ny children and adults over to our home all the time. Washlets are just part of society over here.
- Postus interruptus? *
A cold steam of water does not sound comfortable, is there no connection to the hot line?
Tell the kid you wash your feet / the dogs with it.
I read the beginning of the thread (and posted), but skipped a bunch and want to share this thought re answering plumbing questions from other people’s kids.
I’m an only child, grew up in the 50s (limited media exposure). No brothers, male cousins, no pets (i.e., dogs, horses), etc. I truly did not know that it was common for men/boys to pee standing up. I knew males had penises, sort of, though I had never seen one or seen a picture of one. When my father came out of the bathroom the seat was up, but I didn’t know why. I assumed that for some reason he wanted to sit on the rim instead of on the seat. <shrug>
In 4th grade (age 10) we moved to an Air Force base where our classes were held in old WWII barracks buildings while a new school was being built. I walked into the bathroom, which had only served men, and saw white porcelain things attached to the wall at waist height. I had never seen a urinal-- where WOULD I have seen one?? I didn’t know what they were or what they were for, although I saw that water was involved, as there was a handle and a drain.
Question: how would the OP’s wife have handled the question if, for example, she had been my teacher and had accompanied me while exploring the facilities, and I had asked, “What’s that for?”
Would she have screamed, clapped her hand over my eyes, and hustled me out of the room, whispering, “Never, never ask me anything like that again!!”
A bidet is PLUMBING, for [del]crap’s[/del] pee’s sake.
It is not, and I wasn’t going to spend the extra money on one with a heating attachment. It’s been over a week, I’ve gotten used to a numb gooch after #2.
Like these instructions.
REPORT
No school today, so Coraline and her sister are here. Neither Mrs. Homie nor I has said a word to her about The Mystery Thing. Coraline has been in and out of our bathroom, and I didn’t hear any startled screams coming from there, nor did she ask either of us about it. I guess she’s not interested.
Much ado about not a lot.
At last, a question I am uniquely qualified to answer, having recently installed the exact model bidet attachment and having had to give an introductory lecture to an eight-year-old and his 6-year-old brother…the 2-year-old headed straight for the controls as I feared. Here is the exact lecture I gave: “I need to show you something new in the bathroom. This is called a bidet, and it sprays water on your butt to clean off the poop so you don’t need to use as much toilet paper or wipes. (pause for giggles) The water is cold, and the spray can be a little strong, so until you are ready to try it, don’t touch it. Don’t touch the dials, don’t turn the dials, don’t lean on the dials, don’t stand on the dials. This is only used when sitting on the potty, so do not touch the dials when you are off the potty either. Pretend it doesn’t exist. It was expensive, and Grandma can’t afford to get it replaced or fixed so Do. Not. Touch. It. If someday you want to learn how to use it, Mommy or Daddy or I will help you. Until then, don’t touch it. If by “accident” you do touch it, tell me right away.”
So far, they haven’t touched it. My primary fear, aside from them stepping on it in order to climb up onto the counter (they are boys who will go out of their way to climb up on anything, for any reason or no reason) is that they will turn it on while the lid is up and they are off it, shooting water across the room (as the plumber did when he installed it) and then panic, not turn it off and leave the room, letting water flood the room. It shoots across into the shower, but unfortunately the shower door prevents disaster from being averted.
Now we are not a family overburdened by excessive modesty, and the boys are still young enough that they accept company in the bathroom, and their parents really want them to learn to use a bidet, because they use a ton of wipes and TP and produce tons of poop, and they are family, so I understand that the lecture might need to be different for a delicate girl-creature who isn’t part of the family. But my primary concerns are, don’t touch it, don’t break it, don’t flood the bathroom. And I’m a big believer in just being matter-of-fact. So far, they haven’t touched it, broken it or flooded the bathroom.
Or else she already knows what it is.
Even if she hasn’t got one at home, eight is old enough to read. I see ads for the things. Even if the ad doesn’t explain the use, eight’s old enough to look up a word.
This is kind of interesting to me. My daughters have seen a urinal many times, because often I’m the one out with them and when they need to go to the bathroom, I take them into the boys room. So I bet that’s somewhat a generational child-rearing thing now that more men participate more actively in the child rearing process.
As for seeing penes, my daughters have walked in on me enough times in the bathroom or while taking a bath to know what one is (though they know not to walk in on anyone else). While I try not to be excessively naked around my children, it doesn’t particularly bug me. My own parents generally covered up, but I certainly remember seeing them naked from time to time.
BTW, if you want to see for yourself how the bidet works with everyone in the room and fully clothed, satisfying everyone’s curiosity (including yours), do what the instructions that came with mine said to do to make sure I had installed it correctly. Stretch plastic wrap tightly across the seat and push the different buttons to observe where the stream goes, how to direct it (if that’s an option), how to turn it off, etc. You may have to lean on the seat-- some of them may require pressure on the seat in order to work. This is a good thing to do when you install it even if you don’t have kids. Really interesting and instructive!
I’ve never really understood the need for this bidet thing. It seems either too much or insufficient to me. I mean, normal wiping usually does it for me (and you can wet the first round of toilet paper, if you feel you need). And if I really shit my pants, I’ll have to shower anyway (and change pants for that matter). So what is the bidet good for? 
How hard does the darn thing spout, anyway? Enough to hit the ceiling (unless there’s a butt in the way)?
I have a spray bidet (which we originally got for washing cloth diapers with our kids) and, for me, it makes a huge difference in the amount of toilet paper I use. I’m sure everyone’s stools are different, but I usually need several rounds of folded up toilet paper to get clean (and I always have). With a bidet, it’s down to one.
If you have hemorrhoids, the water spray is gentler than scraping with paper. I haven’t had a colonoscopy since I got my bidet seat, but I imagine the prep would be easier. Also, if you have a septic system, you’re putting much less (if any) paper into it. The spray leaves your nether parts damp, so you may still have to dab with a bit of paper, but not much.
I have a different model from the one in the OP. It’s a Brondell, and both the seat AND water are heated (you can adjust the temp), and you can also adjust the force, exact location, and duration of the spray. It has a drying cycle (blows warm air-- temp is adjustable), but I don’t have the patience for that. It was the discussion in this thread that led me to buy one.
How wide an area on you gets wet and then needs to be dried? Or do you not use TP to dry off?
Not trying to be funny, and I’m glad for all who appreciate this bidet machinery. It’s just that I have this image of myself, stumbling in a somewhat squatting, bow-legged fashion, laterally transferring myself from one porcelain throne to another, hampered by the trousers around my ankles…!
It would be much neater to clean yourself at the first station, wouldn’t it? Just get a longer hose to your hand-shower (and a shower head with a press-discharge lever, like the ones we used to have at the butcher’s and at the restaurant dishwasher’s where I worked a long time ago)!
Speaking for myself: from about the bottom of the nutsack to the entire circumference of the anus, and everything in between. One swipe with TP dries me off.
IME they’re mostly used in places where plumbing isn’t good enough for toilet roll. But with the way that toilet roll clogs up sewers everywhere, they’re probably a good idea anywhere if you can fit one.
Power washer + bidet = !?
LOL you wouldn’t need to floss for a week!