To the unfamiliar, bidets can seem mysterious. However, it is easy to understand why we should have one. To illustrate my point, imagine mud-splattered boots. Would you ever clean your boots simply with toilet paper? Of course not. You'll wash it. After your boots are clean, you may want to dry them with a towel or TP. Cleaning your butt is no different than cleaning your boots – or nearly anything else, for that matter.
Well, you may ask another question: "Should I wipe before or after using a bidet?" Let's hear bidet users' answers.
- “I do 1 wipe, then bidet, then a follow-up wipe to dry.”
-- WrongPudding (via Reddit)
- My wife instructed me to wipe before using the bidet, to keep it from splashing and dirtying the toilet.
-- BoatLifeMN (via Reddit)
- It doesn’t splash but goes straight down into the bowl. Wash yourself clean every time and blot dry with a single tissue.
-- Ken McSwain (via Quora)
- I do one wipe before using the bidet, or I feel gross because you can feel the poop getting blasted off when it fires up, and ya makes more mess if you don't.
-- sushi-gobbler (via Reddit)
- I only use TP after to check and dab dry. Wiping defeats the point of a bidet and probably just spreads the mess
-- msantaly (via Reddit)
The common order of bidet use is poop - wash - wipe. Some people wipe before using the bidet, and this isn't necessarily wrong because it can be useful in some cases. To put it specifically, it's up to your poop.
As well all know, the consistency of one's poop can vary quite a bit from one bowel movement to another. And the characteristic texture of poop can differ between people. Some people experience absolutely no mess after pooping, while others have messy experiences no matter what.
Standard Smooth-sailing Poop
People with neat tidy poops are very lucky indeed. If it's a standard smooth-sailing poop, I recommend using a bidet directly for fast and efficient cleaning and wiping gently with a small amount of toilet paper to dry yourself.
Soft Stool
Soft stools leave us needing to wipe more times than usual to get a good clean, not to mention the situation when some portion of the stool sticks to the skin. A bidet is able to take care of this situation in most cases, but it also takes a bit longer to wash with a bidet.
Some bidet systems automatically turn off after a minute or so of use. In a case like this, using toilet paper to pre-wipe can shorten the cleaning cycle. You don't have to wait for the next spray. Hibbent toilet seat bidets provide endless water. It stops spraying only when you turn it off. With enough spraying, you won't need to do any pre-wiping with toilet paper.
Runny Stool
Unlike handheld portable bidets, toilet seat bidets are unable to clean in all directions. The nozzle sprays a fixed area. Poop that's on the pastier side tends to smear around quite a bit, so you have to deal with flecks of stool sticking to areas where the nozzle can't reach. Therefore, using toilet paper in this situation might be useful to remove stool that isn't within the spray path.
Another choice is to shift the body position a bit to get the job done. Move your butt to let the nozzle spray wherever you want. Some amount of adjustment is always needed when using a toilet bidet to ensure that water gets to the right area.
Generally, it is not necessary to pre-wipe. A bidet should clean your backside without the help of TP. Whether you wipe or not, you still use way less toilet paper overall. This saves not only money but also reduces paper waste. It’s a win-win in either scenario.