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Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

priceonomics.com

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Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#111

Post by schiffern »

bmj wrote: post #98
ComputerGuru wrote: post #34

$15 in parts from your local hardware store gets you the basic tools you need to build a water-powered hygiene system. All you need is the "spray head" with flexible hose [0], plus the adaptor to make a kitchen part fit the bathroom piping (for some reason, kitchen and bathroom have non-interchangeable parts). You hang it on a hook next to the toilet, and you use it to clean yourself. I cannot live without these, and…

You aren't feeling like doing this yourself, several companies make systems like this for cleaning cloth diapers before dropping them in the pail. http://www.handyspray.com/Cloth-Diaper-Sprayer.html

It should also have a vacuum breaker, which is required by code. Massachusetts plumbing code is typical:

>Approved backflow preventers or vacuum breakers shall be installed with any plumbing fixture or equipment, the potable water supply outlet of which may be submerged and which cannot be protected by a minimum air gap.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#112

Post by FrojoS »

w1ntermute wrote: post #65
eob wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a reasonable default because every visitor to your house would make a comment requiring you to justify having "fringe" bathroom habits. Edit: Not every, of course. And the number would vary by region of the US. Excuse the universal quantifier :)

> every visitor to your house would make a comment requiring you to justify having "fringe" bathroom habits. Wouldn't this have been the case in Japan in the early 80s too, when Washlets first came to the market?

I don't have the source handy, but I remember there were at least two very attractive features that started the trend of "advanced" toilets in Japan:

1) A seat heater: Bathrooms used to be unheated so without this it would be very cold in the winter. Adding a heated seated was much cheaper than adding a room heater. 2) An artificial sound to overlay embarrassing farting sounds: Without this feature, it was common for Japanese women to constantly use the flush in order to create a louder sound. This was obviously a huge waste water.

Once the ground was laid, it was natural to extend the number of features.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#113

Post by arrrg »

adestefan wrote: post #91
arrrg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don’t pick the toilets in their houses? I find that hard to imagine. People not picking the pipes or bricks that are used I can see, but the toilet? No way. Before I buy a toilet I want to at least sit on it and I cannot imagine anyone feeling any other way about that.

Even in most custom built homes you only pick the fit and finish and not the actual product. This is mainly done for cost reasons since specific products means you need someone to take the time to review existing plans to make sure everything fits and is spec'ed out properly.

See, my perspective is completely skewed. I don’t even know what a custom built home is. I don’t have a house nor any plans to get one but my dad (a civil engineer, usually planning water supply systems) drew up all the plans for my parents’ house and my parents (including the extended family plus friends) really did nearly everything by themselves, and that includes picking out all the interior. Everything is custom about that house. In that context someone telling you which toilet to get is nonsense.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#114

Post by FrojoS »

eob wrote: post #18

Americans, by and large, are quite bizarre when it comes to discussing anything that takes place below the belt. When I mentioned working at Google, I have had multiple people say to me, "I heard the founders at Google are OBSESSED with toilets and import special models from Japan." As if one has to be stark raving mad to use a modern toilet from Japan, instead of the old fashioned toilet which was probably imported…

While I agree that Americans are especially prude, its not like these toilets are noticeable more common in Europe. Of course the French have their bidet...

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#116

Post by jiggy2011 »

I imagine it's to do with price, at least for public toilets.

Here in the UK , we can't have nice things because someone will just take the liberty of smashing it to pieces for you.

For what I have heard about places like Tokyo; you have vending machines for just about all of your needs, fancy toilets and video game arcades have actual chairs to sit on while you play the machines.

None of these things would last 5 minutes in the UK.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#117

Post by Hannan »

masukomi wrote: post #31
runjake wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you completely missed his point.

I can confirm @aptimpropriety's claim after having tested this in bidets in multiple countries. It doesn't matter how high you turn on the water pressure, if you grab a piece of toilet paper afterwards it seems to always find some... remainders.

While my mom was in home hospice, someone purchased these for us to help her:

http://goo.gl/9YcQh

After she passed, my Dad just threw them in the guest bathroom. Using both paper and these (preferred order is up to the user) seems to fit the bill for just about any, uh, circumstance, and I've had numerous people make positive comments on it which is strange in and of itself.

At first I thought it was a bit wasteful, but I think many times you can get by with less total paper. YTPMV.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#118

Post by Aloisius »

aptimpropriety wrote: post #9

Every one of these articles gets the pitch of these toilets completely wrong - for every person, and in every scenario, these are not universally better. Consider the following experiment: Smear some mud on your arm. Now, using a jet stream the power of a squirt gun and very low precision, wash it all off in 10 seconds. Not so easy. Then - imagine if you put mud on a place with hair! Not only will it not be clean wit…

I would like to point out that women use washlets when they urinate and they are, especially with a built-in dryer, infinitely better than toilet paper alone.

Further, they shouldn't require much precision as the area we are talking about isn't all that large. Of course, until you get to the high end models, you generally don't get position adjustment or oscillating cleansing.

Maybe the Google ones you used were just poor? The ones I used in Japan ranged from excellent to ok.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#120

Post by Pinatubo »

Osmium wrote: post #67

How does one go about cleaning these? It always seemed to me that, if the nozzle got dirty, then they could cause more problems than they solve. Especially (to quote the article) if it's spraying the "female genital area." If there's any bacteria on that nozzle, and since it's been in a toilet for any number of years I'd guess there might be, surely there'd be a risk of it causing UTIs and the like?

A friend of mine has one of these toilets, and the first thing I did before sitting down was look at the nozzle. It was covered in tiny bits of feces. I stuck with the toilet paper.
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