This is my personal and honest review of the Swash S-1000 Toilet Seat Bidet. After searching high and low, and researching and reading everything I cld find on EVERY toilet seat bidet out there, I chose the Swash 1000. It's too bad you can't "try before you buy" with these things. Maybe my choice would have been different in the end. I almost bought the Coway BA-13. Def worth you checking out. So, that's why I wanted to write a comprehensive review on the Swash S-1000 for ppl. There just aren't many solid and detailed reviews out there on these things. So I hope this helps you in your search for one of these.

First a little bit about me. I am a 41 y/o male, and my main reason for buying one of these was for myself. More on that in my review. The 2nd reason was for my 4 y/o dghtr. She's been toilet trained for almost 2 years now, but still doesn't always wipe herself well enough down there when she's at school, and ends up with a very bad and sore/irritating rash down there. So I wanted her to always be able use the seat to get herself totaly clean whenever she "goes". We have her use it to clean off w/e she may have missed from going to the bathroom at school everyday as well. 3rd reason was for my wife. Not for after doing #1. That's too much of a hassle. But mainly during her "friends" visit. AKA "that time of the month". So,...on to the review.

I'll start out with the cons/negs first. For you ladies out there, I hate to break it to you, but...this seat WILL NOT reach you well enough in your frontal area unless you can uncomfortably skoot all the way to the back of the toilet seat, and lean forward. Luckily here, my wife is a workout queen so that's not a problem, but for some women, that may not be so easy.

To the makers of the Swash...I understand that you only have so much room for the wands to extend out based on the depth of the back of the toilet seat housing, but honestly, is it that big-a-deal to make telescoping wands that cld more than easily extend ALL THE WAY OUT to where any person wld need them to be in order to wash comfortably? You know, wands that will collapse into themselves in a couple of sections for extended reach but will also fit all the way back into the housing. I mean come on! This aint rocket science. Especially if a dummy like me can come up with the idea. LOL I mean this is a $1000 toilet seat (based on MSRP) we're talking about here. Yeesh! To me, that's is a big negative. A major design flaw. Swash, PLEASE steal my idea and make/design both wands with a scoping feature. The whole purpose of the seat is to TOTALLY clean you, back to FRONT. In fact, as much as I like the dedicated wands for each clean up chore, I'm sure that with a scoping wand, you'd only need one wand as opposed to two, thus saving on the cost of production as well as the cost to the consumer.

Secondly, with my dghtr. The weight sensors in the front of the seat will not recognize her sitting on it. This now requires my wife to go in there and push down on the inside front part of the toilet seat, and me to work the remote for it to clean her. Now I realize that the sensor is a safety feature, and it's a good one at that, but my dghtr weighs 42lbs. Certainly someone weighing more than say 30lbs should be recognized by the seat sensor as a person "in use". Not a big thing to complain about, but a problem none the less. And for anyone else who has the same idea of using it on your children as we did, (especially if you have multiple little ones) will find it to be none too fun. It will get old real fast having to deal with that.

So, I can honestly say that those are the two "MAIN" negatives with the seat. Minor things wld be to have a completely back lit remote feature for night time usage. It stinks to have to turn the lights on to see the thing. It'd also be nice if the seat itself had a nite lite feature on it. It does have nice little function lights that are lit up on it, esp the blue eco-mode light. But a dedicated nite lite wld have been a great little addition to match a lighted remote. But that's nitpicking. So, now it's time for the POSITIVES. = )

As I stated, the purchase of this seat was MAINLY for me. You see, I have severe Ulcerative Colitis. For those who don't knw wht that is, it's a serious colon disease. For me, I use the bathroom between 25 - 40 times a day. That is NOT a typo. You read it right. Depending on what I eat during the day I cld be on this thing up to 40 times. A little milk or ice cream and I'm doomed. Anyone out there with Collitis or Chrone's or Diverticulitis or IBS knws all too well wht I am talking about. I say all this because IMHO, if you're only going to use your toilet a cpl times a day, I really don't think a $300-$600 plus dollar toilet seat bidet is worth the investment. If however, money isn't tight, and you can afford it, then go for it. Because even those few times that you do put it to use, you will find yourself LOVING it. And if you're going a lot more frequently, or have some type of gastro-intestinal disease...it's a "MUST HAVE". An absolute "GOD SEND", LITERALLY!

Having the Swash for almost 2 months now I can say that this seat has been awesome for me. No more using a a roll and a half to 2 rolls of toilet paper per day. And at 69-79 cents a roll now-a-days, the savings are considerable. For me that's a potential savings of $250 to $350 a year right there! It's like an investment that will pay for itself in 2 to 3 years. Not to mention the fact of NO more awful rashes and that sandpaper feeling with every wipe. NO more dirty feeling, like you need to take a shower 5 times a day, just to name a few things. As I said, it's been a God send for me. The seat gets me totally clean, EVERYTIME! As for drying yourself...I have found that if you use the dryer feature alone, it'll take forever to get dry. So wht I do is take the toilet paper and just pat (NOT wipe) myself dry to get the heavy water off, using 2-3 wads of paper. Then I dry myself with the dryer (which has 3 temp as well as 3 speed settings) for 20-30 seconds, and I'm perfectly clean and dry. At least 80% less paper used! = )

There are alot more awesome features on the seat as well. First, no cheap plastic washing wands. Nice rust free stainless steel here. That's definitely the best way to go if you buy one. SS, you can't beat it for quality, longevity, and cleanliness. It also has oscilating wands, meaning they go back and forth while they clean. Truly a great feature that you will appreciate. It also has a width adjustment for the water stream that you can use and adjust WHILE it's cleaning you. It can blast a stream at you, a medium width fan spray, or a nice wide spray. That's my personal fav. ; ) The water pressure from the wands can also be adjusted from low to high water output. Also with the internal ceramic heater element, you NEVER run out of nice hot water. I've used the water stream for 5 minutes without it running out just to test it. It's a great feature to have as opposed to the water resevoirs that will give you warm water for about 45 seconds. It takes longer than that to wash yourself clean. I mean why buy a cleaning seat if you're not going to get 100% clean? There are also 3 different temp settings for the water so everyone can find a comfortable heat setting.

Also, being up here in New England with our freezing winter temperatures, it's a great feeling to sit down on a nice pre-heated toilet seat. Esp in the middle of the night when you have your heat turned down to save some $$$ and it's chilly in the house. The seat is so warm and comfortable, hec, it's down right inviting! LOL It also has 4 temp settings. Completely off, then a cool temp setting for summertime (no sweating), medium heat, and extra warm. It's also great that the seat has the gentle close feature. Especially for the kids, and guests. You don't want your seat to be accidentally slammed down, jarring all the inner workings and electronics in your toilet seat. It won't last long for sure. And don't forget the fact that those accidental late night slams sometimes have you ducking and dodging slippers being thrown at your head from an angrily awoken significant other person. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that. LOL

Well,...I appologize for the length of this review, but I really wanted to be as comprehensive and informative as possible to help you with your purchase. $600. is a lot of money to spend on a toilet seat. You def want to be happy with such an expensive purchase. So, all in all, the Swash has some truly great as well as addicting features, and aside from a few negatives, I would DEFINITELY recomend the Swash S-1000 Toilet Seat Bidet to you, and would in fact myself buy it again. Now, as I stated at the begining of my review, there may be a better seat out there, I don't know. Honestly, the Coway BA 13 was the other seat that I narrowed my exhaustive search down to, and almost bought. It's one that you shld seriously consider too. As I said...I wish you cld try before you buy, becuase if the Coway can reach a womans' frontal area better...I'da chosen that one because it has the same features as the Swash does. So def give that a look too. Hope this was helpful to you all. God Bless and good luck to you in your search for "bathroom bliss". = )

5/16/12 Product Update...

Well, it's been over a year and a half since I bought my Swash 1000, and I thought it would be a beneficial addition to the review if I gave a little "Quality" update to let you know how the toilet seat is performing. Well, the seat is performing PERFECTLY. There is not a single thing wrong with the seat. Nothing is broke or has stopped working on it. It has performed flawlessly. And believe me, my toilet seat probably has the equivelant of 10 years of "normal" usage on it with my stomach ailment. This has been a tremendous value and investment for me. I really can't say enough good things about the Swash.

I have also recommended it to a lot of people. Even a few people at work. One guy weighs 4oo lbs and really can't clean himself well enough back there. And another guy at work who was collecting money for a charity raffle for his friend who was in an accident, and is almost a quadrapolegic. I say almost because he has very "limited" use of his right arm. I don't know if that family ended up buying one, but what a great way to be able to properly clean someone in that type of physical condition. #1-The person doing the cleaning doesn't have to hurt themselves trying to clean the person right. And #2-I think you'd give a real feeling of self respect to the person who needs to be cleaned. Thus saving them a lot of constant embarassment. To me, that's the most important thing of all.

So, for all those wondering about the potential longevity of this seat, I can honestly say that this thing has more than just lived up to my expectations. It has by far and away surpassed them. And as I stated, with the demands I put on my seat, it will definitely last you for years to come as well.

Well, I hope this little update will provide some additional help for you all. Any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section.

Update 11-25-14

After receiving a kind comment from Sisyphen, I've decided to do another seat update.

Long story short, I severely hurt my back and blew out 3 lower discs. This has caused me not to be ably to hold myself up when I go to sit down. When it comes to my toilet seat, I literally fall into it. This has caused me to crack the plastic in multiple places under the seat. It's a mess, but this is NO fault of the seat. 250lbs falling into the seat a thousand times and using the front of the seat to push yourself back up has been beyond excess use of this. But what I will say is, even though it's all cracked up, it's still working perfectly with the exception of some lost wand pressure. Probably due to something being pinched or wedged in there. Again, not Brondell's fault in any way shape or form. So this thing can really take a ton of abuse and still will hold up and work well for years to come.

Also, because of how this thing has held up under all the down right torture that I put it through, and the money that I have saved on TP, which is definitely more than the cost of the seat, I have changed my rating to this to 5 stars. It may have a few things that could be improved upon, but after how this thing has held up and what it has saved me, it is a well deserved 5 star rating.

Lastly, the true test of a customers satisfaction is, would you buy it again? Not only do I answer yes, but I in fact HAVE! :) I have yet to install it as I've been thinking of a way that I could brace it up and spread the weight around the whole seat as opposed to its rubber padded contact points. Any Ideas?

Thanks for reading all. Hope this helps someone on the fence out there about weather to spring for this or not. It's a purchase you won't regret and it's well worth it in the end.

Well, Happy Holidays to all! :)

I've purchased both the Brondell Swash 1000 and the AMDM Intelliseat offered here on Amazon but also from Costco:

AMDM IntelliSeat - The Ultimate Bidet Electronic Toilet Seat w/ Remote ISB200 - Washlet White

The Swash 1000 and the Intelliseat have similar features, except the Swash has a few more. However, the Swash 1000 costs three times as much as the Intelliseat. Here's a brief comparison between the two bidet seats based on my experiences. Please bear with me as the review is very lengthy, but I hope it'll help you make an informed decision if you're stuck between the Swash and the Intelliseat.

Installation: The installation process was very similar between the Swash and the Intelliseat, and shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. Both use a T-valve hooked onto your toilet's water supply to feed water into the bidet, but there are differences. The Swash's T-valve is a 7/8" connection that fits between the fill valve connection under your toilet tank and the water supply hose. This greatly eliminates the probability of needing additional adapters because fill valves connections are almost always 7/8", and you simply hook up the water supply hose to the T-valve, and the T-valve over the fill valve connection. The Intelliseat's T-valve fits between the water supply hose and the water supply valve from your wall. The Intelliseat's T-valve is made to fit over 3/8" or 1/2" if you use the included conversion nut, but I ended up having to shop for another conversion nut because the one that came with the seat didn't fit. Also, the Intelliseat's T-valve bottlenecks the water going to my toilet, so now the toilet fills a little more slowly. Not that big of a deal, but Swash's connection is well thought-out and much less of a hassle. Winner: Swash 1000

Nozzles: Both have two nozzles, one for back wash (for your butt) and one for front wash (for your lady parts). However, the Intelliseat has one plastic wand with both nozzles, while the Swash has separate stainless steel wands for each nozzle. Stainless steel is generally accepted as being more hygienic and resistant to bacteria than plastic, and the separate wand for front and back wash also seems more hygienic. Winner: Swash 1000

Nozzle cleaning: The nozzles on both seats have a self-cleaning rinse before and after each wash cycle, and you can also run the self-cleaning rinse manually. However, the Swash boasts a "silver oxide nanoparticle treatment" when you hit the "Sterilization" button on the remote. I'm not really sure how it works or what it does because it just looks like a self-cleaning rinse when I activate it, but I do know that silver oxide has antibacterial properties, so that's comforting. Winner: Swash 1000

Adjustable spray strength and position: Both seats have adjustable spray strength and position. The Swash's spray covers a wider area, is aerated, and the spray width can be also be adjusted. It feels like a showerhead spray. The Intelliseat has a more concentrated and powerful single stream, but the spray width cannot be adjusted. The Intelliseat is also capable of probably giving you an enema on its strongest setting, and in general I find that the Intelliseat sprays much stronger than it needs to. Winner: Swash 1000

Sweeping spray function: Both seats have a mode that sweeps the spray back and forth to cover more area, except on the Swash, it's called "Move", and on the Intelliseat, it's called "Oscillate". Both work about the same. Tie: Swash 1000, Intelliseat

Adjustable water temperature: Both have adjustable water temperature. The Swash 1000 has a tankless ceramic on-demand heater, which means the Swash won't run out of heated water, and you won't have to wait for the water to be heated. The Intelliseat has a heated reservoir system, so it is possible to run out if the seat is being used a lot, and it'll use up power to keep the reservoir warm. I'm fine with the room temperature setting here in Southern California, but some people like warmer sprays. Winner: Swash 1000

Heated seat: Again, being in SoCal, I don't really need a warmed seat, but the option is nice and both the Swash and the Intelliseat can either keep the toilet seat warm at all times, or warm it up as soon as it detects someone's butt on the seat. Tie: Swash 1000 & Intelliseat

Slow-closing seat and lid: Both models perform pretty well, with extremely silent closing. However, when the seat and lid are closed, you can sit on the Swash's lid, but you can't on the Intelliseat's. Not a big deal for me, since I don't sit on my toilet unless I need to poop, but the option is there. Winner: Swash 1000

Heated air dryer: Both seats have a heat-adjustable air dryer, and they're more or less the same on both seats. You'll still need a few squares of toilet paper to pat dry, so it won't completely dry your butt for you. Tie: Swash 1000 & Intelliseat

Remote: Both have battery-operated remotes. The Swash uses two AAAs, the Intelliseat uses three AAAs. I've read that the Intelliseat chews through batteries really quickly, but the Intelliseat has a more informative remote. Both seats have LED indicators for seat temperature and water temperature, but only the Intelliseat has spray strength and position indicators. It's a tough call, but the Intelliseat's remote seems more useful, even though you'll have to change out the batteries more often. Winner: Intelliseat

Deodorizer: The Swash sucks up air from the bowl and passes it through some carbon filters. It actually works pretty well at keeping poopy smells at bay, as long as you remember to hit the deodorize button on the remote when you're sitting on the toilet making poopy smells. The Intelliseat has no such feature. Winner: Swash 1000

Appearance: The Swash is 15" wide, 20.8" long, and 5.66" high. The Intelliseat is 19.4"wide, 20.6" long, 7.28" and high. Both are pretty bulky add-ons to a toilet, but at least the Swash is a little more compact and sleeker. Winner: Swash 1000

Price: This will probably be the deciding factor for most people. The Swash 1000 currently retails for $600 here on Amazon and at most places on the web, and the Intelliseat retails for $200 at Costco (though I got mine for $150 because of a promotion at the time) and $240 here on Amazon. Costco also has an amazing lifetime return policy. The Brondell only has a three-year limited manufacturer's warranty, and costs at least three times as much as the Intelliseat. Winner: Intelliseat

Overall, the Swash 1000 wins out over the Intelliseat in terms of features, but if you're on the fence about getting a bidet, I would recommend you go to Costco and get an Intelliseat. The Intelliseat is only 1/3 of the Swash 1000's price, and Costco backs you with a lifetime return policy in case you don't like it or if it breaks. If you have a little more to spend and want more features, go with the Swash 1000. But in any case, getting either seat will bring you to a whole new level of post-poop freshness and hygiene.

UPDATE 6/02/2014: After using both units for a good amount of time, I wholeheartedly recommend the Swash over the Intelliseat if your budget permits. The Swash 1000's spray is much more comfortable, and I've been having inconsistent spray strength issues on the Intelliseat, though I haven't had a chance to see if there is sediment somewhere in the Intelliseat's water connections. In addition, the slow-close seat on the Intelliseat doesn't close as slowly anymore, but it doesn't quite slam the toilet yet. One more important addition is that Costco.com currently offers the Swash 1000, which means you can get the Swash AND be backed by Costco's return policy.