<p>My hubby went in for his 50 year old colonoscopy and came out of it with a diagnosis of rectal cancer. Boy was that a surprise. Luckily (?) it is in the early stages (2) and we are looking forward to several months of chemo radiation treatment. He’s already having issues with Toilet paper and we expect this to get worse and the months go on. Knowing that people on this forum discuss anything and everything - thank goodness!, I was hoping for opinions on bidet toilet seats.</p>
<p>I haven’t really started looking yet, but think I can cut to the chase from the knowledgeable people here. What are things we should look out for? Is there one brand better than another? We have a two story house, so I was thinking of installing one on the main floor and the master bath…</p>
<p>I’d appreciate any advice you have. Thanks a bunch! :)</p>
<p>Ive tried Japanese toilets at a local sushi restaurant.
I’m surprised there isnt a line at the bathroom.
I think Costco sells them, the brand is Toto.</p>
<p>Toto.
Tried out the first time in a Tokyo hotel eons ago. Even my son, then 12 years old found it fascinating and spent considerable amount of time trying out all the different modes.</p>
<p>Spent a month in Korea and the toilets in one of the buildings were insane. I was on a “green” campus, so they didn’t turn on the heat even though it was January. The warming feature interested me far more than the bidet-abilities. However, a Turkish friend of mine thinks it’s disgusting that Americans don’t have bidets in every bathroom.</p>
<p>Combined bidet toilets are popular in Turkey, but it sounds like you want a separate appliance.</p>
<p>I have had homes w french-style bidets and w Japanese washlet seats. If I won the Powerball lottery, I wd buy a washlet toilet for everyone I know. You have no idea how we Americans are living like barbarians until you’ve experienced Japanese toilet technology. Washlet seats are the best thing about landing in Narita Airport.</p>
<p>Don’t think twice about this for your husband. You will appreciate it very much too-- especially the heated seat.</p>
<p>Toto is the brand most Americans have heard. But the other big high-end maker in Japan is Lixil. I believe Lixil just bought American Standard. Both Toto & Lixil make top quality products. </p>
<p>You will need to have an electrical outlet installed near the toilet. Your options are to buy just the washlet seat & mount it on your existing toilet, or getting a built-in unit w the electrical stuff installed behind the wall.</p>
<p>No bidets in my house, so can’t help with that… Just wanted to say best of luck and speedy healing to your hubby. So glad that it was discovered early! </p>
<p>My first house had an older style “French style” bidet in the master bath, and after that, H and I were hooked. Toto and many of the newer bidets are plumbed differently than the old-style European units, which is, in my view, the most important consideration. With the Toto and most American made bidets, the water source is close to the rim, with a nozzle that hits the area to be cleaned at an angle. This is highly inefficient and doesn’t provide full cleansing. In the older style European bidets, the water is directed straight up from the bottom of the bidet basin (geyser style)… and not to be indelicate…it hits the rectal area straight on. In these units, pressure can be adjusted by turning the faucets. The new units really don’t perform the same way…because of the angle, they don’t hit the area to be cleansed with enough pressure. Other units sold in the US are designed to fill the basin with water to be used as a sitz bath. </p>
<p>I had a very difficult time finding the combo bidet and fixture when I built my home, and I ended up buying the porcelain bidet from a manufacturer in Quebec, then I bought the faucets in France…neither met our local building code which prohibited the “geyser style” water flow for some reason that never made any sense. All in all, the Toto will probably be better than nothing, but it will not deliver the complete cleansing that an old style bidet does.</p>
<p>I hope your H is feeling better and best wishes for a full recovery.</p>
<p>What I don’t like about stand-alone, European-style bidets:</p>
<p>1) you have to do your business on one piece of porcelain, then get up and move to another piece of porcelain-- this involves toilet paper, unless you don’t mind dripping a snail trail from one appliance to another. OP mentioned using toilet paper is a problem:
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<p>2) if you have the standard style American water heater in another part of the house, it takes a long time for the warm water to get to the bidet. </p>
<p>3) the seat is not heated the way the Japanese-style washlet seats are</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the advice. After reviewing the terry love and garden web sites, we decided to update our 14 year old toilets with the Toto eco II toilet. One for the main floor bathroom and one for the master bath. Instead of a bidet- too costly for our budget right now…we went with the Brondell washlet. The washlets seem to work, hubby starts chemo/radiation treatment at the end of the month.</p>
<p>After trying the washlets, I can see why the Japanese and European people use them. Wow does it feel nice! Such a clean feeling. Although, the front cleaning spray doesn’t quite get there for me, the rest is perfect for H.</p>
<p>I have heard that once you have a bidet or combo appliance, you never want to go back. </p>
<p>DH is a 7 year survivor, so I have been where you are, OP, as the supportive partner. It’s a challenging year of treatment, but you get through it. DH was stage 3 and still going strong, so hang in there!</p>
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