America, Home of the Clean and Land of the Brave. America is known across the world as a prestigious country hailed for a high standard of living and sanitary conditions. Why then, have we yet to adopt the bidet in the bathroom?
Could it be that we’ve become too accustomed to the toilet paper that we stock up on every month? Maybe the idea of washing the rectal area with water seems invasive. Whatever the reason, everyone else is using the bidet and we’re still behind in this area.
Could bidet’s become a part of the American Dream? Image courtesy Tiffany Terry.
What is a Bidet in the Bathroom?
A bidet is a bathroom fixture that shoots out a stream of water to clean your bottom after using the toilet. Okay, maybe stream isn’t the best word for those of your who are squeamish. It gently cleanses your body to help keep your system clean and free of possible infection. No it’s not a water fountain so do not make that dreadful mistake.
The term “bidet” is literally translated to mean “a strong horse.” This is in reference to the straddling position you make when you use a bidet. Bidet’s can be installed as separate basin or they can also be integrated into toilets. More on that in the final paragraph.
Check out the bidet on the TOTO Neorest 600, one of the coolest toilets in the world!
5 Benefits of Using a Bidet
- Promotes better hygiene than wiping your rear with toilet paper.
- Reduces the amount of trees cut down to make toilet paper.
- Saves water that is used in the production process of toilet paper. Bidets only use 1/8 gallon in comparison to the 37 gallons of water used to make a single roll of tp.
- Lowers the risk of hemorrhoids, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and urinary tract infections. Learn more.
- No more clogged toilets. Say “bye bye” to the double flush.
Fun Reads: No You’re Not Dreaming: The Touchless Toilet is Finally Here
Bidet Use in America
Free Republic made a good point in an article they published last year. “Would you just use paper if “it” [poop] was on your hands?” Think about it, wiping effectively smears excrements in a weary attempt to clean your rump.
Bidets are more commonly seen in European bathrooms. In fact, bidets are common place in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America where 90% of homes have a bidet. Japan even has toilets that come with built in bidets as a means of consolidation. Are we just so resistant to change that we don’t want to learn how to use bidets?
While Europeans are accustomed to bidets, Americans have struggled with adopting this foreign concept. “Whoa” might be your first reaction. You can use it to rinse and wash your rear and occasionally people do use it to wash their feet.
(Photo Credit: -5m)
Look at the person next to you. Do you think they washed their hands? Even if they did, only 15% of people wash their hands properly after using the stool. In this way, bidets make the world a better place even if you’re not the one using them. Now you can buy your neighbor a bidet for Christmas!
When you go to wipe, you hands are too close for comfort to nasty waste products. Bidets eliminate this health risk. If you think about it, toilet paper may be the reason why 1 in 6 of Smart Phones have traces of feces on them. Maybe using your phone in the bathroom isn’t such a smart idea after all. For those of you who only listen to your doctor, Oprah’s Dr. Oz has even noted that using a bidet can lower the risk of hemorrhoids and urinary tract infections.
What would you do if you could see all of the nasty germs we come into contact with each day. Chances are, you probably would wash, scrub, rinse, disinfect, and shake numerous times until your fear of germs and ickiness was contained. Besides, toilet paper companies have been skimping us with smaller rolls! Time for a revolution!
Here’s a comical (and informative) video from Cristen from Stuff You Mom Never Told You. Remember to like, share, and tweet this post if you enjoyed it!
Save Our Earth
The average person uses 57 sheets of toilet paper every single day. That’s 20,805 per year! Installing a bidet in your home can be one of the best things you can do to save the Earth. Not only will you reduce water consumption, you will lower the amount of chemicals that are found in the bathroom.
Every year we consume 36.5 BILLION rolls of toilet paper and cut down 15 million precious trees. It takes 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to do this! Think about this for a second. There are other countries in the world that don’t have access to clean drinking water and here we are flushing clean water down the drain. Ironic and sad to say the least. Here’s what you can do to help. #SaveOurEarth
How Can We Change This
If you’re in the midst of a bath remodel, installing a separate bidet may be a feasible option. Many people aren’t aware that you can actually find Bidet Toilet Attachments like the LUXE Bidet Vi-110. Installation is fairly simple and straight forward. Best of all, it’s only $60 to install a bidet in your bathroom!
More Tips to Help Save in the Bathroom:
- Recycling in the Bathroom: Why Don’t We Do It?
- How to Conserve Water in the Bathroom
About the Author
Cheryl Khan is a contributing author to the Tradewinds Imports Blog. Designer by trade and writer by nature, she enjoys keeping up to date with the latest trends, designs, products, and color palettes of the year.
