Bidet for Dummies?

[MamaMolly]

Our new house has a bidet in one of the bathrooms. I know they are for washing the nether regions, but I totally don't see how it is possible other than dunking. FWIW our last house with 'regional plumbing' as I call it had a sprayer nozzle and hose like on a kitchen sink that hung off the wall next to the toilet and had it's own (cold!!) water supply. But was wonderful when a girl ate too many spicy hot chicken wings ;) That I could figure out, but this bidet has me flummoxed.

Somebody please, please spell it out for me? In very simple, clear terms.

Ours has no seat (they don't ever, right?). It has a faucet handle like on the sink. The water outlet sprays downward, into the bidet. There is a plug like in the drain of a sink. So do you squat and splash? Is it for rinsing pee only? Cause if it is for poop I think it would be like pooping in the sink. There is no way to flush! EEEeewwww.

[TwinFoxes]

If the water is spraying downward, you need to turn up the water pressure. It should spray toward you. It's for rinsing whatever you want to rinse. ;)

[MamaMolly]

Not to argue, (what do I know?) But this only sprays straight down into the 'bowl' like a sink. Even full blast. I could 'get' it if you could aim it up like a little fountain, but this seems weird. Could be that the local plumbers put a sink faucet on the bidet. Totally possible.

Still confused.

[TwinFoxes]

OK, then something's wrong I think. Not that I'm the bidet expert, but I've "seen" several. Maybe go to the website of the manufacturer, just to see if it's supposed to be doing something it's not?

[ThreeofUs]

This sounds like an older, European style bidet. Depending on what you want to wash, you can use the water from the front (straddle facing faucet) or from the back (straddle with faucet in back).

Here's a play-by-play on how to use one of these:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Bidet

[american_mama]

We had a bidet in our apartment in Belgium and it reminds me of how you described it. In fact, I am going to go and consult a photo. Yes, our bidet was exactly as you are describing; however, I never really bothered to figure it out because our landlord told us it was broken. Truth to be told, our landlord, a Belgian herself, seemed a bit confused/dismissive of the bidet too, so I got the impression she didn't use it either. I did wonder if it would be good post-partum, and I did have a baby there, but since it was broken, it was moot.

We used it as a (rather un-safe) stepstool to the sink for our toddler, and I fantasized about building a wood cover for it to make it a flat, stable, safe surface.

[jacksmomtobe]

We have one in one of our bathrooms (installed by prev owners of the house) and it is exactly how you describe yours. I always wondered about it and it's use. Doesn't really work for me. Though I could see how the last poster's post partum idea would make it useful. Since I'm done having kids I guess I'll just continue to wipe the dust off of it.

[nofeea]

MMMmmm. Most bidets also have a spray function in the center that sprays UP. Are you sure there's nothing there? There's often a little toggle switch near the regular faucet to switch the water flow from the regular faucet to the spray down below. If not, I would use it like a mini bathtub just for the tush :) Fill it up, give a little soak (soapy, if you wish) and let out the water! My kids were always getting irritated in that area and the Ped used to tell me to soak them for a few minutes every night so for us it would have been perfect! (Actually, we do have one...)

[missym]

Here's a play-by-play on how to use one of these:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Bidet

Ummm, ok, I am :eek::barf: at this:

Drinking from a bidet is not recommended. The stream can ricochet off a soiled area and become contaminated.

[hellokitty]

Ummm, ok, I am :eek::barf: at this:

Eww, and how about the part about bathing babies in it? YUCKO!

[MamaMolly]

:ROTFLMAO: OMG I *knew* I could count on you guys to help with this one. I'm also glad I'm not the only one stumped. In our last house with one (we were only there a few weeks and moved into the one with the kitchen sink hose sprayer thingie) I just put a small table over it. I think I'll turn off the water supply and do the same here, we could really use the storage space.

Thanks everyone!

[hellokitty]

OK, so I have this burning question. I have always had it, but of course talking about bidets is not, "normal" everyday conversation, but I guess this is the perfect place to ask, a thread all about bidets. How in the world is a bidet sanitary? I don't understand how the spout where the water shoots up from can possibly be clean when, "dirty" water falls on it. My DH and I both don't get this and think that bidets are gross, b/c we can't understand how it can be, "clean" after it's used. :bag

[sansdieu]

If it's a standalone unit (like you describe, as opposed to Toto's "washlet"), then there are two types of faucets, vertical and horizontal.

*Vertical* would be like a little fountain (to spray your nether regions or to spray the ceiling if, say, you were inadvertently to stand up, while the water was still flowing). Is it sanitary? Not terribly so. I suppose you could spray it with Lysol and rinse after each use, but that would not be very practical.

*Horizontal* would be a faucet mounted in the front, but it should have a swivel (or some other movable) head/ spray -- so you could direct the flow, parallel to the bottom of the bowl. You would straddle the porcelain bowl (you don't need a seat, it gets warm instantly), facing the faucet, and spray ... whatever needs to be sprayed. (Lather up, rinse, and spray again). It's pretty sanitary, since you don't exactly fill it with water and sit in it, and the "dirty" water just goes down the drain without touching anything else.

It sounds like your faucet is fixed, if the water only flows downward. I suppose you could replace it with the swivel kind, but it's kind of pricey.

As to washing babies ... You'd be surprised how many uses it has.
I suppose it could be used like a minitub, if it were scrubbed really clean, although I've never done. However, I use mine a lot to wash up my daughter. In fact, it's my only option when I'm home alone. Our 6ft bathtub is very deep and comes with a raised glass door, so bathing a child requires at least 2 people (one in the tub with her). So bidet is my only choice when she has a really messy B.M. (the kind that gets into every nook and cranny), and I can't clean her up well enough with wipes alone. I just hold her up in one hand, lift up her legs and use the swivel faucet to spray her little bum to my heart's content. Again, lather up with her soap, then rinse and dry with a special towel.

In your case, you can also use it as the perfect child-sized sink for handwashing. So much more convenient then stepstools. I turn on the water (with the faucet facing downward, of course) and DD just stands beside the bidet, lathering her hands and rinsing, and there's no risk of her falling or jumping off the stepstool.

Ok, this is officially the most I've shared on the Internet. Anywhere. ;)