How to use a bidet

Chances are, if you're traveling to another country, you will come across a Bidet. You may also come across one within the United States, especially at higher end Hotel Chains or even at Bed and Breakfasts.

Some countries are especially known for having bidets: South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Lebanon, and India.

A bidet (pronounced "be-day") looks like a toilet but has warm-water jets for personal hygiene after you use the toilet. Bidets are normally situated near the toilet and are especially helpful to: people who are recovering from surgery; people who have physical disabilities; people with dexterity or other problems that limit their range of motion; people who have various medical conditions, such as hemorrhoids, diarrhea, dysentery, difficult bowel movements, or other ailments that involve the rectal or genital areas; people who have developmental disabilities, such as Down's Syndrome, mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy; men and women who want better hygiene before or after sexual activities; and women who want more effective feminine hygiene during monthly menstrual periods.

While your first encounter with a bidet can be a little daunting, they are actually very simple (and hygienic) to use. Here are a few easy steps to using a bidet.

Note: The last step (step:6)has a few videos on Bidet Usage along with helpful notes and tips.

Step 1: Using the toilet.

This step is self explanatory. To use a Bidet, one must first use the toilet. The purpose of the bidet is to help clean off after toilet use.

Comments

[ArtsyFartsyGirl]

This article gave me the best belly laugh i've had in quite a while!
It was very informative,but left me feeling like I could do without. I mean, it looks as if the handle would hit you right where you don't need to be hit. and you still have to reach behind you for the controls?
If you have pants on, whats to keep the water from running down your legs and wetting your pants?Just seems awkward to me, but I guess its about whatever you are used to.
But please, use the towel to dry your hands? The same one everyone else has used??????Super EEEWWWW! Lots of times at friends homes, I just dry my hands with toilet paper rather than use their towel that has been who knows where! At my home, I provide baby wipes and folded paper towels, as well as the usual tp.

[paulo500]

In North America, we use hygiene wipes! Saves water, space, and tp!

[swintle]

Are those toilet wipes biodegradable? Any thing we put in the toilet here in Australia can end up in the ocean.

[paulo500]

All biodegradable. Breaks up like TP after flushed. Cottenelle brand had a funny ad on youtube. Not sure if you have this brand in Aus, though.
http://www.cottonelle.com/product_wipes.aspx

[Esmagamus]

Almost seems ridiculous to have an instructable on something I've been used to seeing all my life. It's just a lot better to have somewhere you can wash after using the toilet but without having a full shower, wasting time and water.

Do take care with the water temperature. Not all bidets have sprays, just a simple faucet. Hot water can come out unexpected because when you're not facing the faucet, you're likely to open it the wrong way around. Then you'll burn your bum and yell too loud. Try explaining someone you burned your bum on a bidet.

[Euphrosyne]

This was very helpful, informative, and tactful, and thanks awfully!!! Henry What's his Name, the Anais Nin buddy, committed a worse crime than Irving's character did, which he describes in his autobiography, whose title also escapes me at the moment. I've always wondered why bidet owners can't afford a seat, if the naked rim would be cold, and other concerns that lead on to unseemly peripheral thoughts. One other worry: what if an elderly or infirm person doesn't have a handy sink to grab, like the girl does in the photo? And what about persons who are too small or young to manage? Do super-considerate bidet owners provide grab bars or steps? A very useful and polite treatment of bidet-dom, I suppose field engineering answers these questions, you can't be expected to anticipate every little nervous suspicion?

[PCfreak]

For those that are looking into a bidet, i commonly suggest making a trip to. Lowe's
http://www.lowes.com/pd_195668-39919-HI-4001WT_0__?productId=3052669&Ntt=toilet+seat+bidet&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dtoilet%2Bseat%2Bbidet

[zamane]

In Turkey, 99% of all toilets also function as bidets with a built-in faucet at the rear.

[wrenawild]

They seem very fancy and all, but I see absolutely no point to this. It seems very time and labor intensive. If you're putting in that much thought and energy, wouldn't be easier to throw off your clothes and hop into a two minute shower? Very informative though, I was wondering how this was going to tackle such delicate subjects, and I was not disappointed! Thank you!

[octopusses]

If you're putting in that much thought and energy, wouldn't be easier to throw off your clothes and hop into a two minute shower? Nope, a shower would involve getting completely undressed, covering your hair if you have it and don't want it to get wet, washing, drying yourself completely afterwards and getting dressed again. With a bidet, you use the toilet, clean what needs cleaning, dry what needs drying, and that's it. Less toilet paper, better hygiene, less stress for your skin and more fun in bed. Try it! :-)

[octopusses]

Sorry, but the small towel near the bidet actually IS meant for drying yourself! Most people use the towel by the sink to dry their hands, after they wash them. And I'm not sure where in the world you're talking about, but here in Italy almost every house/hotel bathroom has a bidet, and I have NEVER come across one with a built-in air dryer. Assuming you're in a hotel room and not in someone's home, dry yourself with the towel, that's what it's there for... :-P

[bidet]

Great instructions. Although, there are many different kinds of bidets but they all serve the same purpose and that is to give you a proper wash and make sure to keep you clean.  Toilet bidets are used for anal and genital cleaning only,

[tercero]

Thanks. Good instructable. To the point and doesn't leave you wondering "what's next". I prefer moist wipes, the kind you use to clean a baby's bottom, but at least I now know how to use one of these things.

[laminterious]

Using wet wipes is actually a good primer for using a bidet. Many people when they first use a bidet cannot help but feel "odd" down there since they are used to feeling wet there is not good. Using wet wipes gets one used to the feeling of wetness.

[tercero]

Actually, I'm not aware of any bidets in Canada laminterious. Perhaps at better hotels, but in general I believe their use in the homes of Canada is almost unknown. My family switched to the "wet wipe" method (sorry all if the subject offends) about 10 years ago, and we haven't used any other method since. Personally, I'd love to install a stand up urinal in the bathroom...and perhaps a bidet now that I see how nice they are :)

J.

[macst1]

 I put a urinal in after a basement remodel.  It would have been difficult to put in a toilet as I would have had to rip up the concrete floor.  I had the room for it but not the money or gumption for the full toilet so I figured at least the guys could use it.  It was awesome and everyone thought it was cool.  My brother in law put one in his basement afterwards.  Our wives vowed never to clean it but it cut down on regular toilet use which meant fewer left up seats cleaning there.  It also saves a ton of water.  I wold go downstairs just to use it because it was more fun.

[taraist]

But wet wipes are full of chemicals and always leave my hands feeling/ smelling weird. I'd much rather use water.

[laminterious]

Try using baby wipes. you cannot flush them down the toilet, but if you use the unscented ones, they are perfect.

[neubaten]

I made the same point about him saying they were used here in new zealand, Ive never seen one here ever (and what are his gypsy friends doing staying at fancy hotels?! I thought the point of being a gypsy was you did the total opposite!) I like bidets, but i dont like the way this person has their facts totally wrong

[laminterious]

Just because you have never seen a bidet where you live, doesnt mean they are there. I have never seen one in the US, and yet there has been a recent news story of an entire town that has gone over to bidets. My facts are not wrong, you are just argumentative. Remember the "Be Nice" policy on the comments.

[laminterious]

Well, I have a few friends in Toronto and elsewhere (they live like gypsies) and they have said that they are normally found at better hotels, however, there are alot of normal hotels who are switching over to the bidet/toilet combo. Check out http://www.cleanrevolution.com/

[le-Sid]

I may not be the master plumber out there but if I remember well, the toilet is connected to the cold water line. If you connect the bidet like in that ad, you are connected directly to the cold water line, along with the toilet tank. Ice-cold water to wash you up isn't the best idea ... but would make a good prank XD

[tabi]

Oh no! bidets have hot AND cold water faucets.. so you use them the very same way you wash ypur hands...

[le-Sid]

yep, some of the plumbers at my work tells me that they often connect a thermostatic regulator to keep the temperature constant

[blodefood]

If you're hard up for money and space for a bidet you can always use a squeeze bottle with warm water followed by a reusable cloth wipe that you toss in a diaper pail and wash on laundry day.  It doesn't aim as accurately unless there's a curved nozzle on it or something though.  If you're squeamish about reusable cloth after a bowel movement you can always use toilet paper and save the reusables for after urinating.  You'll feel a lot cleaner and still be saving the environment by reducing toilet paper use.

[jupeter5]

using one of these just seems like a time eater and an axident waiting to happen. I think i just stick with good old American tp.

[gonzo3031]

There is a humorous passage in John Irving's "A Son of the Circus" about a very similar faux pas. It concerns a urinal rather than a bidet.

[DoItOrDie]

Geeze! Bidets, wet wipes. Women are way too pampered. I had to put TP the women's restroom in this place I worked once, and found they had a friggin' couch in there in a little entrance way! There was a nice table and lamp and everything. Quite homey. I found out later some of them took naps on it during their lunch breaks. Must be nice. You can wet down toilet paper in the sink a bit ya know if you must have that "moist" sensation. Surely your innards aren't so, shall we say, "not so fresh," that you need to flush it out with a hose every time you go?

[Enrique III]

"...Some Bidets have a cloth towel nearby, DO NOT USE! This towel is for drying off your hands only..." OK, now I get it.

[fabrivassa]

trust me, I'm Italian. we use it at least once a day, there's no need to be 'people who are recovering from surgery; people who have physical disabilities; people with dexterity or other problems that limit their range of motion; people who have various medical conditions, such as hemorrhoids, diarrhea, dysentery, difficult bowel movements, or other ailments that involve the rectal or genital areas; people who have developmental disabilities, such as Down's Syndrome, mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy; men and women who want better hygiene before or after sexual activities; and women who want more effective feminine hygiene during monthly menstrual periods' to use it. you go to the toilet then you use it. that's it.

[porcupinemamma]

I would love to have a bidet in my house! I am a Developmental Services Worker and the addition of a bidet in Special Needs washrooms would be a God send for both the client and the care provider.

[dkfa]

LOL! I think I used one as a sink!!! I didn't know what it was!! Now im thinking "EWWWWW!!!"

[naruto the ninja13]

lol i laughed for 5 mins after reading your coment!

[dkfa]

Yea, I think I was at a hotel in China and I was wondering...."Damn....thats a midget sink....Oh well, better wash my hands..." XD

[Lauramore87]

uhm...hi there, i'm italian and i usually use bidet! that's not the right way at all! female use "ride" bidet in the opposite way and we don't use the paper! XD bidet is fundamental for a proper hygiene! in europe we ask to our-selves how can americans survives without it!

[always2bfaithful]

Americans bathe every day and sometimes twice a day. I'm sure it would be less wasetfull for us all to have a bidet. I know I want one.

[raposa]

As someone who used bidet all my life and couldn't imagine a house without it I find this Instructable quite funny. Its a nice guide for someone who never knew it existed tho. I think its even too detailed in some ways... i mean... Its like a sink except its for the lower part of the body...

[josefu0]

i use to have one till my grampa remodled the house and took it out

[TraumaComet]

Thanks for the very informative how-to on a hygenic and very popular piece of equipment that has developed an undeserved bad reputation in USA.

[blodefood]

It is refreshing once in a while to see someone take on a topic with some "eww" factor in it and present it without squeamishness. Bidets are a great idea to help rinse off after a day of swimming at a sandy beach. Actually, about the wet wipes, they add more to garbage and pollution. Toilet paper is made for sewage treatment systems. There is a movement (pardon the pun) towards replacing toilet paper with reusable cloths. A company called Wallypop makes and sells them in the States. Use 'em wet for number "2". Someone could come up with an instructable on that, I am sure.