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This has lead to some lifestyle changes for me. Much less meat due to the rising cost. Installed a Bidet on a whim the moment the TP situation started last year

This has lead to some lifestyle changes for me. Much less meat due to the rising cost. Installed a Bidet on a whim the moment the TP situation started last year, best investment of my life. I traded in my truck last month for almost as much as I paid brand new for a brand new car. Some things are harder to find, or the prices have gone up and so I've just either switched to cheaper options or just stopped buying them at all.

mike_red5hift 5y ago
I have an oddly personal question with a bit of oversharing thrown in for good measure :-) What make/model of Bidet? Been looking to install one. I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan. But maybe that's not needed.
- vrc 5y ago
  The most precise one I’ve ever used was the “butt gun” style, but there was a learning curve and it’s not suited to every toilet. Toto makes a nice integrated-seat one, but IMO it changes the geometry of the commode and makes doing the job less comfy. Ymmv
- donclark 5y ago
  $38 and I highly recommend it. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt...
  - mikestew 5y ago
    I bought one of those years back when I was "bidet curious". I'm still using it, as it does the job well enough. I don't need my butt blow-dried nor do I require warmed water, so I just keep using this one instead of upgrading to something ten times the cost. My wife still refuses to use it, even when we were still scrambling to find TP.
  - pnutjam 5y ago
    You can even "save with used" on that page. $27.76
- francisofascii 5y ago
  I bought a Tushy bidet recently. Works very well. Very pleased with it. I have found that I don't need a hot water hookup, even though the model has the capability.
- SavantIdiot 5y ago
  I have a hose with brushed nickle nozzle that looks like a small garden hose [1]. It takes a while to learn how to aim (hint: ease in with low pressure first). I still use TP to dry off, but like a few squares. It looks kinda like this but with a curvier handle: https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-Feminine-Stainless/dp/B086W1YZSH https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-F... You don't need a fancy motorized electric thing (I don't trust cleaning all those little nozzles and angles). I started using this after I stayed with a Muslim friend in Morocco years ago. I had no choice but learn, and now I'm hooked. My partner thinks it is gross, tho. /shrugs/
  - c17r 5y ago
    I installed the same ones in all our bathrooms. I fell in love with it after a business trip to India. It took until the TP shortage for my partner to agree and now they love it as well.
  - krferriter 5y ago
    I have a bidet at home and wish they were more common in the US. But how is it gross to rinse a dirty part of your body with potable water? I think it's grosser to use the bathroom for solid waste and expect rubbing it off with tissue paper is going to result in an equally clean outcome compared to rinsing with water.
    - SavantIdiot 5y ago
      You're preaching to the choir! :) I've tried every angle to explain...
- hunter2_ 5y ago
  I'm super happy with my Toto Washlet C200 (SW2044). Not cheap but it has the main features you know from Japan. The only tricky bit was fishing the electrical down the wall and using an angle grinder cutting wheel to make the hole in the tile for the outlet box.
- post_break 5y ago
  A cheap $40 model on Amazon. I'm in Texas so don't need heated.
  - ASalazarMX 5y ago
    This gave me flashbacks of last winter's energy outages.
- dehrmann 5y ago
  > oddly personal question If someone shares that they installed a bidet, I thinking asking which model is a pretty reasonable followup.
- mikestew 5y ago
  I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan I was thinking that, too, before I bought the $38 Amazon special referenced in other comments below. To get heated water, I'd have to run wiring and an outlet, and...oh, screw it, try it without the heat and if it's not acceptable I'll buy a better one and do the electrical work. phhhhht, it's fine, and I'm glad I didn't go to the trouble. It's a nice-to-have, but not worth tearing apart drywall to run wiring, IMO. OTOH, if you have an outlet in a convient-to-reach location (e. g., under the toilet), then YOLO.
  - hunter2_ 5y ago
    I haven't tried cold water so I'm not sure what it's like, but this would be highly dependent on climate. Up north in the winter, cold water is quite cold. Of course, if the pipes go though interior walls for a very long distance through your living space before reaching the toilet, then you'll have a decent temperature unless you flush (or run the sink, etc.) just prior. "Old work" electrical boxes are specifically designed to be added without tearing apart the drywall (other than making a clean hole, obviously). The lack of romex staples over a fished wire in such scenarios is typically acceptable by code. Now if the bathroom isn't immediately above a basement or immediately below an attic, it might indeed be impossible to avoid some demo.
- GFischer 5y ago
  I'm from Uruguay, and all bidets have hot and cold water from the plumbing (our housing is built after European standards). No idea how they do it in Japan.
zwieback 5y ago
Yeah, I think this shortage will be a good lesson to a lot us used to overabundance of Everything. I also hope companies who are forced to reshore some of their business learn that the wages they have been paying are just too low.
echoradio 5y ago
> I’ve just either switched to cheaper options or just stopped buying them at all. Same here. Several years ago I went through a period of bringing in 1/8 of my previous income over a stretch of two years. I had to tap into deep savings to stay afloat. In that stretch, I realized how much money was wasted on things that had absolutely no positive impact in my living situation. When the pandemic came around, I was blessed in keeping a stable job and continued to earn a comfortable wage, yet I found myself going back to a simpler mindset. And you know, I’ve been a lot happier. For example, I used to eat out all the time because I never had time to cook. Once that changed, what became one of my favorite meals was (apparently) a depression-era staple. Go figure. We’re so conditioned that in order to be good Americans, we have to be good consumers. The problem is, it’s gotten to an extreme level, and now we’re seeing how our out-of-balance lifestyles are actually problematic. Sure, there’s been ample profit, but these habits exact other costs we don’t see until it’s too late.
- miketery 5y ago
  > my favorite meals was (apparently) a depression-era staple Which one?
  - echoradio 5y ago
    Haluski. Cabbage, onions, egg noodles, butter, salt and pepper (to taste). Eastern European comfort food. :)
  - zsmi 5y ago
    My guess, mac and cheese. Definitely a staple of mine during the lean college years. https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_04.html https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_04.html "During the Depression, this self-sufficiency carried over into their social life. One-dish suppers and church potlucks were important ways to have fun and share food. On radio and in women's magazines, home economists taught women how to stretch their food budget with casseroles and meals like creamed chipped beef on toast or waffles. Chili, macaroni and cheese, soups, and creamed chicken on biscuits were popular meals."

mike_red5hift 5y ago

I have an oddly personal question with a bit of oversharing thrown in for good measure :-) What make/model of Bidet? Been looking to install one. I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan. But maybe that's not needed.

vrc 5y ago
The most precise one I’ve ever used was the “butt gun” style, but there was a learning curve and it’s not suited to every toilet. Toto makes a nice integrated-seat one, but IMO it changes the geometry of the commode and makes doing the job less comfy. Ymmv
donclark 5y ago
$38 and I highly recommend it. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt...
- mikestew 5y ago
  I bought one of those years back when I was "bidet curious". I'm still using it, as it does the job well enough. I don't need my butt blow-dried nor do I require warmed water, so I just keep using this one instead of upgrading to something ten times the cost. My wife still refuses to use it, even when we were still scrambling to find TP.
- pnutjam 5y ago
  You can even "save with used" on that page. $27.76
francisofascii 5y ago
I bought a Tushy bidet recently. Works very well. Very pleased with it. I have found that I don't need a hot water hookup, even though the model has the capability.
SavantIdiot 5y ago
I have a hose with brushed nickle nozzle that looks like a small garden hose [1]. It takes a while to learn how to aim (hint: ease in with low pressure first). I still use TP to dry off, but like a few squares. It looks kinda like this but with a curvier handle: https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-Feminine-Stainless/dp/B086W1YZSH https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-F... You don't need a fancy motorized electric thing (I don't trust cleaning all those little nozzles and angles). I started using this after I stayed with a Muslim friend in Morocco years ago. I had no choice but learn, and now I'm hooked. My partner thinks it is gross, tho. /shrugs/
- c17r 5y ago
  I installed the same ones in all our bathrooms. I fell in love with it after a business trip to India. It took until the TP shortage for my partner to agree and now they love it as well.
- krferriter 5y ago
  I have a bidet at home and wish they were more common in the US. But how is it gross to rinse a dirty part of your body with potable water? I think it's grosser to use the bathroom for solid waste and expect rubbing it off with tissue paper is going to result in an equally clean outcome compared to rinsing with water.
  - SavantIdiot 5y ago
    You're preaching to the choir! :) I've tried every angle to explain...
hunter2_ 5y ago
I'm super happy with my Toto Washlet C200 (SW2044). Not cheap but it has the main features you know from Japan. The only tricky bit was fishing the electrical down the wall and using an angle grinder cutting wheel to make the hole in the tile for the outlet box.
post_break 5y ago
A cheap $40 model on Amazon. I'm in Texas so don't need heated.
- ASalazarMX 5y ago
  This gave me flashbacks of last winter's energy outages.
dehrmann 5y ago
> oddly personal question If someone shares that they installed a bidet, I thinking asking which model is a pretty reasonable followup.
mikestew 5y ago
I've been thinking of one that heats the water, like I used in Japan I was thinking that, too, before I bought the $38 Amazon special referenced in other comments below. To get heated water, I'd have to run wiring and an outlet, and...oh, screw it, try it without the heat and if it's not acceptable I'll buy a better one and do the electrical work. phhhhht, it's fine, and I'm glad I didn't go to the trouble. It's a nice-to-have, but not worth tearing apart drywall to run wiring, IMO. OTOH, if you have an outlet in a convient-to-reach location (e. g., under the toilet), then YOLO.
- hunter2_ 5y ago
  I haven't tried cold water so I'm not sure what it's like, but this would be highly dependent on climate. Up north in the winter, cold water is quite cold. Of course, if the pipes go though interior walls for a very long distance through your living space before reaching the toilet, then you'll have a decent temperature unless you flush (or run the sink, etc.) just prior. "Old work" electrical boxes are specifically designed to be added without tearing apart the drywall (other than making a clean hole, obviously). The lack of romex staples over a fished wire in such scenarios is typically acceptable by code. Now if the bathroom isn't immediately above a basement or immediately below an attic, it might indeed be impossible to avoid some demo.
GFischer 5y ago
I'm from Uruguay, and all bidets have hot and cold water from the plumbing (our housing is built after European standards). No idea how they do it in Japan.

zwieback 5y ago

Yeah, I think this shortage will be a good lesson to a lot us used to overabundance of Everything. I also hope companies who are forced to reshore some of their business learn that the wages they have been paying are just too low.

echoradio 5y ago

> I’ve just either switched to cheaper options or just stopped buying them at all. Same here. Several years ago I went through a period of bringing in 1/8 of my previous income over a stretch of two years. I had to tap into deep savings to stay afloat. In that stretch, I realized how much money was wasted on things that had absolutely no positive impact in my living situation. When the pandemic came around, I was blessed in keeping a stable job and continued to earn a comfortable wage, yet I found myself going back to a simpler mindset. And you know, I’ve been a lot happier. For example, I used to eat out all the time because I never had time to cook. Once that changed, what became one of my favorite meals was (apparently) a depression-era staple. Go figure. We’re so conditioned that in order to be good Americans, we have to be good consumers. The problem is, it’s gotten to an extreme level, and now we’re seeing how our out-of-balance lifestyles are actually problematic. Sure, there’s been ample profit, but these habits exact other costs we don’t see until it’s too late.

miketery 5y ago
> my favorite meals was (apparently) a depression-era staple Which one?
- echoradio 5y ago
  Haluski. Cabbage, onions, egg noodles, butter, salt and pepper (to taste). Eastern European comfort food. :)
- zsmi 5y ago
  My guess, mac and cheese. Definitely a staple of mine during the lean college years. https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_04.html https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_04.html "During the Depression, this self-sufficiency carried over into their social life. One-dish suppers and church potlucks were important ways to have fun and share food. On radio and in women's magazines, home economists taught women how to stretch their food budget with casseroles and meals like creamed chipped beef on toast or waffles. Chili, macaroni and cheese, soups, and creamed chicken on biscuits were popular meals."