Bidet - Beware of Bidet Detractors

Bidet – Beware of Bidet Detractors

You might mention to a family member that you are considering purchasing a bidet attachment for your toilet. That is when the cultural aversion to these appliances will start to show. Your family member may say, “Bidets are not as good as toilet paper.” You can point out the fact that bidets are more effective in removing contaminants than the best brand of toilet paper. You are relying on a piece of paper to pick up both liquid and solid material. Something is always left. With a wash of water, the material goes down the toilet drain. The water will handle both solids and liquids with no issues. Additional pressure will remove the most impacted material.

Your family member might say, “Bidets waste water.” That is a common argument. However, when compared to using toilet paper, you will find bidet use actually conserves water. Look at what is involved with using toilet paper. It does not just magically appear. The process to create toilet paper from wood requires gallons of water for a single roll. Then it gets to your home. You use the toilet paper to clean yourself. After that, if you are smart, you wash your hands. The only water the bidet uses is equivalent to what you would use to wash your hands. Bidets do not waste water.

You may hear, “Bidets cost too much.” Attachable bidets can cost anywhere from $50 to $500. With certain options, the costs can go up a bit. However, for standard models, the cost is quite affordable. If you compare that to the cost of adding a traditional bidet to your home, the cost is quite reasonable. You will save money when you install one. Your water bill will likely not grow since you will not need to wash your hands as often. You will not have the cost of toilet paper. You will lower your plumbing and septic costs as well.

You are likely to hear, “Bidets are bad for the environment.” People think they waste excessive water. However, toilet paper manufacturing process uses an excessive amount of water. A single roll requires gallons of water to produce. Therefore, when you use toilet paper you are actually accounting for quite a bit of water in each roll. Since you may not need to wash your hands, you will also save water that way. With bidet models that run off of water pressure, the environmental impact is quite minimal.