Cons: gets your rear a bit wet
In the Huddler Featured Debate section, we discussed the benefits of bidets vs. toilet paper. I concluded that on average, the amount of toilet paper use per visit consumes nearly a quarter gallon of water (4 cups), requires trees to be cut down, and energy to be used making the toilet paper and transporting it to the store and to your home. That's a lot of resources being used just to clean your butt!
In comparison, a bidet just requires a bit of water be used (I measured it at about one cup - a quarter much as the water used to make the equivalent amount of toilet paper), and that's it! Though you still need to use a little bit of toilet paper to finish the job and dry your rear. I usually end up using 2 sheets as opposed to the usual 10 or so.
There are "washlets" and fancy bidets which have options like heated seats, butt air dryers, using hot water, etc. Hot water wasn't an option for me because you need to be able to connect it to your sink's hot water line, but mine is inside a cabinet (as is often the case in American bathrooms). Also my toilet isn't near a power outlet for the heating and air drying and all that fancy nonsense.
All that stuff is completely unnecessary and takes away from the greenness of the bidet. The water isn't all that cold or uncomfortable, and drying only takes 1-2 sheets of paper. And really, who needs a heated toilet seat? Plus as you add more features the bidets and washlets get really expensive fast.
The Simplet bidet is thus the greenest rear end cleaning option available. It beats toilet paper and fancy washlets on energy use and water consumption, and doesn't cost a whole lot.
Installation was pretty simple - I did it by myself in about 15 minutes. You just turn the water off at the wall, flush it to get the water out of the tank, unscrew the line and add an adapter, unscrew the seat and add the bidet, put it all together, and voilá! Turn the water back on and you're in business for doing your business. The bidet just works by turning a knob - the further you turn it, the greater the water pressure. Very simple. Hence the name 'simplet'!
Overall I'm happy with the BB-50. It's easy to use, takes less effort than toilet paper, feels as clean if not more so after the fact, and is a greener option than using toilet paper. Supposedly it's also a very hygienic option for women, though I don't know why.
