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Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

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

#241

Post by wilfra »

s_henry_paulson wrote: post #128
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…

From what I read on the internet 25-40% of people out there seem to stand up to wipe.. and I have to believe that's largely due to people never discussing how they use the restroom.

Lot's of people also don't look at the toilet paper after they wipe, to be sure they got everything. I believe this also stems from people not discussing their bathroom habits.

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

#243

Post by jessaustin »

runjake wrote: post #25
jadc wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the article, there are devices that could be attached to existing toilet seats that cost 100$ or less. If they do work well (article claims that they have good reviews), then cost is not an issue.

If you read the full article, only the cheapo, probably ineffective solutions cost $100, you're looking more at $500 and up for a good unit. And if you want a warmer, you'll need a GFCI outlet installed next to the toilet, which most US homes do not have. You'll want a warmer in many areas of the US during the winter. So you're looking at quite a bit of cash there. Edit: Please read what I wrote. I'm not saying most…

A single GFCI outlet on a circuit protects all outlets on that circuit: it will interrupt the circuit on a ground fault at any outlet wired in parallel. It is customary if not universal for the GFCI outlet to be closest to either the entrance to the room or the sink (often both). In such a case the fact that the outlet nearest the toilet doesn't appear to be a special GFCI receptacle isn't actually a problem.

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

#244

Post by jpatokal »

wilfra wrote: post #237
miahi wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. The Japanese have a hygiene tradition, so new cleaning devices are highly thought of.

I guess this doesn't extend to oral hygiene?

Japanese oral hygiene is fine. It's cosmetic dentistry, braces etc that they don't really get.

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

#245

Post by jpatokal »

jeffool wrote: post #191
ahlatimer wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While discussions of what goes on in the bathroom may make most Americans uncomfortable, it certainly isn't so taboo as to point out a different toilet. Perhaps the Japanese culture is different, such that, while people may have wanted to ask why you have a fringe toilet, social norms kept them from doing so. I'm not Japanese, nor have I spent any time in Japan, so that's purely conjecture, but, knowing what little I…

Speaking on cultural differences and American willingness to discuss bathroom culture... I, personally, don't like the idea of a warm seat. All I'll be thinking about is "someone else just used this toilet". Maybe one day I'll use one and it'll change my outlook completely, like the George Foreman grill nudged my outlook on the validity of infomercial products. But, until that happens? Nope, no thanks.

Warm seats seem like a pointless luxury if your bathroom is properly insulated and heated, but the vast majority of older Japanese housing is neither.

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

#246

Post by ars »

marknutter wrote: post #115

Flushable wet wipes changed my bathroom life. I now don't even consider doing my business without them. Way cheaper than installing a bidet, and I would argue it's more effective, too.

BTW There is no such thing as a flushable wet wipe. They claim you can flush them, but they actually clog pipes frequently, and don't disintegrate like they should.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/home--garden/be...

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

#247

Post by greggman »

wilfra wrote: post #235
blazingfrog2 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we're knee-deep into the toilet conversation, you make an interesting observation. I'm originally from France and have lived in California for over 11 years but, to this day, I'm still astonished at how little embarrassment there is in American toilets (my experience is limited to the mens rooms) as far as unpleasant noise goes. It is obviously a fact of life but, where I come from, denial is king in that depar…

For working class white American men, that is not limited to public restrooms. They're doing it at home too and laughing about it to their wives/girlfriends/kids - who probably call them disgusting to which they laugh even more. People with more class and manners tend toward the French way of doing it.

You mean people who are snobs tend toward the French way where as people who are fun and warm hearted have no problem laughing at farts.

I would much rather be with a person that thinks farts are funny then one who doesn't. To each their own.

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

#248

Post by justinhj »

Going to the toilet is very culturally determined. Take a poo in Germany and when you stand up your poo will be waiting for you on a shelf, in case you wish to examine it (historically to identify health issues). Will that ever translate to the US? No, because it's a different culture not interested in examining their own poo. Same goes for Japan/Korea and the bum washing toilet.

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

#249

Post by jtheory »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #129
simontzu wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup! And people eat with their hands a lot too. This is why its considered disgusting to eat with the left hand in many places. Right hand for eating, left hand for washing your ass. One of the benefits of having travelled a lot in Asia is you will never again be phased by running out of toilet paper.

People in SE Asia don't eat with their hands, you must be thinking about Central/South Asia. Spray cleaning really isn't that bad, you should be washing your hands after anyways.

My wife grew up in Malaysia, eating mostly with her hands. Hand, rather, normally the right, but the practicality of this is not (no longer?) related to toilet hygiene -- more just that it's really useful to keep one hand clean to pick up your glass, hold serving dishes and implements, etc.. She was raised to be rather more hygienic than I was, interestingly, and has rules that I still forget and break occasionally.

Nowadays many people are westernized enough that they have switched to eating w/ utensils (either chopsticks or fork/spoon, depending on type of cuisine, and the Chinese segment of the population have been using chopsticks all along), but eating with the hands is still quite common.

The houses where I've spent time in Malaysia had western toilets but often with a bucket & cup or sprayer for cleaning; toilet paper sometimes also present, but not always.

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

#250

Post by tadfisher »

jessaustin wrote: post #243
runjake wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you read the full article, only the cheapo, probably ineffective solutions cost $100, you're looking more at $500 and up for a good unit. And if you want a warmer, you'll need a GFCI outlet installed next to the toilet, which most US homes do not have. You'll want a warmer in many areas of the US during the winter. So you're looking at quite a bit of cash there. Edit: Please read what I wrote. I'm not saying most…

A single GFCI outlet on a circuit protects all outlets on that circuit: it will interrupt the circuit on a ground fault at any outlet wired in parallel. It is customary if not universal for the GFCI outlet to be closest to either the entrance to the room or the sink (often both). In such a case the fact that the outlet nearest the toilet doesn't appear to be a special GFCI receptacle isn't actually a problem.

Correction: a single GFCI outlet on a circuit protects all outlets on the load side of the GFCI outlet. A GFCI cannot sense a ground fault on the line side.

If you want to protect an entire circuit with one GFCI outlet, it must be the first on the circuit.

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