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Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

theguardian.com

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Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#41

Post by ForOldHack »

petcat wrote: post #25

Bidets need to become the norm. Canada's massive logging and mineral extraction industries have lead to significantly reduced tree-cover and (in some places) long term deforestation.

The Fraiser River Valley is one of the very most sustainable forests on the planet. The mineral extraction at Ft MacMurry has very little usable wood for lumber, and even less for paper, I believe that its a lot of manzinata that is used for OSB. I have not looked at this in a while, because my father studied forest management at UBC. Would you like for me to prove this with say 15~20 references?

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#42

Post by kg »

everdrive wrote: post #32
ericmay wrote: post #12

Buy a bidet! I thought this was a fun tidbit: "The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually." I'm not sure if using a bidet would be better for the environment but maybe this is a blessi…

I'm not sure how to discuss bidet problems without sounding gross. I tried a bidet previously because people rave about them. But when trying them, there seems to be two problems. The water that hits you sprays around on impact. So that immediately-sullied water now has a bit of blast radius to it. I also can't see down there, so having done what certainly felt like a pretty thorough job bidet-ing, I would wipe and d…

You still use TP, you can just use a lot less and you end up cleaner than with TP alone as a bonus.

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#43

Post by XorNot »

everdrive wrote: post #32
ericmay wrote: post #12

Buy a bidet! I thought this was a fun tidbit: "The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually." I'm not sure if using a bidet would be better for the environment but maybe this is a blessi…

I'm not sure how to discuss bidet problems without sounding gross. I tried a bidet previously because people rave about them. But when trying them, there seems to be two problems. The water that hits you sprays around on impact. So that immediately-sullied water now has a bit of blast radius to it. I also can't see down there, so having done what certainly felt like a pretty thorough job bidet-ing, I would wipe and d…

The bidet takes care of most of the cleaning and then you use TP to check and dry off.

The main benefit is those times you'll otherwise go through half a roll (also means you don't rub through the skin).

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#44

Post by kotaKat »

ericmay wrote: post #33
kotaKat wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if you really wanted... buy washable toilet paper towels. https://www.marleysmonsters.com/collections/toilet-unpaper-a... As someone on the border, the tariffs do screw over individual folks on both sides of it. Canadian grocery prices are awfully high and they've been known for various price-fixing scandals (the Loblaws bread-fixing apology gift cards come to mind) so there's often a lot of Canadian Walmart/Sams…

> And if you really wanted... buy washable toilet paper towels. https://www.marleysmonsters.com/collections/toilet-unpaper-a ... I'm simultaneously surprised and not surprised that this exists (we buy washable paper towels and beeswax items and similar for reusability) but even I think that's even a bridge too far. More power to anyone who is using those products though. I've personally always found US customs easy t…

Canadian duty is insane on some items. When I was a pimply-faced youth at the Duty Free, the going rate we used to tell people was "a dollar an ounce".

I saw some spirits that were quoted at $40-80+ a bottle, depending on a bunch of factors, when you go over the relatively small limit. Bringing home a case of Kentucky sipping burbon to Toronto will hurt you right in the wallet a few times over.

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#46

Post by GordonS »

bakies wrote: post #15
reaperducer wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OTOH, upgrade to a TOTO, or other 'smart' toilet. Need less paper that way. My experience with these has been that I use more paper, because I always feel "wet" afterward. Whereas with a good, solid, no-nonsense beef bomb, I can skimp a little as long as there's a good pinch at the end.

you're not wiping when you shit?! after a bidet you can dry with one square

So, I've only used a bidet a few times while on holiday, and I did prefer it to just TP... but I don't understand how I could possibly dry that much water with a single square of tissue-thin toilet paper - paper that is specifically designed to come apart when wet?!

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#47

Post by throwaway0q5347 »

ks2048 wrote: post #11

> The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually. Wastefulness is a national pastime.

Time to install some bidets.

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#48

Post by [deleted] »

[deleted] wrote: post #22
ericmay wrote: post #12

Buy a bidet! I thought this was a fun tidbit: "The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually." I'm not sure if using a bidet would be better for the environment but maybe this is a blessi…

[deleted]

[deleted]

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#49

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

gensym wrote: post #17
LargoLasskhyfv wrote: post #3

That's unfortunate, considering the recent uprise in contaminated foods, which give you the shits. OTOH, upgrade to a TOTO, or other 'smart' toilet. Need less paper that way. https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/toilets/best-sma...

You don't even need to shell out for one of those (though I'm sure they're nice). Bidet attachments work really well. If you have a 3D printer, you can try using a bidet very easily: https://www.printables.com/model/739924-bidet-from-a-pet-bot... I use the 3D-printed one for travel (I'd gladly pay extra for hotels that have bidets) and outdoor use. Using a bidet is such an easy life upgrade for anyone relying on TP.

Lol. I wanted to ask how you connect that thing to the waterpipes, before having had a look.

I think it could use something more, like a lever/handle/button at the top, and a C02-cartridge. Or pump.

Like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_siphon

Re: Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada

#50

Post by CrzyLngPwd »

ks2048 wrote: post #11

> The US accounts for more than 20% of global tissue consumption despite having only 4% of the world’s population. The average American uses 141 rolls of toilet paper per year, making them No 1 for No 2s globally, just ahead of Germans, each using an average of 134 rolls annually. Wastefulness is a national pastime.

Seems like the US has some really sticky shit problems going on, lol.
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