They panic-bought bidets during the pandemic. It changed their lives.
They panic-bought bidets during the pandemic. It changed their lives.
Four years after the toilet paper shortage of 2020, bidet converts say they’re never going back
While the toilet paper shortages that hit the United States during pandemic lockdowns in the spring of 2020 ultimately eased up, they’ve had a lasting impact on one industry: the bidet business.
“The industry here in the U.S. just blew up. You couldn’t get a bidet if you wanted to,” says James Lin, founder of BidetKing.com, an online marketplace for all varieties of the bathroom appliance. “We all sold out. … There was a huge scramble to get more.”
-
I've had a bidet for years, before covid even. It really is a game changer. You'd be surprised how much more clean you feel.
They have relatively cheap and easy to install ones that just go under your toilet seat and connect to the toilet's water supply. That's what I use.
-
Is it not chilly as fuck during the winter, when tap water is like 4°c?
-
It's not nearly as bad as I'd expected. You're only doing short bursts of water, so you're not getting brain freeze on your butthole or anything.
-
Can be. But really adds another wakeup jolt to the morning coffee ritual XD
-
It's definitely not bad at all. My wife resisted to getting a bidet for years but then we got one and now she can't live without.
-
This isn't as bad as you might think it would be.
-
Nope. Many are plugged in and it will keep the seat and water warm. It further warms the seat when it detects someone is sitting on it. Kinda depends on budget, features, manufacturers.
NGL, middle of the night visits are still a bit jarring because the heating logic tries to conserve energy at night so it tends to me room temperature. But whatevs.
Honestly, worth it. Absolutely no regrets other than maybe not spending more 😂. At a couple hundred dollar Costco Toto model, it was already a risky purchase that at the time I simply wasn't sure about. But yeah, it's awesome 😎.
-
Yes, definitely. But it's like jumping into a chilly lake: you might not want to stay there long, but god damn is it refreshing.
-
It's a dollar more to install the ones onto the hot and cold taps, then you can set and forget the temp of the water, so it's always the right temp.
And obviously they have the tech on-demand heated ones, but you can buy the sprayer and taps version for 15 bucks with stainless steel parts.
I'm lazy so I use the kind you can screw directly into the sink tap itself, find the right temp in the regular sink faucet handle, set and forget.
30 second installation, adjustable water temp, switch adjustable nozzle to use bidet or sink faucet, easy.
-
-
We had ours during the pandemic. While my friends and coworkers griped about toilet paper shortages, it was like having a hidden superpower.
-
Mine, sadly, doesn't hit me in the right spots and I constantly have to move around the seat. Then my undercarriage is wet and takes time drying.
-
-
It took me using my friend's bidet just once to convert. I ordered one that night, from BidetKing. Now I really hate using the toilet in public.
-
It feels so barbaric going to the bathroom at work or in public now
-
That is the downside. Going on vacation, like, ehhhhh this sucks.
-
Portable bidet.
-
-
-
🙋♂️ - count me in that camp. I feel like a peasant if I have to shit on anything else. Splurge for the heated seat and heated water if you can afford it and prepare to be spoiled.
-
I already had a Bidet when Deadpool II came out and that scene about toilet paper... I fully thought they were gonna go the bidet route... Nope, a shitty ad for shitty wipes that clog your pipes and city pipes and don't biodegrade in septic systems.
Bidet is the clear winner. Deadpool should know better.
-
I was sad to learn it would cost so much to add power near my toilet, that I might as well fully remodel my bathroom... if money were no object.
-
Nope, it just attaches to your current setup. No power needed. By default people think it has to be warm water but everyone eventually decides the water is fine without. Plus it’s cheaper. Like 30 bucks to change your life for the better!
-
BioBidet BB-2000 is the only way to go.
-
-
In some countries we use a bidet ‘wand’ which is like a small handheld sprayer connected to the sink. No need for heating the seat or waiting for some computer to squirt water at me. It’s clean, efficient. I use a small amount of toilet paper to dry the area/confirm cleanliness. 🙈
-
Question from someone interested. Do you let the water do all the work, or is there hand involvement as well?
-
I let the water do the work, but mine specifically has something called “turbo mode”. It has the highest water pressure and seems to do the best job cleaning.
Edit: I forgot to mention my model also has a fan for the drying function. It runs for about 4 mins - so it takes a bit to dry.
-
-
-
I got a bidet, unrelated to COVID and I never want to go back. ~~~~
-
Same. I got one after a trip to Japan. Life changing.
-
i took it a step further and bought a peri bottle for when i travel.
-
-
Truly the headline we all needed.
That being said, yes, use a bidet!
-
Everyone I've known who has a bidet says they will never go back to using paper. I'm waiting to get enough cash to get an electric one with heat and install a separate outlet for it.
-
While hot water is definitely better, cold water is still a huge upgrade over tp.
If you have 2 toilets in your house you could consider getting cold water now and then moving it to s spare bathroom. Start converting your friends.
-
That's a good idea. We have a half bath that is mostly for guests. Would be a good place to try it out.
-
-
You have the right plan my friend! Funny enough I’ve had mine for almost 4 years now. I just got around to installing an outlet in the bathroom just for this purpose. I’ve had it powered via an extension cord for a while with some creative hiding.
-
I have a bidet. I use paper almost every time, honestly.
-
The powered ones are totally worth it. I had a super cheap unpowered one for 10 years and was happy with it. This Christmas we splurged on a Toto that has the heated seat, heated water, blow dryer, auto-opening lid, air filter fan for smell, etc. It's so much nicer. Not having to touch the toilet lid to lift it up is a benefit I didn't consider but I love it. The heated seat is nice for late night trips to the toilet.
-
-
All these comments are amusing for me as an asian
-
On a trip to a very rural part of South East Asia once the "bidet" was a garden hose and you had to sort it out yourself.
-
I'm super confused as a Spaniard because we have actual bidets here, an appliance that's separate from the toilet, where you can also clean you feet and stuff. It's so hard to guess if people are referring to that bidet or the toilet add-on bidets.
The bidet as a reference: https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/2/28/Use-a-Bidet-Step-2-Version-3.jpg/v4-460px-Use-a-Bidet-Step-2-Version-3.jpg.webp
-
-
I just moved into a camper trailer, and one of my favorite things is the tiny showerhead is close to the toilet, and even has a little valve lever at the spray end to turn it on and off, just like it was designed to be a bidet. I don't care if it was designed that way, it is one now.
-
Holy fuck, are you me? That's what I've done when I go to my camper at the river. And I can actually adjust the temperature instead of the cold water I get out of the home one.
-
I hope not, no offense. I was just getting myself figured out and that'd be a whole new thing.
-
-
-
Help me understand. You spray your butthole to clean it. Your butt is now wet. How do you dry yourself?
-
I have the ghetto 35$ version that just blasts your ass with cold water. Even that is heavenly compared to wiping.
But to answer question, your butt is wett and you dry it with toilet paper. The difference is that it's almost always 2 sheets of paper and there is no real rubbing as you're just drying the water off. With paper it can be tons of sheets and I still might not be convinced I'm clean.
-
You accidentally place your hand in poop. You wipe it with dry paper until it doesn’t smear any more. Why does that count as clean for your butt and not your hand?
-
Yeah, that's what I also never got. If you have dirt in the kitchen, that's semifluid, no one in their right mind would clean it without wetting it. But for the butt that does not count. I do not have a bidet, but I can reach the faucet from my toilet. So I just wet the toilet paper and produce far less toilet paper waste thanks to this.
-
Because you don't handle things with your butt and your hand doesn't have the poop door on it. Hope this helps.
-
-
Mine have warm air blowers. You can either sit for an admittedly longish while whilst the dryer blows you dry, or you can dab with a couple of squares and then let it blow dry you fairly quickly. It's the difference between a roll a week, and a roll every month or two. Or, none, of you're really patient.
-
You dab with toilet paper afterwards to dry. Bidets do still require toilet paper, but significantly less and they leave you significantly cleaner.
-
Some fancier bidets have blow driers.
-
press the "dry" button
-
It's not like your soaked. I usually do a "safety wipe" and that's all I need.
-
-
Cold Bum Gun Crew, representin'
-
Nah, I dropped that crew and joined the Heated Butt Water gang. Though I occasionally slum it with the CBGC if my girl is using the good toilet.
-
-
It me. I got a Tushy. Love it.
-
I told my partner that if the pan wasn't gonna make us USA folks switch to bidets, nothing will. We suck. Lemme smash shit all over my asshole and pretend it's clean.
-
If that's your technique no wonder you need a bidet lmao
-
I just try to do a sales pitch of playing asteroids. Would you rather smear shit between your cheeks or surgically blow asteroids out of orbit?
-
-
For my Australian counterparts here, don't get too excited just yet: https://www.productsafety.gov.au/news/covid-19-supplying-and-installing-bidet-products#:~:text=While many housebound Australians may,risk%2C and it's also illegal.
-
Bum gun is superior to bidet. Change my mind.
-
Pooper Soaker.
-
-
I waited to buy mine until I could convince my partners we needed one, but I was really disappointed that the water heat function died within 5-6 months. Thankfully the manufacturer is sending me a new one.
10/10 with working water heating, 6/10 with only cold.
-
I had one for a while, but honestly, my water pressure is a little too high to keep it.
-
Sounds like a blessing not a curse. Get that colon cleansing!
-
Just turn the pressure valve on the wall where it connects a little to where it's the right spot for you.
-
But then the toilet bowl takes forever to fill up
-
-
I’m onboard with the idea, but the spray would have to be like a high pressure hose to shift the fudge off my hairy backside.
-
It can be
-
One of the bidet I have will back flush your sinuses if you want
-
-
I don't really want to towell off my butt after I poop. Wet wipes do the trick and I need way less paper.
Edit: downvoted by the bidet brigade. I tried not to come off as offensive but I guess it's always a risk when sharing an unpopular opinion.
-
a lot of them come with air dryers
and wet wipes aren't flushable even if they say they are
-
I use one, I do my business and wipe once. That's it. There isn't a drying process to worry about.
-
I have a bidet thing on my toilet that costed just 30 Euro. You don't have to clean your ass by yourself ever again. It just does it for you. Was also raised with wet wipes but trust me a bidet upgrade for your toilet is like magic!
-
I still use less paper drying off my starfish than I did to clean up before I got my bidet.
-
My bidet has a air dryer to dry your no-no.
But even then, it's not spraying your whole butt, only a specific spot. So just like regular wiping.
-
my old bidet was a bit cheaper and splashier, so I bought 2 18-packs of white cotton rags. Folded'em all nice, used one to wipe after everything was clean to dry off. Now I've a new bidet, and it's less splashy, pretty much zeroes in on the starfruit to the point I don't really need to dry off afterwards.
-
