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.
Europeans think it's unsanitary to use a restroom without a bidet. Conversely, many Americans think of bidets as unsanitary. There's a lack of information and knowledge around bidets and their use — and it's likely to remain that way for many years to come.
They make all the sense in the world - the bidet shooting a stream of water at our private bits to wash them after we relieve ourselves. But, like in the US and UK, bidets aren't commonly used here in Australia. We've never developed a culture of using them, instead opting for multi-ply toilet paper instead.
In a study on U.S. bidet use, Bespoke Surgical surveyed 3,600 American adults to gauge current public opinion on the fixtures. Overall, just over 12% of Americans currently have access to a bidet.
The vast majority of Americans still exclusively use toilet paper, though. For many, the bidet remains a fusty porcelain basin vaguely associated with the French. But the technology has evolved.
Not the hoarding. The avoiding. Because despite Australians' newfound passion for TP, it's actually pretty gross when you think about it. Yes, we're all used to our Western method of post-bathroom cleansing, which involves large wads – folded or scrunched – of this increasingly rare commodity.
It's clear that the widespread use of bidets in many countries has its advantages. The lack of popularity in the UK and US likely has to do with a combination of factors: unfamiliarity, lack of space, cost, and more.
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.
An estimated 12-percent of the U.S. population has regular access to a bidet. The bidet is more popular in the South than in any other area of the nation, with 12.7-percent of the population in the South regularly using a bidet.
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.
To be legally installed in Australia, certain plumbing and drainage products, including bidet products, must be certified through the WaterMark Certification Scheme, which is administered by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).
Alternatively, bidet spray nozzles and hoses are attached to the sides of the commodes. The lota, according to Islamic rules, is held with the right hand, while the left helps pass water over the anus. The objective behind this practice, Muslims believe, is the emphasis of Islam on keeping the body adequately clean.
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.
Using a bidet instead of toilet paper provides a thorough cleansing that wiping alone cannot. Water is more sanitary than toilet paper because it gently cleans the area instead of just rubbing it with toilet paper.
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.
Bidets are in fact a legal building requirement in Italy and they have been so for nearly 50 years now. Article 7 of a Ministerial Decree issued on July 5th, 1975 states that “in each house, at least one bathroom must have the following fixtures: a toilet, a bidet, a bathtub or shower, and a sink”.
In northern Europe, bidets are rare, although in Finland, bidet showers are common. Bidet showers are most commonly found in South-East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.
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.
In China, many people use what's called a "chamber pot". This is a small pot that you can use to urinate or defecate in. After you're done, you simply empty it out. They also use bidets in China.
While today the bidet has somewhat fallen out of use in France, it has been adopted as fundamental part of life in Italy. In fact the bidet is now so ingrained into Italian culture that it's a legal obligation to put a bidet in every bathroom that is built on domestic or hotel property.
American toilets are all about suction, they pull the waste down when the toilet is flushed, and then out into the “trap way”. The amount of suction required for this process means that the “trap way” needs to be narrow, and it's usually around five centimetres wide.
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.
Bidets were a fixture of many bathrooms in Ireland in the eighties but were ripped out along with the avocado suite to make way for the shower cubicles of the nineties. Once a proud and firm feature in almost every bathroom, the bidet suddenly became an object of ridicule and shame.
Bog roll. Taken from the 16th-century Scottish/Irish word meaning 'soft and moist,' bog means restroom or lavatory. Bog roll, naturally, is an idiom for toilet paper. This will come in especially handy if you find yourself in a dire situation in the loo.