To ask if reusable toilet paper is a step too far down the crusty lifestyle?

[blubberball]

When my babies were little, we used cloth nappies. Now I see that they make washable toilet wipe things for the family. I'm going to give it a go, but I wonder if any one else has made the switch? Or is it a step too far?

Do it for your family...but for guests, visitors etc...nah. you'll still need to buy toilet paper for them.

I have not used toilet paper for two or three years.
I use something made from bamboo which is far better for the environment and does the job. It looks and feels like toilet paper
The type I use is made by a company called who gives a crap.

Bumaclaat
🤮

Well, as far as I can see, it's not actually reusable toilet paper. It's actually more like a towel that you use after you've first washed yourself. So the name is misleading.

If you're going to follow this method you don't need to go out and buy something that's been specially designed to look like loo paper, you just need to keep designated towels for each member of the family so after they've washed themselves they can then each use their towel to dry themselves.

The so-called reusable toilet paper just sounds like a way to sell very small towels for a very inflated price.

It's hardly some amazing radical idea.

So if we go into technical details, how would it work? Say we get colour coded bum/wee wipes for individual family members. Then two laundry baskets, for wee/bum wipes. This is unless we want to get two baskets for each family member. Takes a bit of the space already, never mind the smell. Where would you keep them?
Then, the washing machine round. Do we run it (at 90C) for individual bum and individual wee? Or, if the wipes already made friends with each other in case of the shared basket, they can go together? Either way, it doesn’t sound especially eco friendly.
My family is sticking to the loo roll for now

🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

You flush/dispose of that though don't you ?

I used to just wash baby bottoms wipes were expensive when my eldest was a baby so we just used them occasionally, I draw the line at adults.

We had the water company round recently checking drains and they asked if we had trouble with blocked drains as they had had a lot of issues with people putting wipes and nappies down the toilet. They left all the households with a leaflet on what shouldn't be put down the toilet. They also left 2 sample cloths, so I presume that's what these were, to use instead of toilet paper?

My sister and her family use it and have a little storage bin for used ones in the bathroom. I feel slightly queasy knowing it’s there, even when I’m elsewhere in the house.

But surely washing towels at 90'C is also pretty shit for the environment. Where do we draw the line. We won't be able to shit at this rate.

I get not using wet wipes when not necessary and making them plastic free, but not this.

Surely running a machine constantly to clean them is a bit counterproductive though?

My cat does that when crap gets stuck in her long bum hair😻
Now if she had opposable thumbs a bigger brain and loo roll, my carpets would be much nicer!

It’s a no from me, like someone else said, if I lived alone I would consider it but not with my family. Love a bum shower attachment though!

If you use soap and water to clean yourself then the cloth would only be drying you. I don’t see that any different to the towel you wipe with after a shower.

How is it any different to using washable nappies with washable liners? Or using washable sanpro?

You'd need a 'nappy' bucket or two by every loo, and do more laundry and do it more frequently. And lots of line-drying space. If you were squeamish you could use a laundry sanitiser as well.

I never washed our nappies at anything higher than 60, and switched down to 40 when I learned that most machines don't stay at 60 long enough to make a difference. I washed them separately to the rest of the household laundry purely because I did not use fabric conditioner on the nappies. (And also because I did not want the velcro-type closures to snag the rest of our clothes.) My dc never had nappy rash while wearing washable nappies.

The only argument against it IMO is that I really could not be bothered with the extra housework.

Surely if this bothers you, you get a bidet attachment or something so you wash yourself instead? Then dry your (clean!) butt using a cloth.

Actually using a cloth the same as loo roll sounds gross.

presumably you need to wash them after every use? How is all that hot water and detergent any more environmentally friendly that paper made from sustainable sources?

I'm surprised at some of the responses here - most people I know used cheeky wipes (or equivalent) with a baby. I've certainly used them myself from time to time as well.

Gross. How is it washed?? Washing machine?🤮

I used cloth nappies too....but this is very different.
AA
Baby and toddler poo is a lot less unpleasant than full grown adult poo.

Also if I had a bin with my husbands shit in it, in the bathroom, I could never feel romantic about him again.

I'm a single mum here, so no DH to worry about in the house. My ds has disabilities including incontinence, so I guess that I'm more used to dealing with shit in general, that it doesn't gross me out so much.

I did find the kit on the cheeky wipes site, as someone previously mentioned.

I've been seeing more things around for washable/reusable period pants etc, so this just seems to be the direction we're going in.

The website says you can wash the bamboo wipes in with the rest of the laundry. I always use the antibacterial laundry cleanser any way, due to my ds having incontinence. I suppose those chemicals aren't great for the environment, but then I can have the washing at a lower temperature. Just weighing things up really.

Just use water and a good antibacterial handwash

I will also keep bog roll in the bathroom for visiting family and guests. Don't want to scare everyone away

OP, you need to install those little shower hoses next to your toilets and teach your children how to use them. I don't use tp, i think it's unclean, but i use the little hose thingy each time and i have a stack of cheap cotton washcloths, distinctly bland and different from any other washcloth so that it's clear it's for toileting, kept in a separate area next to the toilet. Each one is for a single use. I would NOT use these clothes without the little douche thing.

Exactly, it's really not a great leap to reusable loo roll. You don't wash cloth nappies at 90 for goodness sake. It's not for me, but I don't think it's totally bonkers. I've got lots of friends who use cheeky wipes on two or more children, and happily lend them for face wiping when out and about with friends! Can't say I've ever heard anyone refuse to use one on their child, even if it's been used on another baby's bum...

Your kids must have done nicer poos than mine. Both mine as toddlers could produce monstrosities far worse than anything I've ever done I'm sure!