I’m new to the bidet scene, and this one has me slightly confounded. Should I install a new towel rack next to the toilet? Should my wife and I share the towel? Do you wipe first? There are so many unanswered questions in the ways of bidet-ing!

  • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
    20·
    1 day ago

    I use 3 squares of TP, folded twice (into 4 layers). I never transitioned to a towel because the spray doesn’t always get everything and the 3 squares are enough to dry it.

    Trim your pubes back there and on your balls. It can make a big difference in how much water you can hold back there. I was using an extra two squares before my last trim.

  • Donebrach@lemmy.world
    242·
    1 day ago

    Spray with bidet then dry with toilet paper. Why are people so confounded by these things? Have y’all never used water to bathe before?

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
      3·
      22 hours ago

      Why are people so confounded by these things? Have y’all never used water to bathe before?

      I feel like some people were never given actual hygiene instructions from their parents growing up. I can only imagine the way some people are so hung up on genitals and waste products that they can’t even think about it, those kinds of people going on to have kids… do we really think they’re going to pass on useful information on self-care?

      And it’s not like there’s tons of social messaging and helpful guides all over the place on proper bathroom habits, it’s purely a passed-down skillset.

      Every time this comes up on reddit, there are a lot of people sharing stories about knowing men who literally don’t wipe their own ass or touch it while showering and just constantly walk around with shit all over their ass. I used to think it was a meme, but then met people in real life who also had encounters with men who thought touching their own ass would “make them gay.”

      So yah, people getting anxious about using a bidet? That tracks. I think a lot of people are at very least, just anxious because they’ve never really been shown anything and might be doubting their own habits. Basically the bathroom and poop and related topics are just this mysterious realm that nobody talks about. Insecurity over our most intimate and private acts is a tradition as old as time itself.

    • PenisWenisGenius@lemmynsfw.com
      111·
      1 day ago

      1. Because it’s a funny haha bathroom post

      2. if you have to wipe with toilet paper anyway, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having a bidet?

      3. Actually I’m a lemmy user, I use Arch btw, live in my mom’s basement, I’ve never been on a date and I never go outside. Of course I’ve never used water to bathe before.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
        2·
        22 hours ago

        if you have to wipe with toilet paper anyway, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having a bidet?

        The purpose of a bidet isn’t necessarily to make toilet paper unnecessary, it’s to clean properly. Before getting a bidet I would just step into the shower and use the removable shower head to wash my ass with a little soap and warm water, towel off after, bam super clean. I still do that, but now the bidet can save a step if I’m in a hurry.

        Basically, try this experiment. (Quoted from some comedian) Smear some poop on the back of your hand. Then wipe it with dry paper and nothing else. Do you feel clean? Ready to go through the day? Of course not! You want to actually wash that off, and that’s the pleasant feeling from using a stream of water to feel thoroughly clean, not just removing residue but getting up in there into the outer wrinkles of the butthole, reduces the chance of getting the itchies later.

        (This is particularly of consequence if there is ANY chance whatsoever of ending up naked with another person. You might not notice it, but other people would get hit with a musk the moment your underwear drops, and not the nice kind.)

      • Sentau@discuss.tchncs.de
        8·
        1 day ago

        if you have to wipe with toilet paper anyway, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having a bidet?

        No. The purpose of the bidet is to properly clean your posterior which cannot be achieved with a toilet paper alone. Also the amount of toilet paper needed to dry is lower than the amount needed to ‘clean’

      • BradleyUffner@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        1 day ago

        Tell you what. You drop a nice creamy dump on your floor, then try to get it clean with dry toilet paper. Let us know how it goes.

  • pura@lemmy.world
    5·
    1 day ago

    I bought a couple sets of washcloths that are only for drying butt. I fold them and lay them on the tank lid, and then put used ones in a little basket/bin beside the toilet. When I run out, I wash them in the laundry room. I haven’t bought toilet paper in 5 years.

  • set_secret@lemmy.world
    29·
    2 days ago

    You dab with toilet paper, for the love of all thats good, do not share an ass drying towel with your wife unless you went her to get chronic utis.

  • I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world
    321·
    2 days ago

    I’m sleepy and read that as “Biden voters, how do you dry your ass afterward?” and was very confused. But like… not as confused as I probably should have been.

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 day ago

      Yeah, I came into this thread expecting to learn more about some new brain-dead meme the right is using to pwn the left. Then realized it was a normal question I could answer.

    • Grass@sh.itjust.works
      4·
      1 day ago

      with the amount of US political shit on here its no surprise really. honestly I had a pretty similar thought as I was scrolling over.

  • Bilbo_Haggins@lemm.ee
    31·
    1 day ago

    Basket of old t-shirts cut into washcloth sized squares. The used ones go in a basket beside the toilet to be washed with the rest of the laundry.

    If we’re out of rags I just use TP. But you only need a few squares to dry off so it ends up using a lot less paper than if you didn’t use a bidet.

  • shortypants@lemmy.world
    502·
    2 days ago

    Ryobi cordless leaf blower. You have to aim for the rim because if you hit home it makes you burp.

    Actually though, just dab with TP. You’ll use much less TP and not need “flushable” wipes that still clog your main sewage line

  • spicy pancake@lemmy.zipEnglish
    5·
    1 day ago

    spot check with 2 squares of tp, when clean use single-use mini towels (I bought a pack of 100% cotton terry cloth squares similar to those used in auto shops)

    the butt/coochie towels go in their own hamper and get laundered separately with the hottest wash setting

    i live alone though. if i ever manage to convince a woman to marry me i imagine modifications may be requested…

  • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
    111·
    2 days ago

    Bidet wash first. Then tp to dry and to, well there is no nice way of saying this, check how the bidet wash did its job. Used appropriately, you should use significantly less tp than before.

    • wjrii@lemmy.worldEnglish
      452·
      2 days ago

      For anyone with a sewer system built for TP, this is an ideal workflow. Poops and poopers are not identical, and bidets are not magical. Trust but verify, friends.

      • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
        332·
        2 days ago

        Pet peeve. Whatever three-quarters of the world seems to believe, any sewerage system can handle TP. That is: real TP has almost zero fiber integrity, it literally turns to goop on contact with water. Goop that has no more structural consistency than an average pile of sh*t. If still in any doubt then just make sure to flush it in single sheets, each one will be a pea-sized ball of goop. This misunderstanding seems to be purely cultural. I’ve been to a ton of developing countries, all with the usual dodgy sewerage systems and narrow-bore pipes. Yet only some of them, notably Latin America, have the disgusting cultural norm of TP bins. The rest understand that there is a difference between TP and paper towels designed for the kitchen and your face. TP is always flushable, by design.

        • FuzzyRedPanda@lemm.eeEnglish
          34·
          2 days ago

          And generally, baby wipes, bottom wipes and face wipes aren’t safe to flush, even if they say flushable on the package. If they were safe to flush, you wouldn’t be able to pull out a wet sheet from the package; it would be goo.

        • Wahots@pawb.social
          3·
          2 days ago

          I thought it was natural, but it turns out TP is using PFAS so that it disintegrates as much as possible. That was kind of a bummer to learn. :/

    • mad_asshatter@lemmy.world
      222·
      2 days ago

      Realise that you can spray a few minutes before you rise from the seat (especially if someone on lemmy is WRONG, and you need to thumb a reply!)

      You’ll be surprised at how little tp you’ll need!

      Also, you’re allowed to repeat, jic!

      • rah@feddit.ukEnglish
        10·
        2 days ago

        especially if someone on lemmy is WRONG, and you need to thumb a reply!

        🤣

    • Sabata@ani.social
      11·
      2 days ago

      Pooping solo, a roll of TP will last me a month or two. A pack of TP will last well over a year.

  • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    12·
    22 hours ago

    As a vulva owner, for me, the big win with the bidet isn’t the butt.

    Either way though, the goal is to get clean with water, instead of a dry piece of paper, and then use either toilet paper or a dedicated towel to dry down the now clean area.

    Just like with a shower. You don’t clean yourself with the towel. You get clean with water, and then dry with a towel