AIBU to wonder why bidets are common in Italy but not England?

But you wouldn't connect them directly to the mains water supply in most cases. In most British homes, the toilet cistern is supplied from the cold water storage tank, not directly from the mains.

They're common in many more countries than Italy and I do wonder well why not here.

TTMI!!

Agreeing with others, they were pretty common in the 70s and 80s

Muslims use the toilet, wipe their bums and then wash their vulva/penis and anus and then dry with toilet paper. End of. No towels are used in the process. I personally love travelling to different parts of the world with bum guns. I wanted one in my house but was put off with all the stories of them breaking/malfunctioning.

There's no need to be so rude.

It is quite a weird concept if you've never had / used one.
Nowt wrong with being curious.

My parents had an 80s new build so we had a bidet in the bathroom the suite was "champagne " coloured. I found it really useful when I was on my period, especially (sorry this really is TMI but it is a thing) after a period poo. They no longer have it now but yeah was good for a quick freshen up!

Bidets make no sense to me. Bum guns OTOH, I am a fan of this, but also thinking not practical in a cold climate.

I think due to the weather, it just gets too cold here and things are damp enough.

No, I think that we just like sticky ones.

When we added an en-suite extension, about 20 years ago, we included a bidet.
It was difficult to source as all the matching bathroom suites did not include a bidet.
It was a white suite we were installing, so we just bought a separate white bidet.
It’s used daily.

I had one in the 1980s, as did lots of friends. I would LOVE one now but we moved and have a tiny poxy ensuite. And don't tell me to get one of those stupid spray toilet seats, there's no comparison.

DS's family are from the med, they only ever used the bidet for washing feet. I think they're gross, you either end up with shitty cloths or shitty hands depending on what you use to clean yourself. If you use water and toilet roll that's just unnecessarily wasteful IMO.

How can they allow toilet water to be siphoned into the public water supply if they're connected to the sink water? How does that happen?

Bidet hoses are extremely common in my country, there's no such concern here. And they are brilliant for when you're on your period!
And those asking about how to dry, toilet roll works perfectly fine to dry yourself afterwards, you don't need to use a towel.

We have them plumbed in in the UK, perfectly legal, B&Q sell them, wouldn't be without them.

We have a bidet. Only household members ever to use it are the cats. They sleep in it or lick the tap if we let it drip - perfect size for them.

A friend of mine with a severe disability has one of those toilets that washes and dries the nether regions too. It's really good!

After every trip to the loo.

But what’s wrong with you that you’re having to ask so many questions? Are you really so dense as this thread would suggest or do you think pretending to be is a good look?

A basket of small towels at the side of the loo with a new one being used each time then put straight into the laundry basket. It really is a very simple concept.

Interestingly I had a similar conversation with some Italian aunts. They were praising the merits of the bidet for washing just bits or feet especially in hot weather and saying they can’t understand why we English would prefer to get under a full shower when we could just have a quick and focussed wash in the bidet. My partner is Italian and after sex (tmi!) he will often say - just have a bidet, but I think a full shower is best & I particularly like that we have an old fashioned shower that I can pull off and direct the head to my nether regions. 🤣 In England I actually like proper baths. Have baths in Italy bathrooms but the water pressure isn’t as good as it is here & it feels too indulgent to waste the water!

Glad you understand! In our village we get water on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. We store it in big tanks in the house. Drinking water is bought or used to come from one of the local reservoirs. People here don’t understand that some of the south is not as modern. When my parents were building our house in the 1990s we stayed in a place my grandparents owned which basically had no running water! We washed with water collected in a massive barrel, when the government gave it. This is Italy! Crackers, I know, but not everywhere had running water all the time.

My daughter did this, too! I took them out of my England house - weirdly, bought a house designed by previous owners in UAE and they’d put bidets in as well. I wouldnt dare take them out of my Italy house!

This too! The drains are not as good, the flushes are not like English ones. I asked my plumber friend to change my toilets in Italy to English style flushes.

Not at all. I’ve always insisted on having at least one in every house I’ve lived in. I just don’t feel clean enough using only toilet paper, and if we’ve stayed anywhere where there wasn’t a bidet I tend to have a quick shower after a ‘big’ toilet visit.

I don’t care much about bidets but I would really like a Japanese toilet.