For generations, the roll on the wall has been the only option in American bathrooms. That is changing fast. A new generation of toilet seats that wash with warm water, dry with warm air and keep the seat heated is moving from Japanese homes and luxury hotels into ordinary U.S. bathrooms, and more and more households say they barely buy toilet paper anymore.
The new option: the bidet seat
It is not the old standalone bidet next to the toilet. The option now trending is the bidet seat, often called a washlet: it replaces the existing toilet seat and connects to the water supply under the tank. A small nozzle slides out after use and cleans with a stream of water you can adjust in temperature, pressure and direction. Electric models add a warm-air dryer, a heated seat, a self-cleaning nozzle and sometimes a remote control.
The shift is real. According to the 2024 Houzz Bathroom Trend Report, cited by The Philadelphia Inquirer, more than two in five renovating homeowners chose toilets with specialty features, and bidet seats topped the list. The toilet paper shortages of 2020 pushed many people to try one, and a lot of them never went back. TUSHY, one of the best-known U.S. brands, says it has sold about 2.5 million bidets since 2015.
Why people are switching
Users usually give three reasons:
- Feeling cleaner. Water cleans more thoroughly than dry paper, and it is gentler on irritated skin.
- Using far less paper. Most people still pat dry with a square or two, or not at all with a dryer model. Less paper also means fewer clogs.
- Comfort. A heated seat on a cold winter morning converts more skeptics than any argument about hygiene.
What it costs and how to install it
Prices vary widely. Simple non-electric attachments that slip under the existing seat start around $30 to $50. Electric bidet seats with warm water and drying cost a few hundred dollars, and fully integrated smart toilets run into the thousands.
Installation is usually a DIY job for attachments and seats: you remove the old seat, add a T-valve to the water supply line and bolt the new seat on. Before buying, check whether your toilet is round or elongated, and measure the space. Electric models need a grounded outlet near the toilet, which many bathrooms do not have; adding one is a job for an electrician.
The limits worth knowing
A bidet seat does not clean itself forever: the nozzle and the seat still need regular disinfecting, especially in hard-water areas where limescale clogs the jets. Some users find high pressure uncomfortable, so start on the lowest setting. And it will not replace a good cleaning routine for the rest of the toilet: for that, see the best way to remove limescale from the toilet, and why some people put baking soda around the toilet.
Toilet paper is not disappearing overnight, but in more and more homes it has become the backup, not the main act.
Warm water, a heated seat, a roll that lasts a month. That’s the trick.
