Bidet
A bidet (UK: /ˈbiːdeɪ/, US: /bɪˈdeɪ/ ⓘ) is a bowl or receptacle designed to be sat upon in order to wash a person's genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus.
The modern variety has a plumbed-in water supply and a drainage opening, and is thus a plumbing fixture subject to local hygiene regulations.
In cultures that use it habitually, such as parts of Western, Central and Southeastern Europe (especially Italy and Portugal),[1] Eastern Asia and some Latin American countries such as Argentina or Paraguay, it is considered an indispensable tool in maintaining good personal hygiene.
Some bidets have a vertical jet intended to give easy access for washing and rinsing the perineum and anal area.
The traditional separate bidet is like a wash-basin which is used with running warm water with the help of specific soaps, and may then be used for many other purposes such as washing feet.
A bidet is a plumbing fixture that is installed as a separate unit in the bathroom besides toilet, shower and sink, which users have to straddle.
Some bidets resemble a large hand basin, with taps and a stopper so they can be filled up; other designs have a nozzle that squirts a jet of water to aid in cleansing.
An add-on bidet typically connects to the existing water supply of a toilet via the addition of a threaded tee pipe adapter, and requires no soldering or other plumbing work.
[7] Because of the large surface of the basin, after-use and routine disinfection of stand-alone bidets require thoroughness, or microbial contamination from one user to the next could take place.
Although the wipes are promoted as "flushable", they absorb waste fats and agglomerate into massive "fatbergs" which can clog sewer systems and must be cleared at great expense.
[13][14] It is also found in some traditionally Eastern Orthodox and Protestant countries such as Greece and Finland respectively, where bidet showers are common.
[16][better source needed] Consequently, in Middle Eastern regions where Islam is the predominant religion, water for anal washing is provided in most toilets, usually in the form of a hand-held "bidet shower" or shattaf.
There are often special units with higher toilet seats allowing easier wheelchair transfer, and with some form of electronic remote control that benefits an individual with limited mobility or otherwise requiring assistance.
These combination toilet-bidets (washlet) with seat warmers, or attachable bidets are particularly popular in Japan and South Korea, and are found in approximately 76% of Japanese households as of 2015[update].
[24] The bidet appears to have been an invention of French[25] furniture makers in the late 17th century, although no exact date or inventor is known.
[30] By 1900, due to plumbing improvements, the bidet (and chamber pot) moved from the bedroom to the bathroom and became more convenient to fill and drain.
The early 1980s saw the introduction of the electronic bidet from Japan, with names such as Clean Sense, Galaxy, Infinity, Novita, and of non-electric attachments such as Gobidet.
