Not India.
Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
21–30 of 106 posts
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#22"The question is, if toilet paper becomes a luxury item, can Americans live without it?" The article itself appears to be part of the marketing machine. I don't at all consider toilet paper a luxury, in fact using water seems far more satisfactory and hygienic. Japanese style washlets and european bidets are the luxury, um, end, of the market. If anything, plain toilet paper is set to be discarded as a rather unhygie…
I hate traveling outside Japan! Can't live without "shower toilets" (that's how they're called here). It's hardly a luxury. It's an essential household equipment!
I feel like I'm going to barbarian lands when I leave Japan (for the sake of full disclosure, I'm not Japanese)
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#23"The question is, if toilet paper becomes a luxury item, can Americans live without it?" The article itself appears to be part of the marketing machine. I don't at all consider toilet paper a luxury, in fact using water seems far more satisfactory and hygienic. Japanese style washlets and european bidets are the luxury, um, end, of the market. If anything, plain toilet paper is set to be discarded as a rather unhygie…
I hate traveling outside Japan! Can't live without "shower toilets" (that's how they're called here). It's hardly a luxury. It's an essential household equipment! I feel like I'm going to barbarian lands when I leave Japan (for the sake of full disclosure, I'm not Japanese)
You could also just try using Baby wipes?
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#24Something I find quite strange is how South American countries pervasively discourage people from flushing used toilet paper (instead preferring to have a little wastebasket to collect it and later throw it away in the trash). The usual account of the reason for this is that the plumbing can't handle it -- which you also hear about some old buildings in the U.S. OK, but this norm persists even in buildings that were…
Actually, this is the case in some Asian countries as well including parts of Japan and Indonesia.
Not uncommon in Europe either. Especially in non-renovated parts of old cities or middle-of-nowhere kind of places. Old pipes just can't handle too much paper.
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hate traveling outside Japan! Can't live without "shower toilets" (that's how they're called here). It's hardly a luxury. It's an essential household equipment! I feel like I'm going to barbarian lands when I leave Japan (for the sake of full disclosure, I'm not Japanese)
You could also just try using Baby wipes?
It's a bad idea to flush those. They don't degrade, and end up blocking sewers and ruin septic systems.
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#26"The question is, if toilet paper becomes a luxury item, can Americans live without it?" The article itself appears to be part of the marketing machine. I don't at all consider toilet paper a luxury, in fact using water seems far more satisfactory and hygienic. Japanese style washlets and european bidets are the luxury, um, end, of the market. If anything, plain toilet paper is set to be discarded as a rather unhygie…
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=oh_aui_deta...
$35 and you can install it in about 5 minutes flat. It's terrific, can't go back to TP ever.
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#27Something I find quite strange is how South American countries pervasively discourage people from flushing used toilet paper (instead preferring to have a little wastebasket to collect it and later throw it away in the trash). The usual account of the reason for this is that the plumbing can't handle it -- which you also hear about some old buildings in the U.S. OK, but this norm persists even in buildings that were…
If the signs say don't flush anything down, they usually mean anything other than toilet paper and bodily excretions. Flushing tampons, pads, condoms, whatever the hell else is in your pocket is common and that is what those signs are discouraging. Toilet paper is designed to basically disintegrate once it gets wet, so it is not causing any problems in plumbing
> Flushing tampons, pads, condoms, whatever the hell else is in your pocket is...
...always a bad idea.
Just because you don't hear about problems with sewer systems, does not mean they are nonexistent. Also, flushing anything that doesn't disintegrate will quickly ruin any septic tank/leech field.
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the signs say don't flush anything down, they usually mean anything other than toilet paper and bodily excretions. Flushing tampons, pads, condoms, whatever the hell else is in your pocket is common and that is what those signs are discouraging. Toilet paper is designed to basically disintegrate once it gets wet, so it is not causing any problems in plumbing
In many Central and South American countries, flushing toilet paper is explicitly discouraged.
Same in most of SE Asia.
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#29Something I find quite strange is how South American countries pervasively discourage people from flushing used toilet paper (instead preferring to have a little wastebasket to collect it and later throw it away in the trash). The usual account of the reason for this is that the plumbing can't handle it -- which you also hear about some old buildings in the U.S. OK, but this norm persists even in buildings that were…
Encountered it in Canada in the maritimes. Anywhere on the coast there were places that just had a pipe going straight into the ocean. Cafes, restaurants, you name it. There were even portable toilets set up with the pipes so they never had to be pumped. I'm guessing they don't want to see tons of toilet paper floating in the ocean I guess, but excrement is not a problem? Maybe someone else has some better insight, for instance I know in the states if it rains too much and sewage backs up a bit, the beaches get closed. Do Canadians not see a problem with high bacteria levels?
It's not an isolated thing and comes up often... Canadians just seem backward at sewage management[1][2].
[1] http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-dumping-...
[2] https://qz.com/545922/canadas-new-government-just-approved-d...
Re: Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe (2009)
#30This might be TMI but I never understood toilet paper. Think about it. You are taking a piece of paper and just spreading it around. No matter how hard you try it's still there. It's not clean. Gross.
In fact, the use of toilet paper has spurred a whole new industry that most other countries don't have...the ointment industry.
Washlets or bidets are far cleaner and preferred.