Clear Water Bidets
Location: 71 Ruth’s Place, Ste. 8, Carlsborg
Phone: 565-5418
E-mail, web: robert@clearwaterbidets.com, www.clearwaterbidets.com
If Robert Streett had his druthers, he’d like the bidet toilet seats he sells to go the way of the cellphone — once a rare luxury but now a widespread necessity.
Six years ago he tried one and was sold after his first experience. Now he has two bidet seats in his home and says even his teenage boys are converts.
“Washing with water just made more sense than wiping with dry paper. It just took one time and I was convinced,” Streett said. “Knowing you’re completely clean after using the toilet is like stepping out of the shower every time. Washing with water not only is hygienic but it feels good. It feels soothing.”
The more he researched the bidet seat, the more aspects he saw for its use, so he opened his company and showroom on Ruth’s Place in Carlsborg in January and sells locally, nationally and internationally.
Streett said he sees four areas for marketing the seats: a medical component, a green aspect, its high acceptance by many cultures and the luxury of comfort.
Streett explained that candidates for the bidet seat are people with mobility issues such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, morbid obesity and post-stroke paralysis; people with brain injuries or brain diseases who regress in their toileting habits, those with diseases causing chronic diarrhea or bladder infections; hemorrhoids; and those with colorectal cancer.
“The green aspect is you use 75-100 percent less toilet paper and you’re not consuming the resources of making toilet paper,” Streett said.
“You’ll also extend the life of your septic system by not using toilet paper — and that’s especially important for commercial users. Adagio Bean & Leaf will have one soon. And then there’s the comfort of using heated water and the sense of being clean.”
The bonus of a bidet seat is it easily replaces an ordinary toilet seat in about 15 minutes with just a crescent wrench and a pair of pliers. The only requirement is to have a nearby outlet in the bathroom for the tiny electric motor. Remotes controlling the seat’s functions can be wall-mounted or attached as an arm panel control.
Clear Water carries 10 brands and 15 models, from the very basic under $50 to the deluxe with extra features costing over $500. The bidet’s nozzles are anatomically configured for men and women whose needs are different.
Nozzles are self-cleaning before and after use and are retractable. Using a bidet toilet seat takes about 15-20 seconds and automatic drying a few seconds more, Streett said.
Bidets have been used for more than 300 years, especially in Europe and Asia. The Japanese developed a bidet toilet seat in the 1960s and brought it to the U.S. market in the in the 1980s-1990s. Bidets are in 76 percent of Japanese homes, Streett said, and up to 180,000 bidet seats are sold annually in the U.S.
Pardoning the pun, but Streett said he knows toileting is a sensitive area for Americans to discuss.
“People do not want to open up about their toileting needs but it is a normal function that everyone does. I try to convey that this is a safe place to talk about these issues because we do hear about every (medical) condition,” Streett said.
“Your confidence in us is built on our confidentiality. Unfortunately, people find it embarrassing. These seats can be a life changer because of cleanliness and comfort. I’ve had people in tears saying how much the seats improved their lives.”
Clear Water stocks more than 2,000 bidet seats plus parts for the brands and models it sells.
Potential customers are welcome to try out the one installed in the showroom’s restroom which is open by appointment daily by calling Streett at 565-5418.
