While modern bidets and accessories are only a few decades old, bidets have been around for centuries. The bidet originated in France in the 17th century. The first bidets were small fixtures shaped like bathtubs and filled with water. The term bidet was inspired by a nod to the inevitable position of the user straddled over the bidet basin. "Bidet" means "pony" in French. The bidet became popular in France and spread to most of Europe throughout the 1600s.

The advent of indoor plumbing has made it easier to supply clean water to bidets. By the 1980s, Japanese bidets incorporated new technologies to create electronic bidets—with seat heaters, automatic on-off functions, and other comforts we use today.

After these upgrades, bidets and accessories exploded in popularity. Today, many users use bidets or attachments to quickly retrofit their existing toilets, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for wasted toilet paper. Both options are easy to install, require no help from a plumber, make them easier for more users to use, are less expensive than sit-down toilets, and add little to the space the toilet takes up in the bathroom.