That Foolish Affinity With Toilet Paper

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Every time friends visit my home and they finish using the bathroom, the conversation inevitably turns to toilet paper for the simple reason that I have none.  Yep, my friends frequently come out of the bathroom aghast, sometimes even offended, that they just relieved themselves without having any toilet paper at hand.

I’ve been a bidet user for a good part of two years.  Unfortunately, few of my friends have followed suit.

Unlike folks in many parts of Europe and Asia, Americans have an unusual affinity to toilet paper. Wiping themselves free from the remnants of their excretions seem so well-ingrained, it’s nearly impossible to get over.

For proof, try visiting a home and living trade show where bidet retailers have a booth.  You’ll see people shy away, repulsed at the very idea of washing their posteriors instead of wiping it with paper.

The sad fact, however, is that bidets can clean dirt from those hard to reach areas better than brushing with paper can ever hope to do.  If you get kechup on your hands, for instance, would you feel cleaner wiping it with a tissue or washing it over a running stream of water then patting it dry afterwards?  The same holds true for your tush, believe it or not.

Different people have their own theories as to why Americans continue to make do with their toilet papers, even scenting and adorning them with flowery decorations.  Whichever one you subscribe to, it’s hard to imagine how it can ever feel more hygienic and sanitary to clean yourself using them.  With bidets, you don’t even need to touch the area, allowing the aerated stream of water to clean it out for you.

Why don’t you give the toilet paper some rest and try a bidet for once?

Treat Yourself To Toilet Comforts With A High-End Bidet

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Bidets, much like most things in life, come in different varieties.  Some, like hand-held bidets, are fairly utilitarian, facilitating cleansing without much frills.  Others, however, can bring creature comforts right to your toilet seat in more ways than you can imagine.

Top-of-the-line bidets offer much more than hygiene and a thorough cleansing, incorporating numerous functions that make those trips to the toilet a truly pleasant experience.  While enhanced operation doesn’t come cheap, neither does the well-being a full-featured electronic bidet can bring.

The moment you sit down, you can relax in a heated seat that keep your bare legs warm, taking as much time as you need without the need to hurry.  Pick up the wireless remote control to perform any action with the single press of a button, whether it’s adjusting your seat’s temperature for a more restful feel or activating the powerful deodorizer to get rid of unwanted smells.

High-end bidets offer a complete set of self-adjusting sensors that can deliver the necessary cleansing – from the heat of the water to the pressure with which it’s delivered – depending on numerous factors.  You can also choose to override any predetermined setting and program it according to what works best for you.  Pampered is pretty much the operative word, with the warm aerated stream of water during cleansing and the soft gush of warm dry air while drying.  Many even offer cyclic massaging during cleaning to facilitate a more thorough and relaxing rinse.

Costing in the vicinity of $500 and up, high-end toilet seat bidets may prove a considerable investment. However, that easily pays for itself in the improved quality of both your family’s hygiene and cosiness during what’s usually  uncomfortable moments.

Hand-Held Bidets Versus Toilet Seat Bidets

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While toilet seat bidets have been the most popular choice among people looking to install these toilet paper replacements, hand-held bidets have been coming up in prominence as market alternatives.  How well do these hand-controlled sprayers perform compared to their seat-fitted counterparts?

Control

The main selling point for hand-held bidets have always been the ease by which they allow you to control the direction of the water.  Instead of having to do the “Dirty Boogie” or any similar motion, you can freely move the device around the area that needs to be cleaned.  You can use it to jet the water out front or from behind, without much restrictions on angles and positioning.

Convenience

While hand-held bidet manufacturers tout its convenient use, it’s actually a bit harder to clean with one in tow than a regular toilet seat rig.  When cleaning your posterior, for instance, you may need to get up from the seat a bit to allow the device to slip through.  I, personally, find it a more awkward posture than having to wiggle around when using a  typical toilet seat bidet.   Additionally, having to reach out for a separate device actually makes it extra work, compared to the single-push convenience of a seat-installed bidet.

Overall

Personally, I think hand-held bidets are great for washing.  If they allow high water pressure, you can even use them as an alternate hose when cleaning your bathroom.  However, they do take up extra space and, with a hanging water hose, isn’t the safest to have lying around.  Also, if you enjoy having plenty of features on your bidet, such as hot water or warm air dryer, a toilet seat model should easily provide it.

Conserve Resources By Eliminating Toilet Paper With Bidets

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Eco-conscious homeowners are ever on the lookout for new technologies that will help reduce our use of resources and the bidet has proven to be a valuable home addition that achieves just that.

Do you know that in the United States alone, people use an estimated 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper annually?  That means over 15 million trees cut down from forests, 473 billion gallons of water used up during manufacturing, 17 terawatts of electricity powering the toilet paper factories and 253,000 tons of chlorine employed for bleaching the pulp.  Now, imagine how much resources are wasted for toilet paper production worldwide.

If you’re at all concerned about reducing your household’s environmental footprint, the bidet is an easy way to achieve it, single-handedly eliminating the need for toilet papers in the bathroom.  A single toilet seat bidet (you can find decent quality, non-electric ones for as low as $50) can be attached to your existing toilet and plugged into your plumbing with just a short amount of work.  If you hire a contractor to install it, the whole job should cost you no more than $150.

Using only water to clean you up after doing the dirty deed,  it uses very little resources for essentially the same function as toilet papers.  Apart from the cleaning, some bidets even include a drying mechanism so you really don’t need any toilet paper to wipe your posterior dry.  Alternatively, many green-conscious bidet users keep bidet towels to pat themselves dry instead of toilet papers to totally eliminating the pulp product from their bathrooms.

If you’re really earnest about saving those rainforests, you may want to get serious about installing a bidet.   It really will help you achieve those conservation goals faster than ever before, as well as hold off on the use of plenty of resources in the process.

Benefits of a Bidet – Pregnant Women

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During pregnancy, women experience several different factors which can lead to a decrease in their ability to feel fresh and clean.  The changes in hormones can often cause changes in the chemistry of their vagina, leading to embarrassing odors and difficulty in keeping the area clean.  Bidets are an easy way to ensure that a woman’s pregnancy doesn’t mean that she has to compromise her hygiene and confidence. Read more

Toilet Seat Bidets Versus European-Style Bidets

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My first experience using a toilet seat bidet is in a hotel in the Far East.  Asian bidets, unlike their European counterparts, are usually attachments that are put in place of where the toilet seats used to be.  With tight space always seeming to be a major consideration in that part of the world, the tack-on design made a lot of sense.

While I find great value in separate bidets, I’ve always been partial to the toilet seat attachment variety and recommend it to everyone who asks me about installing one in their bathrooms.  There are plenty of good reasons why an add-on bidet is better idea for majority of homeowners.

1. It’s cheaper

With fewer materials and less plumbing work needed to install them, toilet seat bidets are hands-down the more economical choice.  With recent advancements in these low-cost bidets, there isn’t really that much of a difference in the amount of cleaning they can facilitate.  As long as you know how to work your body for a thorough wash, you’ll be good.

2. Less space requirements

The space that a separate bidet will take can easily be used for other fixtures like a towel hanger or just additional legroom.  Unless you live in a million-dollar home with plenty of space to spare, an attachment bidet should give you the same functions without leaving your bathroom a little too crowded for comfort.

3. Installs fast

A toilet seat bidet can be installed and tested within a few hours, requiring little in the way of extra work.  Those separate bidets with their own basin can require an entire day to outfit, requiring new plumbing, drains and more.  Put those two options side by side and the choice isn’t really that hard, is it?

Bidet Benefits – Menstruation

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For women who are going through menstruation, a bidet can be a fantastic way to feel clean and hygienic.  During this time, any irritation to the delicate tissues of the vagina or the urinary tract can cause dangerous infections.  This is why the gentle cleansing of a bidet can be extremely beneficial. Read more

Using A Bidet: Proper Movements For A Thorough Cleaning

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When using a bidet, I’ve heard some people complain that the cleaning isn’t sufficient compared to wiping the area down with toilet paper.  Fact is, you can’t simply sit there, turn up the water and expect the bidet to splash you clean. To make the most out of this convenient device, you’ll have to do a little extra work on your part.

An effective way to improve how well your bidet cleans you up is to learn a dance move especially choreographed for bidet users, which we like to call “The Dirty Boogie”. Also known as “The Bidet Boogie” or “The Toilet Shuffle”, it’s a simple movement that helps ensure you to get the entire area sufficiently washed down.  To perform it, simply wiggle your bottom in a circular motion while the water jets into your crotch.   The action allows the water to hit your skin from different angles, creating for a more thorough rinse.

This easy-to-learn hip maneuver is particularly useful for those who just used the toilet to defecate.  With some traces of the excreted materials usually left on parts of your anus, water darting out of the bidet will almost always fail to take out every trace.  When you move your body in this dance-like motion, however, the water is able to remove any remnant, without needing any additional padding down with a toilet paper.

Bidet Benefits – Cleanliness

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Nearly every proctologist, gynecologist or general practitioner will tell you about the benefits of using a bidet to wash after defecation.  Washing your anus, genital and perianal is much easier and more effective with a bidet than using a shower or bath, not to mention the unnecessary water usage of the latter techniques. Read more

Hand-held Bidets

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One of the most rare types of bidets in the U.S. are the handheld bidets.  They’re probably the most simple bidets in existence, as they require you to operate and aim them yourself without any mechanical or electrical workings. Read more

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