Alpha Bidet UX Pearl Review

About the Alpha Bidet UX Pearl

Alpha Bidet’s flagship model is stunningly low-profile, the rare bidet seat that won’t prompt houseguests to wander over and ask “What’s the deal with your toilet?” Apart from its classical good looks, this bidet toilet seat offers pulse and oscillation functions, warm water, and a dryer function, all for a mid-range price ($599 on the Alpha Bidet website).

How to install the Alpha Bidet UX Pearl

The Alpha Bidet comes with a QR code for a set of online instructions, as well as a paper instruction manual. We tried to follow the paper manual, but the instructions were not clear enough for someone who hasn’t done this before. Some of the diagrams in the manual were small enough that they were nearly useless, so we recommend using the QR code if you can.

The UX Pearl installs the way many bidet seats do. First, you remove your toilet seat. In the holes where the seat was, you install a plastic mounting plate, held down by screws. The bidet seat slides over the mounting plate and clicks into place.

To connect the plumbing, turn off the water line at the wall and flush your toilet thoroughly. Once the tank is as empty as you can get it, remove the water line. You’ll install the T-joint that comes with the bidet. This T-joint will continue routing water to your toilet tank, but also divert some to your new bidet seat.

What we like

This bidet really cleans thoroughly

The front and rear wash on the Alpha Bidet are solid cleansers. Both are a little forceful even on the most gentle setting, but the stream is broad enough that it’s not painful. This isn’t a laser-targeted blast of water—it covers a wider area. That wide coverage lets it offer enough power to get you clean without being harmful to people with hemorrhoids or other sensitivities.

At the same time, it gets the job done. Our test cleanings reliably delivered thorough results, time after time. For pure washing performance, this is one of the best bidets we’ve tested. It replaces the Toto C200 Washlet as our favorite at this price point.

The Alpha Bidet UX Pearl offers solid features

All of the usual suspects are offered on this bidet, provided you can find them. The UX Pearl delivers a front and rear wash, each with oscillation and pulse features. There’s a seat warmer with adjustable temperature settings, a dryer with adjustable temperatures, a self-cleaning feature, and a nightlight.

You can also save two user profiles, a pretty common feature at this price point. User profiles store information about your preferred position, pressure, and temperature settings, consistently applying them when you select your profile on the remote.

Finally, the sanitizing and deodorizing options don’t force you to purchase replacements. The photocatalyst deodorizer cuts down on odors, and the bowl sanitizer uses an air plasma generator to allegedly cut down on bacteria. Neither option is as important to us as the actual cleaning and drying experience, but it’s nice that they’re not dependent on a bunch of aftermarket purchases.

This bidet offers a great design

With a lower profile than nearly every seat we’ve tested, the UX Pearl looks far less intimidating to bidet seat beginners and far less strange to houseguests than competitors. Its sleek look feels much more in line with a traditional toilet seat.

The seat itself takes a little getting used to. At first, it didn’t feel as substantial as some others we’ve tested. But now that we’ve settled into using it, we’ve become fans.

What we don’t like

The dryer is underwhelming

We struggled a little with the dryer. Typically with a bidet, you wind up dabbing yourself off with at least a square of toilet paper—it’s rare to find a bidet that lets you actually cut toilet paper out entirely. But we found ourselves going back for a little more than usual (or having to wait an extra-long time) in order to get dry with the UX Pearl.

You can adjust the temperature of the air-dry, but not the airflow. That’s especially frustrating considering the wide, thoroughly cleansing stream. You’re going to get a little damp, and a stronger dryer would go a long way towards alleviating it.

The remote from this bidet is a little confusing

Feature-rich bidets like this one typically either give you a double-sided remote or force buttons to pull double-duty. Alpha Bidet chose the latter, but to crack the code of how each button works, you need to consult a separate manual for the remote.

It’s not uncommon for a bidet to use the same button for multiple, related features. Unfortunately, this remote doesn’t label those. Each wash button can be pressed twice to activate oscillation, which the remote tries to indicate. But it wasn’t until reading the manual that we learned you can also hold each button for a pulsed wash.

Other features, like an energy-saving Eco Mode, were also unlabeled. The eternal curse of a bidet this feature-rich is that you have to choose between a two-sided remote control, or one that’s hard to read. There isn’t an easy answer, but we do wish the remote was a little more intuitive.

Warranty

Alpha Bidet offers a 3-year warranty on the UX Pearl, covering any manufacturing defects under normal use and service. They won’t charge for warranty repairs or replacements. The warranty does not cover user errors like improper installation, damage from sediment in the water system, or damage from natural disasters like fires or floods.

Should you buy the Alpha Bidet UX Pearl?

Yes. If you can afford it, you should absolutely purchase

The UX Pearl has been an enormous, pleasant surprise. It offers an extensive feature set for a reasonable price, and the wash hits an amazing sweet spot of utility and comfort. It’s small enough that you should be able to install it on a wider variety of toilets, as well.

If you absolutely want the lowest price of entry to the world of bidets, an attachment is the way to go, like our best-value, the Luxe Bidet Neo 320 Plus. But if you want a full bidet toilet seat with all the features that implies, this may be the best bang for the buck you can find.