So, use a bidet--Bottle Bidet or otherwise--on several of the
occasions when you might have otherwise taken a shower. You will
save thousands of gallons of water, lower your bills, improve the
environmental impact of humans on the earth, and be fresher and
cleaner where it counts. Bonus: You will feel far less guilty about
having disabled the flow restrictor. (While you are freshening up,
use some rubbing alcohol on the underarm region. It kills the
bacteria responsible for odor, and you will be cleaner than a
shower would have done in the first place.)
A traditional bidet is a wash sink at toilet level. The water
emerges from a spout in the middle of the "bowl". You turn on the
water using the faucets at the back, get the temperature to your
liking, and then sort of squat over it and wash yourself in any
manner that suits you. You then dry yourself off with a towel.
There are, in recent years, little devices that retrofit onto
the edge of a toilet which, according to the manufacturers, turn
your toilet into a bidet. Well, sort of. The water is typically cold, or at
best room temperature, which can feel pretty cold on your warm
parts, and there is something attached to the smooth ceramic of
your toilet. Oh dear. Now you don't have a real toilet OR a real
bidet!
Why not get a real bidet?
If you can afford to have a bidet in your bathroom and have
room for it, go ahead. It is a nice amenity, and it will make the neighbors think you
are rich or of worldly sophistication. Of course, if you have a
real bidet you will get used to being fresh and clean at every
moment. Then you will certainly want to get a Bottle Bidet for when
you are not in that particular bathroom. But, sure! Get a real
bidet if you are so inclined. They cost $300+ for the porcelain
object, and can be installed by someone with plumbing skills
anywhere you have space and available plumbing.
Alternatively, the retrofit devices cost from perhaps $60 to
$150. We have a few reservations about this idea, mostly the
disturbing visual aspect of a mechanical
addition to the toilet, and of course cleaning concerns.
Manufacturers swear the devices self-clean before and after every
use, but that just seems a little hopeful. Cleaning smooth ceramic
is easy enough, and still not a favorite chore. No, I definitely
don't want to also clean a mechanical device in that situation.
In any case, a device under the seat of the toilet could freak
out guests. You'll have to judge all this for yourself. It seems
like alot of complication for a very simple task.
Well, what's so great about a Bottle Bidet?
The idea is to clean the "butt", all its divine little parts,
with clean, fresh water. The Bottle Bidet does this and nothing
else, and does not disturb your life in any way. Plus, it can be
used anywhere, including on road trips or long, busy days. The
Bottle Bidet is filled with water at the sink, where you can choose
the temperature to your exact preference. Marvelous! And when you
are not using it, it can be in a drawer or cupboard, or in its own
sweet little storage purse, which you can put in a drawer or hang
on a hook or a doorknob, or whatever suits you. Oh! you cannot
imagine until you have tried it, how delightful a perfectly warm
wash of water feels. Or cool water on a hot day. Anyway, it's
pretty great, plus the Bottle Bidet is portable, cheap and takes
next to no time. Come to think of it, it is a little strange that
you do not already have something for this purpose. Better get a
Bottle Bidet today.
Can't I just use any old squirt bottle?
Sure you can. Or so we have heard. And if you are being
superfrugal--and believe you me, we have been there--you can
probably use one of those condiment squirt bottles to good effect,
and they can probably be had for a few dollars at the dollar store.
I think that is a great idea, and I think everyone should have
something for this purpose, even if it is not an ideal something.
The Bottle Bidet is dreamy and perfect for this use, though,
because of its angled spout. You hold the bottle upside down and
squeeze, and all is well. The water goes where it should, and you
have fantastic control over the direction and the water pressure.
Straight spouts are less convenient, less graceful, less efficient.
But they are cheaper, true. And cheap is surely more important than
convenience sometimes. Oh, you don't have to tell me about
that.
Hey, if you decide to go this direction, you might use some
funky old purse for storage and carrying, and you could cut up an
old t-shirt to make mini-cloths for drying. Maybe 4-5" square.
Don't cut up an old towel unless you have the patience to stitch
around all the sides. Terrycloth unravels horribly in the wash if
you don't stabilize the edges with a zig zag stitch or a serger. Do
you even know what I'm talking about? Trust me. Just use an old
T-shirt. Very soft on the parts, that will be. Good luck!
Wait a minute... Isn't this really a "douche"?
No. It really isn't. A douche is a contraption designed to wash
the inside of a woman, which is a very different job than washing
the outside of a man or a woman. For starters, a douche sprays
water in every direction, for obvious reasons, while a bottle bidet
sprays water in only one, easily controlled direction. Also for
obvious reasons.
It is also not an enema. For heaven's sake. These things exist
on the market and are easily had at the drugstore. Do not try to
use your bottle bidet for these other, very different purposes.
What about those pre-packaged wipes?
They are fine, I suppose. But they do not compare to clear warm
water when the goal is "delicious". Many of them might even be
irritating to delicate tissues. The best choice, if you are to go
that direction, is Preparation H wipes, as the only ingredient on
them is witch hazel, which is a fine thing for cleaning body parts.
Again, not as fresh and clean as 16 ounces of warm water, but in
some cases better than nothing.