Bidet is slowly becoming a part of modern American bathrooms and has been popular in other European countries for a long time.
People now are understanding the benefits of using a bidet and are slowly adopting it.
Bidets are a more environmentally friendly, economical, and cleaner option than just plain old toilet paper.
But the million-dollar question is, does a bidet replace toilet paper?
Well, In my personal opinion, bidets don’t and cannot replace completely replace toilet paper from your washrooms. Now, why I say that is I myself prefer drying off myself with toilet paper after washing. I am sure others too prefer the same. Yes, bidets can reduce toilet paper consumption by 80% to 90%, but it is unlikely to be replaced completely.
In this article, I this article I talk about the bidets replacing toilet paper in detail and what things you can do to reduce toilet paper consumption and save money and be economical.
What is a Bidet?
A bidet is nothing but a specialized bathroom fixture that washes your butt.
After using the toilet, this is the primary way that many people around the world is to use toilet paper to clean themselves.
But this is changing in recent years with bidets.
Modern bidet is designed in such a way that it sprays a targeted stream of water exactly where you need it, cleaning up everything gently and easily.
They are more efficient, more hygienic, and make your bathroom way more aesthetic.
There are several shapes, sizes, and types of bidets, but all bidets are used for the same purpose: to clean your bum!
While they’re not meant to totally replace toilet paper, they are doing a pretty good job of washing bum in a better way and saving you money at the same time.
Bidet is coming in many types and variants than ever, which is why it is becoming more popular.
Toilet Paper Vs Bidet
Toilet papers are used to clean your bum as well as the surrounding regions after defecation.
As Bidets are replacing toilet papers so fast, we should definitely know what costs more? Toilet paper or Bidet?
Let’s see what research says!
● Average Toilet Paper Consumption
An average person is using 100 rolls (over 20,000 sheets) of toilet paper per year.
The average roll of toilet paper lasts approximately five days in an average household.
Almost 57 sheets of toilet paper have been used an average of a day.
That’s a whole lot of Toilet Paper to cover your trips to the bathroom at home, at work, in restaurants or wherever else nature calls!
And It takes almost 384 trees to make the toilet paper that a man uses within his lifetime. (A Big number I must say!).
● Average Expenditure On Toilet Paper VS Bidet
Now Let me tell you how many bucks you can save by replacing toilet paper with bidets.
The average price per unit of toilet tissue is 7.91 US dollars.
That represents an increase of more than 60 cents from 2019.
This research shows that Toilet paper costs increased a way higher than expected.
A basic ambient-temperature bidet attachment does only costs you $50.
You can try a dual-temperature version for $70.
If you prefer a hand-held bidet, try an ergonomic, pressure-controlled bidet sprayer for a similar price!
If you want the best bidet experience without investing more bucks, bidet toilet seats are the way to go.
The fully-featured warm water models cost under $300 for entry-level models to just over $600 for luxury models with all the bells and whistles.
Does A Bidet Replace Toilet Paper?
Like as said earlier in the article, It is highly likely for a bidet to replace toilet paper completely.
Americans use approximately 34 million rolls of toilet paper a day.
When seen on an individual level, a person uses 2 rolls of toilet paper per week.
Hence, a family of 4-person would save about 8 rolls weekly.
That’s a lot of expense if you consider yearly consumption.
Investing in a bidet can significantly lower their spending on toilet paper.
So, why hasn’t America welcomed the bidet yet?
That’s the very first thing I am going to address here with some other points.
1. Lack of modern toilet design
Well, bathrooms in the US aren’t really designed for bidets.
There is a lack of space for additional plumbing setup for bidet fixtures.
Installing a bidet requires some plumbing requirements.
You need to have a water connection separately for the bidets.
And current toilet rooms don’t have space for additional water pipes that could connect the bidet with the toilet water system.
That holds back many people from installing a bidet. It might just need more plumbing work for them.
2. Habit Of Using Toilet paper
More than that, the biggest reason it hasn’t caught on comes down to habit.
Most of us grew up using toilet paper.
That is the reason why many might not even know there’s an alternative way to stay clean.
Some are even skeptical about the functioning of bidets. They don’t know how a bidet works and what are its advantages.
But, if you are someone who is in the same situation, I would say, don’t worry about working of the bidet.
It isn’t a complicated thing.
Once you start using it, you will know how beneficial a bidet is and how much money you can save on toilet paper.
3. Using Toilet paper For Drying
As, I said earlier some people prefer people use toilet paper to try themselves off after using the bidet, including me.
Yes, you can use a toilet towel to do that, but some people just like using toilet paper(though it’s not a must).
So these were some reasons that make me think that bidets cannot 100% remove toilet papers for washrooms.
But there are some ways that can help you reduce the use of toilet paper furthermore when using a bidet.
The next section is exactly about that.
How To Use A Bidet Effectively To Save Toilet Paper?
As Bidet is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, if you’ve ever wondered about the proper way to use a bidet, this is a great time to learn.
● Check The Spray Of Bidet
First of All, try turning the spray nozzle on or flushing the built-in bidet to see where the stream of water will come from and how powerful the water pressure will be.
If the sprayer sprays water out of the toilet bowl on the worst on the seat, you will have to clean/dry it off using toilet paper (you don’t have any other option there).
So make sure the water sprayer work right and sprays water with the right pressure and in the right direction.
● Keep The Toilet Seat Dry
As I said earlier, if your toilet seat is wet, you will need toilet paper to dry it off. So better keep the toilet seat dry so that you don’t need to wipe off water frequently using more toilet paper.
Avoid unnecessary splashing of water and lift the seat if it gets wets so the water falls off.
● Use Inbuilt Warm Air Dryers
Modern bidets come with lots and lots of features.
One such feature is inbuilt air dryers.
Now you don’t need to even use toilet paper or a towel to dry yourself.
The dryer will do it for you.
Just turn on the air dryer once you are done using the bidet.
Using the warm air dryer will significantly reduce the amount of toilet paper usage.
How Much Toilet Paper Does a Bidet Save?
By investing in a bidet seat or bidet attachment, you can lower your spending will be saving nearly 384 trees that are cut down to make a single person’s lifetime toilet-paper supply (I already told you it is a big number!).
Bidet users can save up to $50 per year per person with a national average of 89 cents per role.
Compared head-to-head, the one who exclusively uses toilet paper consumes over 64% more rolls than bidet-users.
Now Let me talk about the Environmental Impact, using a bidet requires only about one-eighth of a gallon of water per cleaning cycle, compared to the 37 gallons of water required to make one roll of toilet paper.
The Bottom Line
I would like to say with my personal experience using the bidet, things definitely do feel fresher.
And it is time to embrace the bidet.
Who would not like to emerge from the bathroom with a fresh bottom?
That’s the power of this thing.
So overall, bidets are better for your body, better for the environment, and better for your wallet (The one thing that definitely matters to us!).
Plus the use of a bidet instead of toilet paper is way more hygienic.
Bidets may take some time to get used to, but many people decide to make a permanent switch.
It’s time for Americans to welcome bidets for their homes.
