[HN Gopher] Let's Talk About the Bidet, the Bathroom's Best-Kept...
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Let's Talk About the Bidet, the Bathroom's Best-Kept Secret
Author : ohjeez
Score : 28 points
Date : 2025-05-11 17:07 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.messynessychic.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.messynessychic.com)
| floundy wrote:
| What is it with "internet people" and the obsession with bidets?
| I have never heard an actual, live human once rave about bidets
| as much as American Redditors and similar online forum users talk
| about this concept.
| smelendez wrote:
| Many people feel more comfortable discussing their bathroom
| habits somewhat anonymously.
| MortyWaves wrote:
| God forbid people want more hygienic options than just "wipe
| the shit away and pretend like it's really gone".
| parasti wrote:
| Internet tends to expose you to opinions of people you haven't
| met.
| hammyhavoc wrote:
| Sounds like something someone with a dirty bottom would say.
| Kirby64 wrote:
| Maybe consider that you live in a bubble without a lot of
| variety of cultures.
|
| Bidets are quite common in Europe, although they tend to be
| dedicated separate bidets. They're also common in japan,
| obviously, with Toto existing there.
|
| And even within my own sphere, my (US company) work has bidets
| in every toilet, and some of my relatives discuss bidet use,
| none of us are "Internet people" as you state.
| lttlrck wrote:
| Careful you don't slip getting off that high horse.
| andsoitis wrote:
| So timely. I'm shopping for a bidet and looking for one that's an
| add-on to existing toilet rather than installing a free-standing
| one.
|
| I also know that you can buy toilet/bidet combos so I'm also open
| to replacing my existing toilet with one of those.
|
| What bidets do people have experience with and would recommend?
| idontwantthis wrote:
| Get a "bum gun". No need for a separate device. It connects to
| the toilet's inflow.
| skylurk wrote:
| Seconded.
|
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet_shower
| margalabargala wrote:
| Almost all the "built in" ones are functionally the same as the
| "add on" ones, the main difference being the guarantee of good
| seat fit.
|
| In all cases the actual toilet is made of porcelain, which as
| you might imagine does not lend itself well to installing
| motors and electronics. Even for units that are sold as a
| combo, the bidet is built into the seat/lid, which is exactly
| how the add-ons work.
|
| I installed one of these on an existing toilet in my house and
| it was fine: https://alphabidet.com/products/alpha-ix-pure-
| bidet-seat
|
| I've since swapped out to a different toilet that came with a
| built in bidet and it's also fine, not markedly better.
|
| If you're replacing the whole toilet might as well just get an
| all in one with the guaranteed fit. If you weren't going to,
| there's no reason not to just get the seat.
| wintermutestwin wrote:
| Features I have and think aren't worth paying more for:
|
| 1. Dryer. None of them push anywhere near enough air to do
| anything useful. I use a hair blow dryer.
|
| 2. Hot water. Although it is a bit of a shock, I prefer cold
| water as it helps shrink the hemorrhoidal tissues. Wife
| disagrees with this one so we set it on the lowest heat and I
| keep spraying until it gets cold.
|
| Japan has these everywhere and 95% of them are Toto brand so
| that's what I went with and it has been great.
| ijustlovemath wrote:
| I've been using a Brondell Thinline for just over 5 years now;
| It's got a great design (accidentally bumping into it turns it
| onto the clean rather than spray mode), looks like it's part of
| the toilet (unlike the vast majority of the ones you see on
| Amazon), and very easy to use. Cheap as well!
|
| People who haven't used a bidet before balk at the cold water,
| but honestly I think when you really need a bidet, the cold
| water is a godsend. And if you want heat, I think just throwing
| in more pressure does the same kinda job. Plus it's one less
| set of valves to have to worry about!
|
| If you really hate it, you're only out $30, which I think is
| not that bad.
| dzhiurgis wrote:
| I've got chinese seat and very old Japanese one. Happy with
| both of them. Make sure new ones have a remote and fits your
| toilet. It's pretty easy to install.
|
| The nice thing with integrated ones is auto closing and auto
| flushing. Would love that but it's so expensive.
| Tagbert wrote:
| Another vote for Toto add-on bidets. Yes, the dryer is
| pointless. Just use a few sheets of TP for that. I do like the
| warm water douche, though. Seems to have plenty of pressure.
| There is a wider, softer mode, too.
| fithisux wrote:
| Can't live without one.
|
| I do not have space, but a good plumber made me one with the seat
| and a hose (similar to shower) from the the common water
| distributor.
| vel0city wrote:
| Careful for the cheap bidet add-ons you'll find on Amazon and
| what not. A friend had one fall apart in an upstairs bathroom
| while he was on a weekend getaway. Now half his house is flooded
| out.
| haiku2077 wrote:
| One of the most valuable purchases I've made for my home are
| water sensors that can remotely close my main valve.
| protimewaster wrote:
| Do you know of one of these that can work with an outdoor,
| underground main valve? It seems like the vast majority I've
| seen either need mains electricity access (which isn't
| readily available underground in the front yard where the
| valve is) or aren't fully weather proof (which is a problem
| when the valve sump fills up during large rains), or both.
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| Have 2 Washlet S550e that are about 4 years old. Customer
| service is excellent. The only downsides are no bowl light
| while lid raised and both randomly lifts the lid with no one
| there.
| bombcar wrote:
| I have yet to find a bidet that works like a power washer for the
| beef starfish.
|
| Instead, they all seem to just get your bum wet, so you have to
| get in there and dig around. Might as well strip down and jump in
| the shower - the power spray on any decent nozzle is way better.
|
| Or buy some wet-wipes (baby wipes) and just don't flush them.
| codelikeawolf wrote:
| I just added "beef starfish" to my personal encyclopedia of
| hilarious terms. Thank you for making my day!
| SAI_Peregrinus wrote:
| I got a no-name handheld sprayer[1] back in early 2020. It'll
| absolutely work like a power washer if you turn the T-valve all
| the way on. That can be painful, probably best to keep the
| pressure a bit lower.
|
| [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DR83GQB
| slillibri wrote:
| The Toto washlets I used in Japan were plenty powerful, plus
| they had adjustments for pressure and temperature.
| hammyhavoc wrote:
| If these are bidets that are plumbed into the mains supply,
| then yes, water pressure is too low in many places. I'm
| fortunate to live in an area of England where it's like
| pressure washing your patio--that jet of water can most
| definitely cut your paper-thin arse tissue if you crank it and
| aren't careful (been there, done that--still love it six years
| on).
| srean wrote:
| I find health faucets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet_shower
| quite effective, except that one time it went terribly wrong.
| These are essentially telephone showers installed next to the
| toilet. You switch them on using a valve/trigger and then
| manually direct the fire. Simple, cheap, no fuss.
|
| This little guy, however, turned out to be a closet fire hose.
| It pretty much went from 0 to 1000 gallons per sec in an
| instant and just wouldn't let up. The valve was stuck. The
| extension hose was twisting and coiling around like crazy with
| the pressure released. The shower head was going full blast in
| my hand, initially directed at my rear, it was continuously
| pushing my hand away from anything that I was trying to point
| it towards. It give me a visceral understanding of how jet
| engines work.
|
| Working out a sequence of operations in my head to get out of
| such a situation while caught in a compromised and inflexible
| position, with only one hand free, was quite a challenge. I am
| not quite sure if I should be thankful that it wasnt AI powered
| and directed.
|
| If the pressure is low it can be quite unsatisfactory.
|
| The first Japanese ones I used there were ways to choose
| between a laminar and degrees of non-laminar, to full-on
| turbulent flow (all those controls must be for something), I
| would expect the former to be somewhat less flinch inducing.
| And it really tickles the shit out of you ! (no pun intended)
| cosmotic wrote:
| I thought this the first few days I was in Japan. I was only
| giving it 30sec or so. Apparently you're supposed to spray for
| a minute. Never had a problem after that.
| atombender wrote:
| We have the Geberit AquaClean Tuma Comfort [1]. It's a marvel
| of German engineering. The jet is really powerful. Painfully
| so, on the highest setting, and it can also be set to be really
| hot.
|
| It's an entire bidet toilet for wall integration, not one of
| those things you put on top of an existing toilet. It has a
| heated seat, a suction fan that removes odor, and a dryer for
| after washing.
|
| [1] https://www.geberit-global.com/bathroom-products/wcs-
| urinals...
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| Washlet S550e can deliver painful heated water pressure,
| agitation, and can be moved front to back. If you wait, it can
| do the job.
|
| Wet wipes produce waste, cost money, and either clog pipes or
| stink.
| datapolitical wrote:
| I've always found this YouTube video on Bidets fairly
| instructive: https://youtu.be/zQx-ZbSQSBM?si=7YB6FYq6xdpH5wn3
| wintermutestwin wrote:
| If you have any issues talking family member into a bidet, I used
| this on my teenagers with much success:
|
| "If you got poop on your arm, would you just wipe it off with
| paper?"
| amonavis wrote:
| I use the bidet every time I go to the bathroom for a #2, but
| the analogy you share doesn't really make much impact. The arm
| is in close proximity of the head and face, it's "there", but
| the anus is hidden and "far" and this some may feel unbothered
| with a non-immaculate routine.
| unshavedyak wrote:
| The analogy also falls apart in that I also wouldn't just run
| some water over my arm either lol. I'd use some form of soap
| and water, possibly even anti bacterial given the subject
| matter.
|
| We have a long hand scrubbing routine, I'd expect similar for
| my arm at the very least.
| subpixel wrote:
| Bidets are great but they don't magically wash your bits. It's
| best to think of them as a very small shower that just addresses
| that part of the body.
|
| Make no mistake, soap and friction at required, just like in a
| larger shower - especially under the circumstances a bidet is
| designed to address.
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| Then you have a cheap one. The high-end ones can deliver almost
| painful pressured water and agitation patterns.
| emchammer wrote:
| How does it work logistically when it is a separate unit from the
| toilet? Are you supposed to shuffle over from the toilet to the
| bidet with your garments open?
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| Nope. Extremely impractical. Better and simpler to retrofit an
| existing toilet (preferred) or have a toilet that includes the
| function (very expensive in the US).
| burnt-resistor wrote:
| TOTO Washlet S550e retrofit works great. Heated seat, heated air
| dry, auto lid raise/close, and gets the job done. The only thing
| is the auto lid function periodically thinks ghosts need to go.
| ;)
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