this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025
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Every time this discussion comes up I have to talk about the same thing: soap. It's commonly understood that soap is the crucial part being clean (I assume you're not advocating for showers without soap). Yet how many bidet users use soap? So you're saying that water makes you clean, and yet I'd argue that whether it's water or paper alone, you're not clean until you've used soap. The only difference is how much your personal tolerance for being between periods of cleanliness without soap goes. For people advocating bidets, they're clearly not comfortable without water. But other people are, and it's not normal to say that almost everyone has poor hygiene because of it.
As long as you don't smell (and you can't tell me that walking into any random office conference room in a non-bidet country will most likely smell like literal shit), people can say water or paper and they're both stopgaps until we can make it to the next shower involving soap.
Soap is a bonus, an extra tool that we haven't what's had. But water, by itself, gets you a significant fraction of the way towards being "completely" clean.
Water is a polar molecule, it naturally separates dirt and grime, and dissolves things like salt and sugar.
It's considered a universal solvent, not because it can dissolve anything, but because it's so dang good at cleaning so much stuff.
If I'm away from soap, all I have is water, and my hands are dirty, I feel pretty good about using just water. With just water, and some mechanical action, you can get pretty far. Soap would be better, but that's not always an option every moment of every day.
Nobody is saying that if you use a bidet you no longer have to wash your butt in the shower. But if you use a bidet, the time in between showers will be cleaner than had you just used paper. It's literally science.
Soap would be better, sure. But if I was somewhere far away from soap, and I got poop on any part of my body, I would be much happier using a garden hose to spray myself off, rather than just some paper towels.
Likewise, when I'm out and about, with no bidet, sure, yeah, give me the TP. It's fine, I guess.
But at home? With access to a bidet? Why wouldn't I use it over the TP?
Bidets are cheap, easy to use, and effective. Everyone should get over themselves and get one.
Or don't, you do you, but you're missing out ๐คทโโ๏ธ
I'm not personally saying that everyone else has poor hygiene. But many people have poor hygiene, more than you can imagine. And a bidet helps have better hygiene.
Honestly it's probably a good litmus test. Not everyone without bidets have bad hygiene. But statistically, I bet most people with bidets have good hygiene.