What's wrong with bidets?

I have an 'upwards shower' bidet but when I wanted to replace it with a more modern one I found that the upward shower style is now banned. I kept the old one.

Whatever your opinion on bidets, sadly many of us in the UK have no choice but to live in such a small house that there's simply no room for this luxurious item.

By the way, it is the norm in Italy to have a bidet and the bad news is that we Westerners are considered a bit shocking because we don't use them.

I had a bidet which I used before bed and during periods. Then we had the bathroom redesigned to include a shower and bath separate so could not keep the bidet. We compromised by having a hose on the side of the loo so I can wash down there any time but not my feet!!!

I have just come back from Japan where they have all singing and dancing loos but I am not great on technology so am happy with my hose and its shower head.

Some of our family live in Lincolnshire where bidets are are very much in use. A lot of the rural properties seem to have really big bathrooms so there is plenty of space to house them. Maybe they just have a penchant for them in that area! The only other time I have seen them is when I lived in Germany in the 70s and I think most people seemed to have them then.

They are still quite common in good hotels in Spain and Portugal, (less so in France these days) and sometimes found in Italy too. You are usually provided with flannels and towels just for bidet use (already hanging up or folded by the bidet) so hygiene should not be a problem.
We have had one at home for years, updating through at least three bathroom refurbs; I would never be without one. We also have a separate towel hanger for the bidet towel.
And if/when we move and there is no bidet in place we would re-do the bathroom to fit one in, as a priority. They are just incredibly useful for all the purposes others have stated above.
I also particularly like mine for a good long foot-soak when my feet are tired and aching. So refreshing , with the right Radox salts or whatever. (I'm not a fan of baths and we have a large walk-in shower instead but you don't always want to get wet all over!)

Just love bidets. We lived in France for twenty years, and,"Biddie" came with the house we bought there. When our GP friend came to stay, she was enchanted with Biddie's versatility; saying that if the Government's Building Standards Minister could see what she saw on her daily round of, 'geriatric house calls', bidets would become compulsory for all new-builds, and care homes.
When we returned to UK, my husband, who had Dementia, became doubly incontinent; and then how I missed Biddie's warm and gentle help with the inevitable mopping- up!

I had a bidet in my bathroom from the moment I was able to make my own decisions in my own property - and insisted on an upward fountain type which really does the job of washing for a woman - however when I moved to my London address the bathroom just wasn't large enough to accommodate a bidet and I really really missed it - having moved again I still have a bathroom which can't take a bidet - I wonder whether it's because men don't use bidets as much as women that houses are designed with tiny bathrooms that don't cater for women's needs

I suppose there might be room in my bathroom, but I prefer the bookcase I've got there!

I've only stayed in hotels (long long ago!) that had bidets, but I never knew how to use them. Do you sit on it or squat hovering over it, and do you sit forwards (like on the lav) or face the wall? I think I just brought a chair in and sat soaking my aching feet in it!

We have a bidet at home and i am sure we are not snobs just find it practical and useful. We holiday a lot in Egypt where the loos have a shower hose next to them as the Egyptians think wiping with paper is unhygenic

When I was a child, we stayed in a rather up-market hotel in Nice, during the "Battle of the Flowers". My sister and I filled the bidet in our en-suite with "rescued" flowers - much to the amusement of the chamber maid!

I'd love the washer dryer type too.

I've had a bidet for a long time and wouldnt be without it

First bidet I saw in anyone's home (had seen one in a showroom where the sales assistant told us it was a 'bottom washer' much to the hilarity of us kids!) was in the Paris flat of my French exchange family. I was 14, and this was the early 60s. I was there for 3 weeks and in all that time I don't think anyone used the bath, which was a small square job permanently used for storage - it was filled with all sorts.

I felt I had to ask whether it was OK to have a bath, and even then I did so with trepidation, since there was no,lock on the door and Monsieur had walked in on me at least once in his baggy Y fronts!
From then on I had to conclude that the reason French people used bidets a lot was that they didn't take baths. (This was long before showers were common). At home we didn't bath every day but used a flannel kept for the purpose for washing our 'bits'.

A bidet, having used one recently on an overnight stay at a friends house, is on my list of must haves.
Arthritis prevents me taking a bath and showers are ok but not the same in giving certain parts!! that extra attention



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Love my bidet which I use several times a day (medical reasons). Also have a portable one.

We have one of those spray things mentioned by Farmor. It sits neatly between the toilet and handbasin, does double duty for the undercarriage and for hair washing over the sink. Recommended by our bathroom supplier. It looks a bit nicer than the one in the link and is incredibly useful. Our installer thought we were mad, then bought one for himself. .

I haven't seen a bidet since visiting my French best friend's family in the mid-60s, but would love it in my dream bathroom. However, more essential is a bath! Ours was taken out when council put in a "wet room" for DH and I hate it. While I like a shower, I would give anything to be able to luxuriate in a long hot soak with lots of bubbles, and ideally a whirlpool. Well, a girl can dream, can't she? By the way, what are cupboards? - we have a tiny built in wardrobe in the master bedroom and 6 really cheap and shoddy cupboards with ill-fitting doors and where the shelves keep collapsing in the kitchen. None in the second bedroom, the bathroom (we did hang a medicine cupboard in the bathroom) or the utility.

I would love a bidet. No chance of one for foreseeable future though. ?

There are lavatories available now which perform the same function. They are a big help to disabled people and take less space.

If I had the space I'd definitely have one fitted I did have a one many years ago in my other house I don't understand why anyone would be against them

That brings back memories, Pensionpat!

On the general topic, this is also a cultural issue. Other cultures think that merely wiping your nether regions is disgusting and that you can only truly be clean by washing yourself.

pensionpat oh yes 40 years ago after the birth of my first DS. The relief on stitches made me think, 'What a wonderful invention'. I have never used one since but have often wished I could! Maybe I should try shysal's portable solution.

the first time I used a bidet was 46 years ago, in hospital after giving birth. The nurse asked if I knew how to use it. I felt very sophisticated because I had used one in Paris. I leaned over the bowl and turned the tap, only to find the water came up from the centre like a fountain. I was drenched, but oh the bliss of sitting there with warm water spraying my stitches.