Washing with a bidet has all sorts of perks. Water gets you clean in a way that wiping can’t. (It’s why we wash our hands instead of just grabbing a paper towel.) It gets you so clean that you won’t need to use much toilet paper if any at all. That’s good for your wallet and the environment (more on that later).
Of course, there’s still that matter of how to dry yourself once your bidet wash is complete. For those who haven’t tried a bidet yet, we’re not talking about a ton of water here. Most bidets have customizable spray options, making it easy to control the pressure and spray angle so water only goes where needed (in other words, you won’t get soaked). Still, it’s normal to have some water left over after you wash. So what’s the best method for drying after a bidet?
Pat dry with toilet paper
One way to get dry after using a bidet is with toilet paper. Since you’re already clean from your bidet, you won’t need much toilet paper to do so–just enough to remove any excess water. Use a gentle pat-dry motion instead of a wipe to avoid any irritation. That’s all there is to it.
While toilet paper is convenient, it has its downsides, mainly that it’s bad for the environment. Most toilet paper is made with trees–lots of them putting forests at risk and increasing carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Plus, those trees have to be turned into pulp–which uses lots of water and harmful chemicals like bleach. Add in single-use plastic packaging and gasoline for transportation, and you can start to see why using less toilet paper is a good idea.
That said, using a bidet with toilet paper is way better for the environment than just wiping. Washing means you won’t need as much to maintain good personal hygiene.
Use a bidet towel
If only there was a way to ditch toilet paper completely and any environmental impacts that come with it. Oh wait, there is: get a pack of reusable bidet towels.
What’s a bidet towel you ask? It’s a highly absorbent, soft towel made specifically for your bottom. Using a towel “down there” may strike you as odd. But remember, the bidet has already done the heavy lifting cleaning-wise. The bidet towel’s main job is just to dry up any extra water.
How do you use a bidet towel? Start by keeping a stack of clean ones close to your toilet. If available, bathroom cabinets work great for storage, or simply keep them in a basket or bowl on top of the toilet tank. After washing with your bidet, grab a fresh towel and pat dry like you would with toilet paper. When you’re done, separate the towel from the clean ones to be washed. (If space allows, a small bathroom wastebasket with a lid makes the perfect hamper.)
Bidet towels are machine washable and often include a mesh laundry bag to protect them from wear and tear during the wash cycle. Some users prefer to wash bidet towels in a separate load of laundry. We get why that seems necessary, but it may not be. After all, underwear gets up close and personal with your bottom too and is often washed in mixed loads. Either way, check the tag on your bidet towel for individual washing instructions–ours should be washed cold with a gentle detergent, using no liquid fabric softener.
Get an electric bidet toilet seat with an air dryer
There’s a luxurious way to wipe toilet-paper waste off the face of the earth: it’s called a warm air dryer.
Warm air dryers are one of the more sought-after features of electronic bidet toilet seats. Those are the kind of bidets that replace your entire toilet seat and lid (unlike a bidet attachment, which installs between the toilet bowl and seat). Unfortunately, non-electric bidet attachments with dryers aren’t a thing since the feature requires electricity to function.
Air dryers work by emitting warm air from a vent in the back of the bidet, next to the nozzle. They use internal electric coils to create heat and a tiny fan to dry your freshly clean bottom. Not only does this feel good–it lets you use less toilet paper or avoid it completely. It also limits hand-to-bum contact, which many consider a bonus for obvious reasons. Drying usually takes 1 or 2 minutes, so just think of it as a chance to enjoy a few extra moments of me-time.
How you activate your warm air dryer will depend on the bidet that you get. With the Swash 1400 Bidet Toilet Seat, you'll use a wireless remote control to turn the dryer on or off, make the air warmer or cooler, etc. If space allows, you can choose one with a side-arm control panel, like our Swash DR801 Advanced Bidet Seat. Bidets with dryers come with other comforts too, including warm water, deodorizers, heated toilet seats, LED nightlights, and more.
Aside from being eco-friendly, warm air dryers have other benefits. Wiping can aggravate sensitive skin and medical issues like hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and more. Warm air dryers provide a gentle, touch-less option for wiping, giving you a chance to heal without making symptoms worse.
Leave toilet-paper waste out to dry
When it comes to helping the environment, bidet towels and warm air dryers are your best options to dry after using a bidet. That said, if you prefer to use a bit of toilet paper, that’s OK too. The point is to use less toilet paper when possible, and you’re already doing that by using a bidet. Feel free to combine the methods we suggested–or go all-in on one. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to find what works for you.