Bidets
About Bidets
Washing the sensitive areas after taking a dump has been mostly an Asian culture. Even though bidets made their way into Europe in the past centuries, not everyone really adopted it. But more and more people are starting to accept bidets as a daily part of their lives.
The world witnessed a rather unusual event when the coronavirus started to spread across the globe in the early part of 2020. Among the things, people started to stock up on was the toilet paper. Understandably, toilet paper is the last thing people wanted to run out of in the middle of a pandemic. People started hoarding them in bulk in fear. But that was also the time when the world realised that they needed a better alternative to toilet paper. Read this article to know more about bidets. Having a better understanding of them will help you make the right choices while you are shopping for them.
Different types of bidets
The bidet has its origin in the front word that sounds the same. But in French, the word originally meant a donkey. When the first stand-alone toilet bidet came made its way into France, people started calling it bidet because the way people sat on them was similar to how they would on the back of a donkey. But they have evolved a lot since then. Today, there are so many different types of bidets, and not all of them fit the description of a “bidet”. But we call it that, nonetheless. Here is a list of all the different types of them on the market.
Bidet toilet seats
One way to install a bidet in your toilet is to integrate it into the toilet itself. You Can replace the original seat of your toilet bowl with the one that has a bidet in it. Because all electronic control mechanisms lie inside the seat, the seat is going to be a bit bulkier than regular ones. If you don’t want that, then you can look for toilets that come with a built-in bidet. Toilets like this do a better job of seamlessly integrating the mechanisms while also managing to look good. However, this option is going to be much more expensive. But you can save yourself the trouble of installing a seat.
Sprayers
This type of bidet is pretty common because of its affordability and ease of installation. Basically, this is a small hose with a sprayer head. You can open and close the sprayer using a handheld lever, and the head will direct the stream of water. But if you don’t already have plumbing under the wall to fit this bidet, the installation is going to be a bit of a hassle the first time. But replacing is going to be easy. Because you can point the sprayer wherever you want, you can get a more thorough and deeper cleaning with a sprayer than any other type of bidet.
Stand-alone
If you go on a vacation to Europe, you are very likely to come across this type of bidet. This type looks like just another toilet bowl at first. But the drain looks more like that of a washbasin. Just like any toilet bowl, they are mounted on the wall or floor. But instead of a flush cistern, the bidet will have a valve that operates the faucet directed at your bum. If you plan to install this in your home, always go for the one that is similar to your toilet bowl or complements the look of the toilet bowl. As you can imagine, you will need professional help for installing this as it involves a lot of plumbing and a bit of masonry work.
Travel bidets
For those who are already accustomed to using a bidet to clean up, it is a big inconvenience when they travel to a country that does not use them. But if you bother to carry a travel bidet in your bag, you don’t have to worry about whether or not there is a bidet in your hotel bathroom. A travel bidet like a water bottle. But at the mouth of the bottle, there is a long spout. All you have to do is to fill the bottle with water and squeeze it when you need to wash. This works similar to sprayer except for the fact that you have to bother filling it up every time.
Tips on how to buy Bidets
Finding the right type of bidet can be harder than you might think. As there are at least half a dozen different bidets and thousands of different models from various brands, picking one out of them becomes greatly difficult. If you happen to end up with one that you don’t find useful, then it is as good as not having one in the first place. However, it becomes easier if you know what criteria to consider in them. Here are some tips that you can use while shopping for them.
- Type of bidet – First of all, you have to decide what type of bidet you want for your toilet. Some of them are easy to install. In the case of a bidet toilet seat, you will only need a screwdriver for installation. On the other hand, if you are installing a stand-alone type, you might not be able to install it yourself. The ease of using the bidet also varies between models.
- Colour – A bidet is also another fixture in the bathroom. That means it is going to affect the aesthetic of the bathroom as much as other bathroom fixtures. So, spend some time to find a model that suits well with the rest of the fittings. Consider the colour and design of them before buying.
- Adjustments and other features – Bidets can be much more than just a miniature faucet in the toilet. There are advanced bidets that let you control the temperature of the water, and the strength and directions of the spray. There are also really basic ones as well, like a sprayer or a travel bidet. In the case of a travel bidet, check how much water the bottle holds.
- Price and durability – This applies to any kind of bathroom accessories and other things that you are buying. On the market, you will find very cheap and expensive bidets. Of course, the quality of the product varies quite a bit, depending on the price. While it is always good to look for a product with a lower price, do not settle for a product with poor quality.
There are many toilet accessories that are useful in a toilet apart from a bidet. These include urinals, tissue holders, faucets, and many more. The best part is that you can find any of them here using our shopping search engine . That way, you can also compare the prices and features of different products and pick the right one among them. Also, don’t forget to check out other amazing products from the bathroom fixtures category. There are more than 500 shops and brands offering them here on Shops.ae. These include Toto, Kohler, American Standard, Duravit, Grohe, Vitra, and Geberit.
Question & Answer
Are bidets sanitary?
The answer is a resounding yes. There are several reasons why they are sanitary. In fact, they are much more hygienic than using just the tissue paper. It doesn’t take a lot of pondering to understand that washing your sensitive area with water can clean it much more effectively than just wiping with a tissue. Just think about cleaning a spill of oil from the floor. You wouldn’t simply wipe it with a tissue and think that it is fine, would you? Other benefits are that they are really useful for menstruating women and elderly people to maintain proper hygiene.
Do bidets have seats?
It is not possible for all bidets to have seats because not all of them look like a toilet bowl. In fact, some of them are integrated into toilet seats. Some others are hand-operated ones that work similarly to a faucet. Handheld models are more common in Asia as they are really cheaper and are easy to replace when they go bad. And because of the lack of any complex mechanisms like an integrated one, they are also much more reliable. But do stand-alone units have seats? Well, most of them don’t. This is because people don’t sit on bides for more than a couple of minutes.
How do bidet toilet seats work?
The nozzle of a bidet toilet seat will remain inside the seat by default. They pop out only when you turn it on. The design of the bidet ensures that no dirty water falls on the nozzle. Either the bidet will have a remote controller or a control panel on the right side of the seat. Using this control, you can adjust the spray. You can point it towards the rear or front, adjust the strength of the spray and, in some models, adjust the temperature as well. Some bidets also have the option to dry. When you turn it on a stream of hot air will dry your area. If your bidet doesn’t have that feature, you can simply use a tissue paper.