There is lot of modern technology/appliances that Americans strangely refuse to adopt, induction cooktops and combination washer-dryer washing machines for example..
Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
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Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#22From the MidWest -
I've personally been using a bidet since 13. Installed my own in the family home.
In my personal region, and what I've found to be true of a decent, err, portion of the MidWest - the very act of washing in-between your arsecheeks, especially your actual anus, is seen to be gay/homosexual by many. Keep in mind, to these people I've referenced, to be gay/homosexual is one of the worst things you can be on this planet.
Yes, this is completely and utterly irrationally idiotic. However, it is truly true. A few decades from now I presume most of those that perpetuate this ideology will be dead though. Bidets are great, wash your butts you nerds.
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. It’s strange to me that US culture places importance in frequently washing hair, hands, etc. However potentially smearing faeces over part of your body and sitting with it festering there for 12 hours or until your next shower is completely acceptable.
How do such bidets work in public bathrooms? Most public bathrooms, the only thing I reasonably trust to be clean is the toilet paper. Doesn't the bidet get exposed to there people's excrement, raising the chance of passing that exposure onto the next user of the stall? Genuinely curious.
The electronic bidets will run the water at low pressure for a few seconds to wash that away, the cheap ones will raise above behind a guard and the water pressure causes it to lower which also causes it to run for a little before use
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#24My TOTO Washlet is such a joy, the automatic lid and the heated seat. I smile at the nightlight.
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#25I’ve shifted from the cheap bidet attachments on Amazon to the $300 Toto which includes both heated seat and water. It’s phenomenal, to the point that I added two new electrical outlets to my house to accommodate them. Particularly with the toilet paper ‘shortage’ it’s wild to me that so many people still waste their time and money using paper.
I don't understand the TP thing. You need to dry up with TP anyways.
I certainly don't want an integrated seat that gets filthy with splash back when somebody takes a dump. I can understand the wands more, but still they risk getting very dirty from various users with various skill levels. We use wet wipes which is not ideal ecologically, but a bidet risks being far dirtier than a shopping cart handle and we conserve elsewhere.
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#26More importantly, why is The Atlantic publishing a story about why Americans don't use bidets?
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#27Kind of cheaper to use a watering can and a free hand.
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#28I would encourage anyone who has never used a bidet to go out and try one. Most modern bidets are Japanese style (built into the toilet itself or replacing the toilet seat) rather than European style (discrete units which sit next to your toilet) and thus are much easier to install and use outside of a new construction. I had never used a bidet until I visited Japan a few years ago and I was instantly hooked after on…
I bought a simple $80 one at the start of the pandemic and now that's the only toilet in the house I'll use.
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#29I've had a washlet for a decade and absolutely am glad I spent what seemed like a scandalous amount of money at the time. Despite the built in dryer, paper is still required to get truly dry but other than that, it's great. The article is a bit weird. The author starts off with a seemingly disconnected claim about prejudice that she never really is able to support except through rather weak conjecture. The whole thin…
> The author starts off with a seemingly disconnected claim about prejudice
I think you are misreading that. What I take that is that the author is lamenting that people are so prejudiced against Americans that they remove necessary hygiene systems for fear of offending American sensibilities. (Could you imagine hearing that a hotel had been "-ized" by removing the sinks, on the assumption that people would take offense at the suggestion they should wash their hands?)
Re: Why Don't Americans Use Bidets?
#30Bidets rock. I've had one for years - I didn't have to worry about a toilet paper shortage. The only problem is not many people have them, so going to the bathroom elsewhere isn't as comfortable.
I think Muslims have bidets as part of standard hygiene, but I could be wrong. If it is true, I need more Muslim friends :)