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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?

#281

Post by seanmcdirmid »

anant wrote: post #212
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I never saw anyone eating with their hands in SE Asia, well, anything but street food. Its hard to eat a rice or noodle dish with your hands, especially without bread! Genuinely curious.

Rice based dishes are remarkably easy to eat by hand (it is extremely common in South India, see http://migrationology.com/2012/01/how-to-eat-with-your-hands... for a video), but your point holds true for noodles.

I know people eat with their hands in south/central Asia (including Burma), as well as in Muslim areas (Malaysia/Indonesia), I just never saw that in Tai areas of SE Asia. Well, you learn something everyday I guess.

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

#282

Post by utopkara »

svdad wrote: post #134
utopkara wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is something wrong with your jet/mud/arm analogy, because it doesn't translate the real life results. The size, location, mobility, etc. make a difference. Also, these toilets come with a warm air dryer as well. I also saw them for the first time at Google, and then I bought one for home. It saves a ton of waste and you'll be and feel cleaner afterwards. Granted, it does take a little more time to exit after yo…

I must disagree -- in my experience, the jet/mud/arm analogy translates precisely into real life results. Also, should you find an additional paper pass to be necessary, you'll find it complicated by the fact that the area to be wiped is now wet. Toilet paper notoriously doesn't hold up well when soaking wet.

Dunno, perhaps the brand makes a difference. Ours is Brondell. You need just a couple of pieces of toilet paper after the warm air dryer if any.

Also, the warm seat, warm water, warm air changes the whole thing, especially in winter.

For something that you will use every day, if you appreciate the advantages, I think $500 is an acceptable price.

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

#283

Post by ElliotH »

mibbitier wrote: post #194
aplusbi wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps you are one of the stand-to-wipe types, but if you remain seated throughout the drying operation you will not have to deal with any rivulets. Also some toilets have an air-dryer.

Air dryers are incredibly bad. Hand dryers are practically a waste of time since they barely do anything IMHO.

Tried the Dyson ones? They're amazing.

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

#284

Post by brc »

sk5t wrote: post #193
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…

I think it's just cultural: American men are not expected to be discreet or embarrassed in "practical" all-male environments such as locker rooms and public toilets. A loud belch or other powerful, resounding emanation signals manliness... and it was funny when you were 7, it's still a bit funny now.

a bit funny? Liar. It's hilarious! Who cannot but smile at a cubicle wall rattler, whether your own or someone elses?

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

#285

Post by brc »

Aloisius wrote: post #118
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…

Congrats on introducing the female 'angle' as it were. A group of male engineer types discussing the merits would tend to completely forget that a huge percentage of toilet visits are by females for no 1 purposes only, and perhaps a light wash followed by a quick blow dry are more than sufficient.

I have tried these in Japan and the first time I hit the squirt button I got a shock-inducing surprise at how accurate they are. It's like they are laser guided or something, such is the accuracy of hitting the target.

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

#286

Post by tedunangst »

warfangle wrote: post #230
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 :)

I saw this somewhere else, but it stuck with me: "if you get poop on your arm, do you wipe it off with a dry piece of paper - or do you wash with soap and water?" I don't understand why bidets are fringe :(

The difference being I anticipate the future interactions of my arm and my butt with the surrounding environment to be quite different.

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

#287

Post by brc »

ErrantX wrote: post #71

Also, economics. These toilets currently cost ~$500 more than a "normal" toilet. Of course, you do use significantly more toilet paper with the latter, but a pack is ~$5 and lasts ~ 1 month, so you'd still be looking at, what 8-10 year return on investment.

You are obviously a bachelor.

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

#288

Post by kjell »

About a year ago I installed a bidet in my bathroom. It's the one pictured towards the bottom of this article, and I bought it on amazon. I use it and "cloth toilet paper" for my butt-cleaning. It's great.

The water washes me clean. Often 100% and always most of the way. It took a bit to get the hang of it: to get a good wash I find it helps to clench my butt muscles and wiggle on the seat. After 5-10 seconds, I wipe with the cloth: old t-shirts cut into ~4x8" rectangles. The water does a much better job of cleaning than toilet paper.

When I first had the bidet I used toilet paper after the spray to dry off. It was only slightly less miserable than having a waterlogged ass. I needed twice as much paper to dry myself off as I would have used to wipe.

For a while I hung an old microfiber towel next to the toilet and used that, but "oh, that's just my butt-towel…" is an interesting conversation to have. So I cut up some old shirts. They go into a bucket after use and I wash them regularly. The cloth is what makes it work.

I can only imagine what it would be like to have a blowdryer down there.

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

#289

Post by tedunangst »

DanBC wrote: post #251
hnriot wrote: post #136

I wouldn't want a bidet like contraption, it's just massive overkill for something that humans have turned into a big deal. People seemed to manage for hundreds of centuries just fine without computerized toilets. Utterly ridiculous and a good example of the first world having gone crazy. These are just extortion, taking advantage of a cultural "issue" in a first world country like Japan. I can't believe hn are even…

> People seemed to manage for hundreds of centuries just fine without computerized toilets. Diarrhoea is a major cause of child death. Many of these deaths could be prevented with better hygiene, including better toilets and running water for hand washing with soap.

Do significantly more US children die from dysentery than Japanese children? Computerized toilets may be on the other side of the point of diminishing returns.
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