CNN
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Tushy, the fun bidet brand you’ve probably seen on your social media, has made a name for itself with its easy-to-use bidet attachment that is perfect for beginners. But now the brand has launched a new bidet that is a huge improvement over the bidet tops you know and love, both in terms of features and price.
The Tushy Ace is an electric bidet that completely replaces your existing toilet seat and has a heated set, unlimited hot water, an adjustable self-cleaning nozzle, a dryer and even a remote control. At $ 599, it’s definitely an investment (and much more expensive than Tushy’s previous models, which are around $ 100). So that you can find out if it’s worth taking the plunge, we tried the Ace for ourselves.
Before we dive too deep into the Tushy Ace, it’s important to check that your toilet is compatible. (Who would have thought there were so many types of toilet seat?) You can check if the Ace will fit your toilet right here on Tushy’s website.
Tushy’s new fully-fledged electric bidet
With heated seats, hot water, a dryer, and even a remote control, the Tushy Ace is the high-end bidet you’ve been waiting for.
The heated seats, the warm water and the built-in dryer of the Tushy Ace are absolute game changers compared to the original Tushy Classic, which we tested after the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. We loved the Classic, but the Ace’s new features, adjustability, and intuitive remote control are all welcome upgrades. After installing the bidet (more on that later) you can do both a rear and a front wash, both with five settings for water pressure and angle. And after experiencing the Ace’s spray, we can confirm that it’s much more convenient than that of the Tushy attachments. In addition, the Ace not only offers more pleasant cleaning, but is also more effective thanks to an oscillating power wash, which is activated by pressing the rear or front wash button twice.
The Tushy Ace has five water temperature settings and an internal spiral heating system gives you unlimited warm water from the moment you start spraying. It’s a much better experience than the Tushy Spa, which draws hot water from the tap under the sink instead of heating it up itself. We also tested the spa and found that you have the same problem with the jet from your bidet when the water in your sink takes a while to warm up. The Tushy Ace, on the other hand, sprays warm water almost immediately.
Kai Burkhardt / CNN
Tushy ace
For a little insight, the big price driver for bidets at this level is the way it heats the water. Some bidets have a built-in tank that will only keep a limited amount of water warm, and others, like the Tushy Ace, have an internal system that heats the water as it flows through the bidet, which means you have a warm stream for as long as you need
For comparison, the Bliss BB-2000 ($ 699; amazon.com) and Brondell Swash 1400 ($ 649; brondell.com) bidet both have an internal heating system that gives you unlimited hot water. However, if you don’t want to spend that much money but still want hot water, a bidet with a heating tank is a good option. We tried the Brondell Swash LE89 and Swash LE99, which both use a tank and offer convenient, efficient cleaning. The Swash LE89 ($ 289.99; brondell.com) has the same basic functionality as the Tushy Ace (albeit with a limited amount of warm water), but all controls are on a side arm. We didn’t think the arm was too painful, but if you love the idea of a remote control and still want a cheaper bidet, the Swash LE99 ($ 309.99; brondell.com) is almost identical to the LE89, but with a remote control and user profiles that you can use to save your preferred settings.
The Tushy Ace also comes with heated seats – again with five temperature settings – and to be honest, the warm seat felt a bit strange at first. Back in the day, the only reason for a toasted toilet seat was because someone else had just used it, which is a slightly uncomfortable association. But after a few uses, the feeling of heated seats became downright pleasant and will probably only get better when it gets colder.
Kai Burkhardt / CNN
Tushy ace
We have finally arrived at the dryer, which is hands down the best upgrade from the original Tushy. Brands always claim that using their bidet will reduce your toilet paper usage, but in our experience it hasn’t always been. Often times there is a lot of water left to dry off after spraying, and we would end up using roughly the same amount of toilet paper anyway. With the dryer in the Tushy Ace, this problem is a thing of the past. When you have finished spraying, simply tap the dryer button to start a drying cycle, which you can stop at any time by pressing the “stop” button. With five temperature settings, it’s not only comfortable, but also works well enough to drastically reduce toilet paper usage.
Installation plays a huge role in bidets, and it’s no surprise that most people don’t interact with their toilet’s plumbing that often. However, Tushy has always claimed to be one of the easiest bidets to attach to your toilet, and when we tested the Classic it definitely sounded right. Tushy has kept this easy installation in the new Tushy Ace – just make sure your toilet is compatible as mentioned earlier and that a three prong outlet is less than 3 feet away.
Putting the Tushy Ace on our toilet only took about 30 minutes, and that time was mostly spent plugging the hose into the connector on our toilet tank – which is plugged in a corner of our bathroom and basically can’t be seen (you have apartments in To love New York City!).
Kai Burkhardt / CNN
Tushy ace
Overall, installing the Ace is an incredibly simple process. You turn off the plumbing, flush your toilet to empty the tank, and remove your toilet seat, just like you did when you installed the Tushy Classic. The plumbing fittings are generally easy to screw on as long as space isn’t too tight, and attaching the bidet to your toilet requires a simple bracket that fits right over the holes in your toilet. We have an overhead toilet and had to purchase additional washers to properly mount other bidets. However, the Tushy Ace comes with its own screws, so you don’t need any additional materials to assemble the bidet, whether you have a countertop or a regular toilet.
After slowly turning the water back on and making sure none of your connections are leaking, you can plug in your Tushy Ace and you’re good to go. Even if it is easy to install, you should read the instructions carefully beforehand.
Our installation went smoothly but be sure to check in your bidet. After about an hour we noticed that one of the connections was leaking and our bathroom had flooded. We just had to realign the hose and screw it on tighter, but it’s definitely a good idea to double-check yours afterwards to avoid flooding.
Kai Burkhardt / CNN
Tushy ace
There is no doubt that the Tushy Ace is a huge improvement over the Tushy Classic and Tushy Spa. If you want a high-end bidet, the Tushy Ace is a solid option for $ 599.
If you are ready to buy a quality, yet easy-to-use bidet, you won’t be disappointed with the Tushy Ace electric bidet. Once you’ve experienced the endlessly warm water, heated seat, remote control, adjustability and dryer, you’ll wonder how you can ever use a little less.