During a recent trip to Greece, Charlie Sawyer found herself bent over in a small restaurant bathroom, being pleasured in a way she had never experienced before. Nervous at first, her friend reassured her, promising she would enjoy the sensation. That moment marked her introduction to a bidet shower, commonly called a bum gun. Her life was forever changed.
What is a bum gun?
A bum gun consists of a small, hand-operated nozzle placed next to the toilet, similar to a kitchen sink sprayer. Instead of washing away ketchup stains, it is used to clean the bum and genitals after using the loo. These high-pressurised devices are commonly found in bathrooms across Asia, the Middle East, and much of Europe, considered essential by some and a novelty by others.
Bum guns have been around for a long time, popularised in the late 1960s in Finland. The official name, bidet shower, describes its purpose: after finishing your business, you grab the hand-held triggered nozzle and spray away.
Why people love bum guns
Many people share a deep admiration for this invention. @fifeth_ shared on X: 'As a Brit that has been about the world a bit, if I could take one thing back to the UK it would be bum guns. Toilet paper is a savage way to clean.' @brattycosgrove added: 'Once you've used a bum gun there's no going back,' joking that the booty blaster was the real reason she went back to Thailand.
Mia Frank, 28, who was raised between the US and the UK but regularly travels to Asia to visit family, told Metro: 'If you go into any bathroom in any Asian country you will find a bum gun next to the toilet. Even public restrooms at petrol stations tend to have one.' For Mia, using a bum gun is 'akin to giving your privates a little shower each time you use the loo.' She added: 'You walk away feeling clean and fresh, knowing you've washed away any and all waste. I definitely feel 100 times cleaner when I use a bum gun, compared to toilet paper or even wet wipes.'
Mia wishes they were more readily available in the UK. 'My sister has a portable bum gun next to her toilet and it's one of the reasons I love going to her flat so much. I am considering getting one because no-one talks about how hard it is to go from using a bum gun every single day to having to rely on plain old toilet paper.'
Cultural and religious significance
Bidet showers are also popular in Arabic countries, partly due to the integral role cleanliness plays in the Muslim faith. In the Middle East, these devices are often called a 'shattaf', from the Arabic word shattaafa, meaning 'to rinse' or 'to wash.' Rania, 39, a practicing Muslim, told Metro that in Islam, it's 'very important' to always be clean. 'We don't use the hose specifically to wash prior to any religious rituals, as that should be done elsewhere. Usually, prayer rooms and mosques have a specific place to wash, otherwise, at a push, you'd use a sink. However, there is an important hadith that says "purity is half of faith". So basically, it's very important to always be clean in Islam. There are specific rules about how to carry yourself, especially when visiting the mosque. You should smell good and be fresh, even your breath should be fresh. Though the shattaf is not directly linked to any religious practice in Islam, it has made staying clean and hygienic much easier.'
How to use a bum gun safely
Using a bum gun might seem easy, but it is not always straightforward. Several TikTok users have shared traumatic stories of suffering serious injuries due to the gun's powerful spray. Some compared using a bum gun to 'having an enema,' while one helpful individual warned of the 'painful hose' on the ferry from Railay Beach to Phi Phi Island.
For those nervous about their first time, @Wildeye Adventures shared useful tips: 'Always firing it towards your bum cheek first — to test the pressure.' If the pressure is too strong, there should be a small knob at the base of the gun to adjust it. Another gripe users shared was the aftermath. @RhiannonNorman wrote: 'I used one at the airport, but there was no toilet paper so I couldn't dry? I ended up walking around with a wet arse after. How long should one drip dry?' Mia recommends always using toilet roll to dry yourself post-bum gun. 'A lot of people don't use any tissue paper afterwards because it's so hot in most of these Asian countries that you dry off in minutes. But being raised in the West, I like to use toilet paper as the final cleaning stage.'
Are bum guns more hygienic than loo roll?
In many ways, a bum gun is far superior to toilet paper. It is less wasteful and offers a more targeted cleaning approach. As Rania says: 'The commonly used phrase from washers to non-washers is: "If you had poop on your hand, would you just wipe it off with a tissue, or would you wash your hand?"' A study published in January 2022 found that when a bidet toilet was used, the number of microbes found on participants' hands was significantly reduced.
However, microbiologist Jason Tetro told Metro that the effectiveness of a bidet shower depends on the user. 'A handheld showerhead can have the potential to create a mess. And that mess may or may not have come into contact with fecal matter.' He warns that for newbies, cross-contamination — fecal matter ending up on clothes, shoes, or skin — is a genuine concern. 'So, in terms of hygiene, toilet paper may be the best approach compared to a newbie using a shower head. But if you have experience with the shower head and can minimise the spray and cross-contamination, then it will definitely leave you feeling fresher down there.'
If you are keen to embrace the bum gun lifestyle, Jason urges everyone to 'practice first!' and find out what kind of pressure is manageable for you. Only then will you experience the full effect of these magical butt blasters.
