Toilet Paper Dispenser
The toilet paper dispenser is common in Western societies. And if you were born and raised in one of these societies you’d be shocked by anything different than the method of toilet paper after using the toilet. You’d be shocked to follow what those in India, for example, and the Pacific Islands do: which is using a sort of short hand bucket to wash themselves. This practice, it’s true, is common in what Westerners often assume to be shanty towns, but the process is identical in principle to what Europeans understand as the bidet.
The bidet principle is in fact a lot more hygienic that a simple toilet ply to wipe off your bottom. In fact, it’s common for adventurous Westerner backpacking types to visit a country such as India, and experience the bidet principle, and to become a so called convert. When accompanied with dabs of soap, the bidet method is in fact more hygienic than a simple ply of toilet tissue.
The toilet dispenser in developing economies is considered, especially in Southeast Asian developing economies, to be a luxury. It isn’t uncommon for restrooms in shopping malls or even hotels in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, or Malaysia to charge a nominal fee for a few plies of toilet tissue. The toilet tissue dispenser in this case would be an actual person that dispenses the toilet paper, who also receives the fee for the product and service.
A common criticism of the bidet method is probably obvious to most: it’s being wet at the end of the toilet ordeal. How are you supposed to dry off if there are no toilet tissues around? Those in economically poorer areas and situations simply choose to remain wet and to let the underwear absorb the moisture, to let the underwear dry the person off.
Those that haven’t yet experienced the bidet principle is likely wondering how one gets over to the bidet. Or, how one maneuvers about the toilet seat in order to splash some water on their bottom. If the idea of anything other than a ply of tissue paper is foreign to you, you’re likely going to have a hard time figuring out how this is done. As a Westerner convert myself, I could tell you this much: you’ve just got to try it a few times. Like anything else, I like to say, like finding a niche with red wine varietals, you just have to try it, over and over again. Eventually, you get a style about it, and you civilize the whole ordeal into a procedure. Personally speaking, I prefer a combination. I agree with the argument that the bidet principle is cleaner than just using toilet tissue, but the drying is definitely an issue, which is where I believe the toilet tissue comes into play.