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

[Tonyritundo]

Why are bidets mandatory in Italy but barely any English people have them?

How old are you ?
The were very fashionable in the 70s.

Though I still think nobody used them for the intended purpose, that was just how bathroom suites were sold then. Usually in 'avacadot' or pink, or canary yellow, or pale blue. They were great for washing feet though.

But, as @turkeyboots said, they were very much 'a fashion' and therefore rapidly fell out of fashion and were roundly mocked by the 80s and 90s.

They were very fashionable in the 70s.

My friend's parents had a bidet installed as part of their avocado bathroom suite in their 70s new build bungalow. Nobody explained what it was for so they thought it was a foot bath.

They were absolutely disgusted to find out what it was actually meant for.

I would use it to wash my undercarriage (front and back) on a no-shower day. You would often find them in old fashioned bathrooms that didn't have a shower - hence more popular up to about the end of the 70s. Dry with my usual bath towel.

I'm not obsessive about washing after every bowel movement as it's not always possible, but I use aloe vera gel on toilet paper as the final wipe. There that's more than anyone needs to know about me!

"It's my sister Violet! She's the one with a Mercedes, sauna, and a musical bidet. Classical, of course!"

I wish I had a bidet. When I was a child, my grandparents had one, which I was fascinated by, but I never understood what it was for. It was dark red to match the bathroom suite.

We have one, but no one uses it. Do you have a bum towel to dry yourself after? Do you share the towel? So confused! Or it is just for washing yourself so you don’t need to shower?

society needs the 3 seashells.

I don’t have the manual dexterity to successfully use a bidet, I’d manage to drench myself from head to foot probably.

All a bidet does is enable you to wash your bum without either a full shower, or undressing from the waist down to use a hand held shower attachment.

In your home or a hotel room you use your own towel (which I assume you would normally use after showering on your nether regions).

In hotels the bidet usually has a separate towel rail above it and little towels solely for bum use so arguably more hygienic. They also have hot and cold water.

(If you are out and about I do see the towel issue, but I haven’t really seen bidets in public loos. If there were a bidet I guess one would use loo roll to dry off)

I have always wanted a bidet but never been seen one in real life. I am ordering a portable bottle one though.

I'd love a bidet - I like to be clean after using the loo.

But this has always confused me, and I'm so British I've been to shy to ask. Yes, what ARE you supposed to do to dry yourself? I always use loo paper, but it's messy and...obviously not the right way.

Are you seriously suggesting that everyone who uses the bidet uses a fresh flannel each time? I wouldn't countenance re-using one, personally. Surely you don't????🤑

So..you'd have to have disposal bin full of these flannels, and wash how many every day on a hot wash?

Genuine question - I've always wondered how it works.

Me too.

I grew up with a bidet and love them.
Currently, my sink is adjacent to my toilet. I've thought about whether it would be possible to have some kind of permanent shower attachment to my sink so I can have a bidet-style wash while sitting on the toilet (which is always impeccably clean).
I'm going to look it up!

If I’ve washed with soap and water then yes I would reuse it, it’s like reusing a normal towel and it’s only for me. It’s not dirty because I’ve just washed and I’m only patting dry
But even if I washed it every day, it’s only the same as the flannel I use to take my makeup/cleanser off with, that’s a new one every day and it doesn’t take up much room

I really wanted a bidet when we had the bathroom done in our house but there wasn’t room, so the plumber suggested a ‘washlet’ (shower toilet) which has a separate shower function, controlled with a remote. It’s great. You can set up to four individual user preferences on it.
It has an anal wash setting and a vaginal wash setting.
TMI probably but it really works and I wouldn't be without it.

People smelling of wee? Are you for real?

I would install one if we had the space but we'd have to re-do our whole bathroom layout. Although I have been in lots of Italian bathrooms that are smaller they are just designed to fit them in from the get go.

It's 100% more hygenic than just using toilet paper which is quite disgusting if you think about it.

Yes, I don’t know why but when I see one it turns my stomach.

I have never in 60+ years encountered anyone smelling of wee on a hot summer's day 😅

Neither have I. It makes wonder where that poster lives.

Sponge on a stick. Like the Romans

UK houses are too small and so the bathrooms are too small as well.

Alternative is Wype ;)

Me neither (in 50+ years). Sweaty men who take their shirts off smell of meat, like a butchers, though - yuck. Sorry not the point of the thread!

You have dedicated towels so you grab one before using the bidet.

I used to live in a hot country where bidets were the norm. A good wash when on my period was amazing, and it’s genuinely one of the things I miss most about living there. Not with soap, and I wasn’t swelling water up my foof, just had a good rinse. Man, I miss that now I’m perimenopausal and have flooding issues!

Oh my goodness. I'm in the US, so had no idea.