AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,050
Jul 4, 2014 6:57:02 GMT
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Post by AllieC on Feb 13, 2020 4:34:14 GMT
In Thailand where the plumbing isn’t as good as western countries Theo western toilets have what we call “bum guns”. They are a small hose plumbed to the toilet with a sprayer on the end. You spray yourself clean (like a version of a bidet I guess) then dry with TP. Use much less paper this way so that could be an option in the future.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Mar 28, 2024 16:39:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2020 9:54:40 GMT
I read a blog post from someone who uses the 'family cloth' (worst name ever btw) for environmental reasons, they use the cloth for pee but use baby wipes to clean themselves after a poop. Awesome job protecting the environment there!
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Post by gar on Feb 13, 2020 11:01:30 GMT
I read a blog post from someone who uses the 'family cloth' (worst name ever btw) for environmental reasons, they use the cloth for pee but use baby wipes to clean themselves after a poop. Awesome job protecting the environment there! Fools! I do think bamboo and/or recycled paper is the way to go along with more bidet/toilets in the future. I can’t see the cloth catching on in any significant numbers.
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Post by t2x on Feb 13, 2020 12:55:39 GMT
Well this has been a really interesting thread and I've even ordered a free trial from Who Gives a Crap. Many years ago this organisation started in Melbourne (my state's capital), and I can't believe I forgot all about them. I had intended to support them but I guess I just completely forgot they existed. I won't now though, so thanks for the reminder fredfreddy44! On a completely different subject, has voltagain left the board? I see that her post on page 1 now has her name in black and her post number set at 0...
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Post by gar on Feb 13, 2020 13:55:46 GMT
Well this has been a really interesting thread and I've even ordered a free trial from Who Gives a Crap. Many years ago this organisation started in Melbourne (my state's capital), and I can't believe I forgot all about them. I had intended to support them but I guess I just completely forgot they existed. I won't now though, so thanks for the reminder fredfreddy44! On a completely different subject, has voltagain left the board? I see that her post on page 1 now has her name in black and her post number set at 0... I hope not !
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Post by gar on Feb 13, 2020 14:11:03 GMT
Just been looking on amazon for bamboo paper and there’s some called Uranus Wipes 😁
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Feb 13, 2020 14:23:52 GMT
They are a small hose plumbed to the toilet with a sprayer on the end. You spray yourself clean I'm totally picturing the little hose thing that the dental hygienist uses to squirt your teeth to rinse them off.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Feb 13, 2020 14:49:24 GMT
We have a fancy toto toilet in the master bath. When we move, that and an induction hob, are the two upgrades we are doing to any new place. We love it. Wash with warm water stream, maybe a cups worth, and warm air dry. You cannot get more refreshed than that without hopping into the shower. My DH has talked about getting one of those!
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Post by Jockscrap on Feb 13, 2020 16:03:47 GMT
I use a bidet (bee-day!) regularly. Not every time, but often and I really like having one.
You can buy a toilet pan shaped basin from Amazon very cheaply which you fill with a little warm water and place over the toilet to make washing your bits easier. Very simple and cheap, and handy especially if you have a hand basin beside the loo to fill and empty it easily.
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
Jun 25, 2014 20:06:48 GMT
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Post by freebird on Feb 13, 2020 16:20:22 GMT
I have been training myself to use less TP. One day I just realized I wrapped my hand 3 times, then when you pull your hand out of the center to wipe, you have 6 layers of TP. Do I NEED 6 layers? no. So I've been using 2 layers and that works fine.
I'm not opposed to family cloth, I find it no different than a dirty, slimy dish cloth (which really is gross) or a cloth diaper. After all, you wash your butt in the shower with a scrubby or a washcloth right? not a lot of difference. I probably would only use them for #1 just because I don't want to deal with a big diaper pail. It would be just me since hubs doesn't need to wipe when he pees generally. I could see how washing other ppl's poopy washcloths would be a bit much.
We're remodeling our master bath, my plan is to get a bidet attachment for the toilet. Toilet/bidet combos are stupid expensive! No mid range pricing at all.
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Post by MichyM on Feb 13, 2020 16:26:37 GMT
I used to always buy toilet paper made from recycled paper for this reason. Then the brand I bought was discontinued and all the other recycled brands I have tried are so scratchy and thin I stopped buying recycled. I still feel guilty about it. Have you tried Seventh Generation?
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Post by librarylady on Feb 13, 2020 16:53:15 GMT
In 1996 we visited Russia. At that time, in public RR, there was an attendant who gave a person Toilet paper. She measured off an arm's length and that is what a person received. I thought it a bit much, but ...the TP dispenser is very near our toilet and I have observed that I use slightly less than my arm's length, unless there is a major problem going on.
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Post by anniefb on Feb 13, 2020 20:44:39 GMT
Definite no to reusable cloths. Bidets aren't that common here in New Zealand and I wouldn't pay to put one in.
A lot of our toilet paper here is made from recycled waste paper and what isn't comes from accredited sustainable forests so I actually don't have an issue with buying it. In New Zealand there are vast commercial pine plantations (pinus radiata) and most non-recycled toilet paper would be made from a mixture of pine and eucalyptus pulp. The brand I buy (locally made) also uses a high proportion of renewable energy in the manufacturing process including geothermal steam to power its factories.
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scrappinghappy
Pearl Clutcher
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say “Hello.” Goodbye. I’m late...."
Posts: 4,306
Jun 26, 2014 19:30:06 GMT
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Post by scrappinghappy on Feb 13, 2020 22:52:26 GMT
We have a fancy toto toilet in the master bath. When we move, that and an induction hob, are the two upgrades we are doing to any new place. We love it. Wash with warm water stream, maybe a cups worth, and warm air dry. You cannot get more refreshed than that without hopping into the shower. My DH has talked about getting one of those! You can now buy just the seat that fits on any toto toilet. They are under $350. That's not such a lot of toilet paper lol - maybe a years worth for us
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Post by AussieMeg on Feb 14, 2020 3:23:38 GMT
I pronounce it bid-AY, emphasis on the second syllable. When my dad was working in Saudi Arabia, his apartment had a bidet, and he grew to love it. I couldn't bring myself to use it when I went there to visit him. I do not like the idea of washing poo stained cloths, so like lainey , I'm sticking with the bog roll thankyouverymuch.
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Post by AussieMeg on Feb 14, 2020 3:28:37 GMT
In Thailand where the plumbing isn’t as good as western countries Theo western toilets have what we call “bum guns”. They are a small hose plumbed to the toilet with a sprayer on the end. You spray yourself clean (like a version of a bidet I guess) then dry with TP. Use much less paper this way so that could be an option in the future. That reminds me of when we were in Vietnam, and we went on a bus tour. The bus stopped off at a roadside cafe for dinner, and everyone lined up to go to the toilet. They didn't tell us that you're not supposed to flush toilet paper in that particular toilet, so everyone was wiping and flushing. By the time I got into the toilet, it was pretty much clogged and the water was almost to the top of the bowl. I am gagging right now just thinking about it. Conversely, there was the time that a friend of mine had family over from Greece. They didn't realise that you CAN flush toilet paper here, so they were wiping and then putting the used toilet paper in the bin. My friend wondered why her bathroom stunk of urine, then she worked out what they were doing.
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Post by gar on Feb 14, 2020 7:45:45 GMT
Definite no to reusable cloths. Bidets aren't that common here in New Zealand and I wouldn't pay to put one in. A lot of our toilet paper here is made from recycled waste paper and what isn't comes from accredited sustainable forests so I actually don't have an issue with buying it. In New Zealand there are vast commercial pine plantations (pinus radiata) and most non-recycled toilet paper would be made from a mixture of pine and eucalyptus pulp. The brand I buy (locally made) also uses a high proportion of renewable energy in the manufacturing process including geothermal steam to power its factories. That's cool
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
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Post by schizo319 on Feb 14, 2020 13:18:49 GMT
I find the idea of "reusable" tp or "family cloth" absolutely revolting and I would guess that a large portion of the western/modernized world is of a similar mindset. There was a family in my neighborhood when I was a kid who were absolutely destitute and kept a shit covered towel in the corner of the bathroom for everyone to use, it triggers my gag reflex and makes my eyes water to think of it even 30+ years later.
I'm personally not a fan of bidets either, but my husband would really like to have one. I hear tell that you can purchase a toilet seat that has one built in to add to an existing "normal" toilet, but I haven't seriously researched the logistics of it. ETA: I pronounce it "bid-AY"
I would happily switch to a more sustainable disposable product like hemp or bamboo if I were able to find it (if anyone knows of a quality product I can purchase online please share - I'll check out some of the products already mentioned up thread). I really think that efforts should be directed to finding/perfecting recycled and/or more sustainable disposable tp instead of these non-disposable "alternatives".
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Post by crazy4scraps on Feb 15, 2020 2:04:39 GMT
For people saying that family cloth isn’t all that different from cloth diapers, I think the difference lies with the fact that in most cases there is an end date for diapers that there wouldn’t be with family cloth. People tolerate the stench and hassle of cloth diapers knowing that at some point their kid will be toilet trained and they won’t have to deal with it anymore. I can’t imagine how bad a bucket or diaper pail full of smelly, poopy rags generated by an entire family would stink. I can barely tolerate breathing while walking down the hall past our main floor bath after DH has been in there in the morning!
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joelise
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,649
Jul 1, 2014 6:33:14 GMT
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Post by joelise on Feb 15, 2020 9:49:43 GMT
I watched an article on tv today that was introducing the idea of cutting down on the amount of toilet paper produced and used in the world. Apparently production of toilet rolls accounts for 15% of the world's deforestation (Unfortunately I don't have a source to verify that but nevertheless it is obviously a vast amount.) ETA - yes, recycled paper should be a given if some of reasonable quality is available. I saw this item. Philip was horrified at the thought of the reusable cloths! I buy Waitrose recycled loo roll and I find it OK to use. I’m allergic to Andrex type paper so I’ve always used a rougher own brand so I’m used to the texture.
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Post by gar on Feb 15, 2020 9:52:33 GMT
I watched an article on tv today that was introducing the idea of cutting down on the amount of toilet paper produced and used in the world. Apparently production of toilet rolls accounts for 15% of the world's deforestation (Unfortunately I don't have a source to verify that but nevertheless it is obviously a vast amount.) ETA - yes, recycled paper should be a given if some of reasonable quality is available. I saw this item. Philip was horrified at the thought of the reusable cloths! I buy Waitrose recycled loo roll and I find it OK to use. I’m allergic to Andrex type paper so I’ve always used a rougher own brand so I’m used to the texture. Yes! I'm not at all sure I could switch to them - they'd have to be some amazing storage solution for them between use and washing! I usually get recycled paper too and it's always been fine. My bum ain't posh
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Post by phoenixcov on Feb 15, 2020 10:59:53 GMT
There are quite enough crappy (pun intended) jobs to do around the home as it is, so no way in hell would I wash a pooh cloth that I had used let alone a man pooh cloth.
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ModChick
Drama Llama
True North Strong and Free
Posts: 5,057
Jun 26, 2014 23:57:06 GMT
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Post by ModChick on Mar 22, 2020 23:41:31 GMT
Out of curiosity I was looking to see the date we all started talking about the corona virus and remember this thread. Reread it now and takes on a whole new meaning in a very short time frame. Still looking to see when we all first posted about the virus.
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Post by ntsf on Mar 23, 2020 0:16:28 GMT
wonder if we will adopt the third world model? bathrooms have spigots and tiled floors and walls.. and drains.. so you don't use toilet paper.. and the whole bathroom can get wet.. there are often small buckets for any paper used.. not my fav.. I wore skirts alot so it was easier to manage.
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ModChick
Drama Llama
True North Strong and Free
Posts: 5,057
Jun 26, 2014 23:57:06 GMT
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Post by ModChick on Mar 23, 2020 1:57:38 GMT
I think anyone building a house during/after this will be including bidets. I know I would. My husband isn’t convinced. He thinks bidets are gross. Lol. Don’t know why. And he wonders how you dry off after, actually I’m curious about that too. Off to google. Lol.
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Post by pattyraindrops on Mar 23, 2020 2:38:26 GMT
edited: Sorry, posted on wrong thread.
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Post by pjaye on Mar 23, 2020 2:54:56 GMT
I was fortunate enough that I happened to buy toilet paper a couple of days before the craziness started and I have enough for a few weeks. But even so I have cut down my usage (and I was already using a LOT less than some others on here). I realized that you really don't need as much as you think. I'm down to 2 squares per pee - and guess what - the sink is right there, if I happen to make contact with my own labia (which are also clean BTW) then I'll be washing my hands in 30 seconds anyway. If it really came to the crunch I'd be OK with a reusable pee cloth, just give it a quick rinse each time.
That leaves more paper for the other business, but you don't need great handfulls each time to achieve cleanliness for that either.
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Post by 950nancy on Mar 23, 2020 3:06:33 GMT
My 83 year old neighbor was telling me that during WWII, her dad cut up the newspaper into little squares and put them on a sharp stick beside the toilet. I think I'd much rather have either of your options.
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Post by librarylady on Mar 23, 2020 3:12:40 GMT
Regarding TP causing deforestation...In the US the major paper companies plant and then harvest the trees--rather like a wheat crop only the plant is a tree and the harvest takes place years later rather than annually. So, if any natural forests are being destroyed, it is not because of toilet paper in the US.
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