(No matter which brand you buy, KEEP THE BOX AND PACKING MATERIALS!)
Here's a recap on my history with toilet seat bidets. I got my first Brondell before major surgery on my wrist. I loved it, but because it was my first bidet experience, I had nothing to compare it to. (A bidet toilet seat is amazing for someone who has had surgery or has limited mobility that makes it hard to just jump in and out of the shower.)
I had installed an electrical outlet next to the toilet. You *can* use an extension cord but it is not ideal. (When I renovated the other bathrooms, I installed outlets next to all the toilets, even though I was not planning to buy bidet seats right away.)
I had trouble with the Brondell Swash 1400s I'd purchased, finally deciding to give up and try another brand.
Enter the Alpha UX Pearl. I did a ridiculous amount of research before deciding on this model. It seems that all of the reviews on Amazon and elsewhere mention issues with failure of various features on all brands and models. But the features and performance on the UX Pearl are superior to the Brondell.
Pros & Cons for the UX Pearl:
Pro: This may be the most significant difference between the Pearl and the Brondell, but I never saw it mentioned in reviews or comparison charts. The drying function on the Pearl works much better/faster than the Brondell. In terms of design, the dryers seem identical, but I always ended up having to use a fair amount of toilet paper with the Brondell. The dryer on the Pearl manages to dry faster and more completely. It isn't related to drying temp, so it must be the intensity and/or angle of the dryer fan.
I have never seen "drying time and efficacy" mentioned in comparison reviews, but it's really important, imho. The Pearl is MUCH better in this regard. To be blunt, I don't need to use *any* tp for #1.
Cons:
The face of the Pearl's remote control is completely smooth. (The Brondell remote has slightly raised "buttons" for various functions. Once you get to know it, you can control it in the dark, w/o looking at the labels.) I expect I'll program it for #1 and #2 so functionality is just a single button.
Installation was more challenging on the Pearl than the Brondell. I'd installed and uninstalled the Brondells several times so I knew what I was doing. Installation is very similar with the Pearl, but placement of the seat is likely to require adjusting (front to back & side to side) to make things line up properly. The problem with the Pearl is that you have to completely remove the seat to make those adjustments.
Though both brands claim to have a "quick release" button to enable adjusting the seat's location. The "quick release" required a *lot* of effort. It would have been good to have another person to help because you have to push in the button, HARD, while simultaneously pulling the seat forward. Then you have to adjust the clips, making sure to tighten the bolts securely. (If the seat wiggles at all, it will be a problem down the road.)
I'd actually gotten the placement right the first time, but I failed to tighten the bolts enough. The installation design of the Pearl makes it impossible to do that without completely removing the seat. I'd been afraid to over-tighten the bolts for fear of damaging the seat or the toilet. Hand-tightening the bolts is probably simple for man-hands. The average woman probably doesn't need to worry about over-tightening or damaging the parts. I did a little extra tightening with vice grips after not making them tight enough using just my hands.
CLEANING:
To properly clean both the Brondell and the Pearl, you have to remove the seat from its mounting plate. (Enter a 2nd pair of hands and something like the handle of a makeup brush to push in the "quick release" button.) The Brondell seat would get grossly dirty because stuff splashes, especially if someone has the runs. The Pearl has a piece of something almost like a horizontal gasket that *might* make the cleaning easier, but you will still have to uninstall the seat to clean thoroughly. Depending on how many users you have, this should probably be done several times a year.
If I experience any performance problems with the seat, I will update this review.
