands-free cleanse with the help of water from a bidet. Of course, it's important to keep your bidet squeaky clean to keep this hygienic. Spraying bidet-toilets can also be helpful for those who find toilet paper irritating to the skin and provide relief for those prone to unpleasant hemorrhoids. 

Another huge benefit of the bidet-toilet? Without all that toilet paper going in the toilet, you're way less likely to experience clogging, as you'll only be flushing water and bodily waste. If you're someone who dreads having to haul out the plunger, a bidet-toilet can be a life-saver.