A soliloquy about the pleasurable Toto S550e bidet seat
Let me tell you the short story of how a Toto S550e Washlet bidet seat has become my favorite bathroom accessory in just the last 30 days. But, this tale started some time ago.
Can you imagine, being 7,699 miles from home and finding a toilet in your hotel room that had more buttons than your first car? That was my first encounter with a wonderfully comfortable Toto bidet seat in Taiwan.
Not being able to read Mandarin, I had to play with each button to see what it would do. I have to admit it, I was fascinated by this device, and looked forward to returning to the hotel each evening. Travel writers really do get to enjoy all sorts of things. Between this and the hot springs mineral baths, this was a relaxing press trip like none before. But, I digress…
Fast forward, and that luxury that made such an impression on me is now in my home. We planned to remodel our guest bath, so it was the perfect time to upgrade an old worn-out toilet and seat, along with adding a new luxury vinyl floor.
Being a former carpenter, I installed the flooring, but called on a friend who is a professional plumber to install the toilet and new Washlet seat. After the install, he explained that I could have certainly done the install myself, but I have a tendency to strip threads and overtighten things, so I’ve sworn off even trying.
The install of the seat took less than an hour and went without a hitch. The Washlet S550e is available in two styles, contemporary (the one I chose) and classic (with a molded edge design on the lid). This is an elongated seat for elongated toilets and it’s a perfect match to our Toto Drake toilet. It’s also the perfect seat for our guest bathroom, because even if used by our grandchildren, the lid closes automatically after each use.
Surprising to most guests is that even before they can reach for the lid, a hidden sensor detects when someone walks in, then turns on a nightlight and raises the lid automatically.
If a man wants to use the toilet in the standing position, he can either touch a button on top of the included remote, to raise the seat as well, or he can raise the seat manually.
In either case, when leaving the bathroom, the seat and the lid will also close automatically. This keeps the room looking neat all the time. But, so much for the bathroom looking good – let’s talk performance and benefits.
Features of the Washlet seat
As mentioned, as you approach, the seat lid will rise, but also under the seat, a pre-mist of ewater disinfectant is sprayed inside the bowl. “ewater” is short for electrolyzed water that aids hygiene by making waste less likely to stick, and preventing the need for harsh chemical cleanings. The bowl actually lights up during this process.
As soon as you sit, a deodorizer starts, pulling air from the bowl through a filter on the side of the unit, and continues to run for about 60 seconds after you stand up again.
The first feature I noticed in Taiwan was the heated seat which was so much nicer than sitting on a cold plastic seat in wintertime. Actually, this Toto Washlet seat offers five selectable temperatures (82 – 97°F) as well as “Off” so you can be toastier in winter than summer if you like. Trust me, this is as great as heated seats in your car.
The illuminated remote allows memorizes settings for two people, and each can select their preference for seat temperature, cleansing water temperature, and dryer temperature. More on those in a minute.
While the remote can certainly be handheld, if your house is like mine, where remotes end up in the strangest places, you’ll want to take advantage of the magnetic mounting cradle that can be attached conveniently adjacent to the seat. There’s even a template that can be mounted behind the bracket that gives definition to all the symbols on the remote. This is helpful to guests using the seat for the first time. I wish there had been one of these in Taiwan.
Water temperature can be set in five temperature increments from lukewarm to very warm (86 – 104°F), as well as “Off”. The water supply comes from a Tee fitting attached to your standard cold water supply line, so unheated will be whatever ambient temperature your tap water is.
As you follow the simple instructions to set up your remote, you’ll also get options for Auto Energy Saver settings – from shutting down at predetermined times (like when no one is home) or times of infrequent use. As a matter of fact, just about every control can be customized through the “Manual settings” function on the remote.
Pressing all the buttons
Once you’ve picked your ideal temperature, the real fun begins. Which button should I choose?
Running down the remote, the first button is “Stop” which terminates any other button. Standing up will also stop any action, as the built-in weight sensor needs to be engaged for the body cleansing functions to work. (Note: very small children may not weigh enough to actuate the sensor.)
Next button is the rear cleansing function for both men and women. The first press delivers a forceful stream while a second press changes to a soft steam which Toto describes as “cleanses your rear with a soft embracing water flow.” Nice, huh.
Next one down is the front cleansing settings for women, again with two pressure settings.
Below those is the dryer button, which bathes your rear with a steady stream of warm air. This uses the last of those three aforementioned temperature settings. Settings here are from low to high (95 – 140°F), but no need for an “Off” setting, as drying is optional – only if you want it.
The moving buttons come next. If you want, the wand that sprays the water can oscillate back and forth during the cleansing. Pressing it once starts the oscillation, and the second time stops the oscillation.
The next button offers the option of “pulsating cleansing” where the pressure alternates from strong to soft. So many choices!
Last of the center buttons is the Wand Clean button. Mine is set to auto clean each time I use it, but this can be used to manually wash it again if need be. I’ve never found the need, but it’s there.
Under all those are two “swipe” buttons to further adjust water pressure or wand position. The top one makes for a more forceful spray by swiping right and the bottom one moves the stationery wand more to the front by swiping left or more to the rear by swiping right.
At the very bottom are two human figures with the numbers 1 and 2. If you’ve stored your favorite settings, here’s where you’ll select your number, either 1 or 2.
Wrapping it up
When we installed the unit, I was expecting to enjoy using it on a daily basis, and it hasn’t disappointed me at all. It certainly aids hygiene immensely, while saving dozens of trees. No joke, toilet paper lasts four times longer than without a bidet.
I’ve used a couple of other brands, and this is by far a superior unit, both from the functions available and the control available from the remote unit. As I mentioned, it’s only been installed for 30 days now, but with Toto’s experience and reputation for quality, I expect to enjoy it for years to come.
To learn more about the unit, you can see the one I ordered here (SKU SW3056T40#01) and download a full spec sheet of the unit here. If you have time and love options to choose from, feel free to go here and see Toto’s 260 different bidet seat/toilet combinations available to choose from. A less head-spinning choice would be to visit your authorized Toto showroom and have them help select the best model for your needs. You can find your closest Toto showroom here.
Correction 9/24/21: I originally mentioned Washlet+, when in fact my unit is a Washlet. Hyperlinks have been updated.
Disclosure: Toto provided me with an S550e so we could evaluate and do this review. Opinions, however, are and always will be strictly our own.