Best Bidet for Survival Kits and Homesteads
Only 12% of Americans have a bidet, but the benefits should have this number close to 100%. They are inexpensive, easy to install, save you money on toilet paper, and can even reduce health problems. Many people in the US (including me, until recently), associated a stigma to bidets- but I challenge you to not knock it until you try it. Shopping for one can be a bit overwhelming since there are a huge number of brands and types of bidets to pick from.
This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best bidets, tested them, and now the results are in: the overall best, a budget option, and an upgrade pick. If you need a reliable sanitation solution, one of our suggestions will keep you fresh.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
The Best Bidet
Tushy Basic 2.0
Simple, Easy-to-Install, and Effective
This one-size-fits-all bidet does it all easily with a price that will pay dividends vs. toilet paper.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
With just one person, this basic bidet will pay for itself in a year. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to good news. This bidet installs in less than 10 minutes, doesn’t use any electricity, and has two nozzles to clean anyone anywhere.
If you’ve been looking to install a bidet for a while, it’s become extremely affordable recently. This model doesn’t have the warm water option, but most people find they don’t use that when they get it.
Here is everything you get with this bidet:
- Fits any seat style
- Range of finishes to pick from
- Dual nozzles with angle control
- 8.5-minute install
With an unbeatable price on a quality product that will change your toileting life, it’s easy to see why the Tushy Basic 2.0 Bidet tops the rest.
Portable Bidet
Brondell GoSpa
Portable, Inexpensive, and Effective
This versatile and portable bidet is the best for the money by far and works great in any emergency kit.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
You may be used to a portable bidet if you’ve had a baby, for instance. Our US healthcare system may charge an arm and a leg for those little hand-held irrigation bottles, but they are just inexpensive bidets.
Brondell is not typically an inexpensive brand, but they are the clear leader when it comes to portable bidets. You can even get it in multiple colors if you want to color-code or keep it on your for everyday use on the go.
Here is how the portable option measures up:
- Stowable nozzle, travel bag included
- 400mL reservoir
- 3″ D x 8″ L
- 3.2 ounces
If you aren’t sure if you can handle using a bidet (and want to test it out for cheap) or need a portable pick, the Brondell GoSpa Travel Bidet is what you’re looking for.
Upgrade Bidet
Brondell Swash
Temperature Control, Non-Electric, and High Quality
Pamper your derriere with a bidet that pairs non-electric temperature control with high-quality construction.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
After our review, my wife selected this one for our permanent master bath installation- so that just solidifies it as our upgrade pick. It has a warm water option for those cold mornings, but still doesn’t use electricity.
The bidet being built into the seat makes for a sleek appearance, with all of the components being high-quality and built to last.
Here are the specs:
- Round or elongated seat style options
- Dual nozzles with optional temperature control
- Gentle-close seat, sleek controls
- 10-minute install
With a sleek design and high-quality components, the Brondell Swash Toilet Seat Bidet is the model my own family ultimately settled on.
Everything We Recommend
This one-size-fits-all bidet does it all easily with a price that will pay dividends vs. toilet paper.
Where to Buy
*at time of reviewing
This versatile and portable bidet is the best for the money by far and works great in any emergency kit.
Where to Buy
*at time of reviewing
Pamper your derriere with a bidet that pairs non-electric temperature control with high-quality construction.
Where to Buy
*at time of reviewing
The Bidets We Compared
Our research narrowed the field down to a few brands and types of bidets that we compared: Tushy, American Standard, Brondell, Blaux, Luxe, TOTO, Bio Bidet, and more.
You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.
We considered a wide range of bidets. Ultimately, we focused on the easy-to-install add-on options and portable solutions due to the value they provide. If you are remodeling or building from scratch, you may opt to get a built-in bidet.
We’re always looking for new and better equipment, so if you have a bidet that you love, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested gear annually so we can try to get it in the next roundup round and see if it will beat out our top picks.
What to Look For
The best bidets have a few features to look for:
- Value
- Effectiveness
- Comfort Features
- Ease of Installation
- Versatility
When you get the right blend of these, you can find the perfect sprayer to keep you fresh and sanitized. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the bidets that truly set themselves apart.
Value: Cost vs. Benefit
The amount of money you spend on something like a spritzer for your behind shouldn’t blow out your entire budget. There is a wide range of prices from portable models to installed luxury bidets.
You never want to spend too much money on one resource, even when it comes to health and sanitation. It’s better to diversify your spending to make sure you are covered for a wide range of scenarios.
Effectiveness
The whole point of a bidet is to keep you clean, so you want it to be effective at doing just that.
Reduction of water pressure, mineral buildup, and leaks just aren’t going to cut it when we are looking for something to simply get the job done.
Comfort Features
As you go up in price, you can get access to a wide range of comfort features. These include spray adjustments, nozzle aiming, multiple streams, temperature-controlled water, heated seats- the list goes on forever.
At the top, you have TOTO bidets that come from Japan, the clear world leader in bidet technology.
Ease of Installation
If you don’t want to plumb and rough in a stand-alone bidet you can use add-ons, lid-only, or portable bidets. All of these are much easier to install, although some will require that you tap into the water line to the toilet.
If adding these on yourself isn’t possible, any handyman or plumber could easily get it done.
Versatility
While most bidets are installed, they give your toilet some versatility. Bidets can replace most (if not eliminate) toilet paper completely. This reduces your reliance on paper products and the room needed to store them.
Versatility really shines for portable bidets, though. You can rig these as first-aid irrigation devices, siphons, and plenty of other uses well past their basic portable sanitation uses.
Can a Bidet Save You Money?
When you cut your toilet paper usage by 75%, you end up saving an average of $50 per person each year. As you guessed, that can stack up to quite a lot.
Toilet paper isn’t cheap. And the cost of the toilet paper isn’t the only thing- if you are prepared at all, your toilet paper is taking up precious shelf space. Plus, with less toilet paper you will experience less clogging. We won’t even get into septic tank savings.
Bidets have also been found to be more sanitary, and a study done in Australia found it reduced UTI occurrences significantly.
Insider Tech does a pretty good breakdown of the benefits of bidets and examines why the US doesn’t use them:
Who Needs a Bidet?
A bidet can be useful for anyone for everyday hygiene. They can save you some money on hygiene and can help you be less reliant on toilet paper, a limited resource. They come in a wide range of prices so virtually everyone can afford them.
We strongly suggest that you consider a portable bidet for most of your kits for hygiene:
You can even use portable bidets for first aid (to irrigate wounds), refit them into siphon pumps, and for plenty of other versatile solutions.
How We Review Products: We research thoroughly before selecting the best products to review. We have vast prepping and survival experience and bring in outside experts when needed. Hours on end are spent testing gear in stressful conditions and using specialized testing gear to verify claims. We assign performance criteria and impartially rate each tested item. Learn more about how we test.
Sources and References
All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best bidet are useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical survival experience:
Abney, S., et al. (2021). Toilet hygiene—review and research needs. Journal of Applied Microbiology. Volume 131. Issue 6. Pages 2705 – 2714. (Source)
Iyo, T., et al. (2016). Bidet toilet seats with warm-water tanks: residual chlorine, microbial community, and structural analyses. Journal of Water & Health. Volume 14. Issue 11. Page 68 – 80. (Source)
Yoseph, D., et al. (2023). The dermatologists’ case for the bidet. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. Volume 9. Issue 3. Page 103. (Source)
The Final Word
Bidets aren’t used often here in America, but the rest of the world uses them frequently. When you get past the stigma you can see the vast usefulness and self-sufficiency both installed and portable bidets provide.
Here are a few other gear reviews and guides our subscribers have found helpful:
- Best Toilet Paper Tablets
- Best Bucket Toilet for Prepping and Emergencies
- Home Survival Kit List | 53 Essentials
We presented quite a lot of information, but as always: if you have any questions let us know and we would be happy to help. Our testing found the Tushy Basic 2.0 Bidet to be the best option given its value, effectiveness, comfort features, ease of installation, and versatility.
Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.
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