While it took a pandemic-era toilet paper shortage to spur the change, more Americans than ever are embracing the bidet. Sales of the butt-washing bathroom appliance have increased at least 20% each year since lockdown and show no sign of slowing down. This is good news, as rinsing your posterior with a stream of water shot from a bidet is both less wasteful and more hygienic than wiping with toilet paper.
Installing a bidet significantly cuts down on the environmental intensity of a household’s water closet routines. The Natural Resources Defense Council did the arithmetic: It takes roughly 0.29 gallons of water to make the amount of TP used in the average bathroom visit, versus as little as 0.125 gallons to clean up with a bidet. And, while you should still use a few sheets to pat dry post-spray, a bidet can reduce home TP use by 75%. Enlist a model that uses cold water, and you’re not wasting energy heating up the stream.
The modern bidet market is riding a wave of popularity, with seemingly hundreds of models, from simple, cold-water spritzers that fit onto nearly any commode to high-tech models outfitted with water heaters, toasty seats, and blow-dryers. For this test, we put six cold-water bidet attachments—that is, those that affix under the seat of a toilet and require no electricity—through an array of performance evaluations, including simulated and real-life bathroom scenarios with adults and kids. We also assessed how their parent companies work to minimize their impacts on the Earth to find a product that takes good care of your backside without backhanding the planet. The models attach to 95% of toilets without the need for a plumber, and range in price from $30 to $120. Our winner was the most comfortable and customizable, and sprayed all the right spots.
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one5c’s pick: Tushy Classic 3.0
An easy-to-install attachment with smart features and the greatest ability to clean a range of butts, the Tushy Classic 3.0 ($119; hellotushy.com) may be the bidet attachment that convinces you to wave goodbye to wiping. The final results were nozzle-and-nozzle, but Tushy cleaned as well as the competition, is among the easiest to operate thanks to intuitive controls, and is the most comfortable to use. As a company, Tushy takes steps to decrease its plastic use, boost durability, and keep its packaging as minimal as possible.
Why it’s good
The Tushy Classic 3.0 is a smartly designed heinie-cleaner built by folks who understand that behinds come in an array of shapes and sizes. Whereas most bidet attachments spray from two set positions, the Tushy has a nozzle adjuster that provides complete control over the front-to-back position of the stream. Simply move the slider back and forth to angle it properly—no wriggling or cheek-leaning necessary. This mechanism was more intuitive to use than the set-position dials of the other models, and especially helpful for kids. What’s more, the aiming toggle and water-pressure control were clearly labeled, making operation intuitive even for bum-washer noobs. Other models like the BioBidet exclusively used symbols, which required some deciphering for those still working toward bidet literacy.
Of course the real question is how well the Tushy cleans. It fared as well as the other models in controlled tests. When we attempted to spray a smear of peanut butter off the inside of a cloth diaper, all the bidets knocked off about two-thirds of the mess with a five-second spray, and they all did an even more complete job when cleaning actual butts. But, in real washing scenarios, everyone who tried the Tushy said it provided the most thorough cleaning with the least amount of wriggling thanks to its precise controls.
The Tushy Classic 3.0 was also the easiest to install of the bidets we tested. While the process for every model was essentially the same (remove the seat, place the attachment at the back of the bowl, screw the seat back on, connect a splitter and water hose), Tushy had the speediest assembly because all its connectors are made to be tightened by hand and all the gaskets inside the hose heads were already in place. That wasn’t the case with models from BossBidet and BioBidet.
Cleaning a bidet can sometimes be a bit of a gross task. But the Tushy’s “silicone schmutz guard”—a pair of silicone circles that sit between the toilet seat and attachment—helps prevent any buildup in those crevices. Bidets also include guards on their spray nozzles that automatically flip up when water’s flowing through; this is a place that can get particularly funky through other means (ahem, young ones with bad aim), but the Tushy’s has a small enough footprint to avoid this pitfall.
Nothing’s perfect. Despite the Tushy Classic 3.0’s intuitive features and design, it left us wanting more in a few areas. At 3 inches wide, the Tushy’s control panel is a bit bulky and juts out, whereas the Luxe Bidet’s panel is a slim 2.25 inches wide and hugs the edge of the toilet. Those additional inches can be valuable in smaller bathrooms. Tushy’s price is also high: At $120, it’s nearly double the price of the Brondell FreshSpa Comfort+, our runner-up. It is, however, regularly on sale.
Why it’s sustainable
In general, bidet attachments are mostly plastic. But Tushy’s iterated on its design to use 24% less plastic than in previous versions of its classic bidet, which sets it apart from the pack in terms of the raw materials it uses. Tushy is also the only bidet we looked at with zero plastic packaging, and the materials and instructions are made from partly recycled paper and cardboard. Features like the ability to control water pressure also buoy its Earth-friendly flexes.
The Tushy fits 95% of toilets, and the company provides a compatibility guide to help you figure out if yours is in that 5% it doesn’t fit, weeding out unnecessary returns and the shipping emissions that come with it. Additionally, Tushy, through a partnership with the Samagra Foundation, donates a portion of its profits to building community toilets in India.
Nothing’s perfect. Tushy could be doing a lot better on the transparency front. The company doesn’t disclose, for example, any information on its greenhouse gas emissions or water use during production. (The only company we assessed that did disclose this info was BioBidet—although the report was for its parent company Bemis, not BioBidet specifically.) We’d love to see a published life-cycle assessment that offers more visibility into their processes and initiatives. We’d also like to see Tushy step up in the product longevity department by offering repair options and instructions (like BioBidet does) or maintenance tips (like Luxe).
Runner-up
The Brondell FreshSpa Comfort+ ($60; brondell.com) was just nudged from the top spot by Tushy. Like Tushy, we appreciated that it came with gaskets in place, making it easy to install. It’s also simple to operate: It has a single dial that increases pressure as you turn it in either direction.
The Brondell also reduced any potential ick factor of bidet attachments because, like Tushy, its narrower nozzle guard provides less surface area for unwanted splatter to collect. And while none of the bidets flunked our smeared peanut butter test, a five-second spray from the FreshSpa Comfort+ removed the most spread.
Ultimately, it was overall comfort that kept Brondell from the top spot. Testers noted they had to wiggle their bums to line up with the stream to get a complete rinse.
What bidets we tested
We installed five top-rated cold-water bidet attachments that are readily available online and in many stores. All models attach under the back of a standard toilet seat, have a control panel positioned on the right side of the bowl, and spray from a stationary yet angle-able nozzle. We tested: BioBidet Essential, BossBidet, Brondell FreshSpa Comfort+, Luxe Bidet Neo 185, and Tushy Classic 3.0.
How we picked our winning bidet
Our product recommendations are based on two parallel assessment tracks: one for performance and one for sustainability. These ratings combine to land on our final winner, which represents the ideal blend of a product that’s good for the Earth and for your life. Read more about our assessment process here.
How we tested bidets
We installed all five bidets, and an adult male, an adult female, and an 8-year-old male used them daily over the course of two weeks. We encouraged guests with varying degrees of experience with bum-washing to try them and provide feedback on comfort and ease of use. In addition to evaluating each bidet’s warranty and features, we also performed a set of controlled tests to get more quantitative performance measurements:
- Ease of install test: We noted how long it took to install each bidet, how clear the instructions were, and how many tools we needed to get things up and running.
- Spray test: We smeared 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on the interior of a cloth diaper and evaluated how clean the diaper was after a five-second spray at a distance of 5 inches.
- Comfort test: We assessed the comfort of each bidet’s available spray position (or positions) and the pressure level of the rinse.
- Ease of use test: We noted how intuitive each bidet’s controls were to operate and pulled in feedback from kids and guests who hadn’t used bidets before.
How we scored sustainability
Our sustainability ratings take into account three factors: a product’s environmental impact at its production, what happens at its end-of-life, and the manufacturer’s environmental behavior. Production factors in where, how, and with what a product is made—as well as how it’s transported through the supply chain. End-of-life takes into account the quality of the materials used, the product’s warranty, and any repair options for consumers. The final factor involves actions the company takes outside the life of a product to minimize its footprint or benefit the environment, and we award bonus points for transparency, as well. These scores are informed inferences based on available information, not full-blown life-cycle analyses.
FAQs: What to know about bidets
Are bidets more hygienic than toilet paper?
Yes, for a few reasons. Wiping with toilet paper tends to smear more than it cleans, can lead to irritation of sensitive areas, and, due to the close proximity of one’s hand, is more likely to spread bacteria. The stream of water from a bidet provides a gentler, more thorough cleaning that makes bacterial transfer less likely and is overall less irritating.
Do you need to wipe after using a bidet?
Unless you want to sit on the bowl for an extra few minutes to air-dry your derriere (not really recommended—or a good use of your time), you should pat your bottom dry with a sheet or two of TP or a towel. Neglect this, and any moisture could sog your underwear and lead to general discomfort or even infections and skin issues. Fancier bidets have air-dryer attachments which would forego the need for towel drying.
Christian Dashiell is a freelance writer covering cooking, products, parenting, and lifestyle. He’s a certified barbecue judge and has written for publications such as Gear Junkie, Spy, All Things Barbecue, and Fatherly.
Tyler Santora is a freelance science journalist, editor, and fact-checker. He’s written for publications such as Undark, Scientific American, and Popular Science.
one5c does not earn a commission on any product purchased through our reviews.