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Comment by pmoriarty | Hacker News Reader

My main concern regarding a bidet is that it'll leak.

I've heard horror stories about bidets causing thousands of dollars worth of damages after the water hoses that supply them leak and spill hundreds of gallons of water on to the floor when their owners are away from home.

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The solution for me is to put "Turn off supply valves" in my vacation checklist and replace the hoses every five years.

And those hoses should be metal-braided versions, preventing burst.

is that different from any other water faucet in the bathroom?

FWIW, as an Italian (everybody has a bidet in Italy) I have literally never heard of anyone having encountered this issue, but I suppose it may vary in other countries.

It is a common thing to close the water in the house when you're away for a long time though, but I assumed everybody did that.

A normal faucet has an overflow prevention.

If the bidet's line runs outside of the toilet bowl, and fails there, then it leaks onto the floor.

A normal faucet has two supply lines underneath the sink, and frequently they're flexible. Those can leak and cause a massive flood.

Has that ever happened to you?

In addition, every toilet also has a supply line underneath, running from the wall valve to the bottom of the tank where the fill valve is mounted. Again, these are frequently flexible lines. How is this different than a bidet?

The cheapest bidet attachments all have very flimsy plastic threading for their supply lines. My first one did develop a small leak after eight years, but by then it had more than proven the concept and I bought a nicer one.

It sounds a lot like we're talking about different things. The Italian guy before is talking about a real bidet, a serious plumbing fixture much like a toilet. You and others seem to be thinking of some cheap, plastic add-on. Personally, I was thinking of either the European-style bidet, or the Japanese-style washlet, neither of which is cheap.

and requires you to, like, add physical real estate to your bathroom.

The European-style bidet does require extra real estate in your bathroom. The Japanese-style washlet does not; it's built into the toilet (or replaces the regular lid).

Honestly, I have no idea why Europeans still use their old-fashioned bidets now that washlets have been around for several decades. Why would you want to use two different devices just to do a #2 when you can just sit on one and get it all done at once?

> Has that ever happened to you?

Yes, and it flooded three floors of my house and required months of renovations. Thanks for asking about it. I briefly considered giving up on indoor plumbing altogether.

it appears the misunderstanding stems from you thinking of the "shower head attached to the WC" thing (south east asia style) while I'm thinking of the "bathroom fixture" thing (europe and japan style).

I can see what the issue with the former may be, thanks.

If you use a pressure reducer -> good quality bidet with metal pipe -> to a simple head which is openable and fixable, should last a long time, mine is approaching 10 yrs and should keep going. The flexible pipe will need changing in a few years probably and the bidet itself will need a new spring + washer if it starts leaking.

You could also go full hackernews and have a sensor connected to a wifi valve which shuts off the water supply when no one is in the loo.

My friends were (rightly) concerned their two year old would think it was a new bathroom toy. He loves playing with water. I didn't have a good answer, but somehow kids in asia seem less enthusiastic about playing with something they use to clean their bums. Also, the majority of the bathrooms there are more like giant showers... they have floors with drains in them so the whole thing can get wet without any problems. Sure makes cleaning them easier too.

Yeah, the floor drains in Asia make water leaks a minor issue.

It would be a major issue in the US as that water would just leak through the floor.

Yea, almost none of the bathrooms in the US are designed like that. I only see it in the occasional hotel. I wish they were. Things are so much simpler that way.

Agreed. When constructing a house it would be cheap to run another line and put in a floor drain. Would make life much easier.

No more worrying about leaking pipes, overflowing toilet, etc.

In my place in VN, the shower drain is the floor drain. No need for an extra line even. =) The whole bathroom is basically one big shower.

All the bidets I've used (standard fare in .fi) are attached to the faucet, so you need to open that if you want to use the bidet. (You also use the faucet to control water temperature)

A bum gun is not a bidet.

It is–just a hand-held one.

Are you concerned about the hose to your tank leaking? What about the rest of your plumbing? Wrap teflon tape around the threads in the direction you will be screwing the connection on three times. Tighten with a wrench. If you are really paranoid, use pipe thread sealant after the teflon tape.

NO, DO NOT DO THIS!!!

Compression fittings in plumbing must NOT have any teflon tape on the threads. This just causes leaks. Teflon tape is for fittings where the threads are the sealing surface. Compression fittings do not seal with the threads; the threads only provide compressive force.

Also, 'hand-tight' is more than sufficient (in most cases) using compression fittings (not brass but rubber/silicone/Viton, etc). After all, you are dealing with relatively low pressure, which a strong grip exceeds, while a wrench too tight can easily foul the soft seal.

Edit for clarity.

Your comment is what every textbook says and it's not wrong for ideal conditions.

Meanwhile in the field you come across a boogered up fitting line that leaks, you slap some tape on the threads, the nut seals to the ferrule, the ferrule seals to the tube and the tape seals the threads.

It's not "right" but it works well enough often enough that people do it.

Instead of half-assing it, if it's "boogered up" and leaks, the fittings should be replaced.

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