I've been a bidet owner for over three years now. I bought a bidet at my wife's behest despite my bank account's objections to its high price tag. Through my years of ownership, I've become so accustomed to the extreme cleanliness I get with my bidet that I dread using any toilet other than my own. Recently, I began investigating the health, environmental, and economic benefits of owning a bidet, and they were all better than I imagined.
Bidets and health benefits
The health benefits of owning a bidet are clear. Bidets allow you to clean yourself with water. This results in a cleaner bottom after visits to the bathroom. They also allow you to clean with less irritation. Wiping a bit of moisture away with toilet paper is much more pleasant than scrubbing desperately and repeatedly and with dry, scratchy toilet paper. People with hemorrhoids probably dread going to the bathroom, but I imagine the warm, soothing spray of a bidet makes that ritual much more bearable for them.
Bidets and the environment
Bidets have environmental benefits as well. By using a bidet, you can greatly reduce the amount of toilet paper you use. Toilet paper usage isn't great for the environment. First, trees need to be cut down to create the toilet paper. Second, the manufacture of a single roll of toilet paper uses about 37 gallons of water. Third, the chemicals needed to bleach toilet paper white aren't exactly environmentally friendly, either.
Bidets and saving money
My favorite part about my bidet is that it saves me money every time I use it. I crunched the numbers. Bidets use small amounts of electricity and water, but they greatly reduce the amount of toilet paper you need to use. The savings due to reduced toilet paper usage far outweighs the cost of operating a bidet. In my household, I calculated that our bidet saves us $96 per person per year. For my wife and I, that's an extra $192 every year that we don't have to hand over to Costco for their giant packages of toilet paper. (In just three years, our bidet has paid for itself, and it will continue saving us money well into the future!)
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many benefits to using a bidet. Bidet ownership is healthy, environmentally friendly, and economical. Our cultural aversion to bidets has lasted long enough, and it's time we all treat ourselves to the cleaner bottoms we all deserve. If you're convinced you should get a bidet, check out this bidet comparison tool I made to help people choose the bidet that's right for them.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema