# Going without toilet paper: Meet the adults switching to a reusable cloth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033 "2014-01-29T14:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/101 "2014-02-01T05:43:53Z")
> [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > AnywaYYYYY … back to our regularly scheduled program. Its your vagina, do what you want but do not ever change out your Diva Cup in MY bathroom! OK, Ill sit on your sofa and ooze blood when it gets full then. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/102 "2014-02-01T05:46:21Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > OK, Ill sit on your sofa and ooze blood when it gets full then. :rolleyes: No unclean persons in SerafinaPekala’s house! And empty your bowels before you come over, too; they know how tricky you are, carrying your waste all over town in your BODY. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/103 "2014-02-01T05:51:06Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I have a bidet and don’t use much paper at all. And probably less water than they use to wash their cloth wipes. And they’re not considering energy usage for the laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/104 "2014-02-01T06:40:18Z")
It’s stuff like this that makes people throw up their hands and give up on being green because they think it’s just too hard. “Sure, I want to be eco-friendly, but no way I’m giving up toilet paper!” It’s a false dichotomy. A person can be greener about their TP use without resorting to a “family cloth.” Lets see if I can come up with a program for greening the average American’s TP usage… 1. Be mindful of how much you’re using. Don’t use a big wad when a small wad will do. 2. Try to ensure the TP comes from eco-friendly sources. 3. Use brands/types that are known to be safer for the septic/sewage system 4. If the timing is right, finish off cleaning while you shower. I’m sure there’s more that could be done, but that’s a start. Oh, I forgot one: 1. Use the Scott tissue without the cardboard tube in the middle! I don’t know if it’s really more eco-friendly overall than other types, but it’s awesome not to have cardboard tubes filling up the little bathroom garbage cans. 😛 > [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > Theres a reason we’ve evolved to using disposable things imho. Are these “butt cloth” women still using those nasty [Diva Cups](http://www.amazon.com/Diva-Cup-Model-1-Pre-Childbirth/product-reviews/B000FAG6X0/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1) I wonder? Scroll down to T S Johnson’s 2006 Amazon review of the thing if you dont already know what this contraption is. Just dont read it out loud at the restaurant please. You’re calling Divacups nasty? Bloody wads of cotton sitting in the garbage can are way nastier. You’re just used to the bloody wads so they seem normal. And WTF is wrong with that woman who wrote that review? Maybe she has a deformed vagina or something, because there is no way that any normal person would have that much trouble dealing with it. I just fold the top a little, squat down a little, jam it in, and give it a little wiggle to be sure it’s unfolded itself. 3 seconds max. Getting it out is even easier. Just bear down a little, grab the stem and yoink. It makes me laugh that you say they’re “still” using them, like they’re some sort of absurd hippy fad. DivaCups are the neti pots of the vagina. Once you get used to them, the benefits are obvious. I keep a tampon in my purse because my period invariably shows up when I’m at work, and I always get a sinking feeling when I realize I’m going to have to shove a dry clump of rayon up my hoo-ha. I can feel it, it’s more prone to leakage, and it’s gross. > [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > As far as it being “cleaner” … fishing around for it and emptying it while at work or out in a social situation does not seem “clean” or “hygienic” but thats just my $0.02 Why would you be emptying it at work or a social situation. It’s not a tampon. It doesn’t need to be changed every 15 minutes. > [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > AnywaYYYYY … back to our regularly scheduled program. Its your vagina, do what you want but do not ever change out your Diva Cup in MY bathroom! A. Why would I empty my DivaCup in your bathroom? See above about not needing to change it frequently. B. If I needed to do it for some reason, I would, and you would never know about it. Your ignorance is showing, dear. If you don’t want to use a DivaCup, don’t use a DivaCup. But don’t act like you know all about something that you obviously know nothing about. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/106 "2014-02-03T16:04:57Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Have you done it? It gets gross at poorly maintained public rest stops and places that never get cleaned, but those places are going to be gross anyway. A private home will have a small tightly covered container (like a kitchen compost bin) that is regularly changed out. I’ve done it in a few climates and never had a smell or flies. With ladies, 90% of TP is spent on drip control after urination, so it’s really not a ton of offensive material. > > It’s not awesome and I wouldn’t do it voluntarily, but on the scale of "things that suck about third world housing ", this doesn’t really rate. I have - in very poor sections of Argentina and Costa Rica and in rural Haiti - all in the summer. I’m sure location/culture matters. There were no closable windows just openings in the wall for ventilation, hence the flies (and worse). I never saw a container with a cover in any of the “no flushing paper” areas, simply a plastic bucket beside the commode - even in communal bathrooms. I’m am guy and, trust me, the little boy’s room gets plenty offensive. No A/C, no electricity, no running water - all these I can get used to. I never got used to the soiled toilet paper bin. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/107 "2014-02-03T19:52:12Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Yes, before being reinserted into the vagina to be coated by and filled w/ menstrual shedding once again, the emptied cup is dipped into and rinsed at least once w/ a fresh bowl of the same potable water that runs into the sinks a few feet away that’s good enough to wash your hands and the drinking fountains if you’re in a commercial building. DivaCup itself recommends against doing that. [http://divacup.com/how-it-works/care-and-cleaning/](http://divacup.com/how-it-works/care-and-cleaning/) > [@](#): > > If at any time The DivaCup is exposed to unsanitary conditions such as a toilet, please replace it with a new one. The quote is at the bottom of the page. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/108 "2014-02-03T19:57:47Z")
Installed a bidet hose attachment in our bathroom, and now we use very little toilet paper. I also find that it’s quite a pleasant and refreshing experience. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/109 "2014-02-03T21:45:35Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > DivaCup itself recommends against doing that. > > [http://divacup.com/how-it-works/care-and-cleaning/](http://divacup.com/how-it-works/care-and-cleaning/) > > The quote is at the bottom of the page. It reads to me like they’re saying if you drop it in the toilet after you’ve used the toilet but before you flush. It doesn’t make sense for the clean toilet water to be bad and the clean sink water to be good when it’s the same water from the same source. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/110 "2014-02-03T21:54:58Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > It reads to me like they’re saying if you drop it in the toilet after you’ve used the toilet but before you flush. It doesn’t make sense for the clean toilet water to be bad and the clean sink water to be good when it’s the same water from the same source. Once the water enters the bowl it’s not clean anymore. Not unless you sterilize it after every use. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/111 "2014-02-03T22:16:19Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > It reads to me like they’re saying if you drop it in the toilet after you’ve used the toilet but before you flush. It doesn’t make sense for the clean toilet water to be bad and the clean sink water to be good when it’s the same water from the same source. Have you ever looked/cleaned under the rim of a toilet, you know, where the fresh water comes from to fill the bowl? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/112 "2014-02-03T22:17:45Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Once the water enters the bowl it’s not clean anymore. Not unless you sterilize it after every use. Fair enough, Doug. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/113 "2014-02-03T22:19:36Z")
But your sink ain’t so clean either, you know. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/114 "2014-02-03T22:29:12Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > But your sink ain’t so clean either, you know. True, but I assume one would rinse it off under running water, not plug the sink, fill it, and then give it a bath, right? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any of the hangups about the cup others have voiced. I’m just 😕 about the idea of rinsing it off in toilet water. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/115 "2014-02-04T03:54:45Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I mean, we’re not doing it, but I see how you get there. I do wonder what happens when guests come over, though. All of the women in the article mentioned they keep toilet paper on hand for their guests. They don’t insist that they use cloths. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/116 "2014-02-04T04:00:55Z")
wow, and i was sure the part about rinsing it off in the toilet was a woosh. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/117 "2014-02-04T04:08:41Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > wow, and i was sure the part about rinsing it off in the toilet was a woosh. The reusable wiping cloth? Or are we back on the care and feeding of your Diva/Luna cup? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/118 "2014-02-04T04:25:45Z")
the cup of course, even the poop cloth got to use the washing machine. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/119 "2014-02-04T04:39:36Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I have - in very poor sections of Argentina and Costa Rica and in rural Haiti - all in the summer. I’m sure location/culture matters. There were no closable windows just openings in the wall for ventilation, hence the flies (and worse). I never saw a container with a cover in any of the “no flushing paper” areas, simply a plastic bucket beside the commode - even in communal bathrooms. I’m am guy and, trust me, the little boy’s room gets plenty offensive. > > No A/C, no electricity, no running water - all these I can get used to. I never got used to the soiled toilet paper bin. Fair enough. Hey people in the developing world! If you haven’t got the message already, get a cover for your bathroom bin! A cheap Chinese metal plate will do the trick if you really can’t swing it. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/120 "2014-02-04T22:25:38Z")
Excuse me if I don’t shake your hand. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033/121 "2014-02-05T15:22:03Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Fair enough. > > Hey people in the developing world! If you haven’t got the message already, get a cover for your bathroom bin! A cheap Chinese metal plate will do the trick if you really can’t swing it. The more I think about it (thanks, I really needed to be thinking about alternate human waste disopsal systems) this is an issue only in one strata of poor/remote areas. The poorest/most remote most often don’t have running water at all. Human waste is captured in pits, so paper disposal is not an issue. The next strata has some semblance of running water (perhaps a cistern on the roof) but no connection to septic or sewer. When the toilet flushes it empties into a pit dug underneath. Strata next would be those with running water but a less than robust septic/sewer system that cannot handle toilet paper. This is where the toilet side bucket for paper exists. The final strata would be those with running water and robust septic/sewer where paper can be flushed. Too much analysis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/going-without-toilet-paper-meet-the-adults-switching-to-a-reusable-cloth/680033.md?page=7)