Should we consider adding a bidet?

Although quite popular in Africa, Asia and Europe, the bidet has been slow to gain popularity in America.
Could it be that we are just creatures of habit? Does the idea of a jet of water blasting your nether regions seem a hard leap to make at first? Well, you’re probably not the only one. But the times they are a changin’, and more homes are taking advantage of the peace of mind installing a bidet can bring - no more fights in the check-out lanes for that last pack of bathroom tissue!

要跨越的第一个障碍是要意识到，这不再意味着在你完成任务的第一步——成功地丢弃所有不想要的材料——后，在你的浴室里有第二个马桶形状的宝座，你可以在那里移动你的屁股。你可以购买适合现有厕所的坐浴盆附件。坦白地说，坐在一个地方直到整个行动完成不是更有意义吗?你真的想把裤子套在脚踝上，屁股摇摇晃晃地挪到另一个座位去吗?在这种时候搬家似乎也不太卫生。

我记得第一次看到坐浴盆是在30年前，当时我完全无法理解它。我当然不能让我自己放下我的内裤，把我的屁股放在它上面来一阵水，这是肯定的。毫无疑问，坦白地说，你在坐浴盆上的第一次旋转会显得有点不寻常。

Bidets save water - no, really!

Another thing that I didn’t quite get, was the idea that somehow shooting a water cannon at my undercarriage was going to amount to ‘saving’ water. It just didn’t compute. Because, toilet paper was, you know, made from paper, not water. But it takes an awful lot of water to make a roll of toilet paper and, like fresh water, trees are kinda cool to have around, so cutting a few less of those is probably also a smart idea.

The thing is, the bidet cleans you, so you just need a towel. The idea is that everyone in the house would benefit from having their OWN towel, but ultimately your butt is clean at this point so you are just drying yourself off. Some models of Bidet come with dryers as well and you can skip the towel step.

It's also important to know how to maintain toilets andhow to stop toilets running and wasting water by changing the flapper in the cistern easily with simple instructions here

The amount of trees cut to make toilet paper

And if you want the straight poop on the global ‘personal hygiene’ stats, wrap your head around this - the pulp required for toilet paper manufacturing actually amounts to 19 trees being felled every minute, or nearly 10 million trees per year worldwide, which is approximately 15% of global deforestation. Didn’t see that coming, did ya?

欢迎来到第一世界。我们不仅用净化的饮用水做生意，同时也冲走了我们的森林。在北美，平均每人每天使用57张卫生纸;因此，即使你有一个节水的低流量或双冲马桶，每个人仍然使用大约14升(4加仑)的水单纸。

Easy home diy project

Now that we have you on the edge of your toilet seat wondering ‘how do I get myself a bidet and help save the world’… check out our DIY bidet installation video below, andcompare different models of bidet kits online here.

Now that you know aboutthe water efficiency of bidets, learn more abouthome water efficiencyand conservation of natural resources in the EcohomeGreen Building Guide pages.

Find more aboutgreen home constructionand reapthe benefits of a free Ecohome Network Membership here.