A Brief History of the Bidet

The bidet didn’t suddenly appear in modern bathrooms. It’s been evolving quietly for centuries—long before toilet paper became the default in the U.S.

Understanding where bidets came from makes one thing clear: cleaning with water isn’t new. We’re just late to it.

The Origins: France, the 1700s

The word bidet comes from France in the early 18th century. The original bidets were standalone porcelain basins used after using the chamber pot—designed for washing with water when bathing wasn’t practical or frequent.

They were:

• Separate from the toilet

• Used primarily for personal hygiene

• Common in European homes long before indoor plumbing was standardized

Water-based cleaning was already understood to be more effective than dry wiping—it just hadn’t been integrated into the toilet itself yet.

The Global Reality: Water Was Always the Point

While the West leaned heavily into toilet paper, much of the world never stopped using water.

Across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America, water-based hygiene became standard—whether through standalone bidets, handheld sprayers, or built-in toilet attachments.

The takeaway is simple:
billions of people never considered dry wiping “enough.”

The Modern Shift: Bidets Meet Plumbing

As indoor plumbing improved, bidets evolved.

They became:

• Integrated into toilets

• More compact

• Easier to install

• Less intimidating

But in many Western markets, they also became overengineered—loaded with electronics, power requirements, and features most people didn’t ask for.

For a long time, bidets were either too old-fashioned or too complicated to feel accessible.

The Real Problem: Overthinking a Simple Idea

At its core, a bidet does one thing:
it cleans with water.

Somewhere along the way, that simple idea got buried under:

• Heated seats

• Remote controls

• Complicated installs

• High price tags

Which is why adoption lagged—not because bidets didn’t work, but because they didn’t fit modern life.

Enter Hapbidets: Back to First Principles

Hapbidets exist because the core idea didn’t need reinventing—it needed simplifying.

Hapbidets focus on:

• Clean water only (never toilet tank water)

• Simple, mechanical controls

• No electricity

• Fast installs

• Designs that just work

It’s the same water-based hygiene principle people have trusted for centuries—adapted for modern bathrooms without the unnecessary complexity.

The Evolution Continues

The bidet’s history is long. Its future is practical.

As more people realize that wiping alone doesn’t make sense, the shift isn’t radical—it’s overdue.

Hapbidets aren’t changing what a bidet is.
They’re making it normal again.