I had my first bidet experience while vacationing at the Kensington Park Hotel in London in 1984. My best friend and I stayed at a hotel which had a bidet in the bathroom. We didn’t have a clue how to use a bidet. Needlessly to say, we both got our clothes soaked because I made the error of turning on the bidet while we stood over the basin trying to figure out what the strange contraption was! In North America, until the last decade, a bidet has not been high on anyone’s bathroom remodel wish list. This has changed.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and greater affordability, demand has increased. Many homeowners’ wish lists includes a bidet toilet or bidet seat as their must have for the bath. Studies have shown, for example, the bidet’s usefulness in providing better sanitization in the bathroom. Their value is clear.
In recent bathroom remodels, I have used several different models in various price ranges and functions such as a Toto Washlet bidet toilet seat, heated, with front and rear warm water wash modes.
The initial 17th century bidet Napoleon used was made of silver sat in wooden stand next to the chamber pot. It must have been incredibly cold in the winter. Many people, including myself, didn’t see the benefits of a bidet until I used a bidet many years later with a heated toilet seat. You want a heated toilet seat. It changes everything.
Today’s bidet integration with a toilet, however, has made it a better purchase. The toilet-bidet combination offers more functions, is fully computerized with robotic cleaning spouts, motion detecting lids, programmed presets, and sleek clean lines looks great no matter what your design style is. Napoleon never had it so good.
Kohler’s tankless design, for example, the Karing toilet, offers the ultimate in luxury dual flush toilet with remote control, automatic lid, heated seat, deodorizer and LED nightlight.
No matter your design style, today’s manufacturers offer bidets from transitional to contemporary styles and range from inexpensive to high-end. Therefore, for your next bath remodel, consider a bidet toilet seat or combo bidet toilet. I think once you try it you’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it earlier.
Irma Harris Horne
