After living in Japan, one important thing that I cannot live without is the washlet.

Japanese people and society, place great value on the cleanliness of bathrooms. Not only is it very hygienic, but is also a sign of cultural civility and courtesy. It means people respect bathrooms and try to keep them as clean and comfortable as possible. It is a sanctuary. It is a place that offers comfort to the one activity that all humans must do: going to the bathroom.

Having said that, there are a few misconceptions about the almighty washlet that I thought I’d share here. I mentioned hygiene earlier, but the very systems that make the washlet clean, can also be its enemy.

Namely, the water nozzle.

Make sure that any washlet you use has been regularly maintained. If not, that nozzle that is spraying water into your butt could be a host to other germs and making matters worse.

Thankfully, major areas like airports and hotels regularly maintain their washlet and replace their units so it should not be an issue.

One of the rental properties that I moved into was owned by a family that had a seven and nine-year-old boy.

After we moved in, I couldn’t help but notice the smell of urine, despite having fully cleaned the washlet.

After requesting maintenance, the repair man showed me what the problem was and I was shocked.

We opened the side panel and found that behind the clean and smooth, modern exterior panels of the washlet , the inside was completely covered in syrup-like dried urine, and that was causing the smell. It also had some sort of mold growing around it.

Totally gross.

He mentioned hope common it was and  that it’s difficult to smell your own urine, but it is very easy to smell other people’s urine.

Also, that the washlet needed to be properly maintained on a regular basis.

In this particular case, the kids would miss and pee on the cover for the water nozzle. The pee would then sink in underneath and stain the backside of the plastic and nozzle where normal cleaning and maintenance could not reach.

Combine this with your senior citizen missing the toilet as well, and multiple leakages over the course of 5 to 6 years and you can see where this is going…

Either way, like with anything else in life, the benefits of clean hygiene and comfort only come through a certain level of basic maintenance so keep that in mind the next time you randomly use a washlet somewhere in public.

The other function that really made a difference was the odor eliminating fan. I cannot stress how important of a role this unit was playing in my life up until now.

Most of the middle to high-end models have this at standard equipment. I took it for granted. It uses the low speed fan during use, and after you sit up, it switches to a high-speed fan with the assumption that you will close the lid to let the fan remove the smell.

Back to the rental property, little did I know that the washlet model installed in the house didn’t have a fan…

After using the fan-based washlet for so long, I forgot how much of a big difference the fan makes.

Let me tell you again, it makes a big difference.

It’s like being catapulted into the dark ages to where humans took a crap in a hole.

As of now, the tangy and intense smell of after doing your deed is unbearable every day as I wonder how much longer I can take this crude existence.

I called the property management company  and was denied a replacement. I also looked online to see if they sold just a fan m, but the washlet fans use a special charcoal carbon filter which binds with the smelly atoms.

There were many ozone based deodorizer units out there, but that just opened up a whole new can of worms and would be a project for another day.

So for today, I am still stuck in the medieval times, having to deal with terrible odors after doing my thing.

The deodorizer fan is one of life’s great inventions and although I want to try an aftermarket add-on deodorizer, I can’t help but think that they won’t work as efficiently. The washlet version works because while you are sitting on the toilet seat, you are e creating a complete seal, allowing the small fan inside to effectively collect all the odors before it disseminates into the room itself.

These smaller units that advertise deodorizing could not possibly be as effective because with that small suction fan, it would take a long time to suck in the odor smell once it spread into the toilet room.

The whole point of having the fan is to have instantaneous deodorization, so that if somebody is waiting in line, or you are at a dinner party and don’t want people to know, you wouldn’t have a lingering smell effect or have to wait 30 minutes for the deodorizer to work.

So, alas, to end this deodorizing rant, it seems that the only way to solve it is to purchase a washlet with deodorizing function. But I seriously think about it every single day because it’s that important. Plus I just wanna live the most civilized life possible.

Let me know if you had a similar experience in the comments below! I may just have to try those aftermarket solutions and report back to you!