The Culture of Friction: How Tradition Kept America Dry-Wiping

The Unwashed Paradox We Have Been Too Polite to Name

America adores cleanliness. Sparkling kitchens, sanitized hands, fresh scents for every room and every body part.* Yet the one part of the body that most needs a real wash usually gets only dry friction.* Somehow, wiping with paper became synonymous with being “clean.”*

This is the Dry-Wipe Dogma: the unquestioned belief that wiping equals cleaning, not because it is the most hygienic method, but because historical accidents and cultural inertia made it feel normal.*

The Plumbing-Driven Rise of Dry Wiping

Before indoor plumbing, people in the United States commonly wiped with whatever they had on hand, including newspapers, catalogs, and scraps of cloth.* As flush toilets and modern sewage systems spread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these materials often clogged pipes and were not compatible with the new infrastructure.* Toilet paper products that were designed to dissolve in water became the practical match for the emerging plumbing systems.*

Commercial toilet paper had existed since the 19th century, but its widespread adoption followed the expansion of indoor toilets and sewer networks.* Over time, advertising trends helped shift toilet paper from a medical or luxury item into an everyday household staple that families routinely purchased and restocked.*

The result was simple: dry wiping became the default, not because anyone proved it was cleaner than water, but because it worked with the pipes and fit neatly into a repeat purchase routine.*

The Wartime Stigma That Blocked Water-Based Hygiene

Plumbing set the stage, but wartime experience helped lock the pattern in place. Many Americans first encountered bidets while serving in Europe during World War II, often in settings like brothels or spaces associated with sexual activity.* This created a powerful association between bidets and immorality in the American imagination.*

In a culture that was already sensitive about sex, modesty, and “respectable” behavior, the idea of bringing a fixture linked to brothels into the family bathroom felt unacceptable for many households.* As a result, there was very little open conversation about water-based hygiene at home after the war, even though it remained common and ordinary in many other countries.*

The effect was not a rational comparison of methods, but a silence built on stigma. Water-based washing was quietly filed under “not for us,” and paper continued as the unquestioned norm.*

The Global Reality Check: America as an Outlier

Viewed globally, the American attachment to dry wiping is an anomaly.* Bidets or other water-based washing tools are standard fixtures in bathrooms across many parts of Europe, East Asia, South America, and the Middle East.* In countries such as Italy, Spain, Japan, and South Korea, water cleaning is widely accepted as part of everyday hygiene.*

In many regions, plumbing systems are not designed to handle flushed toilet paper, which leads people to use water and dispose of any paper in bins instead of sending it through the pipes.* That practical constraint reinforces what is already a cultural expectation: water is the default tool for real cleaning.*

By contrast, the United States continues to treat water-based fixtures as unusual or “fancy,” even as it embraces high-tech devices and wellness upgrades in almost every other category.*

The Environmental and Hygiene Costs of the Dry-Wipe Habit

Toilet paper is a disposable product that requires large amounts of wood pulp, water, energy, and chemicals during manufacturing.* Environmental assessments and advocacy reports have highlighted that tissue production carries a significant ecological footprint compared with the small amount of water used for a single bidet rinse.*

From a hygiene perspective, wiping with dry paper has clear limitations. Studies show that washing with water can remove more residue and reduce microbial contamination more effectively than wiping alone, particularly after pooping.* Frequent wiping with dry paper can also increase friction and irritation, which may worsen discomfort for people with sensitive skin or anal conditions.*

Modern bidet seats and attachments address the common fear of “being wet afterward” by combining targeted water sprays with built-in air dryers or by allowing users to gently pat dry with a small amount of paper.* This significantly reduces or even eliminates the need for full dry wiping while improving both comfort and cleanliness.*

Washing Away the Dogma

Old habits can feel like truth. The association between toilet paper, respectability, and “how everyone does it” has been reinforced over generations in the United States.* But that habit is increasingly at odds with global norms and with what we know about hygiene and environmental impact.*

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, toilet paper shortages in U.S. grocery stores drew national attention to how fragile and resource-intensive the dry-wipe system really is.* That moment prompted many people to explore bidets and other water-based solutions for the first time.*

The reality is now unavoidable: dry wiping is not the pinnacle of cleanliness, it is simply a tradition that grew out of plumbing constraints, advertising habits, and cultural narratives about modesty and morality.*

Tradition can explain the past, but it does not have to dictate the future. A society that values genuine cleanliness and sustainability can choose water instead of friction.*


Stay Wild. Stay Clean.


*Statements regarding microbiology, skin health, environmental impact, plumbing constraints, and behavioral science are supported by primary research and substantiated facts. Read our Truth Bombs page for full citations and sources.