[riccardomc]

I am kind of appalled that the article and a lot of people in the comments seem to take the Bidet as an _alternative_ to toilet paper.

That is absolutely not the case in countries like Italy and Portugal. You simply use _both_. Washing yourself with soap and water after you wiped with toilet paper is unquestionably another level of hygiene.

It is also shocking that the article makes very little difference between a toilet seat with water jet and an actual bidet.

In Italy having a bidet is required by law.

[the_snooze]

>I am kind of appalled that the article and a lot of people in the comments seem to take the Bidet as an _alternative_ to toilet paper.

It's such a weird quirk of online discourse: any worthwhile alternative has to be a 100% drop-in replacement with no costs or trade-offs. The same thing happens in discussions of biking/transit/car balance.

You can use a bidet (or bidet attachment) with toilet paper. You'll feel much cleaner, get clean quicker, and use way less paper in the process vs. using paper only.

[ghaff]

I think people are confusing the sort of bidet you may see in a European hotel/home with a Japanese Toto washlet sort of thing--even though the bidet term is also sometimes used for the latter. (And, yes, for the latter in my experience you still use some TP.)

[DonsDiscountGas]

If you've never used one it's easy to not know the details.