# I love my bidet! Ever try one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337 "2018-11-11T02:52:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/21 "2018-11-11T15:46:34Z")
Grew up using one in Peru, I don’t understand how anyone can think they are clean using nothing but dry paper. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/22 "2018-11-11T16:28:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m fascinated by the contrast in this thread between people who have never used them and don’t believe they can possibly work effectively and those who have used them, love them, own them, and swear by them (not to mention the millions of people around the world who routinely use them). Skepticism is a powerful force! > > Question: I live in a rental house. Are there any that attach to the toilet without the need for construction? Yes there are. Just remove the existing seat and install in its place. They come with a tee fitting for the water connection. You’ll need an electric outlet nearby if you want warm water and a warm air blower. Lots available on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/23 "2018-11-11T16:32:54Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > This scares me!.. All those settings! It’s not for everybody. Those who get frightened at the prospect of pushing its buttons will not be compelled to adapt to this device. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/24 "2018-11-11T18:06:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m fascinated by the contrast in this thread between people who have never used them and don’t believe they can possibly work effectively and those who have used them, love them, own them, and swear by them (not to mention the millions of people around the world who routinely use them). Skepticism is a powerful force! QFT, **ThelmaLou**! Certainly an example of ignorance fighting back! Kohler Bidet Seat K8298 is what we have, we got it for circa $330 or so, despite it being listed some places for nearly twice that much. I should add that in addition to the ‘pulsate’ feature, there’s a companion ‘oscillate’ feature too. Both may be deployed at once, and on their maximum settings! Thus far, follow-up toilet paper checks to assess for adequacy of skidmark material removal have indicated 100% clearance from the wondrous water wand alone. Also seat heating is a feature (complete with variable temperature), and now that winter has hit Wisconsin, one that the Mrs. states is her new favorite benefit. The preferred settings for the wand position, temperature, force, oscillation, pulsation are all remembered by the device, and fortunately the Mrs. and I have the same preferences so that’s not an issue (save for going from front to back at need, a trivial task to remember that maneuver.) We both agree this device represents a Great Leap Forward in our standard of living. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/25 "2018-11-11T18:41:00Z")
My master bath is where my bidet fixture is installed. I’m considering adding a seat unit to the hall bath. No nearby electric, but it’s above an unfinished area so adding a GFCI receptacle is not too difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/26 "2018-11-11T19:36:49Z")
We’ve used the separate unit bidets for years on European trips, but never dreamed we could enjoy the same luxury in the puritanical United States. When we learned about the models that are part of the commode itself, we splurged on the complete unit with dryer and remote controls in the upstairs john. We liked it so much that we got the cheaper $330 add-on for the master bath on the lower (bedroom) floor. Now, with bidets everywhere, our life is sublime. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/27 "2018-11-11T19:59:25Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > You know how now the advice from the FDA is NOT to wash raw chicken as all it accomplished is getting bacterial laden water all over your sink and countertops? I have a similar aversion to bidets. I’d rather not have a fine mistr of my own business all over my ass. Every time you flush, unless the lid is closed, you get a huuuge flume of e.coli filled mist erupting from the toilet and filling the room. And one’s perineal area is quite heavily colonized with said e.coli constantly anyway, unless it’s vigorously rinsed, when then reduces bacterial density. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/28 "2018-11-11T20:28:07Z")
Yep - wet wipes and ALWAYS close the lid! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/29 "2018-11-11T22:35:17Z")
I’m currently doing some renovations to my home. I am going to be adding [this](https://washlet.totousa.com/product/S550e-Modern) to the new throne. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/30 "2018-11-12T02:00:24Z")
During my last trip to Japan, it was obvious that their bidet offerings is based on advanced alien technology. My first exposure was on a trip to Manila with a colleague, staying at a hotel that had this strange second toilet I had never seen before. As I’m looking down at the bowl, I felt compelled to press the foot pedal attached to the device which then directed a stream of water onto my face. As I’m letting out a scream of surprise, I hear an identical scream coming from my colleague in the room next door. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/31 "2018-11-12T02:07:31Z")
I’ve never used one, or even seen one in person, just in a certain movie scene. But I’d be very interested in trying one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/32 "2018-11-12T02:23:14Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I’ve never used one, or even seen one in person, just in a certain movie scene. But I’d be very interested in trying one. Yeah, that’s the tricky part: how do you get the opportunity to try one? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, and I have traveled abroad a few times. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/33 "2018-11-12T02:25:44Z")
I just upgraded from a super cheap add-on bidet to a still-cheap integrated seat bidet. I first tried it out after childbirth left me with hemorrhoids (TMI, I know. Luckily, my son is worth it most days.) Mine is only cold water, which I thought would be jarring, but it’s really not bad at all. I would love to have a fan. I haven’t convinced my husband to try it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/34 "2018-11-12T02:35:48Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Yep - wet wipes and ALWAYS close the lid! 😃 Well, then you’re about as tidy as a bidet can make you. But not tidier. This particular bidet seat uses water from the same source as our shower (i.e. the plumbing) to hose off the perineum, so it gets washed not by contaminated sources but by the same water we drink from. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/35 "2018-11-12T02:39:11Z")
How long does this wash/dry cycle take? Does water ever get on your clothes? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/36 "2018-11-12T02:51:46Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > How long does this wash/dry cycle take? Does water ever get on your clothes? well, I tend to stretch it out; it’s just so damn relaxing. But a good wash/dry can take under a minute. And there’s been absolutely no collateral mess/spray/untidiness issue. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/37 "2018-11-12T05:27:26Z")
We have had 2 Toto Washlets for several years now, and we love them. Although it sounds like whatever brand/model OP has is better and with more features. Maybe it’s time to upgrade. I understand that someone has now incorporated an exhaust fan into the seat, so the smells never even get out of the bowl before they are ejected. That would be a real upgrade! As for settings, everything (temperature of seat, temperature of water, volume of water) is set and you don’t have to fiddle with it. There are three main buttons to choose from, and since I always choose the same one I have no problems in the middle of the night. My main complaint with my model is that the water pressure isn’t as strong as I would like (also that it seems to vary a bit from occasion to occasion). Therefore, I don’t have confidence that it always gets everything, and so I still have to use one go of toilet paper; sometimes it’s just a few drips of the water, and sometimes it’s more. I am not interested in the fan to dry myself, because of the previous paragraph and also because I don’t have the patience for it. So I would still use toilet paper, just a lot less than I would without the appliance at all. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/38 "2018-11-12T06:01:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > (Guys, make sure to use the ‘rear’ setting for the wand, NOT the ‘front’ setting.) You didn’t need to specify that. A man would never use the “front” setting - that would be simply nuts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/39 "2018-11-12T06:10:12Z")
We have a water-fountain-style bidet in our master bathroom that never gets used; fiddling with the water height and water temperature and then crouching over the thing is more time and effort than I want to use. I’ve used a washlet-style toilet in Japan (one of our hotels had one) and it was certainly less fiddly than the one we have at home, but it didn’t blow me mind. Maybe I just didn’t have the right type of Klingons to appreciate it at the time. So there’s my vote for “I’ve used bidets and was not impressed”. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2018, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337/40 "2018-11-12T06:22:19Z")
Took you long enough Doc. Was 2002 when we last spoke about them here. Now that you’ve converted, you’ll be hard pressed when you have to go back when you’re away from home. I’ve tried everything over the 20 years or so since I converted. Pretty stayed with the same simple design. I have a 6’ shower hose attachment that comes right off my shower head on a separate diverter. The wand end is just a thumb operated valve. Probably the whole works set me back $20. I also have my old standby portable for when I’m away from home, which I made from a small hand operated pump called a Misty Mate. Not it’s intended purpose, but I just cut the mister off the end and added my own wand. It only holds a couple cups of water, but adequate for a couple uses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-bidet-ever-try-one/824337.md?page=3)