Today you have the bidets you can install on your toilet, but traditionally they were a thing on its own, that required about as much space as a toilet and all the extra pipework associated with it.
In some European/ Mediterranean countries (I suspect France may have started the trend) this caught on well, and bidets were a must have in most houses that had toilets as part of their main architectural structure. Most people in South America had bidets this way, it’s rare to see a house without at least one bidet, and this comes from the culture inherited from colonial times .
Now, things are different in othe parts of the world. England seems to traditionally have the toilet separate from the house and for some reason the bidet trend never caught on. This is in turn reflected both in USA and Australia. I don’t know about bidet popularity across all of Europe, but this is definitely a cultural thing and I suspect distance and language may have kept UK without bidets until relatively recently. And as you know, old habits die hard, so… Yeah in Australia I use the shower.
brit here.
can confirm. i sit on the side of the bath and wash my arse with the shower. The only house i have seen in the UK with a bidet was essentially a mansion
Right now I live abroad and we have just the tub, so yeah same remedy. It’s cursed and annoying though, so I hate it so much
Fellow Brit, I just shave my arse crack to prevent Klingons.
“today is a good day to die!” flush
Just get the toilet seat bidet. It’s probably like 40£
Lol. Out of ALL the European countries to pick as example, you chose the worst.
France definitely does not like bidets and French will even ask you why even bother having one, assuming they even know what it’s for.
Try again with Italy. Basically every household has one.
Interesting. Well, not losing sleep on that. Good on Italy and Spain though.
Spain checking in here. Bidets are definitely popular in Spain. I suspect that’s how they made their way to south America.
There are a large number of Americans that think:
- Anything touching them there makes them gay - still not sure how your hand and TP is any different
- It will hurt - yeah… IDK
- It’s gross, or it doesn’t get you clean - uh…wiping some paper on it does? how???
Some american men refuse to touch their own penis while washing, due to a fear of it making them gay. I’d tell them they need therapy, but they’d tell me that therapy is for the weak.
I’m pretty sure those are the same types that start anti pedophilia groups to then be charged with and convicted of pedophilia. Or the anti gay/drag people who end up being gay AF. Or the ones that try to ban porn, only to have 10tb of porn on their computers when they get fired/breakup/get arrested. But I know what you mean.
I know someone who thinks it just sprays shit over everything
I know a lot of people think the same thing. I’ve even seen people say so on here/reddit, on other bidet posts.
Because unfortunately, even stupid people know how to use the Internet.
I only have anecdotes, but as an American, it’s #1. It was my initial off the cuff thought. Buttholes are verboten here. Full stop.
Right? It’s really weird though because a lot of those same people talk about eating ass, a LOT.
Everybody, touch your asshole. Just once and from that day on you will be different
As an American who’s unsure.
I don’t like the thought of water spraying into my ass
I started using them in my adult life so maybe I can give some insight
it feels a little uncomfortable the first time. Not because it’s necessarily uncomfortable, but more because it’s a foreign feeling.
You get used to it after the 2nd or 3rd time though. Once you use a bidet it’s hard to go back to TP
No one understands what a bidet really is.
In the old days, they were a separate free-standing device. Not a lot of people have space or money to add one of these types of bidets to their bathrooms
Now they make them as toilet seat attachments that don’t require extra space and really aren’t that expensive.
But people don’t know. Older people will be like, “Oh a bidet? No I don’t want another toilet like device in my bathroom”
So that gets rid of all those people.
Next you have the people that know about the new style bidets that’s just a fancy toilet seat.
Their biggest deterrent is probably cold water. Spraying cold water on their butt doesn’t appeal to most people.
You can get bidets that heat the water, but you have to have power behind your toilet, which not everyone has.
Then you have older people that just can’t work them or don’t feel like they can. Like my grandfather, I installed one with all the bells and whistles for him. Yet hitting a button and doing all that was too complicated. He was 90+ and could barely use a cell phone for basic functions. But he’d rather wipe his butt like he knew than mess with the “complicated” bidet.
Eventually everyone is going to own a bidet, it really is the way to go.
We just aren’t there yet.
I have a seat one that only does cold water and it hits different in the summer honestly. Sometimes you just need a splash of cold water in your asshole to keep going.
Comes in handy for spicy food night.
Cold water, yeah in winter in Canada your cold water is something like 1°C (33°F), not a pleasant thing
Water doesn’t have to be 0°C (32°F) to freeze.
Depending on your elevation, it can change.
If the water in your pipes is even close to 1°C you have a serious problem.
You can also hook a bidet to your hot water line
The first bit of water will be wall temperature water and it will take a bit to fully warm up because you have to clear out the lines (some bidets will drain the first bit of water before squirting you)
If the water in your pipes is that cold, you’re likely looking at a burst pipe issue anyway
Well you flush and that takes out the water in your pipes. Then you get cold ass water from the pipe outside in the ground.
toilet paper mafia.
Because the tradition of wiping until it’s red is deeply rooted in american toilet culture.
It’s refered to as “better red than dead”
I have never heard that and it deeply disturbs me because this does seem like it’d be an American thing…
“better red than dead” is a joke - that’s usually a play on political parties or football teams. But what isn’t a joke, something that I’ve heard from american women, is that they’ve dated some american men who:
- don’t masturbate because touching a penis is gay
- don’t wash their penis with soap and water, just water, letting the water run down the penis, but not touch it, because you’d be holding a man’s dick in your hands.
- if they do masturbate, they might just leave their mess on the floor, even if it’s carpet, for years and never clean it. Stains under a computer desk should be treated with a hazmat suit. This is different from the american men who save their mess in jars… I have no comment for that.
- don’t touch their penis when they pee. that’s what the zipper in the front is for. I mean, doing this in public would mean other men see you with a man’s cock in your hand. That’s … uh you know…
- don’t get prostate exams (this one may be more self-explainitory, doesn’t make it right though).
And then they (guys who say this stuff) wonder why american men have a mental health crisis. Well (addressing the guys who say this stuff), buddy, part of it is you.
And then they wonder why american men have a mental health crisis. Well, buddy, part of it is you.
What part of any of that makes it partly because of me? This seem more like an off-topic rant.
I am an American and the only two I’ve heard is:
“don’t masturbate because touching a penis is gay”
Every time has been religion driven homophobia related.
don’t get prostate exams (this one may be more self-explainitory, doesn’t make it right though).
Goes back to the last one as well.
Probably why religion has been on a decline.
Sorry, not you you… I was refering to the men who do the things I outlined.
Nah, I understand. I just didn’t comprehend lol But yes, I agree!
Big TP conspiracy :)
Fellas, is it gay to have a clean butthole
It’s a matter of planning and availability. In my country people don’t renovate their houses often and even rarely build them from scratch. Having a bidet requires planning and leaving space for it. Japanese style toilet seats are easier to install in smaller toilets, but they require electricity and/or hot water.
Washlets don’t require hot water or electricity, though, they can pull right from the toilet water supply
I’ve had no issues with the cheap $20-40 USD bidets from Amazon, while I’m sure the fanciness of a heated bidet would change my life I don’t see the need.
When you say bidet you are referring to a toilet seat with water or separate wash head next to toilet. When I say bidet am referring to what french call bidet, a separate toilet-like utensil next to toilet. Those things require planning and space since they require drainage, water source, etc.
according to south park it’s because of toilet paper companies
IDK because they rock. I love mine. I’m even cool with the water being cold.
In America? Because we are barbarians.
I kinda think that’s why we are all so pissed and ornery most of the time….because our tushes are dirty.
once you go bidet you never go back.
Not gatekeeping, but if you have never seen one, this is a proper bidet https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Bidet_weiss.jpg/623px-Bidet_weiss.jpg
That’s kinda intimidating I’m not gonna lie but probably only because I’ve only ever wiped my ass with soft squares and now you’re telling me I’m supposed to stick my ass hole by this spout and let it blast me insides clean
Yes, I had that in my house
I installed on the kamode at the beginning of year and it’s been a game changer.
But for an installed bidet, after business, do you just move over, sit, turn on the tap, then aim? I’ve seen them in the movies, but it’s not like they show the process.
I really just don’t like the idea of it, feels like a very uncomfortable situation for me. But I’m pretty uneducated on the topic.
- It’d have to be warm water
- Wouldn’t it be messer, spraying it all over?
- Don’t you still have to wipe, ya know cause your wet now.
- Too much work to implement when the TP has been successful (No problem to solve)
Remodeled the house including bathrooms, went for japanese style bidet (i.e. included in the toilet). Would not want to live without it.
- water temperature, as well as pressure, is adjustable. I have on with different presets, so every family member gets to have their own favorite setting
- not messy at all, has a very directed jet of water. Of course you can splash around sitting weirdly on the toilet, but that needs to be very deliberate. Mine has a function that when nobody sits on the toilet, the jet won’t start.
- there’s options with blow dryers, but even if not, just one dab to dry off instead of wiping and wiping and wiping.
- according to my plumber, it was one more water hose and an electric plug to connect. The device itself of course is much more expensive than a stander toilet. Just using TP now feels so terrible unhygienic. Imagine getting shit on your hand, and you have paper towels, or running water (and paper towels) to clean up. What would you choose? Maybe not really a “problem” solves, but a very, very nice luxury.
Thank you for addressing my concerns, adjustable pressure would be a key thing. After a few other replies as well, I have actually ordered one to give it a try.
I have a bidet add-on for my regular toilet (North American style), and I’m wondering what the cost Delta is for the Japanese style toilet was. My SO and I are planning on adding a bathroom to the house and we’re definitely getting a bidet, it’s just a matter of what we get, and I’ve been thinking to get one built into the toilet at least. But I’m not sure if it will explode our budget.
What was your experience?
The one we got was really expensive, but it was the only brand available in Germany that actually has those things in the market for 10+ years (so it’s a well tested product). It’s one of the premium brands for bathroom “furniture” anyway, and the bidet ones are their top of the line bowls, so I guess in the end we’re not just paying premium for the bidet. Including installation and all the other parts, I think it was something like 3 or 3.5k EUR. I don’t really have any comparison (the cheaper brand would be around 1k less), but the thing is well thought through, has tons of options, easy to clean, easy maintenance, and has some really long warranty. I still feel I splurged on it, but in the grand scheme of things when remodeling a house (roughly 150k in total), I did not really register. Don’t know if that helps in any way…
Thanks! It definitely set some expectation for me. At least I know an approximate ballpark for a high end one.
I hope you continue to enjoy it for a very long time.
Okay, I see you. I’m part of the bidet users, so I’ll weigh in.
Warm water bidets exist, they’re a bit more of a hassle to install, but they exist, and I promise you that it doesn’t really matter. I have a basic cold water bidet, and it’s not as weird as you would think, and I thought I would want the warm water bidet like you, but after a few uses, I didn’t care at all. I’m not here to convince you between warm/cold water, if you want it, that’s totally fine.
It’s definitely not messier. Initially sure, it’s probably a complete mess, but you’re not just doing a quick/short spray. After a few seconds, everything is running clean. The water is clean and so are you.
Wiping is still a thing. I’ve heard some fancy bidets have air dryers to finish the job, it’s not what I have/use, so I dry myself with TP. Unless you spend a fortune, you will too. I’ll say that it takes significantly less tp on average to dry myself off from the bidet than it does to clean myself with TP alone. So my TP use is significantly reduced. Saving money on TP by smartly using a little water, is a good trade IMO.
I wouldn’t say TP is “successful”. I would say it’s adequate at best. In a pinch it does enough to keep the smell and filth to a minimum. By no means is the bidet perfect, certainly there are improvements that can be made, but it’s better. To put this in perspective, when you next tear a sheet of TP and get some of it on your hand, try wiping it off with TP and see if you feel like your hand is clean. I’d put money on the fact that it won’t feel clean until you properly wash it. That’s what you’re doing with your asshole. You wipe it down with paper and then go about your day. It’s “clean”… As in, not caked in shit, but it’s still not really clean. There’s still bacteria and other gross ass shit (pun absolutely intended) on your anus.
Additional to that, your butthole is a sensitive membrane on your body that you’re cleaning with coarse paper all the time. Bidets have been shown to help with various anus related issues like hemorrhoids. Do you want hemorrhoids? If so, keep scraping that sandpaper over your butthole and I’m sure you’ll get there some day.
To the point of it being “too much work”: my partner and I picked up a luxe bidet neo (I think it’s the 120). Super cheap, no frills model. We didn’t want to invest because, like you, we weren’t sure if we were going to like it/use it. We do, all the time. We’re planning on renovating and adding a new bathroom and the new bathroom is getting a bidet when it goes in. Something very nice. Without question. But the luxe model we have was less than $100, and attached to the existing water hookups. It came with everything we needed (we had to also fix a slow leak on the main inlet to the toilet, so we replaced most of the lines in the process, but if our lines had been good, we would have only needed the extra hardware that came with the bidet, in the box). To that end, it’s only a matter of picking one up for less than $100 and taking 15 minutes to install using the directions. No plumber needed, no special tools required (maybe just some wrenches… The bidet comes with some plastic wrenches that are Ikea quality, so having an adjustable/worm-gear wrench is helpful).
So if you have less than $100 sitting around doing nothing, and you can spare 15 minutes… You can have a bidet. So I respectively disagree that it’s “too much work to implement”.
I’ll leave you with this statement: don’t knock it until you try it. It’s changed our lives for the better.
Okay, thank you for your very detailed response, at times too detailed. But you’ve convinced me to at least try it. I just ordered the luxe 120 plus on Amazon for $45, we’ll see how it goes.
Again, thank you for this potentially life changing information.
I wish you all the best. Sorry for being a bit… Overly complete with my information.
I hope you like it as much as we do.
Don’t apologize brother, it’s easy to get carried away in the zeal of spreading the gospel of the wash’ed ass.
I think you’ll be disappointed with the bidet. Your original comment is correct, they are inconvenient and solve a non-problem.
It’s annoying waddling from the toilet to the bidet with a dirty ass. It takes time to wash. Then you use more paper to dry than you would have to just wipe. And you don’t feel cleaner afterwards because wiping is fine.
There’s no polite way to say it, some people like bidets because they make a big mess when they use the toilet. For them bidets are more convenient than paper. For the average person wiping is quicker and easier.
Okay so your comment about “waddling from the toilet to the bidet” is all someone needs to read to know that you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Detached bidets exist, but nobody is buying them for $45 on Amazon.
The type of bidet that people are talking about here are ones that attach to your toilet. You twist a knob to activate the sprayer, which hits where it’s supposed to hit without you having to move.
You don’t waddle anywhere. It takes 5 seconds to wash. You use one wipe with 3 squares to dry, which is hopefully at least a few times less than you use when you dry wipe. You absolutely feel cleaner afterwards, because you’re using water to remove the shit instead of smearing it around with dry paper.
The problem that it solves is that you don’t have to walk around with an unwashed ass. Maybe having a disgusting unwashed ass isn’t a problem for you. Maybe if you got shit on another part of your body, you’d just wipe it with some TP and call it good. I’m not judging. Seems weird as hell that you’re trying to shame people who would rather use water to get the shit off, though.
As an avid bidet user I feel compelled to answer your points
- it is always warm water (unless you are a masochist, no judgement)
- it points directly to where it needs to go so it stays confined within its domain
- you have to wipe both before and after (before to wipe away most of it, after to dry it)
- it is not a replacement of tp, it is complementary. You need both to achieve full cleaning
All in all I would not live without it anymore, after trying it and reaching enlightenment. 5/5 stars.
Thank you for your reply. I hadn’t really explored the idea of using one before coming across this post. I figured it would be in some way complementary but based on other comments it wasn’t really clear. I’ve decided to give a cheaper one on Amazon a try another person recommended.
They have warmers, both water and seat.
No, your butt and legs cover it.
No, that’s what it awesome if you get a good one it cleans all the bits.
I switched with COVID cause y’all are out of pocket with the TP. Never looked back. I think have bought one pack of TP since.
One pack of TP since!? That’s incredible! Thank you for your reply, I have decided to give it a try to see how it goes. Just never really explored the idea before.
I’m a fan. It’s a bit off putting at first. But it’s just like taking a shower. What’s the difference?
I’ve had a bidet for a while now and here has been my experience:
- I have a cold water bidet which used to annoy me a bit but I soon got to the point where I don’t even notice or care. At any rate, there are warm water bidets but you will need to run a hot water line off of your sink likely.
- You get water on your ass which to me feels cleaner than an ass which hasn’t been washed at all. Using paper in public places now makes me wish bidets were more widely used because TP alone doesn’t leave me feeling clean anymore. I suppose you would get water everywhere if you were squatting instead of sitting.
- You can let it air dry but even if you don’t, it takes a lot less TP than wiping without it. We go through less than half of the TP that we used to before getting the bidet.
- TP is convenient but not cheap. You can get a quality home bidet for $20-$30 which will save you a good amount of money in the long run since you won’t be going through nearly as much TP.
I used to think bidets were weird until I started using one on a regular basis. Now I can’t live without it.
You don’t need to run a hot water line, a lot of models just use electricity to warm a small tank of water. This will work better then a hot water line since you would have to wait till you flush the cold water out of the line. Unless you have a recirculation pump for your hot water I guess.
Thank you for your reply. After yours and others replies, I’ve went ahead and order one to give it a try. I just hadn’t really explored the idea before. Thanks for the information!
It’s not just a blind firehose pointed at your ass. There is accuracy with them, good pressure, so you are cleaning more effectively, and the water is ideally contained in the toilet and to your ass crack for the most part, which you’re already wanting to clean anyway.
As somebody quite hairy, it helps me get cleaner, more quickly, save tp, and leave nothing to question. I often dab off with a little double fold to dry a little. Idgaf about a little dampness, at least my ass isn’t grimey.
Think about how you pressure wash a deck or home exterior, you wouldn’t just take a fuckin paper towel and some cleaner and hope your house looks immaculate.
Cold water up your ass on a winter morning is cheap, quick and a lot closer than coffee places so the lack of a warm water line doesn’t bother me any.
I installed one at home. Cost is an issue especially when you need a gfci outlet installed behind the toilet. But if you’re willing to do all that then:
- Water is heated by the unit
- The spray is direct to center. Doesn’t deviate unless you don’t sit correctly.
- You only have to wipe once if you want to be sure, but the bidet comes with an air dryer.
- Some benefits is if you have hemorrhoids it doesnt irritate them like toilet paper and it does feel way cleaner than tp.
I’ve decided to order a cheaper one and see how it goes. I happen to have plug close enough so that’s a plus. The cleanliness is really what is convincing me towards it. Thank you for your reply.
- warm water bidets exist, but cold water isnt as bad as you think
- no, thats a common misconception
- you can pat dry with a couple squares of TP, or keep a towel handy since you’re clean now
- you ever see all the nooks and crannies of a butthole? You’re going to hurt yourself before you’re actually clean if you’re just wiping with dry paper. You’re smearing shit around your asshole and then going about your day with a shitty asshole acting like that’s not a problem that needs solving
We’ve had one in my parents house for the past 30 years and as far as I remember, no one ever used it. Usually it’s used to store dirty laundry before washing. Maybe I should give it a try…
