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Do Bidets Need Electricity to Work?

Posted by Brian Inami on Nov 28th 2020

Bidets have come a long way from the humble French basin of yore . Modern-day bidet toilet seats and bidet attachments can sport all kinds of features, from temperature control to nightlights. But what powers all that tech? Do bidet toilets need electricity? Well, the wide world of bidets is pretty varied, so let’s look at what types of bidets do and do not require electricity.

Do all bidets need electricity?

The answer to the question “do bidets need electricity?” is that it depends on the type of bidet. (That’s also the answer to questions like “Do bidets have a dryer feature?” and “Is bidet water warm?” — selecting a bidet of your very own means that you decide which features you want, so you can choose your own bathroom adventure!).

Some bidets don’t require any electricity at all. A basic bidet attachment is a good example of a bidet that is typically mechanically powered without the use of electricity, even the kind that has temperature control.

However, bidets with more features typically do require electricity. A multi-functional bidet toilet seat, for example, uses electricity for features like remote-controlled access and heating the seat. So if you’re thinking about installation, that begs the question: do you need an electrical outlet for a bidet seat to work? Yep! Let’s look at how an electric-powered bidet toilet seat connects to an outlet.

How to: add electrical outlet for bidet toilet seats

Most bathrooms have at least one outlet, and an electric-powered bidet will come with a cord to plug into the wall. For instance, the Omigo requires a three-prong GFCI grounded outlet that operates on a standard 120-volt AC. To get really technical, a GFCI outlet is ground-fault circuit interrupter, or an outlet with an internal safety breaker, common in kitchens and bathrooms.

If you don’t have the proper kind of outlet, you can find adapters at your local hardware store or online. Here’s one on Amazon, for instance, that works for Omigo. And depending on the location of your outlet, you may need an extension cord to make sure that the cord can reach it. For Omigo, you should only use those rated for a minimum of 13 amps with a 3-wire extension cord with a 3-blade grounding plug, like this one. If you want to make sure that no one trips over the cord or just want to hide it for aesthetic reasons, a cord concealer or clip can help.

Always consult the manual for your specific bidet toilet seat to make sure that you’re installing it safely and properly.

Should you get an electric-powered bidet?

That’s up to you! You get to decide if you want a simpler bidet attachment without any electrical requirements or an electric-powered bidet toilet seat with more features. Either way, you can get the benefits of staying clean and fresh with water with the exact bidet of your choice.