I Tried it: The Tushy Bidet

Feeling European When You're a-Peein'

Feb 27, 2025

As a barely civilized American, bidets always made me giggle.

I recall visiting that one friend’s wonderfully weird 1970s house and taking a peek in their parents bathroom… only to discover an avocado green mini sink right next to the toilet. What’s that? A drinking fountain for ants?

That’s not a drinking fountain! said friend would shriek. It’s a bidet… for washing your butt! We *never* use it.

Ewwwww! I’d scream. Can you imagine? Washing your butt after you poop?! Sickening!

Eventually, I started to realize that relying on a thin piece of paper to clean fecal matter off your body is actually what’s gross.

If you stepped in dog poo whilst barefoot, would you just wipe it off with a dry paper towel? No you would not. You would hobble to a sink (preferably a utility sink where you don’t also wash your dishes), and clean your foot with warm, soapy water.

And you might even decide that’s not enough and take a shower.

And then maybe a second shower.

Water would play a prominent role.

I’ve been bidet-curious ever since becoming a mother, realizing the efficacy of wet wipes (while environmentally not great) far outperforms toilet paper. Hence, last Christmas, I ordered a Tushy bidet and wrapped it up for my husband... because while my love language is gifts, his is acts of service and now he gets to install it! (That’s how love languages work, right?)

So… what is a Tushy bidet?

It’s an after-market bidet— meaning you hook it up to your existing toilet. You can opt bidets that spray your undercarriage with warm water, and some even offer heated electric seats. However, because I wasn’t quite sure if we’d like a bidet, I opted for their most economical: the best-selling Classic 3.0 model ($119, but often discounted). BTW, that is not an affiliate link as Tushy rejected me from their affiliate program… my dreams of being a bidet influencer shattered!

The Pros:

It’s quick and easy to install (they say 8.5 minutes, and that’s pretty accurate). You simply hook up the Tushy adapter to the existing waterline.
Doesn’t require a nearby outlet (like the heated seat does).
No sink access needed (if you want this warm water option, you’ll need to be within 6’ of a sink).
They claim it works with 95% of toilets.
The aesthetic design is pretty nice.

The Cons:

With the Classic option, the water is room temp. In theory this doesn’t sound so bad, but we all know 75-degree water feels waaaaaay different than a 75-degree air temp.
While the styling is nice, it is still a bidet and as I mentioned earlier, people (Americans in particular) are culturally weird about bidets.
If you look at the Tushy website or sign up for their mailing list (and you will to save your 10 or 15% off your first order), your inbox will flood with emails featuring poop and butt-themed puns. I’m no prude, but I don’t need to see the term chocolate starfish in a subject line ever again.

The Tushy Experience

From what I understand (as I had nothing to do with it), the install took just a few minutes. As mentioned previously, for a bidet, it looked pretty cute— a little midcentury modern, if you will.

Never-have-I-ever in my entire 42 years tried a bidet. I’d pictured the water dispersing not unlike the drinking fountain at my high school. A little arc, but nothing aggressive. Without thinking, I twisted the water knob just to see what we were working with. A strong shot of water blasted across the room, fully drenching the wall. Imagine Firefighter Barbie trying to douse flames on the Dream House. Okay, so we’re not just getting the bum wet. We’re power washing it!

I could’ve tried the bidet at any point; there are no rules that you can’t use it after #1 versus #2. But I decided to wait until the real time came.

Eventually, nature called. After completing my business, I took a breath and braced myself for a posterior polar plunge. And yep, it was indeed a little cold, but not bad! I used a small amount of toilet paper after, and dang. Tushy did a real good job of cleaning up. Because let’s be honest, you gotta check your work.

The Verdict? Two 🍑🍑 Up.

We’ve reaped the benefits of the Tushy for a few weeks, and both my husband and I think it is great. After a lengthy discussion, we’ve decided the bare-bones Classic design does the job. This is when you know you’ve been married a looooong time.

The room temp water isn’t an issue. Neither of us fully understand how warm water from the bidet would work unless there is an electric heating element. It’s not like warm water arrives immediately when you go to wash your hands, so why would a bidet hooked up to the hot water line be any different? Tushy offers an electric version that would probably both warm the seat and water, but we don’t currently have an outlet by our toilet. While we could put one in, that priority is item #389 on our list of to-dos in this old house.

As an aside, I just returned from a long weekend in Mexico, where every single toilet in the joint had a Toto Washlet ($777). It has it all— a heated seat, warm water, modes for water volume/spray, deodorizer, and I’m pretty sure there was a Brazilian bikini wax setting. If I were doing a major bathroom renovation, I might explore that option.. but we are not.

I can think of about a bazillion things I’d rather spend $667 on. However, the our $99 Tushy feels worth every cent.

Are you a bidet convert? Are you brave enough to tell us all about it in the comments? I welcome you to the party!