Washlet (bidet toilet seat)
Washlet (inodoro con bidé integrado)
- Date
- 1980 · confidence high
- Place
- Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
- Credited to
- TOTO
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A toilet seat with a nozzle that sprays warm water, with warm-air drying and a heated seat. TOTO launched it in 1980 and it is now standard in Japanese homes.
Earlier toilet seats with a water jet existed (for example Arnold Cohen's American Bidet in the 1960s); TOTO's Washlet was the one that became mass-market.
What it led to
- intimate hygiene with water at the toilet, using less paper
- smart toilets with sensors and automatic lids
- spread in East Asia and hotels