The Rise of the Japanese Toilet • Hacker News Board

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#71

Post by ghaff » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:04 PM UTC

NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #68

ghaff wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally you need nearby electrical and ability to get water to the washlet seat. Which is fairly easy/cheap in a bathroom remodel (which is what I did) but not necessarily easy/cheap otherwise. (There are simpler ways you can get part-way there as noted in this thread.)

...why would you need electricity for a seat with water?

https://www.totousa.com/tips/toto-washlet-electric-bidets

I'm not sure electricity is required for basic operation but at least most models are designed to be plugged in.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#72

Post by latchkey » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:09 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #42

unhappy_meaning wrote: post #24

In almost all of SE Asia, especially Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, all of the toilets come with a hand-held sprayer. They also had this in the Doha airport and I'm not sure how common this style is outside of SE Asia but I'm guessing it's common. Japanese style bidets are very common in Korean households as well and I'm sure its easily a billion dollar business. It is nice but the functionality is quite difficult for…

>If its not aimed correctly, where does the splash go? If you're lucky it stays in the toilet boil. However if your aim is off, you can completely miss your anus and either shoot to much under or over which will shoot the water outside of the toilet bowl. so slowly squeeze the trigger to confirm the aim is correct, rather than going full blast at the start?

it is often all or nothing.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#73

Post by speed_spread » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:09 PM UTC

fabiofzero wrote: post #40

Only North-Americans have trouble with the concept that water is the best way to wash yourself after doing your business. Y'all seriously need to grow up.

Uh, Water? I use Brawndo, it's got electrolytes!

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#74

Post by mixmastamyk » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:09 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #42

unhappy_meaning wrote: post #24

In almost all of SE Asia, especially Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, all of the toilets come with a hand-held sprayer. They also had this in the Doha airport and I'm not sure how common this style is outside of SE Asia but I'm guessing it's common. Japanese style bidets are very common in Korean households as well and I'm sure its easily a billion dollar business. It is nice but the functionality is quite difficult for…

>If its not aimed correctly, where does the splash go? If you're lucky it stays in the toilet boil. However if your aim is off, you can completely miss your anus and either shoot to much under or over which will shoot the water outside of the toilet bowl. so slowly squeeze the trigger to confirm the aim is correct, rather than going full blast at the start?

Yeah this overstates the problem. Sure there’s a learning curve but spraying all over didn’t happen for me.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#75

Post by layer8 » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:11 PM UTC

dep_b wrote: post #4

A bidet is standard equipment in Argentinian homes, even the poorest houses have it. Once you get used to it, it’s incomprehensible that in other countries people just wipe and…hope for the best. But often it’s hard to install one in bathrooms that are not designed for it. So a Japanese toilet is a somewhat over the top solution in our house.

> it’s incomprehensible that in other countries people just wipe and…hope for the best.

Nowadays many people use wet wipes. Probably less environmentally friendly, but they solve the same problem.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#76

Post by mixmastamyk » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:12 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #65

mixmastamyk wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, just buy a thousand dollar Toto and run an extension cord across your bathroom! Install it and oh, find a place to store the existing toilet.

I wouldn't run an extension cord but there are absolutely Toto washlets that just replace the existing seat. IMO, absolutely the better answer as there things probably can break in ways that a regular toilet won't.

Hand sprayer still cheaper and less likely to break. Power still an issue.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#77

Post by lmz » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:13 PM UTC

NooneAtAll3 wrote: post #68

ghaff wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally you need nearby electrical and ability to get water to the washlet seat. Which is fairly easy/cheap in a bathroom remodel (which is what I did) but not necessarily easy/cheap otherwise. (There are simpler ways you can get part-way there as noted in this thread.)

...why would you need electricity for a seat with water?

The washlet needs power for the seat warmer (and other functions). Toto (and others) also have unpowered add-on toilet seat type that just sprays and is manually controlled with a knob. https://in.toto.com/product-category/ecowasher/ (Not sure if this is available in the US)

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#78

Post by dataviz1000 » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:13 PM UTC

dfxm12 wrote: post #12

dep_b wrote: post #4

A bidet is standard equipment in Argentinian homes, even the poorest houses have it. Once you get used to it, it’s incomprehensible that in other countries people just wipe and…hope for the best. But often it’s hard to install one in bathrooms that are not designed for it. So a Japanese toilet is a somewhat over the top solution in our house.

If it's standard equipment, why wouldn't bathrooms be designed for it? New expectations? Something else?

Every bathroom in Thailand and Argentina is built with a drain in the floor. It's forward thinking construction. Otherwise, without the drain, either the bum gun or the bidet can and will easily damage the floor and anything below it.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#79

Post by dmckeon » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:14 PM UTC

If anyone wants to explore the bidet space without replacing an entire toilet, I can recommend the Neo line of products from https://luxebidet.com/ They sell kits for under $70 USD that attach to existing toilets, using the space between the seat and bowl, and attach to the toilet's water supply with a tee fitting and one-way valve, either at the wall valve, or at the bottom of the tank. Installation should take less than 30 minutes for anyone handy with a screwdriver and a crescent wrench.

Their bidets are surprising effective, and do not require any electricity or hot water, as the water volume needed to be effective is small, and the water has usually been sitting in the pipes in a home's walls at ambient temperature. 10/10, would spritz again.

Re: The Rise of the Japanese Toilet

#80

Post by jfim » Sat, May 31, 2025, 10:19 PM UTC

mixmastamyk wrote: post #58

jfim wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're totally installable in a rental, takes about half an hour to install the first time, and about ten minutes to remove when you move out. The only thing is that one will typically need to run an extension cord to reach the toilet, but typically apartment bathrooms are pretty small anyway so it's not a particularly long extension cord.

Right, just buy a thousand dollar Toto and run an extension cord across your bathroom! Install it and oh, find a place to store the existing toilet.

The seats are like $349 at the local Costco. It doesn't involve removing the toilet, just replacing the seat (two hand tightened nuts) and adding a T connector to the cold water line so that both the toilet and seat have water.

None of those things are permanent and can be done by a single person with minimal knowledge and some common hand tools.