[lolinder]

> or wiping his butt

Slightly weird take: bidets have this field fully covered and the only thing stopping them from being widely used (especially in this domain!) is user resistance to an unfamiliar solution to a very personal problem.

We don't need new tech for this, we just need a marketing breakthrough.

[makeset]

To be clear, the original "bidet" fixture as found in some older European bathrooms, a second toilet bowl to squat over and manually wash, is far from useful for anyone, let alone the elderly. If people are horrified to hear the word, that's probably what they are picturing. There's also the shower hose dog wash thing which is almost as bad. To avoid confusion, the toilet seat spray feature (which is great) is often termed "bidet seat" or "washlet".

[hn_throwaway_99]

> bidets have this field fully covered

No, they don't. This "let them use a bidet!" stuff is an asinine response that is literally the equivalent of "let them eat cake."

Elderly people who need someone to wipe for them are usually either completely physically immobile where they're not exactly strolling to the toilet in any case, or they're wearing diapers, or they're so mentally declined they basically forget what they're supposed to do.

Plus, as the owner of a bidet who uses it every time I take a poop, you still need to wipe. What, you're going to just drip dry in your underwear - gross! My bidet even comes with a drying fan but it's in no way sufficient, you still need to wipe.

[carlosjobim]

So you have to sacrifice one of two people. Either the old who cannot take care of himself, or the caretaker who has to waste their life taking care of the old.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Tell me you've never taken care of a loved one without telling me you've never taken care of a loved one...

[carlosjobim]

People would and still do deliberately raise some children to be without their own families so that they can be dedicated care takers. Ie not allowing a daughter to marry and such.

Listen, somebody spending years or a decade taking care of a family member is a story as old as time. But let's not pretend it's not an enormous sacrifice.

[Duanemclemore]

Having worked in high end residential, I can tell ya the LAST person who's going to want to use a bidet is ironically also the hypothetical "grandpa" who's not rich enough to hire someone to wipe his a$$.

[insane_dreamer]

Europeans have no problem using them

[kjkjadksj]

Europeans have no problem wearing jean capris with a man purse but that doesn’t mean americans are so utilitarian

[Duanemclemore]

Every home I've done for a wealthy person, regardless of age, had bidets. But they're also rich enough to hire people to take care of them as they age.

Coming from a working class background, the perception of "European-ness" is the exact - and possibly only - reason your average American old dude wouldn't use one.

[defrost]

I've talked with elderly blue collar working class Australian's who've encountered { bidet's | jet washing arses } for the first time .. once they've used them they almost all 100% don't need convincing that they're desirable.

It's literally an ad campaign | marketing problem .. and given how popular pressure washing youtube videos are, there's one angle to work from :-)

[dgellow]

Never seen a bidet in Europe. What country do you have in mind?

[yurishimo]

Probably Italy. From my experience in the Netherlands, a bidet is quite rare and requires a new toilet in some cases as exposed plumbing went out of fashion 20 years ago so a retrofit is not easy like with most North American toilets.

[dzek69]

In Poland it's rare, but it's there. I have one and my last two summer vacation stay places had them.

[johngladtj]

Up until a couple of years ago you were not legally allowed to build a house without at least one bathroom with a bidet, so essentially all houses built in the past 80 years in the country have bidets

[harryvederci]

Ah yes, the country named Europe.

[insane_dreamer]

I grew up in France, every house had one.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

Italy has bidet in every bathroom

[episteme]

I imagine you are allowed to say ass in this context :)

[Duanemclemore]

Aw, but it's funny to self-censor for no reason!

[IncreasePosts]

You might be wiping their butt because they are wearing adult diapers, not because they can go on the toilet but not wipe.

[asveikau]

User resistance only gets harder with older people. They will be set in their ways.

[lolinder]

Yep, and that resistance will kill almost all attempts to design tech like this. Anyone who is interested in this space needs to look at what Kimberly-Clark did to make Depends a (more or less) accepted part of aging.