Bidet sales soaring as toilet paper sells out amid coronavirus fears; views in United States changing

Inexpensive styles of the bidet seat can be found at big-box stores.

As cases of the coronavirus continue to climb, nothing feels more surreal than the irrational stockpiling of toilet paper, even though experts tell us it isn’t necessary and manufacturers say there is no shortage.

Whether it stems from a herd mentality, reading social media posts about toilet paper fights, or an overwhelming sense of helplessness, one thing is certain: the panic buying of toilet paper has prompted bidet sales to soar.

While Americans have long been resistant to bidets — a common feature in European toilets where jets of water clean you off instead of toilet paper — the spread of the coronavirus seems to be changing longtime views on self-washing.

But it’s not for lack of interest. Several years ago at Dwell on Design, I watched as a long line of attendees waited to take a peek at the latest Toto “washlet,” a toilet-bidet hybrid with warm water spray, heated toilet seat and a mind-numbing (for the uninitiated) control panel. In 2016, Kylie and Kris Jenner professed their love for their Toto Neorest 750H, a bidet that now retails for more than $13,000, on their “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” reality show and Instagram feeds.

Today, bidets are being manufactured for more than just highend consumers as interest in sustainable products and water conservation has grown. (According to Tushy, Americans use more than 34 million rolls of toilet paper every day, which translates to about 54 million trees).

Inexpensive entry-level styles of the Toto washlet bidet seat can be found at big-box stores like Home Depot, Wayfair and Lowes for as low as $250. And new affordable alternatives, like the Tushy bidet, allow you to clip

up on toilet paper, as there has been no indication that the banking sector is in danger of major disruption from the pandemic, or that credit card networks are going to change.

Rather, “we don’t expect to see any impact at all on cash usage, one way or the other,” according to David Tente, an executive director at the ATM Industry Association.

Neither Bank of America

nor Wells Fargo have restricted how much cash you can take out.

“Wells Fargo has not put in place any new limits on cash withdrawals,” spokeswoman Beth Richek said. “Wells Fargo has significant cash reserves, and we are continuing our normal processes to meet our customers’ cash needs.”

Truist, the Charlotte-based bank formed by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust, went so far as to waive ATM fees so that consumers could have easier access to cash “with greater confidence.”

Benda cautioned that taking out large sums of cash isn’t a good idea: deposits in banks are government-insured up to $250,000 and fat stacks of cash can make people a target for theft.

Remote working

Banks across the country are taking measures to ensure that they keep operating safely and with as little disruption to the financial system as possible.

Many, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Truist, are expanding work from home programs for the jobs that can be done remotely.

Like grocery stores and pharmacies, banks are generally considered essential services by officials, and there are detailed plans in place for how to handle pandemics. Federal regulators examine those plans as a part of the institution’s broader business continuity strategy.

Banks need to prepare for all the ways a pandemic can affect a financial institution, from the stress put on company networks from increased teleworking to maintaining core functions as more employees take time off, according to federal guidance.

As the coronavirus spreads, those plans will be tested.

A critical juncture is the branch. Bank branches involve a fair amount of person-to-person contact and banks, for numerous reasons, are reluctant to close them.

So, preventative measures are being put in place to keep branches open. Truist, for example, has beefed up the cleaning of its thousands of branches, which still go under the names of BB&T or SunTrust. Others are distributing more hand sanitizer and gloves.

Banks will consider going to drive-thru only service in heavily affected areas, Benda, the ABA official, said, and some have already implemented “golden hours,” which are designated times for vulnerable populations to visit bank branches.

“This is a war. We’re in a war to contain this virus,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday.