I have no way to supply the bidet with water, since the faucet is on the other side if the room and used for the laundry machine. I know splitters exist. But running a hose across the room is impractical...
Water collector for the toilet is build into the wall...
Doesn't the bidet take its water supply from the toilet's own valve? That's how I'd do it, just add a tap to the outlet of the valve (https://i.imgur.com/Or7mhpW.png). No need to turn off your home water supply to install it, either.
Most these attachments connect to the toilet's water supply, which is fine, except most toilet water supplies only provide cold (i.e. whatever the ambient water temperature happens to be) water which to me, is far from ideal in a bidet (it's fine for normal use though).
Running hot water there is a significant undertaking if done correctly, so most options come with a small reservoir to heat up water from the regular toilet supply.
That heat isn't magical, it needs energy from somewhere meaning you need to run power there someway.
There are dangerous improvised solutions like running a power cable yourself. There's additional consideration electricians put in when installing power in restrooms due to all the water and grounding dangers from metal plumbing. Running cables neglects all that thought and reintroduces an electrocution hazard if not handled very carefully.
That leaves me with battery options which I haven't looked to much into but I find that's likely not ideal to swap batteries around all the time. If it can operate off something like a deep cycle marine battery (which seems appropriate), then it might be viable.
Do NOT use that particular outlet. You want one with GFCI instead. You will probably have to install a larger box to put it side by side with the existing switch. (Or really just install another single box closer to where you want it, and fish)
I worked as an electrician for a couple of years, so I had no issue running power. It’s a very quick job though, so paying someone isn’t going to cost much.
I think hot water mixing valves are standard for toilet lines in modern construction. It mixes in enough hot water to prevent condensation from occurring on the tank or the bowl. The water wouldn't be shower warm, but judging by other comments here it's less of an issue than one might think.
I guess you might not have this if you live somewhere like west Texas.
In my old rental, the mixing valve malfunctioned and condensation was causing damage to the floor. In my current house, it mixes in too much hot water. If you flush a few times in a row, you can feel the warmth off the toilet bowl. It needs to be replaced, because it doesn't have an adjustment screw.
I've never heard of an insulated toilet tank over here. I wouldn't be surprised if they start showing up, though.
My current house was built in the 80s, when the region was flush with oil money. I get the impression that building anything energy efficient was seen as a political statement, aside from the added cost to the builder.
I've never seen a hot water line to a toilet in the US. If people are doing it they only started doing it very recently - maybe for bidet options or something.
> That heat isn't magical, it needs energy from somewhere meaning you need to run power there someway.
Well, if you have a reservoir before the bidet, it'll get from ambient water temperature to ambient air temperature if it sits long enough. How many litres does a bidet use at a time? Nowhere to slot a 2L reservoir?
Getting the water to 22C should be far more tolerable than the 5-8C many of us are used to in winter.
I have a fancy Toto Bidet that was half bought as a joke. Best present ever. It is so over the top with things like bowl mister, heated seat, a vacuum and an air filter to filter out smells. But seriously it does a great job of keeping everything clean without any TP.
My main concern regarding a bidet is that it'll leak.
I've heard horror stories about bidets causing thousands of dollars worth of damages after the water hoses that supply them leak and spill hundreds of gallons of water on to the floor when their owners are away from home.
Are you concerned about the hose to your tank leaking? What about the rest of your plumbing? Wrap teflon tape around the threads in the direction you will be screwing the connection on three times. Tighten with a wrench. If you are really paranoid, use pipe thread sealant after the teflon tape.
Compression fittings in plumbing must NOT have any teflon tape on the threads. This just causes leaks. Teflon tape is for fittings where the threads are the sealing surface. Compression fittings do not seal with the threads; the threads only provide compressive force.
Also, 'hand-tight' is more than sufficient (in most cases) using compression fittings (not brass but rubber/silicone/Viton, etc). After all, you are dealing with relatively low pressure, which a strong grip exceeds, while a wrench too tight can easily foul the soft seal.
Your comment is what every textbook says and it's not wrong for ideal conditions.
Meanwhile in the field you come across a boogered up fitting line that leaks, you slap some tape on the threads, the nut seals to the ferrule, the ferrule seals to the tube and the tape seals the threads.
It's not "right" but it works well enough often enough that people do it.
My friends were (rightly) concerned their two year old would think it was a new bathroom toy. He loves playing with water. I didn't have a good answer, but somehow kids in asia seem less enthusiastic about playing with something they use to clean their bums. Also, the majority of the bathrooms there are more like giant showers... they have floors with drains in them so the whole thing can get wet without any problems. Sure makes cleaning them easier too.
Yea, almost none of the bathrooms in the US are designed like that. I only see it in the occasional hotel. I wish they were. Things are so much simpler that way.
All the bidets I've used (standard fare in .fi) are attached to the faucet, so you need to open that if you want to use the bidet. (You also use the faucet to control water temperature)
is that different from any other water faucet in the bathroom?
FWIW, as an Italian (everybody has a bidet in Italy) I have literally never heard of anyone having encountered this issue, but I suppose it may vary in other countries.
It is a common thing to close the water in the house when you're away for a long time though, but I assumed everybody did that.
A normal faucet has two supply lines underneath the sink, and frequently they're flexible. Those can leak and cause a massive flood.
Has that ever happened to you?
In addition, every toilet also has a supply line underneath, running from the wall valve to the bottom of the tank where the fill valve is mounted. Again, these are frequently flexible lines. How is this different than a bidet?
The cheapest bidet attachments all have very flimsy plastic threading for their supply lines. My first one did develop a small leak after eight years, but by then it had more than proven the concept and I bought a nicer one.
It sounds a lot like we're talking about different things. The Italian guy before is talking about a real bidet, a serious plumbing fixture much like a toilet. You and others seem to be thinking of some cheap, plastic add-on. Personally, I was thinking of either the European-style bidet, or the Japanese-style washlet, neither of which is cheap.
The European-style bidet does require extra real estate in your bathroom. The Japanese-style washlet does not; it's built into the toilet (or replaces the regular lid).
Honestly, I have no idea why Europeans still use their old-fashioned bidets now that washlets have been around for several decades. Why would you want to use two different devices just to do a #2 when you can just sit on one and get it all done at once?
Yes, and it flooded three floors of my house and required months of renovations. Thanks for asking about it. I briefly considered giving up on indoor plumbing altogether.
it appears the misunderstanding stems from you thinking of the "shower head attached to the WC" thing (south east asia style) while I'm thinking of the "bathroom fixture" thing (europe and japan style).
I can see what the issue with the former may be, thanks.
If you use a pressure reducer -> good quality bidet with metal pipe -> to a simple head which is openable and fixable, should last a long time, mine is approaching 10 yrs and should keep going. The flexible pipe will need changing in a few years probably and the bidet itself will need a new spring + washer if it starts leaking.
You could also go full hackernews and have a sensor connected to a wifi valve which shuts off the water supply when no one is in the loo.
My wife made a joke about a bidet a few years ago, so also as a joke I bought us one for her birthday. The $60 attachment kind where you just plumb in a splitter from the source that fills the toilet tank.
It was a hit, so we bought one for family friends for a birthday - high hilarity as we heard the reports from their kids - and then more for our extended family at Christmas. Shocked reactions around the Christmas tree.
The response has been amazing, people saying things like "How did I do without this my entire life??" and "How was I such a savage before??" On vacation at AirBnBs we are looking forward to going home just so we can have a bidet again.
In most cases, you don't even need the extra features, like fan or warm water. Regular cold water is nowhere near as bad as you'd assume.
> I thought the goal was to be more hygienic. I can see this maybe working if you live by yourself but anything beyond that is: no thanks.
I'm not trying to dissuade you from holding that opinion, just pointing out that there are many, many people who regularly use cloth diapers for newborns. While many people choose not to use them, I don't think most people consider them a less sanitary option.
True, I guess I just live in a small place and the thought of having to maintain a shitty rag basket next to the toilet isn't very appealing. But I probably shouldn't talk without experience in either (bidets included).
You don't have to. If you use an electronic bidet, while it's true that drying is not so efficient, if you sit a couple of extra minutes on it you will get up dry.
I keep a stack of about twenty small, thin wash cloths (each one is about 8 inches by 8 inches) in a container on the shelf next to the toilet, and after using the bidet, I just use a single cloth to pat everything dry.
I then drop the cloth into a small bathroom trash can with a lid that is marked, "dirty wash cloths only". This small trash can sits down on the floor next to the toilet, and once a week I just wash the cloths along with the other towels. The cloths aren't even really dirty, since your butt is clean by the time you use them. I don't like the idea of re-using them without washing them though.
And just like that, my toilet paper usage has dropped to nearly zero.
You position yourself; the water stream stays where it is. You get used to it very quickly and know where to expect it to be based on where you’re sitting.
The other "big" feature of a plugged in biden is meant to be the blower/dryer, but at least in my one (TOTO branded) it is a waste of time. If the blower actually worked (e.g. Dyson Airblade), it would be a significant benefit, but as it stands I agree you get 80% with a simple spray toilet seat (other 20% is heated water, maybe the moving head a little, although you still have to shift your body for good coverage).
I've been to Japan 3 times now and the toilets are amazing. You can have things like motorized up/down seat + cover. Water heater, seat heater, drying. And, something I never tried but there is also a music thing to cover up the sounds too.
Jacuzzi left the washlet market about a decade ago and I was able to get one of their closeout models. It was one of my best buys of my life. Sadly it died about five years ago and I've been living in rental houses since around that time and haven't bothered to ask any of the landlords if they'd be willing to install a power outlet behind the toilet.
We have water in NC as cold as you're likely to see anywhere indoors. Our municipality uses water towers to supply pressure so when it below freezing out, the water is definitely in the low 40s (F) if not below.
It's refreshing but you get used to it. My wife hasn't complained either. She rolled her eyes at me when I first ordered the bidets but was an instant convert.
(I just happened to install them in all our bathrooms last fall. Lucky timing. The model I installed was $35 on Amazon but it's now more than double that and not currently available.)
Great point. Bum washings would mostly be pretty warm due to unique features of our bathroom and condo heating... mostly. And I guess for the cold times, variety is the spice of life!
I own a bidet which costed about $400 which has a water heater, warm air ventilator, seat warmer, human presence sensor and even a remote control you can put on your wall. It's just a plastic seat I mounted myself on the old toilet.
I’ve been used to a handheld bidet for a long time. When we bought our house 3 years ago, I installed in all the bathrooms. Our tissue consumption is 10% of what it used to be in the rental apartment.
When we had our baby and she was 1, we started cleaning her by teaching her how to sit on the toilet and washing with a hand held bidet. It was much nicer on her bum, significantly less rashes. We’d wipe off with tissue but it was less friction and sweat would be cleaned off.
Bidets are the right thing to do if you care about your ass and environment. It just feels so freaking good.
Yeah winter could be bad but usually it is tolerable.
I'm not sure how much water a typical cleansing will require; our cold-water one is on its way to the house now. But I reasoned it would probably not require more than a 1-2 second blast.
Given that it's plumbed in at the toilet tap, and that you'd use it before flushing, I would presume the water would be relatively close to room temperature, as the supply line is indoors just below the seat. That should be plenty for 1-2 seconds.
2 seconds is definitely not enough, unless you put pressure on "rectum destroyer" level. You don't need to wash it as clean as your hands, but give it 5 seconds at the least.
Serious question: we are very soon running out of toilet paper. Because of the panic from the virus, our nearby stores have all been out of toilet papers for a couple of weeks now and we've been unable to restock so far, so it was a golden opportunity for me to bring back up the idea to try out a bidet (SO is reticent but it beats having no toilet paper to wipe with)
My problem is that I don't know how to "hang" the handle when it's not in use. The bathroom is all tile from floor to ceiling and we're tenants so we can't drill to hang an attachment. I've also seen systems that hook over the tank's wall, but our toilet has the tank in the wall (it's a German style toilet for those who know what I mean: tank in the wall and toilet seat hanging from the wall rather than the floor)
I'm also not convinced with the little arms that install under the seat which reaches out when water flows, because I'm very concerned about back splashing on it when using the toilet and being unable to thoroughly clean the arm. This would spray soiled water where we don't want it.
I'm hoping someone in a similar situation figured something out: what system do you use?
There is no pipe or hose that connects to your toilet with a valve? The one I have can attach either at the valve or at the tank where the water enters the toilet.
Tank is inside a wall, sealed and no access. May you can take off the button panel but a hose wouldn't be able to go through there. All of the piping is in the wall and there is one faucet across the room.
If that were true, wouldn't showering in those climates be much more uncomfortable? It's not like the water goes everywhere, or you don't dry immediately with paper...
I've found the discomfort with near-freezing water in our cold-water-supply-only bidet seat to be minimal. Sure, I'd prefer warmer water, but it's really not that bad.
It has a fan that goes and sucks the air out of the bowl when someone sits on it and blows the air through a charcoal filter. It also has adjustable nozzles(position, heating, oscilation, pressure). It is so over the top, but after a few days of "this is weird", it just becomes awesome and I miss it when I'm away from home.
You'll figure it out, and you'll kick yourself for not having done it sooner. It's all much easier than you're imagining. I had the same concerns, and am a complete convert now.
There will be sheaves and sheaves of people using this thing incorrectly and in mind-boggling hilarious ways, because they haven't figured it out. I have traveled extensively in Japan, and encountered the Toto toilet in practically every hotel. I have never used this feature, was and am too embarrassed to ask. Somehow this quote comes to mind:
So what you're saying is because you've never actually tried simply pushing a button, you know that people who do try just pushing a button are going to do so incorrectly with your complete lack of personal experience?
At the risk of sounding naive, help me figure out what I'm missing then. I had the opportunity to use a built in style bidet when I visited Japan, and after a few days of trying, I could not figure out how to clean myself with it. There was always some residue left that had to be toilet papered off.
Are you expected to use your hand to clean like you would in the shower? Because that's never been made clear to me and what I've read online says to just let the water splash on you then dry it off with a towel, which doesn't seem sanitary at all to me.
Edit: Reading through the thread has been helpful. I've always had bidets pitched to me as a toilet paper replacement, but the comments here indicate it's something to be used after wiping, not in lieu of.
> Or I could have just been doing it wrong, there wasn't exactly a training class when visiting countries in which they are common.
Haha exactly, that's the difficulty! You're taught these toilet habits at a young age and it's not something that adults discuss, so if you grew up in a culture without a bidet, it comes across as a baffling fixture.
The answer is you don't. I know people think I am missing something but I really don't. I have fixed toilets in other long term apartments before. This one simply has no access for a hose to connect to the bidet.
How do you turn off the water supply to the toilet? Is that part non-existent or inside the wall? Because that is where you normally install the splitter.
I've lived in Vietnam for the last 4 years and got used to the 'bum gun' as we call them. It is awesome.
I came back to the US late January for a meeting in SF. I was staying at my friends house and lamenting the missing gun. My friends were refusing to install one because they were afraid that their two year old would use it to soak the entire bathroom.
I started checking Amazon anyway... once everyone started stockpiling TP, the prices started to rise and I started to see more and more of them marked as 'unavailable'.
Now there is definitely no chance they will get one in the near future...
I've been using a portable, battery-powered bidet (Toto brand) for years. The first vacation that I took to Japan sold me on them nearly instantly, but I didn't want to go through with installing them once I got home. This is a good compromise.
I think I'd prefer to use a bum gun over the whole toilet seat thing. You can really move the bum gun around more easily than you can your body and it is super easy to wipe it down to clean it.
Yeah, I think when all of the dust clears on this that I will be putting in the bum guns in our place. The idea has spread to my entire house and close family, who spend a lot of time living with us during the year, over the past few weeks.
Yea, wait for the prices to come back down. It is an easy install too... the ones on amazon come with all the parts. Once you get the water turned off, it just takes about 15 minutes to assemble it all.
The toilet seats have adjustable nozzles, and even can be set to spray in a pattern to get everywhere. You still need to be in the right position but it's not so difficult.
Oh, that is part of the fun of using random bum guns around se asia... all different water pressure and quality of handles. It is like playing russian roulette with your bung hole.
Actually though, the trick is just shoot a bit into a toilet first to test it... ;-)
Many of the toilet seat based bidets (such as the Brondell Swash) have sensors in the seat that won't allow the water sprayer or blow dryer to run unless contact is detected from someone actually sitting down. That's what relieved my concern about it. I have a toddler who likes to press buttons, too! He just presses them and nothing happens. You can also just turn it off and completely deactivate it by holding the stop button for 5 seconds.
You only need a regular towel to dry off, since now you're actually clean instead of just smearing poop around until the paper kind of looks clean. Unless of course you have microscopic eyesight.
Yes, this is how I feel about it as well, but apparently it's a norm. Individuals will have their own unshared bidet towel in the bathroom that they'll use afterwards.
The bum guns are advertised on Amazon, for washing diapers! lol.
Agreed, you don't just throw the towel up on the rack and call it a day. Usually you throw it in the wash or wash it out with soap when you are done. But at least your bum is a lot cleaner than smearing poop all around it with TP.
I have seen this design mainly in public toilets and in a few "modern" homes. Makes for easier to clean toilet area. But I also had similar questions as sibling comments are making. As someone who has had to fix my fair share of flushing issues I had my doubts about such a design.
I have this type of toilet, in a very modern apartment. It's exactly as you say, more common in modern public places like airports and new offices.
In my case, there's a 2m wide, ~70cm deep space behind the bathroom, where the water + heating + sewage + ventilation pipes for the whole building are located. There's a 40cm access panel in my wall to get to it.
Adding a bidet thing would require drilling a hole through the wall.
A previous apartment had a similar toilet, but the tank etc was just hidden behind wooden panelling. That would be much easier to modify.
I'm an Italian currently quarantined in Buenos Aires, I'm very happy to report that since the Italian heritage in this country is very strong I have yet to see an apartment without a separate bidet. :)
I'm not sure that the stand alone bidets will become popular here due to space restrictions (I agree that they are great BTW) but I could see toilets with built in bidets being installed.
We're planning a new bathroom and I have that on our todo list.
I always wanted one. My wife found one about a year ago, one that was designed for in-home hospice care and has a good water pressure. It is one of those toilet attachments. She wouldn't use it normally, but because we have it, she's not really worried about the TP shortage.
I had a washlet installed in 2009 when I bought my home and I was on a several month client on site late 2011 when out of sheer desperation I searched for a travel washlet not that I could imagine how one would work.
This is what I have too and it works reasonably well. I was joking to a relative that she could purchase a home depot hand pumped garden sprayer with a wand as a substitute during the corona virus crisis.
I fitted a hand-held shower head on one of those and used it for showers when we lost our water heater a few months back. Worked pretty well if you don't mind 'boat showers.' I could see where your idea might actually work.
As a permanent fixture, I imagine it to be like a toilet. It's always contaminated, but this can be dealt with similarly.
The portable device, on the other hand, has to be put somewhere. I guess you could have a "poop shelf" nearby that you always assume is about as clean as the bottom of a toilet seat. Actually traveling with that seems iffy, though.
Why would it be...? You do not shove the nozzle where it does not shine and you just rinse it the nozzle after using it the rest doesn't even get close to any unsanitary locations. Can't imagine why would it be ... contaminated?
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[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 226 ms ] threadWhile people are out fighting for TP, I rinse myself and use two or three pieces to dry off and that’s it. Nice and clean!
Water collector for the toilet is build into the wall...
Most these attachments connect to the toilet's water supply, which is fine, except most toilet water supplies only provide cold (i.e. whatever the ambient water temperature happens to be) water which to me, is far from ideal in a bidet (it's fine for normal use though).
Running hot water there is a significant undertaking if done correctly, so most options come with a small reservoir to heat up water from the regular toilet supply.
That heat isn't magical, it needs energy from somewhere meaning you need to run power there someway.
There are dangerous improvised solutions like running a power cable yourself. There's additional consideration electricians put in when installing power in restrooms due to all the water and grounding dangers from metal plumbing. Running cables neglects all that thought and reintroduces an electrocution hazard if not handled very carefully.
That leaves me with battery options which I haven't looked to much into but I find that's likely not ideal to swap batteries around all the time. If it can operate off something like a deep cycle marine battery (which seems appropriate), then it might be viable.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-125-Volt-Combo-Se...
Couldn't find them in Canada though. Had to buy from USA.
Now my toothbrush can charge for more than 5 minutes a day (the lamp had a socket on it, but again, wouldn't want to use that for a bidet!)
I guess you might not have this if you live somewhere like west Texas.
In my old rental, the mixing valve malfunctioned and condensation was causing damage to the floor. In my current house, it mixes in too much hot water. If you flush a few times in a row, you can feel the warmth off the toilet bowl. It needs to be replaced, because it doesn't have an adjustment screw.
Searching for the condensation problem in Britain, plumbers suggest using an insulated cistern (tank).
I've never heard of an insulated toilet tank over here. I wouldn't be surprised if they start showing up, though.
My current house was built in the 80s, when the region was flush with oil money. I get the impression that building anything energy efficient was seen as a political statement, aside from the added cost to the builder.
During the winter its a bit colder but still nothing like the well water back in the midwest. Well water bidet would cause hypothermia to your anus
Well, if you have a reservoir before the bidet, it'll get from ambient water temperature to ambient air temperature if it sits long enough. How many litres does a bidet use at a time? Nowhere to slot a 2L reservoir?
Getting the water to 22C should be far more tolerable than the 5-8C many of us are used to in winter.
I've heard horror stories about bidets causing thousands of dollars worth of damages after the water hoses that supply them leak and spill hundreds of gallons of water on to the floor when their owners are away from home.
Compression fittings in plumbing must NOT have any teflon tape on the threads. This just causes leaks. Teflon tape is for fittings where the threads are the sealing surface. Compression fittings do not seal with the threads; the threads only provide compressive force.
Edit for clarity.
Meanwhile in the field you come across a boogered up fitting line that leaks, you slap some tape on the threads, the nut seals to the ferrule, the ferrule seals to the tube and the tape seals the threads.
It's not "right" but it works well enough often enough that people do it.
It would be a major issue in the US as that water would just leak through the floor.
No more worrying about leaking pipes, overflowing toilet, etc.
FWIW, as an Italian (everybody has a bidet in Italy) I have literally never heard of anyone having encountered this issue, but I suppose it may vary in other countries.
It is a common thing to close the water in the house when you're away for a long time though, but I assumed everybody did that.
If the bidet's line runs outside of the toilet bowl, and fails there, then it leaks onto the floor.
Has that ever happened to you?
In addition, every toilet also has a supply line underneath, running from the wall valve to the bottom of the tank where the fill valve is mounted. Again, these are frequently flexible lines. How is this different than a bidet?
Honestly, I have no idea why Europeans still use their old-fashioned bidets now that washlets have been around for several decades. Why would you want to use two different devices just to do a #2 when you can just sit on one and get it all done at once?
Yes, and it flooded three floors of my house and required months of renovations. Thanks for asking about it. I briefly considered giving up on indoor plumbing altogether.
I can see what the issue with the former may be, thanks.
You could also go full hackernews and have a sensor connected to a wifi valve which shuts off the water supply when no one is in the loo.
It was a hit, so we bought one for family friends for a birthday - high hilarity as we heard the reports from their kids - and then more for our extended family at Christmas. Shocked reactions around the Christmas tree.
The response has been amazing, people saying things like "How did I do without this my entire life??" and "How was I such a savage before??" On vacation at AirBnBs we are looking forward to going home just so we can have a bidet again.
In most cases, you don't even need the extra features, like fan or warm water. Regular cold water is nowhere near as bad as you'd assume.
No recurring cost of toilet paper.
I'm not trying to dissuade you from holding that opinion, just pointing out that there are many, many people who regularly use cloth diapers for newborns. While many people choose not to use them, I don't think most people consider them a less sanitary option.
I then drop the cloth into a small bathroom trash can with a lid that is marked, "dirty wash cloths only". This small trash can sits down on the floor next to the toilet, and once a week I just wash the cloths along with the other towels. The cloths aren't even really dirty, since your butt is clean by the time you use them. I don't like the idea of re-using them without washing them though.
And just like that, my toilet paper usage has dropped to nearly zero.
The other "big" feature of a plugged in biden is meant to be the blower/dryer, but at least in my one (TOTO branded) it is a waste of time. If the blower actually worked (e.g. Dyson Airblade), it would be a significant benefit, but as it stands I agree you get 80% with a simple spray toilet seat (other 20% is heated water, maybe the moving head a little, although you still have to shift your body for good coverage).
Depends how cold your cold water is. Can be a 10-15C difference between Northern US and Southern US in winter.
Also becomes important if you're sizing a tankless water heater:
https://www.tanklesshotwaterguide.ca/2012/06/ground-water-te...
Finally, warmer water will dissolve whatever it hits better, instead of just suspending.
It's refreshing but you get used to it. My wife hasn't complained either. She rolled her eyes at me when I first ordered the bidets but was an instant convert.
(I just happened to install them in all our bathrooms last fall. Lucky timing. The model I installed was $35 on Amazon but it's now more than double that and not currently available.)
Perhaps not in California. But here in Calgary, Alberta, I assure you it is much worse than you'd assume.
Brisk!
Summer or winter it's always great to use it.
You must be animal to use those classy cold ones.
When we had our baby and she was 1, we started cleaning her by teaching her how to sit on the toilet and washing with a hand held bidet. It was much nicer on her bum, significantly less rashes. We’d wipe off with tissue but it was less friction and sweat would be cleaned off.
Bidets are the right thing to do if you care about your ass and environment. It just feels so freaking good.
Yeah winter could be bad but usually it is tolerable.
Given that it's plumbed in at the toilet tap, and that you'd use it before flushing, I would presume the water would be relatively close to room temperature, as the supply line is indoors just below the seat. That should be plenty for 1-2 seconds.
There is a whole set of pains involved in not washing with water after the fact.
We used the shower for a while, but it's a huge timesink.
We kind of solved with squirt bottles currently.
My problem is that I don't know how to "hang" the handle when it's not in use. The bathroom is all tile from floor to ceiling and we're tenants so we can't drill to hang an attachment. I've also seen systems that hook over the tank's wall, but our toilet has the tank in the wall (it's a German style toilet for those who know what I mean: tank in the wall and toilet seat hanging from the wall rather than the floor)
I'm also not convinced with the little arms that install under the seat which reaches out when water flows, because I'm very concerned about back splashing on it when using the toilet and being unable to thoroughly clean the arm. This would spray soiled water where we don't want it.
I'm hoping someone in a similar situation figured something out: what system do you use?
Disclaimer, never tried those myself.
> Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret.
Are you expected to use your hand to clean like you would in the shower? Because that's never been made clear to me and what I've read online says to just let the water splash on you then dry it off with a towel, which doesn't seem sanitary at all to me.
Edit: Reading through the thread has been helpful. I've always had bidets pitched to me as a toilet paper replacement, but the comments here indicate it's something to be used after wiping, not in lieu of.
Or I could have just been doing it wrong, there wasn't exactly a training class when visiting countries in which they are common.
Haha exactly, that's the difficulty! You're taught these toilet habits at a young age and it's not something that adults discuss, so if you grew up in a culture without a bidet, it comes across as a baffling fixture.
I came back to the US late January for a meeting in SF. I was staying at my friends house and lamenting the missing gun. My friends were refusing to install one because they were afraid that their two year old would use it to soak the entire bathroom.
I started checking Amazon anyway... once everyone started stockpiling TP, the prices started to rise and I started to see more and more of them marked as 'unavailable'.
Now there is definitely no chance they will get one in the near future...
Actually though, the trick is just shoot a bit into a toilet first to test it... ;-)
Agreed, you don't just throw the towel up on the rack and call it a day. Usually you throw it in the wash or wash it out with soap when you are done. But at least your bum is a lot cleaner than smearing poop all around it with TP.
In my case, there's a 2m wide, ~70cm deep space behind the bathroom, where the water + heating + sewage + ventilation pipes for the whole building are located. There's a 40cm access panel in my wall to get to it.
Adding a bidet thing would require drilling a hole through the wall.
A previous apartment had a similar toilet, but the tank etc was just hidden behind wooden panelling. That would be much easier to modify.
[1] https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/fFAAAOSwnhNdyM2F/s-l1600.jpg
Set the shower to the narrow/high pressure flow, and reduce the water supply so it's less "massage" and more like "watering the garden".
We're planning a new bathroom and I have that on our todo list.
I thought you were going to talk about electric sockets.
I wanted a mixer tap, like the rest of the world has.
They said it wasn't traditional. They installed the traditionally British separate "freezing" and "cold then suddenly scalding" taps.
(At least they removed the carpet.)
Totally SFW video on how to use one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBAY1GWjjaQ
You can buy one at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005FDJ8SM/ref=dp_ol...
I had a washlet installed in 2009 when I bought my home and I was on a several month client on site late 2011 when out of sheer desperation I searched for a travel washlet not that I could imagine how one would work.
And for that matter, filling it without contaminating the sink/whatever seems iffy.
The portable device, on the other hand, has to be put somewhere. I guess you could have a "poop shelf" nearby that you always assume is about as clean as the bottom of a toilet seat. Actually traveling with that seems iffy, though.
https://www.amazon.com/Perineal-Lavette-Irrigation-Bottle-Pa...
"I think it would be a good idea."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mZs4C-En4Og
And one with a revolving seat cover:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0XJ8LK2GXXc
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31MjIwM1JQL...