Hello dear friends,

It was a purchase that I had put off for many years. I’d read about it, researched it, and had it sitting in my Amazon wish list. I let my own misconceptions about the “ick factor,” and my own insecurities about my “crunchiness” keep me from enjoying this baby sooner. That’s right, I’m talking about my bidet.

A couple of years ago, I took the plunge and bought my first bidet toilet attachment, and I now love it so much, I thought I’d write a little blog about it. Now, I know that in many parts of the world (not America...yet), bidets are commonplace. You’d find one in nearly every bathroom! My first bidet experience was at an awesome Japanese spa called 10,000 Waves, in Santa Fe. This was a VERY fancy version, and I felt oh-so worldly and posh using its multiple streams, temperature settings, and angle controls . Now, mine isn’t quite as fancy, but it definitely gets the job done.

For those who aren’t familiar with the concept of bidets, these contraptions came around hundreds of years ago, as a way to keep one’s posterior clean. The bidets of old were pretty crude water pumps that you’d have to straddle...hence the name “bidet,” from the French for “little horse.” Thankfully today’s bidets are much more convenient! This idea caught on mostly in Western Europe and in Japan, where approximately 95% of households had a bidet in their washroom.

Why didn’t America adopt this awesomeness? Who knows...maybe we just really like wasting toilet paper and having dirty underwear all the time? Gross, I know...but read on, friend. I promise I won’t go into TOO much detail.

So what’s so darn cool about washing up with a spray of water, instead of toilet paper, wet wipes, and the like? Well, let’s dig in.

Here are my top 4 reasons why you should get a bidet:

1. Hygiene

I won’t lie, I’m a bit of a hygiene freak. I like my bodies squeaky clean and smelling fresh. And no, you can’t get that with traditional TP. With a bidet, a clean stream of water helps you wash up, back and front, right over the toilet bowl. No mess, no stress. All you need to do when you’re done is pat dry (use a clean towel, please!). A properly used bidet can keep your posterior clean, reducing your risk of yeast infections, UTIs and other bacterial infections, and the chance of grossing out your intimate partners.

2. Paper waste

According to one estimate, Americans use a whopping 36.5 billion rolls of TP every year. That’s a lot of trees that are chopped down, shredded, and bleached, just to wipe your bum. Doesn’t seem necessary, right? All of this TP is being flushed through our sewer systems, clogging up pipes, and eventually making its way to the rivers and oceans. And don’t even get me started on those trendy wet wipes- I used to be addicted to those things, even though I knew they were causing serious environmental damage. Now? Don’t need ‘em anymore!

3. Money

Toilet paper and wipes are expensive!! We drop hundreds of dollars every year on basic TP, probably even more if you’re conscious and only buy recycled TP or bamboo or tree-free TP....But why buy if you don’t need to? Now, I’m not saying that I never use toilet paper- I always have a roll in my bathroom- but I use about 1/10th of what I did pre-bidet. The cost of the extra water is negligible, or nonexistent if you’re comfortable with the old camp rule of “if it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Just grab some clean rags (I used reclaimed huck towels) to pat dry with, and keep your hard-earned moolah.

4. Skincare

Let’s face it- sometimes the skin down there can be a bit sensitive. This is especially true for women postpartum, people recovering from surgery, and anyone post-sexy-playtime. Dragging a wad of paper across those delicate bits can be downright horrific, but a bidet can keep you clean without the discomfort. This is especially true if you spring for the bidet attachment that has the warm water feature. Prevent irritation and inflamed skin with clean water, instead of scratchy paper!

After a couple of years with my bidet toilet attachment, I’m a believer and I’m never going back. And the thing is, I never thought I’d be! It wasn’t all that long ago that I thought bidets were gross and for people who were way more hippie than me. Maybe those thoughts are stopping you too?

Bidets have a lot of great benefits, including these big four. You can find lots of bidet attachments on Amazon for under $100, and they’re really easy to install (mine took me about 20 minutes). This is the one I bought:

Luxe Bidet Neo 185 (Elite Series)