Toilet douche and bidet shower: which type to fit

The four options compared

They all do a similar job. What separates them is how much plumbing and electrical work they need, how much space they take and how comfortable the water is.

Handheld douche: what the installation involves

A douche kit is usually a small valve on the wall, a hose and a spray head with a trigger, plus a holder. The simplest kits run from the cold supply only. Warm water is far more comfortable, and for that you need a hot and cold supply to a thermostatic valve, which mixes to a set temperature and cuts the hot if the cold fails. A thermostatic valve is the safer choice where children or older people use the bathroom.

Getting the pipes to the valve is most of the work. In a bathroom being refurbished, the supplies can be run behind the wall before tiling and the valve set in neatly. In a finished room, the pipes may need to be surface-run and boxed in, or brought up through the floor from below. A concealed valve should be positioned so it can be reached for servicing, not sealed behind tiles.

With a trigger-operated spray, the hose stays under pressure after use unless the valve is turned off. Get into the habit of shutting the valve after use, and replace the hose if it cracks or kinks. A hose failing under pressure is an easy way to flood a bathroom floor.

Backflow protection matters here

The water fittings regulations put the contents of a toilet pan in the highest risk category for contaminating the supply. A spray head that can be dropped into the pan, or held under the water line, creates a route for that water to be drawn back into the pipes if the supply pressure drops. That is why the installation needs backflow protection suited to that risk, not just whatever check valve came in the box.

Products differ in how they deal with this, and some are designed so that the head cannot reach the water in the pan. Ask the installer how the kit you have chosen meets the regulations. It is one of the reasons we do not treat a douche as a quick tap-and-hose fit.

If you are buying a douche kit online, check that it is listed as meeting UK water fittings requirements, and keep the product details so the installer can confirm the protection it needs.

Bidet seats and shower toilets

A non-electric bidet seat replaces the existing seat and takes water from the toilet's cold supply through a tee. It is the least disruptive option, but the water is usually cold, and fitting depends on the shape of your pan and the space between the pan and the cistern.

Electric bidet seats and shower toilets heat the water themselves and often add a dryer and a heated seat. They need a cold feed with isolation and an electrical supply positioned to suit the bathroom's zones. The plumbing connection is straightforward; the electrical work is notifiable in a bathroom in many cases and should be done by a competent electrician. A full shower toilet may also need a particular soil connection height, so check the installation drawing against your current toilet position.

Water pressure and the hot water system

A douche works best with reasonable pressure on both hot and cold. If you have a gravity-fed hot water cylinder with a tank in the loft, the hot side may be at much lower pressure than the mains cold, and a thermostatic valve needs to be chosen to cope with that. With a combi boiler or an unvented cylinder, both sides are usually at mains pressure.

If the rest of the house already suffers from weak flow or temperature swings in the shower, sort that out first, or the douche will have the same problems.

Which one to choose

Most people who want a bidet function in an existing bathroom end up with a handheld douche on a thermostatic valve. It adds no floor space, needs no electrics and gives warm water. A non-electric seat is the budget, no-building-work option if cold water is acceptable. An electric seat or shower toilet suits someone who wants the most comfort and is happy to arrange electrical work. A separate bidet makes sense in a larger bathroom during a full refurbishment.

• Small bathroom, existing tiles, warm water wanted: handheld douche with a thermostatic valve
• Renting or no building work: non-electric bidet seat, with the landlord's agreement
• Full refurbishment, comfort first: shower toilet or electric seat with power planned in
• Large room, traditional layout: separate bidet with its own waste

Getting one fitted

Loyal Plumbers fits bathroom plumbing across London and everywhere inside the M25, including douche valves, bidet seats and the supplies and backflow protection they need. We can fit a kit you have bought or suggest a type that suits your hot water system and room. Where an electrical supply is needed, that part must be done by a competent electrician.

Call us or send an enquiry with the product you are considering, a photo of the toilet and the wall beside it, and what type of boiler or hot water cylinder you have.