Have written a brief article regarding my experiences in building a small house in the Teramo Province of Abruzzo. It can be seen at:

http://www.virtualitalia.com/articles/acne_house.shtml

NO BIDET! :sad:

If you are easily offended by bathroom talk read no further!!!

Stephen,

How sad it is that you have spent all this energy getting back to your roots and still the puritan history of Amierica keeps you from loving the bidet.

The bidet, how wonderful an invention. Have you run out of carta igenica, no problem with a bidet. Better yet what would you say if after playing in the garden, you child wiped his hands with a paper towl and pronounced him or herself ready for dinner. "Go wash with soap and water."

Christina informs me that America has the highest rate of bladder infections in the western world. Why? Because we refuse to clean ourselves.

When my wife and I spent a year in India, we were frequently asked, "Is it true that Americans only clean themselves with paper?" They were shocked and ammused to think that the pinacle of the western world was really that filthy.

So we have bidets in both of our bathrooms. The one in our girls bathroom (age 3 and 1) is most oftern used as a child height sink for hand washing.

For infants a bidet allows you to skip the baby wipes in favor of warm running water.

And finally (remember the warning above), I cannot imagine returning to a sex life without a bidet. A warm wash is an amazing luxury for members of both sexes.

So, use that plumbing that is in your walls, install a bidet or two and come to know what most Americans have been missing.

:wink: :wink: :wink:

Ok, I love this post. I mean, I LOVE it. :biggrin:

We are building a house in Lazio (Giglio di Veroli). It took me a long time to really appreciate the value of a bidet...but it has finally won me over. Our five-year-old son long used it as a mini-sink, but has even soaked his little bottom on occasion (lots of fun he thought). In our new house we have room for a bidet in the master bath but I am considering using the bidet space in the other bathroom for a washing machine. Perhaps I should reconsider! Both will not fit. Decisions, decisions. Perhaps the washing machine should go down in the garage/cantina area as the bidet has no other place to go!

I couldn't live with without my bidet.

Its the only thing my dog will drink from!

Mark

Luckily for me, and whomever may be lucky enough to buy the house from me in the future, our builder had the forethought to include the necessary pipes such that the new owner can easily correct my oversight and add a bidet should they want one.

The gracious feedback I have received in this forum and from other sources has convinced me of the error of my ways. My wife tells me a bidet is a fine plumbing fixture because there is no toilet seat that can be left in the upright position. She now claims the bidet has done more to strengthen the institution of marriage and reduce marital conflict than any other 12th century invention.

Whatsmore, in the definitive book "The Bathroom," Alexander Kira cites a study of British men that found that nine percent were not wearing underpants and 44 percent revealed at least occasional staining of their underpants or trousers. Kira goes on to recommend liquid-based methods of cleansing.

Hence, in the names of strengthening the marriage institution and of protecting the sensitive undersides of British males, I do indeed stand (and not sit) corrected. A bidet it is.

Congraduations!

And thanks for the both the humour and being the one in a million men on the planet (I'm not sure I'm one) who can admit the error of thier ways with a smile.

:cheers: