Throughout time, humans have experienced the need to pee in the middle of the night. Early humans would wake up, light a torch, and walk out of their cave to find a place to pee.
These days, it’s not that difficult but we still get confused by our lack of vision at night. We stumble out of bed, stub our toe on the corner of the bed frame, and bruise our shoulder as we walk around a corner.
Plug-in nightlights were a marvelous invention that reduced the need for candles. While plug-in nightlights helped us find the toilet, they didn’t do much for our aim.
Enter the toilet night light!
A toilet nightlight puts the light where it’s needed, so we can see our target. It helps when we’re standing over the toilet and certainly helps when we position ourselves to sit down.
No more feeling around for the toilet seat and no more turning on the bright light and hurting our eyes.
If you arrived at this article you’re looking of a nightlight for your toilet. It makes a great gift and comes as an attachable product or built into a toilet seat.
There are a few different options and I’ll share the best toilet nightlights on the market.
Let’s get started.
How Does A Toilet Seat Nightlight Work
Standard nightlights plug into a wall outlet. They have sensors that turn off during the day and on at night and some of them have brightness settings that can be adjusted.
A toilet nightlight works in one of two ways. It can use a flexible arm to attach onto the side of the bowl where it shines a light into the bowl.
It can also use a light that’s built into the seat (toilet seat nightlight) where it rests on the back of the seat, out of sight.
Both options use batteries and both should have adjustable light controls. A few have sensors to automatically turn off during the day or night. In the next section we’ll look at 5 features you should expect in a toilet nightlight.
6 Features A Toilet Nightlight Should Have
Toilet nightlights are fairly simple but there are a few things you should look for. The more features it has, the more likely it will work how you need it. Most people don’t need or want a toilet bowl that’s lit up all day. A sensor is great for picking up light/dark and it will help make the battery last longer.
Even better if it has a motion light. A motion light will only turn on when it senses someone is close. This will give you even more battery savings.
If the nightlight uses an adjustable arm, double check to make sure it fits on all standard toilet bowls. It should fit most toilets without a problem.
The last thing you’ll want to check is the warranty. One option on our list has a lifetime warranty which I didn’t expect to see. It’s a cheap product so you might not care about a warranty, however, it’s always good to see a company that backs up their product.
- Multiple color options
- Multiple brightness settings
- Automatic on/off sensor
- Long lasting batteries
- Motion light
- Arm that fits various toilet sizes
3 Nightlights That Attach To Your Toilet Seat
#1 LumiLux 16 color LED Toilet Bowl Light
LumiLux isn’t the original toilet bowl nightlight, however, they’ve done a great job at capturing market share. They’ve taken the idea and added additional options to make it a great option for adults, kids, and college students.
Highlights:
- Measures 3.5 x 2.5 x .75 inches
- 3 AA batteries
- 16 light color options
- Motion and light detection sensor
- Flexible arm for a variety of toilet bowl sizes
- 5-stage dimmer
- Product is white and matches white toilets
- Won’t attract attention
- Lifetime warranty
The variety of light colors is what I like best about this product. It can be set bright or dim (5 levels of brightness) and works best when activated by the motion sensor.
It requires 3 AA batteries.
Customers like that LumiLux’s batteries will last 1-3 years before you need to change them. They also like the company’s service. For a bargain price and plenty of features, this is the best toilet nightlight for the money.
#2 Vintar 16 Color, LED Toilet Night Light
Vintar makes a toilet light that is very similar to the LumiLux but there are a few small differences including a 1-year warranty.
Its range of sensor detection is 170 degrees so the device can be kept farther back on the toilet so it won’t be as noticeable.
Highlights:
- Measures 4.3 x 2.4 x .9 inches
- 3 AA batteries
- White in color
- 16 light options
- Motion and light detection (170-degree sensors)
- 5 Brightness levels
- Fits all toilets (adjustable PVC neck)
- 12-month warranty
Vintar is well-reviewed and people are very happy with the product. One customer mentions their bathroom turned into a party room. Another shared that they improved their aim by 60%.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll try any product that improves my performance by 60%.
#3 IllumiBowl – Motion Activated, Multi-Color Toilet Light
If you’re familiar with the television show “Shark Tank”, you may remember IllumiBowl. I had to include this product because it’s the original and the most well-known option available.
What stands out with IllumiBowl is that it’s the smallest product on this list and instead of AA batteries, it uses AAA (smaller and more efficient).
Highlights:
- Measures 2.4 x 2.2 x .6 inches
- 3 AAA batteries
- Motion activated and light sensor
- 9 color settings
- 3 dimmer settings
- Great for kids
- Lifetime seller guarantee
It’s hard not to appreciate a company that came up with the toilet bowl light. The options ranked higher on this list have more options and better reviews, but the fact is that they built on IllumiBowl’s idea.
I like that it has the motion activated light and the light sensor. What I like most about IllumiBowl is the compact size.
2 Toilet Seats That Included A Nightlight (Kohler Nightlight Toilet Seat)
#4 Brondell LumaWarm Heated Nightlight Toilet Seat
The nicest product on our list is made by Brondell. I’ve discussed this company a number of times on my blog and I love them. They specialize in all-things toilet seats and make an amazing bidet toilet seat.
This seat isn’t a bidet, however, it has two other features that make it awesome. The seat provides a nice light in the bowl and the seat is heated. How about a little warmth when you’re visiting the bathroom in the middle of the night!
Highlights:
- Toilet seat (round or elongated)
- Adjustable 3 temperature settings
- Illuminating LED nightlight with on/off button
- Soft close seat and lid
- Uses outlet
- 1-year warranty
Brondell’s toilet seats can fit any standard toilet. The temperature and light require an outlet for electricity, so there’s no need to change batteries.
With almost 1,000 reviews, customers love this seat. I think it’s ideal for cold climates and nighttime trips to the commode.
Customers love the seat. If you want to spoil yourself with a warm seat and a nightlight, then you can’t beat Brondell. This is a quality product from a reputable company.
#5 Kohler Cachet Nighlight With Quiet-Close Seat
Kohler has a popular toilet seat plus nightlight and it fits toilets that aren’t the Kohler brand. This seat is different than Brondell because Kohler uses 4 AA batteries (which last up to 6 months).
The light is located under the seat in the rear. There are 2 brightness levels that use dual LED lights.
Highlights:
- Built-in seat nightlight
- Fits all toilet brands (check elongated and round options)
- Quiet close seat and lid
- Various light intensity
- Battery operated
Kohler is a solid brand with a good warranty, however, the feedback on this product is mixed. Some customers say the batteries don’t last long and others mention the light can break while you’re replacing the batteries.
Most of the negative reviews include stories of children who messed with the light or dropped it in water.
There are also plenty of positive reviews so don’t let it discourage you from buying. Taking a toilet seat off and putting it back on can get old after I while so I’d prefer not to use a seat that is battery operated. For this reason I’d go with the Brondell instead.
My Picks
If I was choosing an attachment I’d go with the #1 ranked IllumiLux. It has the most features and although it’s a larger device than IllumiBowl, it has much better reviews.
The toilet seat choice is a no-brainer. The Brondell toilet seat with an LED nightlight is a little more expensive than Kohler but the luxury of not having to change batteries, plus a warm tush, make it the best toilet seat nightlight.
Conclusion
Trying to find the toilet in the middle of the night is not a pleasant experience. You’re tired, you’re groggy, and you’re probably in a hurry.
Thankfully we’ve become more advanced and no longer need to use a candle, but a typical plug-in nightlight doesn’t help our aim much.
Toilet bowl nightlights have made life a little easier and there are plenty of options to choose from. In this article I highlighted the best toilet light attachments and the best toilet seat and nightlight combination.
You’ll be upgrading your toilet with any of these lights so choose one that looks good and has the features you need.
Thanks for reading another Toilet Travels article. My goal is to improve your aim in the bathroom!