As far as historians can tell, the bidet is a French invention. Spearheaded by French furniture makers around the late 17th century, the bidet is a grown-up version of the chamber pot or bourdaloue, which was a small, portable chamber pot classy ladies would take along with them on extended trips.
Arnold Cohen (a.k.a. “Mr. Bidet”) invented the first bidet toilet seat and founded the American Bidet Company in the 1960s. Motivated by his father's medical condition, Mr. Bidet's new device placed a spraying nozzle into a toilet seat to help his father clean himself.
The bidet was born in France in the 1600s as a washing basin for your private parts. It was considered a second step to the chamber pot, and both items were kept in the bedroom or dressing chamber.
While bidets were first developed in Europe (where they are also widely adopted) they were popularised in Japan because of their high tech gadgetry.
When did bidets become popular in Japan? Japan originally began importing bidets in the 1960s from Western countries for medical purposes. In 1967, Inax developed the first Japan-made bidet. That was followed in 1980 by Toto's Washlet series, which boasted heated seats and a warm water wash.
There are few reasons why most Australians do not use a bidet in their bathroom. The first reason is their geographic location. Australia does not get a lot of rainy days so water preservation is a must for everyone and so using a bidet could be seen as wasteful in times of drought.
Bidets haven't ever been widely embraced in American culture. A common origin story for this reluctance is that bidets were seen as lascivious because they were used in brothels as a form of emergency contraception.
Bidets, which originated in France in 1600 as an upper-class way for personal hygiene, are quite popular in parts of the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and Asia & have now turned out to be a popular installation across the world.
Japanese culture places a high value on personal hygiene, and this facilitated the success of the Japanese bidet toilet. If you've visited a traditional household or restaurant, you've likely been asked to take off your shoes, and used a separate set of slippers to enter the bathroom.
“Bidet” means “pony” in French, and the nickname for the device stuck. Bidets became popular in France and spread across much of Europe throughout the 1600s. They were primarily owned and used by middle- to upper-class households, including French nobility.
Not all homes in the UK have bidets because these are a fashion item. If one isn't available, we recommend having your own jug or bottle of water to use over the toilet. If you would rather use water than toilet paper you must ensure that you have sufficient equipment to be able to clean yourself over the toilet.
Bidets can arguably be considered more sanitary than traditional bottom-cleaning methods. Quite simply, a bidet can provide a better hygiene experience compared to toilet paper. It starts with the basic fact that water can top a few squares of dry TP in removing trace amounts of fecal matter after you poop.
Bidet showers are used by Muslims in Muslim countries and all parts of the Arab world as well as in Asia in order to cleanse themselves with water after using the toilet. Here, water is commonly used instead of, or together with, toilet paper for cleaning after defecation.
The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which as of March 2016 is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia.
In Europe, the country that uses the bidet the most is Italy. There is even a law in Italy that says that every home has to have a bidet in it. There are a few other countries where they have become popular.
France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, and Spain: Instead of toilet paper, people from these countries (most of them from Europe) usually have a bidet in their washrooms. A bidet like a toilet, but also includes a spout that streams water like a water fountain to rinse you clean.
Overall, Japanese bidets are designed to provide a more thorough and hygienic cleaning experience than traditional toilet paper. They're also more environmentally friendly since they reduce the amount of toilet paper used.
One thing you should definitely try out when using Japanese toilets is the washlet bidet function. Although not available with all toilets, these functions are common in Japan.
Japan's bathing ritual is a moment for relaxation and for mental and physical well-being, going above classical hygiene requirements. The usual habit requires cleaning the entire body before going into the bath's hot water. Therefore, the bathrooms in Japan have developed specific arrangements due to this tradition.
However, excessive bidet use potentially causes anal pruritus and anal incontinence (AI). Physicians are advised to instruct patients with anal pruritus to avoid excessive cleaning of the anus and those with AI to discontinue bidet use.
If you are using the bidet properly, and if your bidet is of high quality, you should not have to use toilet paper to wipe yourself clean. A high-quality bidet will clean your backside more thoroughly than any amount of wiping. However, you may want to use a small amount of toilet paper to dry yourself.
Society and culture
The bidet is common in Catholic countries, especially those influenced by French culture. It is also found in some traditionally Orthodox and Protestant countries such as Greece and Finland respectively, where bidet showers are common.
Ask for bidet permission
So when you see a bidet and feel like trying it out, take the homeowner aside first. Then politely ask if guests are allowed to bidet or not. Many homeowners are proud of their bidet, so don't be shy!
If you press the 'Dry' button, provided there is one, the air dryer will dry the area. If you are using the traditional bidet, you can dry using toilet paper or a towel. In most public toilets with bidets, towels are provided on a ring next to it. However, using a paper towel is a more hygienic and safe option.
Well, bathrooms in the US aren't really built for bidets. There's no space or additional plumbing setup for bidet fixtures. But the biggest reason it hasn't caught on comes down to habit. Most Americans grew up using toilet paper.