Anal Cleansing - Water

Water

In France, toilet sanitation was supplemented by the invention of the bidet in the 1710s. With the improvements to plumbing in the mid- to late 19th century, the bidet moved from the bedroom (where it was kept with the chamber pot) to the bathroom. Modern bidets use a stream of warm water to cleanse the genitals and anus. Before modern plumbing, bidets sometimes had a hand-crank to achieve the same effect. The bidet is commonplace in many European countries, especially in Spain (30%), Portugal (70%), Greece (80%) and Italy (95%), and also in Japan where approximately half of all households have a form of bidet (often combined with the toilet in a single appliance). It is also very popular in the Middle East.

In India and the Indian subcontinent, over 95% of the population use water with or without soap for cleansing the anal area after defecating. In places where water is scarce or not closely available, a stone or similar hard material is used instead. Use of paper as in the western world is rare in this region and is seen only in some urban and westernised societies. The cleaning of hands after this cleanising process is mandatory and is done using soap. If soap is not available, soil, ash or sand could be used to clean the used hand or both hands.

The use of water in Muslim countries is due in part to Islamic toilet etiquette which encourages washing after all instances of defecation. Further, Islam has made flexible provisions for when water is scarce; stones or papers can be used for cleansing after defecation and in ablution. The use of these other means to clean oneself does not include animal bones or skin as they are food for other animals and non-human creatures. In many countries, a hand-held bidet or pail of water is used in lieu of a pedestal.

In Turkey, all Western-style toilets have a small nozzle on the centre rear of the toilet rim aiming at the anus. This nozzle is called taharet musluğu and it is controlled by a small tap placed within hand's reach near the toilet. It is used to wash the anus before wiping and drying with toilet paper. Squat toilets in Turkey do not have this kind of nozzle (a small bucket of water from a hand's reach tap or a bidet shower is used instead).

Similarly in Japan, a nozzle placed at rear of the toilet bowl aims a water jet to the anus and serves the purpose of cleaning; however, this arrangement is common only in Western-style toilets, and is not incorporated in traditional designs.

In the U.S. and UK bidets are not yet as popular as in continental Europe and the Middle East, but are slowly becoming more common. Attachable stainless steel or plastic bidets that are fixed to existing toilets are gaining popularity as they are easy to use and cheap.

Another alternative resembles a miniature shower and is known as a "health faucet" or a bidet shower It is commonly placed in an alcove to the right hand side of the toilet where it is easy to reach. These are commonly used in the Muslim world. In the Indian subcontinent, a lota vessel is often used to cleanse with water.

In Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, house bathrooms usually have a medium size wide plastic dipper (called gayung in Indonesia, tabo in the Philippines) or large cup, which is also used in bathing. However, most general households utilize toilet paper, "health faucets", or bidets (in some rich mansions) as well. Some health faucets are metal sets attached to the bowl of the water closet, with the opening pointed at the anus. Toilets in public establishments mainly provide toilet paper for free or dispensed, though the dipper (or even a cut up PET bottle or plastic jug, or disposed ice cream can) used for this purpose is occasionally encountered in some establishments. Though most Thais find it difficult not to cleanse their anus with water, most of the shopping malls do not provide health faucets since they are considered to be dirty and could make it hard for them to keep the bathrooms clean. Owing to its ethnic diversity, restrooms in Malaysia often feature a combination of anal cleansing methods where most public restrooms in cities offer toilet paper as well as a built in bidet or a small hand-held bidet shower connected to the plumbing in the absence of a built in bidet.