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Comment by cm2187 | Hacker News Reader

Are these used outside of Japan?

I'm from Denmark (Europe). Looked into it recently. They are extremely expensive. You are easily looking at 2000 USD for a cheap setup. I saw a couple of premium ones for around 14k USD. At this point, I think the problem is that here is not a big enough market to warrant investment. A Catch 22 until some big company decides to enter the market and others follow.

Got one recently for my parents in Europe for €230 delivered. Its just an attachment seat to an existing toilet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/8pr/Toilet-vidaXL-Luxury-Bidet-Au...

If you factor in the savings on toilet paper and anti-depressants you can raise the bottom line a little..

It's a shame really. Cultural habits like toilet use are very resistant to change, even if there are health or hygiene benefits. You don't know what you are missing until you've lived in Japan with a Toto Washlet installed.

You use a lot less toilet paper, and while the heated seat may seem decadent, it is actually very relaxing in the colder seasons — ostensibly a good thing when voiding your bowels. The best thing though is when you are ill and have diarrhoea. On a Western toilet the toilet paper feels like 80-grit sandpaper after the fourth time you go. With a washlet you've still got diarrhoea, but at least you leave the bathroom feeling clean with your skin not nearly as irritated.

The cheap option is a "bidet shower". I had a rented house, owned by a Muslim, which had them installed.

They are presumably cheap to buy, but they need a proper water supply, and plumbers in Denmark are expensive...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet_shower

Are you not allowed to buy yourself a few fittings and a wrench and do it yourself in Denmark?

I have no idea, I've not lived here long enough to find out.

Probably.

Wow, is most of that the cost to import in small volume? They aren't super popular in the US, either, but you can get a basic model (with seat warmer) that attaches to an existing "normal" toilet for around $400 from Toto.

Those were the prices for domestic dealers. I saw some seat-only products outside of Denmark, but many of them only fit certain toilets and some don't say which or how to know if it'll fit. Eventually I gave up since I simply don't know what toilet I have amongst the other unknowns.

I was recently looking to get one, and cheapest I could find for Europe was Korean Quoss (model 5300) brand. Don't know however if you want to go for cheap stuff for this item (there are risks, like being electrocuted). On the other hand, I think lifespan is also very limited, even for the top of the line stuff, so you would need to get one say every 5-10 years.

I've seen them at Google.

The base model Washlet is about $400 in the US.[1] You must have a 120V GFCI-equipped outlet within 3 feet of the unit.

[1] https://washlet.totousa.com/product/a100

in japan its not super cheap either unless its already installed.

Ours was around ¥13,000 / US$115 when the landlord replaced it last year

I got mine as part of a broader bathroom renovation but the plumbing by itself is pretty straightforward. That said, you do need an appropriate electrical outlet near the toilet and, based on earlier research, smaller (round) toilet bowls are not ideal for being retrofitted.

I've found options that don't require electricity and are easy to connect (no plumbing experience required) albeit with fewer features than a Toto. https://www.tushy.me/ is an affordable one like this

Just when I'm reading about that product, a pop-up appears, "Enter your email for free shipping (and "news" that won't clog your inbox"). There's no way to dismiss the pop-up. I was considering buying the product before that happened. It's such a strong signal that the site operator is a scumbag that I won't deal with them. It means the site is about collecting e-mail addresses, not selling and servicing products.

The popup is coming from "justuno.com". They're in San Francisco. They have a CEO with a beard, as if they were cool.

Add to block list.

You can buy them, they are not so common though. Toto are the most common export brand, they have showrooms in major cities.

I looked into getting one for my bathroom but it was going to be £3000 to get a decent model plus a compatible toilet bowl (and IIRC that didn't include getting it plumbed in and an electrician to wire it in).

Edit: List of USA models, the most expensive being $3,300: https://washlet.totousa.com/view-all-products

Pretty common in South Korea.

Pretty common in India. Though the tradition of 'washing' instead of 'wiping' has been here forever, but a lot of the modern homes now have an inbuilt toilet bidet.

have seen similar stuff in the more upmarket hotels and condos in China

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