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Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

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Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#51
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the one issue that's stopped me. Most these attachments connect to the toilet's water supply, which is fine, except most toilet water supplies only provide cold (i.e. whatever the ambient water temperature happens to be) water which to me, is far from ideal in a bidet (it's fine for normal use though). Running hot water there is a significant undertaking if done correctly, so most options come with a small re…

Most bathrooms have a light switch close to the toilet. Replace it with something like https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-Decora-15-Amp-Tamper-Res... . The Toto bidet's have a fairly long cord.

Do NOT use that particular outlet. You want one with GFCI instead. You will probably have to install a larger box to put it side by side with the existing switch. (Or really just install another single box closer to where you want it, and fish)

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#52

My main concern regarding a bidet is that it'll leak. I've heard horror stories about bidets causing thousands of dollars worth of damages after the water hoses that supply them leak and spill hundreds of gallons of water on to the floor when their owners are away from home.

is that different from any other water faucet in the bathroom?

FWIW, as an Italian (everybody has a bidet in Italy) I have literally never heard of anyone having encountered this issue, but I suppose it may vary in other countries.

It is a common thing to close the water in the house when you're away for a long time though, but I assumed everybody did that.

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#53

My wife made a joke about a bidet a few years ago, so also as a joke I bought us one for her birthday. The $60 attachment kind where you just plumb in a splitter from the source that fills the toilet tank. It was a hit, so we bought one for family friends for a birthday - high hilarity as we heard the reports from their kids - and then more for our extended family at Christmas. Shocked reactions around the Christmas…

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Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#54
post #48

As an argentinian living in the UK, I am waiting for this country to finally become civilised and include a stand alone bidet in every bathroom

I'm not sure that the stand alone bidets will become popular here due to space restrictions (I agree that they are great BTW) but I could see toilets with built in bidets being installed. We're planning a new bathroom and I have that on our todo list.

Look up washlets by Toto. You can get a replacement bidet toilet seat for your existing toilet but it requires a power socket to operate.

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#55
post #16

My wife made a joke about a bidet a few years ago, so also as a joke I bought us one for her birthday. The $60 attachment kind where you just plumb in a splitter from the source that fills the toilet tank. It was a hit, so we bought one for family friends for a birthday - high hilarity as we heard the reports from their kids - and then more for our extended family at Christmas. Shocked reactions around the Christmas…

I tell everybody that a $50 sprayer attachment will get you 80% of the benefit of a full-on bidet toilet.

Spray/Jet is best. Required some plumbing and fitting jet between toilet sheet. All you need to do is turn on the knob.

No recurring cost of toilet paper.

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#56
post #16

My wife made a joke about a bidet a few years ago, so also as a joke I bought us one for her birthday. The $60 attachment kind where you just plumb in a splitter from the source that fills the toilet tank. It was a hit, so we bought one for family friends for a birthday - high hilarity as we heard the reports from their kids - and then more for our extended family at Christmas. Shocked reactions around the Christmas…

I tell everybody that a $50 sprayer attachment will get you 80% of the benefit of a full-on bidet toilet.

How does one use a sprayer attachment? It seems like positioning would be awkward.

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#58
post #28

I've lived in Vietnam for the last 4 years and got used to the 'bum gun' as we call them. It is awesome. I came back to the US late January for a meeting in SF. I was staying at my friends house and lamenting the missing gun. My friends were refusing to install one because they were afraid that their two year old would use it to soak the entire bathroom. I started checking Amazon anyway... once everyone started stock…

I've been using a portable, battery-powered bidet (Toto brand) for years. The first vacation that I took to Japan sold me on them nearly instantly, but I didn't want to go through with installing them once I got home. This is a good compromise.

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Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#59
I remember being in a capsule-hotel/hostel in Japan thinking about how great the Japanese are that these seats are the default in a hostel.

I have been through Africa and parts of Asia were the "bum gun" is the only resource for cleaning, no paper. Japan had the best of both worlds.

I have always said I would purchase one if I ever purchased my own place. In my current rental, I would need to have a power cord come completely across the sink (no low outlets).

Re: Has the bidet's time in North America finally arrived?

#60
post #43

Right now the best thing you can do is to get a TOTO travel washlet. Despite the travel label it works just fine daily. Totally SFW video on how to use one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBAY1GWjjaQ You can buy one at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005FDJ8SM/ref=dp_ol... I had a washlet installed in 2009 when I bought my home and I was on a several month client on site late 2011 when out of sheer despera…

This is what I have too and it works reasonably well. I was joking to a relative that she could purchase a home depot hand pumped garden sprayer with a wand as a substitute during the corona virus crisis.
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