How Much Is a Bidet? Is It Cheaper than Toilet Paper?

There is no one uniform price of a bidet as they differ from one manufacturer to another and the added features. However, you can use price points to work out the general expense. For example, there are many quality and excellent bidets under $120. For example, the SAMODRA Button Bidet is $49.99, while the SAMODRA Round Bidet Seat goes for $119.99. The same goes for tissue paper with many varying preferences and having different prices. But there is no denying that the upfront costs of tissue paper are far cheaper, with the average cost of a roll being about $3. However, when considering the cost of tissue paper and a bidet, the focus should be on the long-run cost. That's because you will still need tissue paper monthly, and it is in this regard, a bidet proves is worth and cost-saving. 

WHICH IS CHEAPER, A BIDET OR TOILET PAPER?

On average, a family of four can end up spending $1680 on toilet paper over three years. A bidet can lower that usage by 75 %, and so for three years, you will only spend $420, and if you get a bidet at the price of $100 or below, you will have spent $520 only.

Even if you get a premium option around the $500 price point, you still have a total expenditure of $920. What's more, the premium options come with a dryer cutting down your need for toilet paper completely, leaving you with the price of the bidet only.

To put the cost-cutting effect of a bidet, you have to consider that, on average, all Americans use about 34,000,000 toilet paper rolls per day. At the stated average of $3 per day, people in the US spend $102,000,000 on tissue paper daily.

By reducing this expenditure by 75%, you will have cut the daily expenditure down to $25,500,000. Another misconception is that a bidet uses electricity which adds to its running costs. However, that is not true as in cleaning mode, most bidets use about $1-2 dollars monthly, and that is if you are using it generously for 15 minutes a day. 

Another consideration that most people think makes a bidet expensive is the amount of water it uses. However, this amount is negligible, with a typical bidet using about 1/8th of a gallon, and your usual toilet water consumption is about four gallons for every flush. 

Finally, unless you consider using standalone bidet fixtures, it is not expensive to install bidet attachments. Often, these units are straightforward DIY projects which save you the cost for a professional technician. 

PRODUCTION COST 

Toilet paper also costs a lot to produce, which places pressure on other resources. According to some sources, Americans use about 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper, pulping 15 million trees annually. It also takes up to 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to manufacture that amount of tissue paper annually and about 253,000 tons of chlorine.

In terms of electricity, it takes about 17.3 terawatts of electricity annually. There is also packaging material to consider, which further adds to the cost of tissue paper. While there are costs for making bidets, it is not a recurring cost per person, which makes it less stressful on available resources. 

THE COST OF WASTE

Tissue paper also contributes to the blockages of drainage systems at home and in the public sewers. The inconvenience that the blockages cost is costly, and you also end up paying plumbers to unclog the sewers. Fewer tissue papers lessen this risk, and that is an advantage a bidet provides. Further, there is less wastage at home. 

Tissue paper packaging is often thrown away, contributing to plastic wraps waste. People also tend to use more tissue paper than is necessary, resulting in high wastage. With bidets, you cut down the percentage of tissue use is by 75%, significantly reducing wastage. 

THE COST TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Toilet paper places a high cost on the environment. It contributes to deforestation, which in turn contributes to global warming and can affect rainfall levels. Even with the use of tree farms, experts estimate that 50% of trees used to make tissue paper will still come from virgin forests. There is also the amount of bleaching that manufacturers use to give tissue paper its clear white color. 

Bleach is a toxic and carcinogenic substance that gets released as waste after use in the environment. The use of water for the process also takes away clean water from the environment and releases only effluent back, thus exerting pressure on a limited resource. 

THE COST OF HEALTH

Using a bidet affords you several health benefits you would not get from tissue paper. First, it is more hygienic than toilet paper and does a thorough cleaning job. As such, it does not leave bacteria and other excretory matter in your genital and anal regions the same way toilet paper does. 

Using a bidet also limits germ spread since your hands do not contact fecal matter, thus reducing the potential spread of diseases. Bidets further reduce the risk of hemorrhoids as you can use water on medium to low pressure-relieving pressure on your anus.

For individuals with a limited range of movement, bidets provide excellent ways to maintain their independence and privacy in the bathroom. Finally, using a bidet is safe for your skin and prevents irritation that can come from using tissue on sensitive skin.

All these health benefits add to the value you get from a bidet while reducing the expenditure on diseases that could have originated from unhygienic cleaning.

CONCLUSION 

While the upfront costs of a bidet setup may seem expensive than toilet paper, it is only a one-time purchase that keeps earning savings over toilet paper in the long run. It is also less costly in several other aspects, from the environment to health and even production. There are many styles to pick from, so you will not struggle to find an option that best serves your needs and budget.