It is no shock to me that my first introduction to the American use of the bidet was in Eugene, Oregon – in my mind, the capital of all eco-conscious living. I grew up as an Army brat in Europe, so I wasn't totally ignorant to the use of these cleaning contraptions that replace toilet paper with a quick spray of water, but it was on a recent visit to my friend's house in Eugene where I began to see their immense benefits. Hers, installed as aftermarket units on both of the toilets in her home, were the fancy kind complete with heated seats, heated water and a mystifying array of spray-path options.
Those whom I have since informally polled about their use of a bidet reported that cold water was a primary reason for them not to keep using their bidets, and I can certainly respect that. Who actually relishes a cold splash of water anywhere on their body when you're not doing a cold plunge? Another informal poll I started, to the embarrassment of the staff, was one at the Source Weekly office about who's used one and who hasn't. Some of the responses seemed to track with how much time one has spent in western Europe, where bidet use is certainly more commonplace than here. More time in western Europe, more acceptance of bidets, or so it went at this one Bend, Oregon, workplace.
Not satisfied with my informal polling, I turned to the next-best thing for rapid community polling: The poll question on the Source Weekly website, which asked the simple question "Do you use a bidet?"
Note that the question is not, "Have" you used a bidet, but "Do" you. To that, 36.36% of people said yes, another 39.39% said no, and another 24.24% said no, but they want to. It seems that you no longer need proximity to Europe to be on Team Bidet. (According to an analysis from World Population Review, Italy is the country with the highest per capita use of bidets, with France, Portugal, Argentina and Japan also commonly using them.)
For those of you who are still determining whether to join Team Bidet, here are some of their benefits, courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic:
- Gentler on skin, including cuts and other, ahem, pains in the rear
- Easier cleaning for those with mobility issues
- Using fewer trees for toilet paper
- Cost savings (though on this point, you also have to factor in the cost of a bidet toilet or aftermarket unit. A basic spray attachment can be about $40 to $60, while installation of a bidet toilet can be as much as $2,500, according to Forbes.)
- Less toilet plugging. Pretty simple: Less toilet paper, fewer clogs.
With toilet paper being among the items in highest demand — and among the most-hoarded — during the recent pandemic, to that I'll add: With a bidet there's less need to tangle with supply chain issues.
Water can be cleaned, but a tree takes decades to grow, so if you're on Team Bidet, consider yourself also on Team Tree.
