The Environment
and
A DO-IT-YOURSELF BIDET
for One Slim Dollar Bill

The whole setup consists of no more than switching the anti-siphon tube on the water-closet valve from draining into the overflow outlet there (3rd figure below) to a hole made at the back of the toilet seat (1,2,3 below) -2 to 3 feet of 1/4 inch O.D vinyl or similarly flexible hose, and a carefully drilled hole -details follow below -minor changes necessary or optional, but really easy.
[Note 1: There are certain small disadvantages or dislikes to this set-up, but if you have any brains at all, you will figure it out, get used to it and swear that this is 'the greatest invention since sliced bread'.
[Note 2: TOTO toilets are 'best rated' -really excellent!]


COMMENTS?


DRILLING A HOLE IN THE SEAT

Use an electric drill -slow speed. Start with a 1/16-inch bit pilot dimple perpendicular to the surface to prevent drill crawl. Using the dimple as a non-crawling guide then, start lowering the angle of the drill down towards the front of the seat -probably no more than a few degrees, and drill thru to the underside of the seat (second seats are always easier :-)
Follow thru with successively larger bits -SLOWLY, to prevent a ragged edge- up to the 1/4 inch hole -else just abandon the whole project :-)


RUNNING THE TUBE

No big deal, the tube may or may not be easy to get thru the hole from the underside of the seat, but you'll get it in there, one way or another; the important thing is to leave enough slack for raising the seat -Figure 3 next.

CONNECTING TO THE VALVE

Clearly, not all toilets are the same; that said, laid out here is what is common thruout the US -should work, in other words :-)
This water-tank has a visible dent at the upper right rear corner which facilitates running the tube; if no such dent, you may have to glue a couple of shims at the rear of the lid -rubber, whatever.
Note: You may want to limit volume by bleeding-off to the seat with a plastic 'T' rather than as shown here -and further on you own :-)

MAKING THE ANTI-SIPHON FUNCTIONABLE AGAIN

Most toilets have a hydraulic design that shuts water off automatically -a critical element of which is the anti-siphon tube which typically empties into the overflow tube as shown towards the right in the previous picture. In order to make sure that the new tubing drains completely here and does not continue to siphon, drill or cut a small hole on the underside of the tube a few inches from the valve (on the left) so that when the fill-flow starts to diminish, water in the tube will not continue to siphon water out of the valve and the water supply -a 16th-of-an-inch-or-so hole on the underside.

First posted: November 19, 2008