Photo from advancemyhouse

A bidet is not exactly universal, but it is definitely useful when it comes to personal hygiene.

You can think of it as a small sink or a toilet with faucets that is meant to clean up your anal area and genitals with water. It is rare to see a bidet in a bathroom in North America.

However, it is quite popular in many countries across Asia and Europe, especially the hand bidet. If you are new to bidets and have questions about how to use it properly or how do you dry after using a bidet, we are here to help you out.

When it comes to using a bidet, that will solely depend on the type of bidet that you installed or plan to install. Thus, it is but worthy to learn about each kind that is available in the market as well as those installed in public toilets.

What Kinds of Bidets Are There?

Bidets have seen massive improvements and changes over the years. The sink-type bidet has now been replaced by the handheld bidet and bidet seats that are fixed into the toilet.

The handheld bidets, commonly called bidet showers or hand showers, are very popular as they do not take much space and are easy to use. However, they require you to target the area you want to clean manually. This is done on the toilet seat, so the water flushes down the toilet drain.

The traditional bidet is fixed right next to the toilet and requires its own separate plumbing. It usually resembles a toilet, except there is no flush tank and instead you have a couple of taps and a jet at the center of it.

On the other hand, the modern toilet seat bidets are fixed right under the toilet seat and have a nozzle that is connected to a remote found next to the toilet or even on it. Some are activated mechanically whenever you pull a lever or turn a tap.

How to Use Bidets?

As mentioned, the purpose of this fitting in a bathroom is to clean up after using the toilet. The most common one is, of course, after defecating.

Females, however, also use it to clean up after peeing or when they have their monthly periods. People who are physically limited use bidets for all such purposes.

• Standalone Bidets

On the standalone bidets, you can either sit facing towards it or face the opposite way. Obviously, facing towards the controls would be much better. If you are facing towards the faucet, you might need to take off your pants.

There is no seat on traditional bidets, so you just have to sit on it with your legs swinging around. You will see different taps for hot and cold running water.

Gradually turn on the tap for hot water first and see if the temperature is right. You can turn on the cold water to adjust the temperature as per your need. In the summertime, you can do it just with the cold tap on.

Adjust yourself in a way that the bidet faucet directly targets your anal area that you are trying to clean. Be gentle when opening the tap as you never know how much the pressure is in it. Most bidets have some pressure that should be enough to clean up the area; however, you can use your hands to clean up diligently.

• Modern Bidets

The process of using a traditional bidet might seem a little tedious. Luckily, for the modern bidets, it is rather simpler because you just need a press of the button and everything will work fine.

Most of the time, you can find the control buttons near the toilet seat and these too usually have a warm or cold water option. Some even have pressure level controls.

As such, tweak the settings to meet your specific needs, then, look for the start button. Once you press it, the nozzle will start spraying, and you can use a toilet paper, your hand, or nothing at all. You can stop the nozzle if there is a stop button. Others, however, can shut automatically.

• Bidet Showers

When using handheld bidet showers, the handle is the only thing that needs to be pressed. Then you can aim the area and maneuver it to clean up. Again, be very careful about the pressure and temperature of the water. You can utilize the valve to adjust the pressure before pressing the handle.

How Do You Dry After Using a Bidet?

Sadly, there are many misconceptions regarding bidets. A common one is that the use of bidet will result in a mess and will leave you wet. That is not completely true as you can easily dry up after using it. The modern bidet seats even have drying options. If you press the ‘Dry’ button, provided there is one, the air dryer will dry the area. If you are using the traditional bidet, you can dry using toilet paper or a towel.

In most public toilets with bidets, towels are provided on a ring next to it. However, using a paper towel is a more hygienic and safe option. On the other hand, with bidet showers, chances are only part of your nether regions is wet so it becomes even easier to dry. Once you are all dried up, you can rinse the bidet or toilet to keep it clean and fresh for next use.

You can now finally wash your hands with soap and dry them up using a towel or the dryer machine. Your nether region, your hands, and the bathroom are all clean and dry without hassles.

Conclusion

Bidets are not new, but they are just starting to become popular around the world. That is why there are quite a lot of misconceptions regarding them, especially when it comes to being messy or unsanitary.

On the contrary, they help you stay clean and do so in a hygienic way. That is, of course, as long as you know how to properly use each type of bidet as well as the proper techniques on how to dry after using a bidet.