How my LBM panic launched San Bidet

San Bidet’s latest look

Picture this: You're navigating the glorious chaos of Metro Manila. Maybe you're stuck in EDSA traffic, maybe you're exploring a mall, maybe you just enjoyed a slightly too adventurous street food snack. Suddenly, nature calls. Urgently. That familiar feeling washes over you – not just the need to go, but the dread. Where can you find a clean restroom? A decent one? And the holy grail, the absolute necessity for many of us Pinoys: a bidet?

Let's be real, the struggle is real here. Traffic is legendary, malls are labyrinths, and finding that perfect throne with a trusty bum gun can feel like searching for actual treasure. This exact panic? That's where my story with San Bidet begins.

The "Aha!" (or maybe "Oh No!") Moment

I wasn't sitting in some sleek office when inspiration struck. Nope. I was clutching my stomach, deep in the bustling halls of SM North EDSA, reeling from a classic case of LBM. The desperate search for a proper comfort room was on. I checked CR after CR, hope dwindling with each bidet-less discovery. Defeated, I ended up resorting to the ultimate Filipino improvisation: a strategically deployed bottle of mineral water. (Come on, you know you've been there, right?)

Later, scrolling through social media, I noticed something interesting – Instagram and Facebook accounts dedicated to mapping out bathrooms with bidets! A lightbulb went off. What if this crowd-sourced intel could be... an app? Something you could whip out in your moment of need? And thus, the idea for San Bidet was born in my mind.

The Hackintosh Hustle & Xamarin Choice

Now, wanting to build an app is one thing. Actually doing it is another. Especially back then. Developing for iOS notoriously requires a Mac. Me? I didn't have one and couldn't afford the Apple tax. But where there's a will (and a desperate need for coding), there's a way! Enter my "Hackintosh" adventure – coaxing macOS onto my regular PC. It was slow, it was probably cranky, but it worked.

Instead of jumping straight into native development or the now-common React Native, I used Xamarin.Forms. Why? Simple – it was the framework I knew back then, so that's what I went with. Fueled by determination (and maybe the lingering trauma of that SM North incident), I hammered out the first version of San Bidet over a single holiday break – roughly a month of coding. My only testers? Just me and my girlfriend (now my awesome wife!).

From Crickets to Chaos (the Good Kind!)

I launched the iOS app first. The reaction? My friends were definitely supportive, saying "Cool app, bro!", but honestly, there wasn't much public sentiment or buzz around it. Then came the Android release.

And everything changed.

Downloads didn't just climb; they skyrocketed. Suddenly, San Bidet was everywhere! Bloggers were writing about it. News outlets picked up the story. It even led to a local TV news segment filmed inside my house!

Here's the kicker, the absolute peak irony: As the TV crew set up, trying to get a shot featuring the app's namesake... they couldn't find a working bidet in my own home. Yup. Me, the guy who built the Philippines' go-to bidet-finder app... didn't have one at the time. Pass the tabo! You really can't make this stuff up.

Growing Pains & Powering Up

Initially, my plan for adding new bidet locations was simple: users could just send me a message via Facebook Messenger or Twitter. But with the app's explosive popularity, that became totally unmanageable. A tsunami of submissions flooded in! A quick pivot led to a temporary Google Forms solution, but I knew a more robust system was needed.

Soon, I developed an in-app submission feature. Users could pinpoint the location, snap a photo of the glorious bidet, add details, and submit it for my approval. This allowed the database to grow organically, powered by the very community it served.

Thank You, Bidet Warriors!

To everyone who has ever used San Bidet, submitted a location, shared the app with a friend, or patiently waited for its return – THANK YOU! Maraming, maraming salamat po! This app I created was born from a moment of desperation, built with limited resources, and grew thanks to an amazing community looking out for each other, one bidet at a time. I hope San Bidet continues to bring you relief (in every sense of the word!).

The Downtime, The Comeback & What's Next

Now, let's talk about the recent past. Yes, I know. San Bidet was down for quite a while – almost a year, actually. Life happens, things get complicated, and keeping it running became a challenge. But I heard your messages, I saw your posts, and I appreciate you sticking with me.

The great news? San Bidet is BACK! I released a brand new, updated version of the app about a month ago (around April 2025).

And the best news? All those submissions you sent in before the hiatus? They are ALL included in the new update! Your contributions, your bidet discoveries, your efforts to help fellow Filipinos answer nature's call in comfort – they weren't lost. They form the backbone of the revitalized San Bidet.

You might have noticed I haven't posted much about it since the relaunch. That's mainly because I'm still working hard behind the scenes to bring back some of the original features. But the important thing is, for now, it works reliably and doesn't crash – something many of you pointed out was an issue before (thanks for letting me know!). Stability was the first priority.

Thank you again for being part of this journey.

Download or update San Bidet today! (Available on iOS and Android)