Bidet Seats
Covid-19 is here and the toilet paper, incidentally, is gone. There have been stories about people hoarding TP, fighting over it, and not being able to find any in the stores. We’re in the middle of a pandemic at the moment and the world seems like a very scary place.
I, myself, only have two rolls of toilet paper left, so I know the feeling.
But let’s talk about an alternative that’s becoming more and more popular: bidet or personal hygiene seats. These seats replace your existing toilet seat and need to be plugged into the closest outlet.
Since our start in 2010, Homestyle Builder has installed over 20 bidet seats for our clients. “It’s the primary way that many people around the world clean themselves up after using the toilet.” A traditional bidet requires the person to transfer from the toilet to the bidet. A bidet/personal hygiene seat removes the need to transfer and therefore decreases the risk of falling.
Personal hygiene and dignity, economic and environmental responsibility, and reducing fall risks are all good reasons for considering a bidet seat. If your balance isn’t what it used to be, using toilet paper while remaining stable becomes difficult. If arthritis, MS or Parkinson’s makes it difficult to hold on to toilet paper, the hands free “wipe/wash/dry” of the bidet/personal hygiene seat makes life so much easier. In the past,
many of our clients had to rely on caregivers and family members to help them with personal hygiene. We have had experience in caring for someone else’s toileting needs when Geniene’s elderly parents lived in our home.
With a bidet seat, you not only get clean, but you’re able to do it yourself. There are many options, including heated water settings for multiple users, and a fan to blow dry. Most bidet/personal hygiene seats also clean themselves – a nice feature since most of us would not list toilet cleaning as our favorite household activity 😊. Check out: Toto Washlet, Brondell Swash or Biobidet to compare option/features of each one.
According to bidet.org, there are five benefits to installing a bidet seat, toilet, or fixture (most of which we’ve already discussed.)
- Better personal hygiene and cleanliness
- Reduced impact on the environment
- Reduced spending and waste
- Increased comfort
- Reduced plumbing problems and clogs
And we’d like to add a 6th benefit: no running out of toilet paper.
So next time you go to the store and they’re still out of toilet paper, consider installing a bidet seat attachment. It’s worth the cost. In fact, a bidet seat (not a full toilet) costs on average about $250. This may seem like a lot of money up front, but considering the costs of toilet paper for your family and the impact on the environment, it is more than worth the cost.
Resources:
https://www.brondell.com/healthy-living-blog/what-are-bidets-and-bidet-toilet-seats/
https://www.bidet.org/pages/bidet-benefits
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-bidets/