AIBU to think that actually toilet paper is really unhygienic

[keepitclean1980]

I was doing the washing up and a thought came to me. Don't you think toilet paper is actually really unhygienic?

If you happened to put your finger in a random turd, what would you do? Wipe it with a tissue and call it a day? Or scrub it with soap and water followed by a smell test?

When you think about it, it is insane that we just use toilet paper on our bums. Or do other people give it a little more pampering and I just didn't realise?

I think some have the misconception that if one uses bidet then they don't use toilet paper, or dry with towel, eww no! I still use toilet tissue' but also use water too. I then dry with toilet tissue!

I just wet the toilet paper with water so dry, wet, dry. No problem with flushing the paper then.

You can buy bum guns on amazon - quite cheap. My DH fixed then to two of our loos.

www.amazon.co.uk/s?ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_2_7&crid=33OPALP0A070N&sprefix=Bum+gun%2Caps%2C240&k=bun+gun+bathroom&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

dementedma

A watering can is easier! With soap next to loo roll and different soap by sink.

Or wet wipes.

But aren't you getting poo over your hands if you're just soaping up your bum hole?

I didn't think bum gun was something I'd be googling this Friday night.

@TheKeatingFive

Are Brits dying of dysentery in their droves compared to countries who use bidets as the norm?

No?

Can’t get too excited about the ‘hygiene’ issues then.

This. And wet wipes for grownups are mostly made of plastic and are an environmental disaster, especially when (mid)labelled flushable but still a massive cause of landfill for the people who do the right thing and bin them instead.

Those of you with the bum jugs - is the water hot or cold?

Those of you who prefer water to just paper - do any of you have cats or dogs? If yes, what do you do about their dirty bottoms?

@QuestionableMouse

Yes I have a loo brush and wash change towels daily. Bedding gets changed once a month though 🙄😂

You wash your towels daily????? The mind boggles. You're using them to dry off clean skin!!!! Unless of course you're getting stuck right in to certain crevices, in which case, OK but going by this thread, even bum holes are squeaky clean anyway.

@insomnmaniac

I use a jug of water to wash the bits off without using my hands, then I wet toilet paper and rub from the back and finally use another piece of tissue all around to dry.

But water doesn't clean anything. You don't wash your dishes just using water, so how can you expect it to clean a bum any better than loo paper.

But water doesn't clean anything

That's true. If you had shit on your hand, you wouldn't just rinse it off with water and dry it.

For me, it's not about skid marks. I do it to flush away any bacteria which may be present. Prevents UTIs.

Vote for Classics

FYI Japanese loos need special cleaning. They are brilliant but a squirt of domestos isn’t sufficient.

@Nottherealslimshady sorry but 'athletes foot bum' had me tickled for a ridiculous amount of time 😂

[quote GeorgiaMcGraw]@brawsome. Pour the water gently between the legs at the front, while sitting on the loo. It will pour down, via the back end. You may have to lean back a bit. Hard to explain, but it works. Same way water rolls annoyingly along your arms when you wash a dish and lift it up a bit.[/quote]
Let's just say, I tried a jug once. Not in the way you describe and it did not work out well. Though due to my shape/size I cannot see this being massively successful either

Luckily I'm happy with my tidy excretions, TP skills and sphincter ani externus

The bit that grossed me out isn’t about potential bacteria on your bottom from yourself but all the spray from everyone else and everyone’s dirty hands reaching up into toilet roll dispensers!

I don't have pets. I like to use hot-warm water. Can't use cold, as that part of the body isn't used to it!

@RattleOfBars

I think dry wiping is unhygienic, you can’t possibly clean yourself properly with a bit of dry loo paper! Even if you have no hair down there, particles of poo stick to the skin, smell, spread bacteria eg e-coli is naturally present in the human colon but if the bacteria are left to multiply near your ureatha it’s likely to give you a UTI.

There are so many cleaning options, from biodegradable flushable wipes to a jug of warm water, or soap and a hose, or gel you squirt onto normal dry loo paper so the gel does the cleaning and the paper can be flushed.

I think it’s lazy not to clean yourself properly after a poo, like not brushing your teeth in the morning. Just because you can’t see the microbes and bacteria doesn’t mean they’re not there!

You're right, it's lazy not to clean yourself properly after a poo.

I've been out of nappies since I was 16 months old, I'm now almost 52. I've managed best part of 50 years with good digestion, fully functioning sphincter ani externus & toilet paper to have a lovely clean bum, no Uti's, no skid marks.

No need what-so-ever for a Royal Bloody Performance after a poo! & I'm perfectly clean thanks.

I feel like I must be doing something right that I don't constantly smell like shit and have never had a UTI despite only using toilet roll!

@MustardMitt

I feel like I must be doing something right that I don't constantly smell like shit and have never had a UTI despite only using toilet roll!

Yeah me too!!!

Though I have just had a good laugh. I've decided this is my 'lockdown low' - arguing with some ignorant, rude, tit about clean bums 🤣🤣

The spray things in Indo are terrific. I did wonder if they'd work in the UK though...all the tap water in Indonesia is warm!

One of these. Fill with warm water, soap bum, rinse

I have cotton wipes in Lavender oil beside the toilet and another container of water and tea tree oil. After using toilet paper, I clean with a damp cotton wipes and put it in the tea tree container after. I rinse these weekly and then Chuck in my white wash. Basically washable wet wipes. Bought from Cheeky Wipes.

This is brilliant

I love the thought of going to a friends house, popping to their loo and finding a box full of the previous 6 days worth of the family's shitty rags.

@HotSince63

We have a Japanese toilet in our en-suite so we only poo in there.

Just Googled this - can I come to your house please, purely to try it!? Ha ha. They look incredible!