On the top of the 2020 bathroom paper scarcity, there I sat, with two moist paper towels in a single hand and three dry ones within the different, considering, “Actually, is that this the very best you are able to do?” I figured if I may get myself a bidet, I’d most likely save paper and likewise regain dignity.
The state of affairs was extreme sufficient that I didn’t suppose twice about accepting a used one—sure, a used bathroom seat—from Wirecutter senior employees author Doug Mahoney. Doug himself had change into a reluctant convert after testing over a dozen bidets (technically “bidet bathroom seats,” or “washlets”) for our information.
Our choose
Toto Washlet C5
The C5 has all of the options you’d need in a bidet seat, and this mannequin’s intuitive controls make it simpler to dial in or disable these options in keeping with your preferences.
Shopping for Choices
*On the time of publishing, the worth was $445.
Washlets: Some advantages in your behind
After disinfecting and manhandling the downstairs bathroom, I used to be all arrange, already studying that I needed to ask my children to not trick the seat into considering it was occupied so they might spray water throughout the toilet.
In quieter moments, I truly bought to make use of the C5 as designed. And I got here to understand how this magical oval may very well be so beloved that individuals who purchase one usually double down on it, shopping for higher bidets to interchange the featureless seats nonetheless parked on different bathrooms round the home.
The downsides
For all of the bliss of easing onto a prewarmed seat very first thing within the morning—from the 100-degree water washing you off to the heated fan blowing like a desert breeze throughout your backside, at 8.83 cubic ft per minute—the C5 will not be excellent. Most significantly: You continue to want slightly bathroom paper touch-up on the finish.
You’ll get too accustomed to your physique’s geometry as you search the optimum spray angle. The wand arm makes unusual gurgling noises that’ll scare your children proper off the seat. You’ll lose the distant management, and also you’ll uncover this loss whereas in no place to stand up and go search for it. And you’ll overlook about setting something on the bathroom seat cowl, as a result of the bidet {hardware} raises up one finish, so it’s as tilted as a hill.
The backstory: Washlets within the U.S.
The US arrived late to the world of bidets and washlets. Within the previous days, it was our puritanical previous (with a dose of xenophobia) holding us again, in keeping with analysis in The Atlantic and elsewhere. However feature-rich digital bathroom seats have been mainstream fixtures in elements of Asia for a while now, and higher consciousness (in addition to world occasions) have helped the North American market start to catch up.
By spring 2020, the bathroom paper scarcity had additionally change into a bidet scarcity. “We offered every part we had within the US in every week and a half,” mentioned Invoice Strang, Toto’s president of company technique, e-commerce, and buyer expertise.
After testing greater than 16 bidet seats and washlets in not less than three houses since 2016, we’re positive the Toto Washlet C5 strikes simply the appropriate steadiness of options, value, and usefulness. Most individuals agree their expertise with this bidet is superb, whether or not they’ve used a bidet for years or are new customers.
Some folks come to this product by buying a reasonable mannequin, like a bidet attachment, after which upgrading to a greater one. Naked-bones, entry-level fashions that use chilly water begin as little as $35.
A model of this publish was initially printed as a part of our 2020 “52 Issues We Love” sequence, an ode to Wirecutter picks which have withstood the check of time. Learn all the sequence.
