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?

I’ve always wondered about the drying part. As toilet roll on a wet bottom just falls apart.

But then I’ve also just read people actually dry their bottoms after a shower. I go for a wrap and air dry so my towel never touches my actual ass hole.

That would certainly lead to more washing in my home if everyone needed a bottom towel.

Though I do admit I give the front a little splash from the sink and pat dry with toilet roll.

About 30 years ago I had to visit a Scottish paper mill and asked to use their ladies loo. There was a row of cubicles each with a toilet and a bidet. To this day I have no idea why.

I think it’s a combination of things: hot weather, not taking baths as much as we do in the UK and - I say this as an Italian born in England - Italians LOVE talking bums. They shove things up them more, suppositories over tablets, and generally seem more butt focused than we are in the UK. Where I am from in the extreme south of Italy we get African temperatures, frequent droughts, and water is very limited in the summer.

Maybe its due to the drains.

In some places you aren't allowed to put toilet paper down the drains because it blocks the sewers up and you have to put it in a basket beside the toilet.

The less "used" the toilet paper the less nasty the basket is going to be.

That's a very good point from LovinglyCrafted Water is going to be a much more precious resource in hot countries. Maybe people can't afford to bath or shower everyday, maybe there are restrictions on water use.

We’ve had them put in in both bathrooms-they’re great

I have encountered such people many times. I live in Hull though.

We had the bathroom redone in our house in Italy about 6 years ago, and the old bathroom had a bidet, we didn't have one in the refit. However when we did have one, my daughter used it as a pool for her barbies, and we occasionally used it for feet washing, never washed a bum in it 😂

Is it not just as easy to hop in for a quick shower in the shower over the bath, as it is a stand alone shower?

what’s the difference?

Agree. My heart sinks a bit when in a hotel/someone else's home and the showerhead is non-removable.

F* off with your fancy 'rainfall' shower if it doesn't thoroughly give the parts that need most attention a proper going over!! Lol.
I'd rather have a cheap shower with detachable showerhead any day.

Some have a separate hose at the bottom, though, don't they?

To be honest, I'd be fair happier skipping the daily shower if I had a bidet.

The ridiculous fastidiousness of some mumsnetters never fails to amaze me.

How do you cope when not at home?

With what?

When I’m on holiday I also towel wrap dry.. Even when camping 😅

If there is a sink in the bathroom A splash can still be had. Obviously camping I cannot splash after a pee.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.