Article by Ben Cost and Alex DePinto in "The New York Post":
They’re on a roll.
As toilet paper becomes increasingly scarce amid the coronavirus pandemic, hygiene hysterics are turning to an alternative method of tush tidying: bidets.
“Sales have been up about [tenfold], which is pretty crazy,” Jason Ojalvo, CEO of New York-based bidet brand Tushy, tells The Post. “Earlier this month it started out, you know, two times [the sales], then it went to three times [the sales] and then boom, like next thing you know it’s tenfold.”
Demand for San Francisco-based bidet brand Brondell also shot up — more than 300% over the past week, Daniel Lalley, communications director for Brondell tells the Los Angeles Times. The bum-cleaning bump comes just a day after Australian TP hoarders went viral for brawling over bathroom tissue.
To attract new consumers, purveyors are selling bidets as toilet attachments so en-loo-siasts don’t have to install new plumbing. The swanky $649 Brondell Swash 1400 comes with a boatload of premium features, including an endless warm water spray, heated seat function, warm air dryer, attached deodorizer, nozzle sterilization technology and even a nightlight.
More frugally minded seat scourers can find the Tushy Bidet for $79, but the devices aren’t shipping till April 20. Cheaper options are hard to come by as well, given the run on toilet paper alternatives. BioBidet’s $12.95 cleaner is completely sold out. If you’re open to buying a bidet on eBay, Brondell’s portable option is currently $12.99. Tushy’s travel version is $29.
Fortunately, The Post has compiled a DIY heinie hygiene guide that allows you to MacGyver your own bum washer with a jug and lukewarm water.
“In the midst of this unprecedented toilet paper run, we’re really grateful for the opportunity to provide those who need them with smart solutions for toilet paper replacement,” Lalley says.
Unfortunately, despite experts deeming TP hoarding “unnecessary,” panic buyers have been reluctant to slow their roll. Oregon authorities recently had to urge residents to stop dialing 911 over purported TP shortages.
Ojalvo, for one, doesn’t understand the hysteria.
“The reality is, once you use a bidet to clean after pooping you cannot go back to wiping and toilet paper,” he says. “Wiping seems not just inefficient, but also barbaric, by comparison.”
https://nypost.com/2020/03/17/bidet-sales-skyrocket-amid-coronavirus-toilet-paper-shortage/