Toilet Douche Kits

A toilet douche kit is a hand-held spray on a hose that mounts beside the loo for a quick rinse, basically a tidier, plumbed-in take on a bidet. If you have been searching for a douche shower, this is the same thing: the “shower” is the handset. It sits alongside the toilet you already have, so there is no need to change the pan, and the kits featured in this guide each come as a set, with the spray handset, a flexible hose and a wall holder in the box.

The main choice is the valve. A manual mixer has you set hot and cold yourself, while a thermostatic kit holds the temperature and guards against scalding. The safer option does not have to cost more, either: the chrome thermostatic kit is £59, less than the matt black or brushed bronze manual spray kits. Pick a finish to match the rest of your cisterns, fittings and accessories, then check the fitting and your water pressure before you buy.

Manual mixer or thermostatic

Two things actually matter when you buy a douche kit: how the water temperature is controlled, and what it takes to connect it. Get those right and the finish is personal taste.

A manual mixer has you set hot and cold yourself, the same way an old-school tap works. There is less to go wrong, and for plenty of households it is all you need. The Matt Black Douche Spray Kit at £59.99 is a manual mixer with a 35 mm cartridge and standard ½-inch BSP connections, and the Brushed Bronze Douche Spray Kit at £79.99 is the same setup in a warmer metal. Both are built from brass and stainless steel and carry a lifetime guarantee.

A thermostatic valve holds the water at the temperature you set and guards against scalding, so nobody gets a surprise blast of hot water mid-rinse. It is worth having if there are children or older users in the house, or if you would rather not fiddle with hot and cold every time. The Litchfield Chrome Thermostatic Douche Kit is £59, and the Litchfield Matte Black Thermostatic Douche Kit does the same job in black for £74.99. Both have a brass body and a 5-year guarantee.

Price does not split the way you might expect. In matt black, going thermostatic costs more: £59.99 for the manual kit against £74.99 for the thermostatic one. Yet the chrome thermostatic kit, at £59, comes in under both the matt black and brushed bronze manual kits. So the honest version is this: thermostatic is the safer, more comfortable option, a manual mixer is not a downgrade if you are sensible with the temperature, and the manual kits do carry the longer guarantee, lifetime against five years. If budget is tight, spend it on the valve rather than the finish, since the brushed bronze manual kit costs more than the chrome thermostatic one.

What is in the kit, and what you still need

The manual spray kits come with the handset, a 1500 mm hose, a wall holder and an outlet elbow. The Litchfield thermostatic kits pair the mixer valve with a spray, a flexible hose and a wall bracket. The contents differ between the two types, so read the listing for the exact kit you are buying before you order anything else.

What you will usually add yourself is the plumbing to connect it. Every kit in this guide is a mixer, built to take a hot feed as well as a cold one. The cold can often be teed off the toilet’s supply, but the hot has to come from somewhere, and how far away the nearest hot pipe is decides whether this is a quick job or one for a plumber. Plan on an isolation valve on each feed, so you can service the kit without shutting off the water to the whole house, a tee if you are taking the cold off the toilet supply, and PTFE tape for the threads. The spray kits use standard ½-inch BSP connections, so normal UK plumbing fittings will do.

The holder mounts on the wall, so work out where the hose needs to reach before you drill. On the spray kits, the 1500 mm hose gives you plenty of slack from a holder beside the cistern.

Pressure, flow and finish

Both manual spray kits are rated for 0.5 to 5 bar, and the matt black kit quotes a flow of up to about 22.8 l/min depending on pressure. That range suits most combi and mains-pressure supplies. On a gravity-fed system with a tank in the loft, the pressure at the toilet can be low, so check yours against that 0.5 bar minimum before you buy. Those figures are for the manual kits only, so if you want a thermostatic kit and your pressure is on the low side, check the requirements on its listing first.

Finish is the easy part. The kits featured here come in chrome, matt black and brushed bronze. Chrome goes with anything, matt black suits a darker, modern scheme, and brushed bronze is the warm-metal choice for a softer look. Match the kit to your taps and the rest of your brassware and it looks deliberate rather than an afterthought.

Quick answers

What is a toilet douche kit? A hand-held spray on a flexible hose, parked in a wall holder next to the toilet and used for rinsing instead of, or as well as, paper. Think of it as a plumbed-in, tidier bidet. The kits featured here come as a set, so the spray handset, hose and holder arrive together.

What is the difference between a manual and a thermostatic douche kit? With a manual mixer you set the hot and cold yourself, like a normal tap. A thermostatic kit, like the Litchfield Chrome Thermostatic Douche Kit at £59, holds the water at a set temperature and guards against scalding. Go thermostatic if you have children or older users, or you just want it foolproof. Do not assume manual is always cheaper: the chrome thermostatic kit costs less than the matt black and brushed bronze manual kits.

What is in a douche kit? The manual spray kits here include the handset, a 1500 mm hose, a wall holder and an outlet elbow, with standard ½-inch BSP connections. The Litchfield thermostatic kits come with the mixer valve, a spray, a flexible hose and a wall bracket. You will usually still want isolation valves and PTFE tape to fit either type neatly, so check the listing for the exact contents of the kit you are buying.

Is a douche kit the same as a bidet? It does the same job, rinsing, but it is not a separate ceramic fixture. A bidet is a standalone basin you sit over, while a douche kit is a spray on the wall that you use at the toilet. It takes up no extra floor space, which makes it the practical choice in a small bathroom or cloakroom.

Will a douche kit work with my water pressure? The manual spray kits are rated for 0.5 to 5 bar, which suits most combi and mains-pressure supplies. If you are on a low-pressure gravity system, check your pressure against that 0.5 bar minimum first. For the thermostatic kits, check the pressure requirements on the listing before you order.

Is a toilet douche kit hard to fit? The kit itself is simple, and the holder just mounts on the wall. The work is in the supply. Every kit in this guide is a mixer, so it takes a hot and a cold feed: the cold can often be teed off the toilet supply, while the hot usually has to be brought across. If you are not comfortable cutting into pipework, get a plumber to make the connections.

What finishes do douche kits come in? The kits featured in this guide come in chrome, matt black and brushed bronze, so you can match your existing taps and accessories. Chrome is the easiest to match.