Bidet vs Wet Wipes: Which One is Better for You

If you are on the fence about continuing to use wet wipes or switching to a bidet, you come to the right place.

bidet vs wet wipes

Bidet vs. wet wipe, I can’t simply tell you which one is better since everyone has different priorities. But I will compare them from various aspects in this post to make the right decision on your own.

Personally, I prefer a bidet because it has great performance, causes fewer plumbing problems,  and could save more money in the long run. Read on to know why I think so.

Comparing the effectiveness

When it comes to hygiene appliances, the most important thing for us is always cleaning performance. Compared to toilet paper, wet wipes could provide a more effective cleaning. But when compared to a bidet, what will happen?

In general, you will need to use two sheets of wet wipes to clean your posterior or vulva thoroughly. It will take even more wet wipes when dealing with Diarrhea or loose stool.

A standard bidet session is about one minute. I find that it could clean all the residues in the session even when I have mushy poop. It will never spray the poop everywhere, but I could accidentally smear the skin using wet wipes.

Therefore, the efficacy of a bidet and wet wipes is equal when you have normal stools. Bidet tends to perform better while dealing with loose stools. If you have a healthy stool, it would not be problematic in most cases.

Comparing the cost

If you are new to the world of bidets, you may wonder how much a bidet will cost. The price varies according to types and brands.

Usually, a standard electric bidet seat will cost a few hundred dollars, and the average price of bidet attachment and bidet sprayer is about $25 to $50. 

When we look at the wet wipes, one pack (about 48 sheets total) will cost you about $2. If you use two sheets per bowel movement and have three family members in your house, you will need six sheets per day which is 3.75 packs per month. As you know, 3.75 packs will cost you 7.5 dollars.

So the upfront cost of a bidet is much higher than a pack of wet wipes. If you are on a really tight budget, wet wipes are your only choice.

However, if you don’t mind investing a bidet more money, let’s say buying a $25 bidet attachment or bidet sprayer, and you will save more money in the long run. A bidet will last for a few years, and you can get break-even within a few months.

Even if you invest in a modern electric bidet seat, you will save more money after a few years, let alone other fees you may have to pay due to wet wipe use (more on this later).

Comparing the safety

Safety is one of the primary concerns when it comes to cleaning your nether region. Well, there is not a big concern about the safety of both bidet and wet wipes. They both can cause adverse effects somewhat, but using a bidet seems to be a safer option.

The power of bidet lies in a hygienic splash of water. As long as the bidet water quality is good, it would not cause many problems. You can install an external water filter to improve the water quality, and some advanced bidets can produce electrolyzed water to kill the bacteria in the water.

Even though bidet is safe for women and girls, overuse of feminine wash may lead to aggravation of vaginal microflora.

Regarding wet wipes, they often contain many chemicals, and some are even toxic. Even if they have only “harmless chemicals” such as aloe, vitamin E may also result in irritation and inflammation. The chemicals will leave on your sensitive skin and may prevent the growth of the healthy bacteria in your vulva as well. 

So it looks like using a bidet or wet wipes may lead to some health conditions. But the chemicals of wet wipes could cause dry skin or irritation that water would not.

Comparing the plumbing expense

As I said above, you may need to pay more for using wet wipes. This is due to the fact that wet wipes could often cause plumbing issues which would be costly and time-consuming as you have to hire a plumber.

Even though more and more brands claim that their products are flushable, it is not always true. It could ruin the sewer system and cause a high expense which may be as high as a few thousand dollars.

Wet wipes are thicker and therefore harder to dissolve than toilet paper. While you can throw it into the trash can, but not everybody will do that.

In this matter, a bidet will win absolutely. Water will never clog the sewer system and toilet. You may need to use one or two sheets of toilet paper to dab your butt. The consumption of toilet paper would reduce 90% if not 100%. You can avoid most plumbing problems by using a bidet. Technically, a bidet would not lead to any plumbing expense.

Bidet vs. wet wipes: which one is more environment-friendly?

wet wipes contain plastic

As human beings, we need to take on some responsibilities. When I talked about the bidet benefits, I mentioned that bidet could save more water and trees because a roll of toilet paper will cost  37 gallons of water and 1.5 pounds of wood. 

How about wet wipes? Except for chemicals, most wet wipes also contain plastic fibers that cannot biodegrade. There has been a 400% increase in wet wipes found along the coastline over the past decade in the UK.

Moreover, some wet wipes are made from wood or bamboo, which would take a lot of water, wood, and bamboo to make it which will evoke a large burden to the environment. 

So using wet wipes could cause even more problems than using toilet paper. So bidet is a winner regarding the environmental friendliness as what it needs is water, and every use will only take about 1/8th gallon of water plus 1 or 2 sheets of toilet paper.

Sum up

Bidet vs. wet wipes? I think you will have a better idea after reading this post. In general, wet wipes and bidets have an excellent performance on cleaning stools, but bidets would be more effective on cleaning mushy poop.

You have to pay more upfront to buy a bidet, but you can save a lot of money in the long run, considering you don’t have to invest in it repeatedly. In addition, wet wipes are not so environmentally friendly compared to using a bidet because it is made of unbiodegradable plastic and contain an array of chemicals. 

You may often ignore that wet wipes could clog the sewer system and could lead to a thousand dollars repair. 

From my perspective, a bidet is better than wet wipes; however, wet wipes could be a more suitable choice if you are on a tight budget or will move to another place very soon.

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Kevin Chow is an enthusiast of home improvement. He is an engineer and likes to test all the tech gadgets on the market. He starts to use bidet seats after his journey to Japan and he had tried a few brands.