# Why don't we use bidets in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925 "2014-08-19T18:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/41 "2014-08-20T22:17:16Z")
OK, I admit that I’m fascinated by this topic… but I need some more info. So for someone who regularly uses a washlet, particularly without flushing, please explain: (1) how you aim? Do you just have to always shift back and forward so that you’re within a few inches of the same position over the bowl, so the stream of water doesn’t go shooting up between your legs or whatever? (2) how do you know you’re clean? (ie, the equivalent of wiping until there’s, uhh, nothing left to wipe)? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/42 "2014-08-20T22:25:48Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Why aren’t they more popular in the U.S.? I would guess it’s because of provincial attitudes and general uptightness of Americans when discussing bodily functions. I have had guests in my home who thought the Washlet was weird, and some who were even afraid of it. So brave. After all, bidets are everywhere in less uptight, less provincial places like the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland … :rolleyes: In all seriousness, the US went through a bidet phase in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when many homebuilders included them as standard equipment in the master bathrooms of new houses. More often than not, homeowners removed them. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/43 "2014-08-20T23:22:52Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > OK, I admit that I’m fascinated by this topic… but I need some more info. So for someone who regularly uses a washlet, particularly without flushing, please explain: > (1) how you aim? Do you just have to always shift back and forward so that you’re within a few inches of the same position over the bowl, so the stream of water doesn’t go shooting up between your legs or whatever? > (2) how do you know you’re clean? (ie, the equivalent of wiping until there’s, uhh, nothing left to wipe)? Glad to help. (1) There is a small wand that comes out from the back and under the seat when you press the button; this wand has a setting for front cleaning (for ladies) and rear cleaning (for everyone). It comes out maybe three inches total, and the water is aimed somewhat forward of the wand’s position. On mine, you can make the wand oscillate a little, which helps. You hold your natural position, it’s not a huge thing, there’s no danger of it shooting up between your legs. However, I often have to wiggle around a little to make sure it hits all around where there might be stuff. (2) Experience. That’s why I said above that I don’t use the dryer, because the water doesn’t always get every little bit of stuff. So if there is a little left after you have turned off the wand, along with the water that hasn’t dripped off yet, one swipe with toilet paper takes care of it all. Most of the time you only get dampness on the toilet paper anyway. There is a very smart retailer of plumbing fixtures here in San Francisco that has their public restrooms fitted up with these, so that people can try them before they buy. Maybe there is one where you live who does that. Really, it’s hard to imagine how it works and how it feels until you’ve tried it. p.s. I’m not sure what you mean by “particularly without flushing.” You flush the toilet when you’re done with this process, just like you would if you didn’t have a Washlet™. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/44 "2014-08-20T23:47:59Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > It’s for washing whatever takes your fancy, but primarily your bum. Cultures in which they are common (Italy, for eg) thinks it’s as bizarre to just dry wipe your bum after a shit as it would be to dry wipe your hands under the same circumstances. Kinda got a point, I think. well I use soap when washing so I’m thinking a cleansing wipe would be the more logical approach. the idea of splash-back on the nozzle makes me cringe. Unless there’s a chemical wash cycle I’m not keen on the idea. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/45 "2014-08-21T00:22:20Z")
I remember going to Italy with friends, and in our hotel room bathroom we had a bidet. I joked I should wash my hands in it, and my friend said to me, giggling, that “I think that’s something for washing your bum!” ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/46 "2014-08-21T02:48:56Z")
> [@HipGnosis](#): > > Just how does that work?!? Do you do ‘your business’, go over to the remote and run back to the toilet to be cleaned?!? Right. I shouldn’t have said “several”. More like 2 feet. Easily reached while still sitting down. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/47 "2014-08-21T03:05:17Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Who also has ones that shoot water at you? The Portuguese person who told me about this said that there is no water moving, you just wash yourself (somehow, again no details were offered) and I presume the water is then changed by something like flushing. The devices I have seen that shoot water at your bum are not bidets, but Washlets (or their clones), which was the entire point of my prior post. Just do a google image search for “bidet”. You will see both kinds. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/48 "2014-08-21T03:17:20Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > (2) how do you know you’re clean? (ie, the equivalent of wiping until there’s, uhh, nothing left to wipe)? When I first installed it, I “audited” the performance afterwards with toilet paper to see how good a job it was doing. Once I was satisfied that it was doing a good job of cleaning every time, I didn’t need to check anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/49 "2014-08-21T03:25:25Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > From the [Wikipedia page for Bidet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet), so not authoritative but: I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one in Thailand. They do appear in toilet showrooms, but you’d probably have to check into a five-star hotel to find one or visit someone living in a mansion. Japan is the only place over here I’ve routinely found them. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/50 "2014-08-21T03:27:20Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > So brave. After all, bidets are everywhere in less uptight, less provincial places like the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland … :rolleyes: Aw, did you take offense? So sorry. I’ll rephrase: “'Mericans is great! Yee haw!” > [@](#): > > In all seriousness, the US went through a bidet phase in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when many homebuilders included them as standard equipment in the master bathrooms of new houses. More often than not, homeowners removed them. Got a cite for that? I think very few homes have EVER been built with bidets as a standard feature in the U.S. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/51 "2014-08-21T04:00:58Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Just do a google image search for “bidet”. You will see both kinds. Thank you, I do see both kinds. They also include images of the Washlet type as well. I have never actually encountered the original kind of bidet myself. But having had a Washlet for the past few years, I don’t ever want to go back. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/52 "2014-08-21T19:18:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Could it somehow be related to frequency of bathing—i.e. bidets are more prevalent in cultures where people customarily don’t bathe or shower as often? That’s my take. If I only took a shower once or twice a week I could see the need for a special butt washing fixture. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/53 "2014-08-21T20:17:11Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > That’s my take. If I only took a shower once or twice a week I could see the need for a special butt washing fixture. I don’t think that’s it. The Japanese are actually pretty nuts about bathing, and they also love the bidets. Besides, I don’t really understand the argument - seems to go something like this: “Since I shower regularly, I don’t need to get my butt really clean after I defecate.” But assuming you shower once a day, if you use the toilet that day, you’re still going around the rest of the day, and all night, with a dirty butt. I suppose you could time it so you always do #2 right before you shower, and trust that you will never have to do #2 at any other time of day, ever:confused: - but I think I’d rather have all that feces washing down into my toilet than into my shower stall. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/54 "2014-08-21T20:37:29Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Most of the time you only get dampness on the toilet paper anyway. “Dampness” is a bit of an understatement. We have a Washlet at our house, and it leaves my nether regions completely wetted; it’s difficult to dry off without leaving bits of disintegrated toilet paper spread around on my skin. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/55 "2014-08-21T22:04:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > “Dampness” is a bit of an understatement. We have a Washlet at our house, and it leaves my nether regions completely wetted; it’s difficult to dry off without leaving bits of disintegrated toilet paper spread around on my skin. Even with the narrowest nozzle setting? Also, high-end Washlet models have warm-air dryers built in. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/56 "2014-08-22T02:09:32Z")
I want a bidet. We’re about to kick-off a project to remodel a portion of our 2nd floor including a new master bathroom. Sadly, it is looking like the bidet is not going to make the cut as we have other items that are higher on the “must have” list. And yes, I know about the washlet seats that several posters have mentioned. I just honestly do not like the way they look. They’re not aesthetically appealing to me. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/57 "2014-08-22T03:17:36Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > I don’t think that’s it. The Japanese are actually pretty nuts about bathing, and they also love the bidets. Besides, I don’t really understand the argument - seems to go something like this: “Since I shower regularly, I don’t need to get my butt really clean after I defecate.” But assuming you shower once a day, if you use the toilet that day, you’re still going around the rest of the day, and all night, with a dirty butt. I suppose you could time it so you always do #2 right before you shower, and trust that you will never have to do #2 at any other time of day, ever:confused: - but I think I’d rather have all that feces washing down into my toilet than into my shower stall. The Japanese seem to have an anal fixation. Bangkok has quite a few massage parlors that specialize in prostate massage and other anal excitements, and without exception the main target group is Japanese businessmen. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/58 "2014-08-22T10:12:08Z")
Longish previous thread on the topic > **[Why are butt cleaning toilet attachments not more popular in America/the west?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715140)** > > This is what I’m referring to. They’re little hand held shower-like attachments that are fitted next to the toilet. After you’re done with your business, you lean forward, use the attachment to direct a jet of water at your nethers, and then wipe dry... ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/59 "2014-08-22T10:50:15Z")
The word sound kinda weird; “bidet”. I’d feel strange saying it during any sort of conversation. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925/60 "2014-08-22T10:57:40Z")
Wouldn’t this be uncomfortable unless there is a small heater built in, especially in winter? Getting soaked with cold water on your butt, well I guess you could use it to shock yourself awake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-we-use-bidets-in-the-us/695925.md?page=4)