Introduction
Bidet toilets aren’t really a thing in North America. Although more common in Europe (particularly in Spain, Greece, Italy, and France), the Middle East, and South America, no one beats Japan in the widespread adoption of bidet toilets. The Japanese have taken it a step further to combine the bidet function into the toilet itself, pioneering the smart bidet toilet. What is the difference? A bidet is simply a separate bathroom fixture to wash the genital and anal region. A smart bidet toilet combines the toilet and bidet into one unit and requires an electrical outlet to power the functions of the bidet.
A smart bidet toilet is the most hygienic way of using the bathroom. The current cultural norm is to do your business in the bathroom and wipe with dry toilet paper. While wet wipes are becoming more accepted and used, nothing beats the convenience and savings of a smart bidet. You wouldn’t wash your hands with just a dry paper towel, so why is it any different for your behind?
Having lived in several countries where smart bidet toilets are widely used, I wanted to install them in my home for my family when I moved back to the US. Not only is it a cleaner way of using the bathroom, it saves on the amount of toilet paper used, even when accounting for the additional water and electricity usage.
If you’re environmentally conscious, a bidet toilet still comes out ahead since you’re reducing a large usage of toilet paper for a small increase in water and electricity usage. If you wanted to get the environmental aspect as low as possible, you could go with a composting toilet to use no electricity and minimal water. You’d still use a similar amount of toilet paper as a traditional toilet.
Several toilet brands came to mind: Toto, Kohler, and American Standard. While I preferred a Toto, I couldn’t justify the high cost, especially since I needed to purchase three toilets for my home.
After reviewing several toilets, I finally settled on the Leivi T162A after purchasing two that I ended up returning due to poor quality and unresponsive customer service.
The T62A is manufactured by Kleiss Living Home. Leivi adds additional features and offers their version. Where Leivi shines is the added features and customer support.
Review
Most smart toilet reviews only touch the surface of the unit being reviewed. They go over bullet points of the features, such as oscillating streams and water temperature functions, but never down to the actual benefit and value of one and how they actually work.
I’ll be focusing on the features of the Leivi T162A, which I purchased and installed several months ago. In late 2024, Leivi released an updated version of the same bidet toilet with a few improvements, and I bought that one as well. I’ll compare the original model with version 2.0 to highlight the key differences and enhancements.
Features for Version 1.0
Every toilet I researched had the following features:
- Bidet with oscillating function
- Automatic flush
- Automatic seat opening and closing
- Remote control
- Night light
- External controls if the remote batteries are dead
- Temperature settings for water and seat
- Full toilet, not just the seat
- Deodorizing function
Installation
Installation requires that an electrical outlet is nearby. Many new bathrooms include electrical sockets near the sink. The cord is about 5 feet long and should reach an available outlet. Although not recommended, an extension cord would also work if necessary. In one of my bathrooms, the electrical outlet was too far away and so I installed an outlet near the toilet. Professional costs range from $200-500 for an installation from an experienced electrician.
The valve included fits the toilet but has a BSP (British Standard Pipe) thread pattern which is used in most of the world. In North America, the NPT (National Pipe Taper) is used. The pipes are not compatible with each other.
For the first toilet, I replaced the wall standard ⅞ toilet line feeds with a 90 degree ball angle valve, since my experience with PEX has been much better than regular pipes twisted together.
As the split valve is BSP, I bought brass NPT to BSP adapters to fit a PEX pipe from the wall water supply to the toilet. These were decent quality.
I then used an NPT to PEX adapter to connect the toilet splitter to the wall. These did not include a rubber washer/gasket. The inside is tapered upwards and does not fit a standard rubber washer securely. It constantly leaked and it took several hours of messing around to get it just right to not leak. I cannot recommend these adapters at all.
Once installed and plugged in, the toilet takes a few seconds to boot up and does a self washing routine. After that, the toilet is ready to use.
Professional Installation
If you’re not inclined to do the work yourself, a general contractor, handyman, or plumber should be able to install the toilet for you. Many factors determine how much the installation will cost, but a range for an installation of the toilet (if you already have an electrical outlet) is between $200-500 and $500-800 if you need an electrical outlet.
Toilet Usage
Using the toilet is a joy. The toilet can be opened with the remote or a sensor on the right side (imagine kicking the toilet with your right foot).
Once the lid is open, there is a small sensor on the right side of the toilet which detects if you are sitting on it. When you sit down, it does a little pre-flush to let you know the toilet is working. Placing your hand on it will fool the machine into thinking you are sitting on it to test the other features.
The side button can also be spun clockwise or counter-clockwise. There is a push button in the center as well. Pushing it in once after sitting down and it will flush the toilet. Twisting it backwards will turn on the bidet to wash your rear while twisting it forward moves it up for those delicate lady parts (to which I cannot claim to have experienced it being male, however, the wife says it works really well).
The dial glows on and off every few seconds to let you know it’s working.
The bidet functions can be controlled on the remote:
- Increase or decrease the flow, which is the strength of the jet on your bottom. The gentle setting is like having a water fountain spray, while the strongest setting is like having a stream of water coming out of a drinking straw as fast as you can blow it.
- Increase or decrease the water temperature. From room temperature to slightly warmer than a warm bath. I’ve found that I don’t turn this on since the water temperature from the faucet never really gets too cold.
- Turn on/off the LED. Useful when your bathroom doesn’t have a nightlight. The inside of the toilet lights up when enabled.
- Open or close the lid, open or close the seat. Useful if you like to pee while standing.
- Turn on/off the dryer. This sends a stream of warm air on your butt after you’ve had the water stream clean off your poop. Honestly, it’s not like those hand dryers you find in public toilets and at the airport, so it really has little usability other than warming your behind up a bit.
- Massage/swing: the nozzle moves back and forth and the jet stream gets weaker and stronger. To be honest, the massage is a bit worthless, but the swing does get all of your butt crack clean so it is useful.
- Flush: obviously, this flushes the toilet. The water swirls around and at the end, it sends a huge jet of water down the flush hole to get those little bits fully flushed. Quite impressive since it has never left any debris behind unlike with traditional toilets.
- The Eco button puts the toilet in low power mode, where many of the functions are disabled to save power. I have not tested how much power it saves yet.
The top 5 bars on the remote light up to tell you what the temperature is, what position the nozzle is set, the strength of the flow, and the temperature of the dryer. The plus and minus buttons change these settings. Pushing the stop button saves the settings.
The display is clean and clear, with water temperature on the left and seat temperature on the right. This display stays on all of the time to indicate the current temperature. The sensors aren’t particularly very good on Version 1.0 and often will start flashing with the default settings. Multiple people have mentioned this on Internet forums and it happens to both of my Version 1.0 toilets, so this seems to be a common problem. This is fixed on version 2.0 and has never had a problem.
New Features in Version 2.0
The updated version made a number of improvements where I cannot recommend the old version unless you can get one at a significant discount.
- Toilet seat opens automatically when you get close to it. Walk up to it, and the lid opens. This function can be enabled or disabled.
- Vastly improved remote control. The buttons click better and all of the most common functions are right there. It looks slick as well.
- The temperature settings on the display can be changed from Fahrenheit to Celsius. This is not possible on the original version.
- The display never flashes to default settings and stays correct.
- New silver colored top half.
- Much better installation hardware included for US pipes. There is no need to buy additional adapters from Home Depot/Lowe’s/Amazon/etc. The adapter takes a BSP on one end (to the splitter) and the other end is a very useful ⅞ standard toilet tank connector. There is no need to cut or change the plumbing for this setup. I bought the original version which did not come with any of this and ended up re-doing the plumbing with PEX. I probably would have left everything alone if I purchased the newer version of toilets from the beginning.
Comparison of V1 and V2
Version 2.0 and Version 1.0 are both very good toilets. The base of the toilet is the same. The piping, dimensions, and core functionality of the toilets are the identical.
However, the new version is much easier and better that the old version for the following reasons:
- Automatic Lid: The kick open still functions as well as in the old version, but I’ve never needed to use it on Version 2.0. Very useful to just walk up to the toilet and it opens.
- The temperature sensors work 100% of the time. The old version would take a while to adjust and sometimes would blink if it lost the temperature readings. It would not affect the usage of the toilet, but it was rather annoying. The new version locks onto the temperature settings and has not once had a problem.
- The remote is much more intuitive, easier to use, and looks modern. The buttons feel better, the feedback is improved.
- The most commonly used buttons are prominent as opposed to the jumbled mess of the old one.
- The installation is much easier as the quality of the adapters is better than anything I bought on Amazon to make it fit.
- I am used to Centigrade. Most US users won’t care, but this was a big issue for me since I’ve lived so long out of the US that I lost my internal calibration to Fahrenheit.
- The installation hardware is of much better quality and also includes a water filter.
Upgrading Existing Toilet
If you have an older V1 version of the toilet, Leivi can supply you with the top part of the toilet, allowing you to upgrade your old version to the new. The base is the same, so only the top half of the toilet needs to be replaced.
All of the connections, pipe sizes, and fittings are exactly the same. It is a relatively simple swap of parts to get the functionality of the new version if you have the old.
I replaced the old Amazon brass fittings/adapters with the ones supplied by Leivi. They did not leak, even after the first try. To simplify things since I had already cut the ⅞ standard toilet water supply, I purchased ½ PEX to ⅞ Standard Toilet fittings to replace the old fitting.
The whole setup didn’t leak once. It took me less than 15 minutes to replace and I was quite pleased with the quality of the hardware.
Spare Parts and Customer Service
Leivi’s customer service really impressed me. Typically, with lesser-known Chinese brands selling toilets on Amazon, Home Depot, or Lowe’s, you’re left to handle everything on your own after the purchase.
I emailed the other two companies asking for more information about changing settings and installation assistance, but they never replied. I ended up returning the toilets to Amazon. While the price was slightly lower, the lack of response raised a major red flag about getting replacement parts or dealing with any warranty issues.
Leivi responded within 24 hours and I was pleasantly surprised by Sadia’s fast response. I was expecting to be ignored.
Getting spare parts, installation support, and general questions were answered quickly. I was able to get an upgraded Version 2.0 toilet seat to replace one of my old toilets. I did not have to replace the base, as it just replaced the entire top half, eliminating the flashing display, getting the new remote, and the additional upgraded adapters for a much better installation.
Savings
In the last 6 months of having bidet toilets, the family toilet paper consumption dropped from 15 rolls a month to about 4. You still need a little toilet paper to wipe the excess water and some sticky bits, but you don’t need much.
At $10 for 12 rolls, it comes out to about $15 per month in toilet paper. Compare that to $3.33 per month with a bidet. If we add the $1-2 of additional electricity and water costs, it’s about $5 a month for a net savings of about $120 a year. It’s not a huge amount, but it is something.
Conclusion
The Leivi T162A Smart Bidet Toilet is a very compelling toilet and gives top brands a run for their money. A quality Toto or American Standard will set you back $1,500 – 5,000 for the toilet alone. Some unknown Chinese brands can be cheap, but I returned two of them since they were not of high quality and customer support was non-existent.
Leivi offers a sweet middle ground, where the toilet itself is reasonably priced, the quality is good, and the customer support has been excellent. I was a little hesitant at first since there are literally thousands of toilets and picking one that was of decent quality, wasn’t going to blow up and flood my house, would last many years, and didn’t cost a fortune was a large ask.
My family doesn’t usually get excited about toilets, but my young son is especially fond of this one. He dislikes having his bottom wiped with toilet paper and always asks for a shower instead. With the bidet toilet, we just let the machine handle the cleaning, and he loves it.
I’ve had the older version for over six months and have since installed two more. So far, there’s been no sign of premature wear or unexpected issues. I’m now planning to buy another Version 2.0 top half to replace the last older toilet. Soon, all my toilets will match, complete with new remotes and updated features.
Wondering which version to choose? I can’t recommend the old version now that the new one is available. Unless you can get the old version at a steep discount (at least 25-50% off), the new version’s features, quality, and functionality are far superior and well worth it.
Although there are many mid-priced toilets ($600 – $1,000) on the market, I can’t recommend other manufacturers due to their poor customer service and lower quality. So far, I’ve been so impressed with Leivi and my experience with them. Their prices aren’t much higher than the cheaper brands and these toilets offer solid value.
For any questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to email me at robert@entwistle.tv.
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I am in no way affiliated with Leivi and Amazon and do not receive any affiliate compensation.