Odds are if you're reading this, you're washing your butt all wrong. But never fear, fellow bottom-havers — "Tushy," a sleekly-designed bidet from the same minds behind THINX period underwear, is here to save you from yourself. This small and easy add-on to your toilet won't just help spare you from UTIs, hemorrhoids, and that ~missed a spot~ awkwardness, but it is high key helping save the planet in more ways than one.
Before we get into that, though, let's smash any preconceptions you've had about bidets. If you aren't already sure what a bidet is, it's basically a device that is either separate from or installed in a toilet that shoots water up your bum and cleans it. You've probably seen one in a movie, or maybe even traveling abroad. Despite the fact that bidets are surprisingly prevalent internationally, you might think that they're overly-fancy, inconvenient, or even just way too weird to have one for yourself.
These are the exact taboos that Tushy creator Miki Agrawal and CEO Monica Pereira are hoping to break.
"We need to promote and educate people about the whole concept of a bidet attachment," said Pereira to Bustle. "Our product actually fits neatly under the toilet seat so that the spray nozzle is lowered inconspicuously at the back of the bowl, we have a simple console that extends to the side and lets you control the water pressure, and even the water temperature with certain models for a custom clean. The result is with a very simple fixture you feel clean, healthy and pampered after just a few seconds. We really think this is a practical luxury that is accessible to everyone."
OK, now that I've shaken your old ideas about bidets loose, LISTEN UP, fellow humans with derrières. If the convenience isn't enough, consider that a bidet is startlingly more environmentally conscious than you'd imagine. Whereas a week's worth of flushing the way you normally would uses up approximately 55 gallons of water, switching to a bidet would use 1.3 gallons. (Fun fact from Tushy's website: Did you know it takes 37 gallons of water to make one toilet paper roll?? Bet you're regretting those wild TP'ing days in high school now, huh?)
But this ought to sweeten the deal: buying a bidet is not only environmentally conscious on a personal scale, but is actively working to help solve the global sanitation crisis. Tushy is creating a relationship with the organization Samagra to provide families in India with a toilet for every bidet sold. This is especially crucial in areas where people are forced to practice open defecation because of their lack of access to clean sanitation, and the health consequences of the contamination are quite severe. Tushy has also created a relationship with charity: water to provide schools with toilets, helping ensure the safety of students and help bolster attendance in schools.
And all of this aside, using a bidet, as strange as it seems, is actually pretty in line with the logic we already apply to other things. The Tushy website points out that when a bird poops on us, we don't just rub it off with paper — we wash it.
"Toilet paper is a lifelong habit for us. The bidet is rare and foreign in American because both history and habit are against us," Pereira said to Bustle. She explained that it is both this and Americans' reluctance to talk about anything "taboo" (was anyone else banned from saying the word "poop" by pretty much every adult ever as a child?) that has made us stubborn about the way we use the bathroom for so long. But ultimately, washing with water is more effective, prevents the smearing and spread of bacteria, and is hella more cost-effective than relying on toilet paper.
Plus, these bidets are classy as it gets. They come in black and gold and silver and white to match most toilets discretely.
Running at $74 (silver and white) and $84 (black and gold), the bidets are affordable and easy to install on your own. They don't even require the use of an outside power source — simply use the provided splitter to connect it to the water supply in your toilet tank, et voilà! You have officially entered the realm of bum heaven.
Tushy bidets are currently available on Tushy's website, and are expected to ship on March 30.
Images: Tushy
