One of the ways modern electronic bidet toilet seats are different from basin-type bidets, is that bidet toilet seats use telescopic wash nozzles to clean you whereas with basin-type bidets, you sit over a stream of water.

As a refresher for those who aren’t familiar with bidets, basin-type bidets are actually separate porcelain fixtures that sit next to the toilet. They have a water spout at the bottom of the bowl which shoots water upwards as you squat over it. Modern toilet bidet seats on the other hand, attach to your existing toilet so they don’t require additional space in your bathroom. They’re also engineered quite differently, and use telescopic wash nozzles which extend out during washing, and retract back when finished.

There are two types of nozzle systems on electronic bidet toilet seats (1) single nozzle systems and (2) twin nozzle systems. A single nozzle system uses the same nozzle for both posterior and frontal wash functions. Two different spray outlets can be found at the tip of the nozzle. One of these spray outlets is dedicated for posterior wash, while the other spray outlet is dedicated for frontal wash. In some bidet seat models you can find a third spray outlet as well, which is typically reserved for the turbo wash (enema) feature.

A twin nozzle system, as the name implies, uses two nozzles to clean you. Each nozzle has a dedicated wash function, e.g., the posterior wash nozzle is used for posterior wash only, and the frontal wash nozzle is used for frontal wash only. One thing to note here, is that bidet toilet seats with twin nozzle systems generally do not have a turbo wash (enema) feature.

We also note that both systems have a self-cleaning function. This feature helps keep the toilet bidet seat sanitary, by rinsing off the wash nozzles before and after each use.

So which nozzle system is better for your bidet seat? The answer is that they both work pretty well. It’s really two ways of accomplishing the same thing. As mentioned, the one drawback of a toilet bidet seat with a twin nozzle system, is that it’s hard to find one with a turbo wash feature. But if the turbo wash feature isn’t needed, then either nozzle system will work equally well.