A douche toilet is a toilet which has a spray attachment that can be used for douching or for cleaning affected areas after using the toilet. Most douche toilets will have a shower-like hose with a small sprayer attachment on the end. These sprayers will generally have a trigger on the back, which can be pressed to activate a jet of water. Bidet toilets and douche toilets are essentially the same.
Common types of douche toilet are very similar to an ordinary toilet, but with a sprayer attachment mounted to the wall on one side of the main unit. This sprayer is used by the person to clean him or herself after using the toilet. The sprayer is on the end of a flexible hose, which can be maneuvered by the user into the required position for cleaning. When the trigger on the back of the spray is pressed, a jet of fresh water from the building’s main water supply is fired out of the nozzle. Some sprayers also have a drying function.
Some more high quality douche toilets do not have a separate spray attachment, and actually build the sprayer into the main toilet. These are controlled by a remote control to combat potential hygiene issues presented by a shared douche sprayer. Units like this can either be bought as an entire toilet, or as a seat to be fitted onto an older toilet. The sprayer is still connected to the main water supply from the home and works in the same way.
A douche toilet may be referred to as a bidet toilet, which is technically a more accurate term. Douching is technically the cleaning out of the vagina using water. Etymologically, douching comes from the French word meaning to wash or soak, so can be used to apply to a device to clean the inside or outside of anything. Despite this original meaning, modern usage of the word “douche” applies specifically to cleaning out the inside of the vagina. This is not advised by medical professionals, because it can disturb the natural balance of bacteria present within the vagina.
Many people prefer to use a douche toilet in order to reduce the waste and excessive cost associated with the use of toilet paper. Toilet paper is made from natural resources, which are only a finite resource when improperly managed. The process of manufacturing toilet paper also uses chemicals which can damage the environment. Generally, people with a douche toilet will save a lot of money on toilet paper by not relying on it alone.