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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

92 replies

blubberball · 20/04/2023 17:18

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?

OP posts:
ChristmasLightsLover · 20/04/2023 22:03

We've been using cheeky wipes since the first lockdown. Saved us money and the panic of trying to get loo roll!

At the moment it's just me using them - teens are freaked out and DH is only prepared to use them if I wash them at 90 degrees, on their own. This is not practical so I just use for me and wash at 30 degrees, on a 30 min wash.

They are great. My nethers have never felt so clean and fresh. Love em!

MidgeHardcastle · 20/04/2023 22:05

Is this something invented by an all-male think tank knowing it will be mainly women's work? No thanks. Paper is flushable and degradable, completely different to nappies and sanpro.

hobbledyhoy · 20/04/2023 22:37

How would you store them when not in use?
I have visions of everyone having their own bum cloth hook.
Imagine when visitors come round? 😂

Original poster
blubberball · 20/04/2023 22:37

All work is woman's work in my house, as I'm single.
The washing machine is on every day any way. I only wish I could get washable pull ups for my ds, but the washable incontinence pants I've seen are only for mild to moderate incontinence, and they're not going to work.
I guess that there's a guilt of using disposable pull ups for decades on end, and maybe this is a small way of trying to offset it and save a little money in the long run.

They're obviously never going to be a popular option though 😅

OP posts:
WashAsDelicates · 21/04/2023 06:54

hobbledyhoy · 20/04/2023 22:37

How would you store them when not in use?
I have visions of everyone having their own bum cloth hook.
Imagine when visitors come round? 😂

I wonder whether some posters have misunderstood and are thinking that reusable means you use the same cloth multiple times between washes, like a towel? That would be seriously skanky!

justanotherdrama · 21/04/2023 06:59

I read an article about the potential ban of some wet wipes, is this in response to that???

Purplecatshopaholic · 21/04/2023 07:02

Inthedarkagain · 20/04/2023 17:25

Perhaps do what dogs and cats do when they have worms and have a wipe runway in the lounge?

Just choked on my tea!

justanotherdrama · 21/04/2023 07:03

Daisyinthegrass · 20/04/2023 19:41

Eww, no. And I live alone and use washable period pads.

I mean they give me the ick to be honest; so if your at work what do you do if you need to change them? Put some fresh ones on I get that bit then bag the others up to bring home 🤢 yuck!!!!

DustyLee123 · 21/04/2023 07:03

So if you’re wetting these wipes to use them, how do you dry your bum ?

Chocchops72 · 21/04/2023 07:14

I do! Same reason as you: we used cloth nappies and dry-pailed them so I knew odour wouldn’t be a problem. I make them out of old towels, folded and stitched into squares, and keep a small bin with a net bag in it and a spray bottle next to the toilet (to dampen them if I want to). I just throw them in the normal wash at 40 degrees.

however I only use them for pee, not poo. And it’s only me using them as I’m the only female in the house.

Singleandproud · 21/04/2023 07:21

I think as 'Wee wipes' only it's fine, I wouldnt be using them for anything else though.
Logistically a basket with clean ones and then a bin with a swing lid filled with Milton's or similar for used ones then wash in the machine

We only use a roll of toilet roll a week in my house as there's only 2 of us so I think the environmental impact of washing would be greater than the savings but if you are a family that uses lots it's probably a good idea.

reluctantbrit · 21/04/2023 07:23

Cloth nappies are different. I used the liner and flushed everything away and the nappy was quite clean.
Poo explosions were sorted in the shower or with water and cotton wool/biogradable wipes for outside the house.

I have two people with bowl problems in the house, you never know what happens if one of them is on the toilet and the amount of extra bins would be staggering.

We used swapped to bamboo paper after years of using recycled toilet paper from wood.

HoppingPavlova · 21/04/2023 07:28

Nope, sounds disgusting and I am usually the queen of minge.

anotherscroller · 21/04/2023 07:30

If I was going down this road, I would give up the toilet paper completely and use a squeezy water bottle, like they do in some other countries

BlackForestCake · 21/04/2023 07:42

I don't see what is so wrong with toilet paper for houses connected to the sewage system. I think this idea all comes from a small number of American hippies who live off grid and believe toilet paper is bad for their septic tank.

Chocchops72 · 21/04/2023 11:03

@BlackForestCake

for me it’s more to avoid the environmental / economic costs of producing and distributing toilet paper: whether recycled or produced new from trees, it seems mad to use all these resources just to wipe up a few drops of pee 🤷‍♀️.

GooglyEyeballs · 21/04/2023 11:07

No way in hell would I put soiled toilet butt wipes in the washing machine where I wash my clothes. Or have it sit around in the bathroom until there is enough of it to put a load in the washer.

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