Toilet Tech

I have been pushing for the adoption of the bidet in the US for years! Leave it to the space saving Japanese to combine the two. Only reason this hasn't caught on in the US so far is the toilet paper lobby is very strong in Washington. Maybe it's time to flush them out...

i had the pleasure of trying one of these last year in japan. fantastic!
why don't i have one yet? price.
$600 for a medium quality model buys a whole lot of toilet paper ...

plus, if you get into the habit to do your "number 2" just before taking your shower, you can minimize on paper use ...

Have you ever wondered how the word Gay went from being a definition of happy... to becoming a derogatory descriptive?

Joseph C. Gayetty who lived in New York started producing the first packaged therapeutic paper in the U.S. in 1857. It consisted of pre-moistened flat sheets medicated with aloe and was named "Gayetty’s Medicated Paper". Mr. Gayetty proudly printed his name on every sheet.

The thought of someone using anything other than corn cobs, sage grass, news print and the sears catalog was considered to be queer. Anyone not man enough to use corn cobs was a Gayetty Boy.

Looking back it would appear that toilet paper would have been the no brainer obvious choice of wiping material. To the contrary, it took toilet paper over 100 years to win our Anglo bottoms over from sage grass, corn cobs, leaves catalogs and news paper.

Let me ask you this; if you were raised using corn cobs and had a choice to use toilet paper what would you have chosen?

Attitude like that keep people who need help for asking for it. www.dignacare.com

I don't know about this... firstly a toilet should not cost more than a hundred bucks... tops.

Second, although I am sure it is a cultural thing, I don't want a wet tush. Even if the thing dries it, you know it won't dry it well and you'll be, uh, wiping anyway just to get rid of the, uh, moist tush feeling. Also, and I'll try not to be too graphic here, but unless it uses a high pressure nozzle and an automated scrub brush, it's not going to get all the klingons off. Toilet paper takes a little more effort, and uses some trees, sure, but you probably get a far cleaner butt (depending on your level of OCD) than the water spray and hot air method.

Hey, and the TP is biodegradable, too!

Hello everyone. I am a Master Plumber in Colorado. I have been pushing low flush toilets for over 20 years. I love low flow toilets. My company installs hundreds yearly. The Toto toilet is a marvel. Unless you need to use it. My experience with Toto's is not good.

There biggest flaw, splash back. Try it, put some food coloring in a Toto bowl, lower the seat and flush. The side of the seat facing the bowl will get splashed. Toto toilets are not sanitary. If you don't mind having fecal matter and urine atomized, thrown into the air, soaking the seat and entering the air in the bathroom buy one.
If you want a sanitary toilet, there are many choices. Western Pottery is my favorite. I’ve been using them for over 10 years and never one complaint. The next item, you need a Ferrari mechanic to work on the fancy Toto’s. You will need both bailout money and a retention bonus from your bank to have one repaired.

Most toilets take standard components available from any hardware store or home center. Needing a PHD in engineering to work on a toilet is ridiculous. Next time you want to spend a bucket of money on a toilet, buy a standard model and give the money you saved to a food bank. The hundreds of meals you will provide are worth more than any toilet.

Mike the Plumber

I sat on several of these in Japan about twenty years ago. They worked quite well then and probably have been improved since then. They were add-on toilet seats with the same functions but I didn't bring one home because they were about twelve hundred dollars.
We can find fault with just about anything but the bottom line is, the Japanese have been creating great toys as long as I can remember.
Necessity was once the mother of invention...that has change somewhat.

Bob

When I see this all I can think of is "it costs $3000 to mix a hair dryer drinking fountain and crapper??!!?" The redneck in me says I could do all that for $50.

America is the last developed nation that has not embraced the bidet. Sure, you can spend $5,000......but you can buy one that mounts on a standard toilet seat for around $100! Check out USABidet.com or just Google "bidet" and you'll be amazed at what's available. The splashback is easily controlled and if you clean your throne once a week (recommended) it's as sanitary as any toilet. I've used one for years.....it's nice to feel "cheeky clean" and a gentle, cooling stream goes a long way toward placating those itchy, pesky hemorrhoids! If 90% of us used a bidet regularly, we could save 90% of the paper consumed. You wouldn't have to search for "non-skid" toilet paper and there would be a lot more trees left to hug!

hey are ahead of us in weird things somehtimes coolguy 566

I think it is funny that people believe that toilet paper can clean the dirtiest parts of our body's. If it works so well on our nether regions, then why not use toilet paper to wash our hands and face?

Try this the next time you have a break through; this is when your finger breaks through the T.P., use paper to wipe off the mess and see how long it takes before you use water to wash your hands.

It takes 37 gallons of water and over 15,000,000 trees to manufacture one roll of toilet paper. Then we use 10 gallons of water taking a shower to freshen up.

The largest cost of toilet paper however, is the billions of dollars that we spend on medical expenses compared to countries who are washing their genitalia with water.

The US and UK account for over 70% of all hemorrhoid cases on the planet. Over 53% of all reported Urinary Tract Infections in the world are with American Women.

The number one reason for an American women over 65 being admitted into a health care facility is hygiene related.

It is time for a toileting upgrade, especially with people who have limited mobility and compromised reach.

Ride the Wave!

Wow, that's some real life, solid example of the perfect use of modern day science.
In fact, a couple of weeks ago, while sitting on the toilet seat, I was thinking about a reform in our toilet system. And I guess this sounds like the perfect plan.
Only problem here is the price, which I think is high because there is low production due to low demand. It should gradually come down when people start switching.
I'll be the first one to switch.
Good Luck!

People here have presented some compelling arguments to cleaning your tush with water instead of paper... except none of them have presented a solution to the "wet tush" problem. I like a dry tush. I would probably still use toilet paper to dry off.

How high pressure is the stream? It would probably need to be pretty strong to do a good job cleaning hands-free. I'm still not fully convinced that a simple stream of water can clean better than paper.

People that have used washlets on their toilets know how well they clean. That's why 80% of Japanese homes have them. Some day the US will notice that washing with water is not only good for hands, but for other parts of the body too. We do at least take showers. I tried brushing my kids off with a broom before sending them off to school, but then I thought better of it and threw them in the tub. Yes, with some water.
I sell and install a few thousand of the Toto toilets a year, and less of the other brands. By far the happiest clients are getting the Toto. Maybe that's why they are the biggest manufacturer in the world. I did install a toilet like the one above for the head of Microsoft. It's pretty cool.

I have one, it's a Kohler brand, cost me about $700, you take off your old seat and replace it with the new one. came with a T joint to hook up to the water. Main problem was power since we don't have outlets next to our toilets. It is heated, has a nice blue LED lighting the inside for night use. The seat isn't automatic, but you can just give the seat and back a push and they slowly and quietly lower.

Now for the spray, it is great for getting clean down there. I'm a middle aged, hairy bottomed, American male. At the bidet is the greatest thing. Mine doesn't have a dryer, so just a little bit of TP to dry off. One swipe and your done. I'm guessing using 80% less TP this way.

Unfortunatly, the switch to allow the spray is built into the seat, so you can't spray unless you're on it, is broken and I can no longer use it to clean with. Had only a 12 month warranty, and I'm sure it would cost hundreds to get fixed. So I still enjoy the heat, the light and the dampened action of the lid.