Bidet :D

One of the greatest, or strangest inventions ever has to be the bidet! However strange it may seem to Americans, it is an every day part of life in Italy. A bidet is a small toilet shaped device which normally is found near the toilet in the bathroom. It has a faucet that comes up from the back that shoots water from it at about a 45 degree angle. Also, there is normally a towel holder near the bidet for ease of use, and for exclusive bidet use (I wouldn't use this after washing my hands if I were you!) Here is a picture of a typical italian bidet.


That's right, it's a butt bath! Every bathroom I've been in that has a bidet (which most bathrooms have a bidet - not public bathrooms, but home bathrooms.) also has toilet paper to use. Thus, don't be worried that if you go to the bathroom you're stuck using the bidet. Now, I will explain how the bidet is to be used.

Step 1
Use the toilet and probably a little toilet paper to remove the worst part.

Step 2
Flush and move to the bidet - like I said, it's usually right next to the toilet!

Step 3
Turn on the water and let it clean the excess. (NOTE: The water can be set at your ideal bum temperature) Use of the left hand (not the right! that's your shaking hand) is also permitted to make sure that cleanliness is achieved. In almost every Italian home there is bidet soap as well for the freshest clean!

Step 4
Turn off the water and use the bidet towel to dry up. Typically each person would have their own personal towel!

Step 5
Wash your hands thoroughly!

While it may seem a bit strange at first to use the bidet, or like excess work, there are a lot of advantages to using the bidet. For example, cleanliness! Also, toilet paper can be a little rough sometimes when used a lot or if you bum is sensitive. There are probably many other advantages, but as I don't want to keep going on about cleaning out bums I hope this has been informative.