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by mike_red5hift 1712 days ago
I have an oddly personal question with a bit of oversharing thrown in for good measure :-) What make/model of Bidet? Been looking to install one. I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan. But maybe that's not needed.
9 comments

I'm super happy with my Toto Washlet C200 (SW2044). Not cheap but it has the main features you know from Japan. The only tricky bit was fishing the electrical down the wall and using an angle grinder cutting wheel to make the hole in the tile for the outlet box.
The most precise one I’ve ever used was the “butt gun” style, but there was a learning curve and it’s not suited to every toilet. Toto makes a nice integrated-seat one, but IMO it changes the geometry of the commode and makes doing the job less comfy. Ymmv
> oddly personal question

If someone shares that they installed a bidet, I thinking asking which model is a pretty reasonable followup.

I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan

I was thinking that, too, before I bought the $38 Amazon special referenced in other comments below. To get heated water, I'd have to run wiring and an outlet, and...oh, screw it, try it without the heat and if it's not acceptable I'll buy a better one and do the electrical work.

phhhhht, it's fine, and I'm glad I didn't go to the trouble. It's a nice-to-have, but not worth tearing apart drywall to run wiring, IMO. OTOH, if you have an outlet in a convient-to-reach location (e. g., under the toilet), then YOLO.

I haven't tried cold water so I'm not sure what it's like, but this would be highly dependent on climate. Up north in the winter, cold water is quite cold. Of course, if the pipes go though interior walls for a very long distance through your living space before reaching the toilet, then you'll have a decent temperature unless you flush (or run the sink, etc.) just prior.

"Old work" electrical boxes are specifically designed to be added without tearing apart the drywall (other than making a clean hole, obviously). The lack of romex staples over a fished wire in such scenarios is typically acceptable by code. Now if the bathroom isn't immediately above a basement or immediately below an attic, it might indeed be impossible to avoid some demo.

I bought a Tushy bidet recently. Works very well. Very pleased with it. I have found that I don't need a hot water hookup, even though the model has the capability.
I have a hose with brushed nickle nozzle that looks like a small garden hose [1]. It takes a while to learn how to aim (hint: ease in with low pressure first). I still use TP to dry off, but like a few squares.

It looks kinda like this but with a curvier handle:

https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-F...

You don't need a fancy motorized electric thing (I don't trust cleaning all those little nozzles and angles). I started using this after I stayed with a Muslim friend in Morocco years ago. I had no choice but learn, and now I'm hooked. My partner thinks it is gross, tho. /shrugs/

I have a bidet at home and wish they were more common in the US.

But how is it gross to rinse a dirty part of your body with potable water? I think it's grosser to use the bathroom for solid waste and expect rubbing it off with tissue paper is going to result in an equally clean outcome compared to rinsing with water.

You're preaching to the choir! :) I've tried every angle to explain...
I installed the same ones in all our bathrooms. I fell in love with it after a business trip to India. It took until the TP shortage for my partner to agree and now they love it as well.
I bought one of those years back when I was "bidet curious". I'm still using it, as it does the job well enough. I don't need my butt blow-dried nor do I require warmed water, so I just keep using this one instead of upgrading to something ten times the cost.

My wife still refuses to use it, even when we were still scrambling to find TP.

You can even "save with used" on that page. $27.76
I'm from Uruguay, and all bidets have hot and cold water from the plumbing (our housing is built after European standards).

No idea how they do it in Japan.

A cheap $40 model on Amazon. I'm in Texas so don't need heated.
This gave me flashbacks of last winter's energy outages.