A Bidet Toilet Seat

When your body is dirty you don’t wipe it off with a paper towel, you take a shower. Therefore, when your rear end is dirty, why do we use dry toilet paper to clean it? Why don’t we also use water?  This analogy, along with a trip to Asia, where bidet toilet seats are plentiful, had me thinking.  And a few months after that trip,  I am now the owner of a bidet toilet seat and I LOVE IT.

Bidet toilet seats, also known as washlets, are very popular in the Middle East and Japan: public restrooms have them (and by the way, even the tiny toilets on Japan Airlines 777 planes have them too!).  The features can vary by model but the most important feature is the spray of water that cleanses the rear.  Other features include: front washing,  heated seat, deodorizing, and oscillation.  In the United States, these devices are not as popular [Here is an interesting theory as to why, along with a lovely video you must see!] so I only found a few brands to choose from.  The main companies offering seats available in the US are: Toto, BioBidet, and Brondell.

Researching my options clued me into the basic features to look out for.  For example,  some models have a tank for heated water.   If the water in the tank runs out, the cleansing spray hitting your rear end will turn cold.   Do you want a drying feature: where a small blower opens up and blow dries after rinsing?   After reading about all the options, I went with a model that heats the water on demand, instead of storing it in a tank.  The model I chose, the Swash 1000 by Brondell, also has a deodorizing feature that sucks the gases in the toilet in through a charcoal filter to help reduce bad odors.

All of these features require electricity.  Unfortunately, most houses in the area aren’t built with an outlet near the toilet. I had to have one installed.  We called a friend, who is an electrician, and after doing calculations to determine the best circuit for the seat to draw power on, he had the outlet installed in a about an hour.   Once the electrical outlet is installed,  installation of the seat itself is simple and straightforward.  My husband had it working in 15 minutes after connecting the hose from the bidet to the existing water line in the wall and plugging it in.   The Swash 1000 comes with a remote, which I mounted on the wall (using Velcro) next to the toilet.  Fancy, huh?

There are less luxurious models, which have the basic bidet function of a cleansing spray of (cold) water, that don’t require electricity and just hook up directly to the water line.    I can only hope this trend catches on here in the States. It is life enhancing (and hygienically superior). I would love to have them readily available in hotels and restaurants.
-J