How Toilets Have Evolved…Is the Bidet Next?
In this weekly Q&A column, retired builder/building inspector Cam Allen answers readers’ home renovation questions. Have a question? Enter it in the form below.
I have had a number of requests for information on various home
fixtures, so today we start with the toilet, usages and the benefits of a
bidet.
There have been many forms of toilets since the Romans – the most common was the simple outhouse. Early sanitation was rudimentary at best and related diseases affected the medieval period when people flocked to cities for work.
The first actual indoor flush toilet was invented in 1596. Sewers arrived in London, England shortly thereafter with major expansion in 1858. Various inventors improved the function, including an English gentleman by the name of Thomas Crapper, yes thats where the term came from! Mr. Crapper’s toilets and related bath accessories evolved in the late 1800s and he was the first to introduce a retail store offering toilets, much to the disgust of Victorian England. His line of fixtures is still sold to this day. In fact, a Canadian by the name of Thomas Stewart from New Brunswick patented the first vortex-flushing toilet in 1907 – this design creates a sort of self-cleaning effect during the flush.
Toilets are necessary, if for no other reason than sanitation. They have evolved and continue to do so. They do affect the environment substantially, however, as they generally use treated water, toilet paper and some method of sewage treatment, be it municipal or a residential septic system. In fact, in most homes the toilet accounts for upwards of 40 percent of the water usage, water that has been treated for safe human consumption.
After the turn of the century, most toilets used as much as 6 gallons of water per flush. In the early 90s, governments on both sides of the border mandated a North America wide standard of 1.6 gallons. Today there are toilets operating at 1.28 gallons and some have got this down to 0.8 gallons. These are often designed as a dual flush toilet with two “buttons”, one for solid waste which uses 1.6 gallons and the 0.8 button for liquid waste. The change from 6 gallons to 1.6 was documented to save upwards of 60 percent of the average household treated water usage.
Next to composting or incinerator toilets, I doubt we will ever eliminate water usage to discharge the human waste we create. Where we really need to make the effort is the sheer volume of toilet paper we use. The average person uses upwards of 50 sheets of toilet paper a day. This translates into well over 100 rolls of toilet paper a year per person. While there are numerous studies on how many trees are used to make toilet paper annually, 700 million is a common figure. For perspective, it takes about a pound and a half of wood to make the average roll of toilet paper. Putting this all together, by one estimate of worldwide we are using upwards of 42 million tons of toilet paper a year.
There is an option that is more popular in Europe than in North America, known as the bidet. It was not uncommon in high-end homes a number of years ago to have both a conventional toilet and a bidet in the bathroom. I can remember the first bidet a client asked for, some 30 years ago. My crew were fascinated at this “butt-washing” fixture as they quickly named it!
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A bidet integrates a gentle spray, often heated, for personal hygiene after finishing your natural bodily function. This spray dramatically reduces the need for toilet paper, if at all. They can help minimize skin irritation which can be a blessing for anyone with sensitive skin. The other benefit is for anyone with mobility issues and it’s particularly beneficial for seniors who have muscle
limitations. Today’s bidets have come a long way, adjustable water pressure, temperature control, heated seats and air drying are just some of the features you can buy.
There are some myths that seem to persist with bidets, mainly the
misconception that they use an excess amount of water. In fact most
modern bidets use in the area of 1/8th of a gallon of water during a
cycle. On average it takes 30+ gallons of water to manufacture a roll of
toilet paper. Comparatively, to manufacture one roll of toilet paper it
needs as much water as an average of two months usage for a bidet.
There is some concern over the additional plumbing needed and for a
separate bidet fixture it does need an additional drain and water supply
installed. This brings me to the modern bidet attachment for an existing
toilet.
A bidet toilet seat attachment has a lot of benefits. Their popularity rose
dramatically during the pandemic when a consumer panic over a possible shortage of toilet paper caused quite a demand for these fixtures. Major manufacturers like Toto saw increases of more than 25 percent in their sales.
I will admit I am seriously considering installing one of these bidet toilet
seat attachments on the two toilets in my own home. One of the more
popular makes is called a “Tushy Classic.” This retrofit unit is available
for standard or elongated toilets, has a water pressure control and a
wide range of spray with a nozzle adjuster. They are non-electric and
offer a self cleaning feature. They are priced in the $150 to 200 range.
The next step up requires access to an electrical plug, one fitted with a
GFCI plug. This allows for some nice options like a heated seat and a
warm water cleaning stream, air deodorizer and even UV sterilization on
some models. I looked at two manufacturers – Toto and Vovo – they both
offered multiple benefits: a warm air dryer, adjustable water spray and
pressure and a night light built into the lid. My co-author Paul of our
book series has installed these and he said to look for a stainless steel wand vs plastic for sanitation. These models range from $400 to $1,000 depending on the features.
The time has come for my family to make this step, we are simply
consuming far too much paper and toilet paper is one of the worst
offenders. At some point in the future I will update how our new Toto
bidet option worked out.
Images from Depositphotos
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