A bidet (bee-day) can seem “weird” to people who have never used one before. If you've never shot water up your behind, then it can take a little getting used to.
But once you try it, you might wonder how you ever lived without it.
Bidets are not popular in the USA, but people in many other countries use them. In fact, one study showed that 77.4% of Japanese households have one.
So if you don't have one, here's why they are popular and why you might want one.
What is a Bidet?
A bidet was historically a basin where you would wash your genitals after eliminating waste. Modern bidets are devices that shoot a stream of water and are more sanitary.
As with everything in history, there is some debate as to where they originated.
Toilet historians (yes there is such a thing) generally acknowledge that they probably came from either Italy or France. Given the French sounding name, I'm going to lean more towards France.
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But what do I know?
If you really want to learn more about this history, read this.
What I do know is that bidets have many benefits.
Let's jump into what they are…
1. You Never Have to Worry About a Toilet Paper Shortage
When supply chains break down, one of the first things that can be in short supply is toilet paper.
Many people never think about stocking up on toilet paper until it's too late. In turn, this leads to panic buying, which makes the situation even worse.
But if you have a bidet, you never have to worry about this happening to you.
Even if you do get caught in a toilet paper shortage, you won't have to worry about running out of TP because you don't need any when you use a bidet.
Sure, it's more pleasant if you do have some toilet paper available.
But you can get by without it.
Some might even consider it a necessary prep.
I sure do.
2. You'll Feel Surprisingly Clean
If you've never used a bidet, you probably don't realize how good you can feel afterwards.
Again, it might feel a little weird initially, but once you get used to it, you might never want to go back.
It's like taking a mini shower.
You wash your hands after you use the bathroom, why not your behind?
On top of all that, you'll never have to worry about getting your hands dirty.
3. Bidets Can be Very Affordable and Save You Money
When you think of a bidet, you may think of the picture above.
You might think that these benefits are great, but it can seem expensive to add a bidet. After all, it will be expensive to add a traditional bidet because you have to purchase a separate bowl and run a separate pipe.
If you cannot do the work yourself, you would also have to pay a contractor to do the work.
Then there's the issue of having enough space.
But the newest bidets are much, much cheaper and you can install them on your existing toilet.
You can get a good one for less than $50 nowadays.
Here are a few examples from Amazon.
Once you've installed a bidet, it can continue to save you money.
Some people may choose to not use any toilet paper and that will save them some money.
I suspect that most people won't want to go 100% paper free however.
If that's you, then I'm with you.
Even if you decide not to go paperless, a bidet can cut down your toilet paper usage by as much as 75%.
At least that's about how much we've reduced our consumption.
That will save you money and cut down on the amount of paper you consume.
4. Bidets Are Low Maintenance and Easy to Install
Now that you know that bidets are inexpensive, you might be wondering how hard they are to install.
The good news is that almost anyone can install a bidet themselves.
It can be as simple as installing a new toilet seat.
The more expensive bidets are contained in the toilet seat. If you have one of those, simply replace the whole seat.
For the cheaper models, you simply remove the existing seat, install the bidet, then put the seat back on over it. You may need to stick some risers on the bottom of the seat to compensate for the height difference.
Then run the existing clean water line into the bidet and connect the bidet to the tank.
Done!
From there, you just have to clean the bidet every time you clean your toilet.
5. Improved Health
Using water to clean yourself is not only refreshing, but studies show that it's good for your health.
There are many health benefits that can come with using a bidet.
It's a long list, so if you want learn all of the details, this article is helpful.
Conclusion
A bidet can help you keep more toilet paper out of septic systems, reduce toilet clogging and cut down on your expenses. In the future, a bidet can also save you from a toilet paper shortage.
So no matter what you've thought about a bidet before, I hope that this article has helped you understand the benefits of having one.
It might not be for you right now, but at least keep it in mind.
