Most Italian public toilets don't have a toilet seat. This has to do with maintenance. Since public toilets are often less than spotless, people often climb with their shoes on top of them, not to sit on a potentially dirty seat.
Why are all the toilet seats missing in Italian public bathrooms? Seat-free toilets are seen as more hygienic because strangers aren't sharing the same toilet seat. Toilet seats are also often broken by patrons and are expensive and difficult to replace.
France and Italy are an exception and have some squat toilets remaining in old buildings and public toilets because they used to be the norm there in the early 20th century. In BMW Welt in Munich, the public restrooms have some stalls with squat toilets.
France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, and Spain: Instead of toilet paper, people from these countries (most of them from Europe) usually have a bidet in their washrooms. A bidet like a toilet, but also includes a spout that streams water like a water fountain to rinse you clean.
Bidets are in fact a legal building requirement in Italy and they have been so for nearly 50 years now. Article 7 of a Ministerial Decree issued on July 5th, 1975 states that “in each house, at least one bathroom must have the following fixtures: a toilet, a bidet, a bathtub or shower, and a sink”.
Bidets haven't ever been widely embraced in American culture. A common origin story for this reluctance is that bidets were seen as lascivious because they were used in brothels as a form of emergency contraception.
Cleaning the anus after defecation using the bidets contributes to hand hygiene and local comfort, and it may be effective against constipation. However, excessive bidet use potentially causes anal pruritus and anal incontinence (AI).
Not the hoarding. The avoiding. Because despite Australians' newfound passion for TP, it's actually pretty gross when you think about it. Yes, we're all used to our Western method of post-bathroom cleansing, which involves large wads – folded or scrunched – of this increasingly rare commodity.
An Italian shower, more commonly known as a roll-in shower, is simply a shower with no curb or step between the shower and the bathroom floor.
Pat dry with toilet paper
One way to get dry after using a bidet is with toilet paper. Since you're already clean from your bidet, you won't need much toilet paper to do so–just enough to remove any excess water. Use a gentle pat-dry motion instead of a wipe to avoid any irritation. That's all there is to it.
Absolutely avoid the Hawaiian print, khaki shorts, flip-flops and baseball caps. You will immediately be recognized as a tourist and there might be a few eye-rolls along the way. Even if summer in Italy is scorching hot, it's not uncommon to find men dressed in button-down shirts and well-fitted trousers.
The short answer is yes. Drinking water from the tap in Italy is considered safe. Tap water in the major cities and towns around Italy is safe for consumption, and there are thousands of old-style water fountains dotted around cities, like Rome, where you can fill up water bottles.
When you are traveling in Italy you will see strings hanging down the wall over tubs and shower stalls. This is actually an alarm system required by building code, especially for hotels and other places renting out rooms or apartments to travelers.
Be sure to leave flip flops at home unless you are spending time on a beach and instead wear a pair of sneakers which you will see all around the Eternal City.
Bagno – this is the most common Italian word for bathroom/restroom. If you need ask where the restroom is, you will ask: Scusi, dov'e' il bagno?
Yes, most Italians do shower daily. In fact, bathing and personal hygiene is generally quite important to Italians. On average, Italians take one shower a day and sometimes supplement this with a bath every week or two.
Brazil. When it comes to showers, Brazil is the leader of the pack, and the cleanest. While only 7% of Brazilians take a bath, 99% report taking weekly showers. How many showers?
There are few reasons why most Australians do not use a bidet in their bathroom. The first reason is their geographic location. Australia does not get a lot of rainy days so water preservation is a must for everyone and so using a bidet could be seen as wasteful in times of drought.
Toilet paper alternatives from around the world
Japan is the one Asian stand-out in that they adopted bidets rather than other ways of washing the bum. You'll find in most European countries on this list that public restrooms are actually something you have to pay for due to the need to keep them stocked and clean.
Dunny is Australian/New Zealand slang for a toilet.
If you are using the bidet properly, and if your bidet is of high quality, you should not have to use toilet paper to wipe yourself clean. A high-quality bidet will clean your backside more thoroughly than any amount of wiping. However, you may want to use a small amount of toilet paper to dry yourself.
Bidets can arguably be considered more sanitary than traditional bottom-cleaning methods. Quite simply, a bidet can provide a better hygiene experience compared to toilet paper. It starts with the basic fact that water can top a few squares of dry TP in removing trace amounts of fecal matter after you poop.
Whatever you do, never grab someone else's bidet towel. It's just not hygienic—that breach of etiquette is on the same level as using someone else's toothbrush, or maybe worse.