Buying a bidet toilet seat is easy but what about installing it? When you get your new seat home, you’re going to be dying to start using it. In fact, you might even think about taking a laxative just to expedite your next bowel movement. But before you down that laxative, we first need to get your seat installed.

How do you install a bidet toilet seat? First, install a “T” in your water supply line that feeds your toilet’s tank. Next, install the bidet bracket to the back of the toilet bowl where the current seat attaches and slide the seat onto the bracket. Then thread the water supply lines onto the seat and the toilet tank. Finally, plug the seat into a GFI outlet.

While the above description is a quick summary of the steps, below I’ll explain a little more about each step and what you may need to consider. Keep in mind that your bidet seat will come with installation instructions. If you intend to install it yourself, follow the instructions that came with your unit. The below should give you a pretty good idea of how it all works though.

Removing the old seat

For me, removing the old seat was by far the hardest part of the bidet installation process. For some reason the bolts that held it on had become corroded and the heads of the bolts were stripped out. And as most toilets are, it was in a really tight space which made it very difficult to access the old seat’s bolts.

After trying various types of pliers trying desperately to get a hold of those bolts and the nuts that held them on, it became apparent that I needed to do something a little more drastic. I turned to my trusty hacksaw. Unfortunately I couldn’t use the entire hacksaw; it just wouldn’t fit in this small space. So I removed the blade, put on a glove and moved the blade back and forth with just my hand.

Once I started moving the blade I realized that the bolts were rotating as I moved the blade accross them. So I had to get a little help from my wife to hold the bolts still while I cut them off with the hacksaw. This was a terribly frustrating process but we eventually got those bolts cut and the seat came right off.

Hopefully your seat comes off much easier than ours. But if you have some trouble, don’t get discouraged. Try a couple different tools and if all else fails, use a hacksaw blade.

Installing the T

This next part is not very hard, but you definitely want to get it right. You’re going to install a “T” in your water line that feeds your toilet tank. The first thing to do is turn the valve off to this hose. This valve is probably right down by the floor and really close to the wall behind your toilet.

Once the valve is turned off, flush your toilet to relieve the pressure in the hose that feeds your toilet tank with water. Now, un-thread the supply hose from the valve that you just turned off. My bidet came with two new hoses, one to supply the bidet and one to supply the toilet tank. If yours comes with two hoses, go ahead and remove the hose from the tank as well.

The seat you bought will likely come with a “T”. This new “T” threads onto the valve right where the hose was attached that you just removed. Make sure you get this “T” threaded on properly so you don’t have leaks.

Attach seat bracket

I personally recommend this step next. Your instructions may have this in a different order, but I found this order to be the best. If you attach the hose to the seat at this point it becomes more difficult to manipulate the seat onto the bracket. Not impossible of course, just slightly more difficult.

Position your bracket on the back of the toilet bowl where the old seat attached. Make sure you have the correct side of the bracket facing up. I put mine on upside down and had to redo it after fiddling with it for about 5 minutes.

Place the new bolts through the bracket and bowl holes. Now thread the nuts onto the new bolts from the underside of the toilet. Thread them on until they are finger tight. Now attach the seat to make sure the bracket is positioned properly.

The seat should be lined up properly with the rim of the bowl and should not be crooked. If the seat is a little off, loosen the nuts on the bolts slightly and position the seat properly. Then re-tighten the nuts. It’s a good idea at this point to really tighten them down tight so the bracket won’t be moving anymore.

Attach the hoses

Now you’ll need to attach your hoses to the tank and the seat. It can be a little tricky sometimes to get the tank hose threaded on properly. With both hoses, make sure you get both ends of the hoses threaded on properly. Also, don’t over tighten the hoses. This could lead to leaks. YOU DON’T WANT ANY LEAKS.

Plug it in

The final step is to plug your bidet into a ground fault interrupter (GFI) outlet. This may be the easiest part or the most difficult part depending on your home. If you have a GFI outlet nearby your toilet then you’re in luck.

If you don’t have a GFI outlet nearby then you’ve got some work to do. You’re going to have to find a way to get power to your toilet area. I got lucky and found an outlet on the other side of the wall from our toilet. This allowed me to grab power from that outlet and send it to the toilet side of the wall and put a GFI outlet in.

If you are uncomfortable with electricity at all, you should call a qualified electrician to do this part. You don’t want to risk a fire or electrocution. If you’re needing an outlet installed, you may want to get a quote from an electrician before purchasing a bidet. You’ll just want to make sure the cost of the outlet isn’t cost prohibitive.

Bottom Line

For the most part, installing a bidet toilet seat is pretty straight forward and easy. There are a few points where you need to be careful to not cause any leaks.

If you don’t have a GFI outlet near your toilet you may need to call an electrician to install one for you. It would be advisable to get a quote from an electrician if you need an outlet installed before you buy a bidet.

Additional Questions

Can I install a bidet myself? You can certainly install a bidet toilet seat yourself if you have even minor plumbing ability and if you have a GFI protected outlet near your toilet. If you don’t have a suitable outlet near your toilet you will need to call an electrician to install one.