Holding tank and eco toilet roll

[matt1]

Does anyone use biodegradable toilet roll in association with a holding tank? Any issues?

Blue Diamond Blue Diamond Enviro-Soft Toilet Roll (4-pack) | GO Outdoors

 

[lumphammer]

I use the thickest and softest loo paper I can find because I'm a sensitive soul and non of it goes down the toilet - it goes in a separate nappy sack.

 

[Laysula]

I use the thickest and softest loo paper I can find because I'm a sensitive soul and non of it goes down the toilet - it goes in a separate nappy sack.

Absolutely.

 

[duncan99210]

I use the thickest and softest loo paper I can find because I'm a sensitive soul and non of it goes down the toilet - it goes in a separate nappy sack.

Bestest way to deal with it. Spent too much time dealing with blocked pipes because someone violated the “if you haven’t eaten it, it doesn’t go down the head” rule.

 

[ryanroberts]

I used cheap paper on a narrowboat, but that had a tank big enough to digest it. Shower tap bidet or bag now with my tiddly 30l tank

 

[Bilgediver]

If you don't like the hand reaching out around the heads door with soiled paper then just use the cheapest supermarket brand as recommended by The Headmistress. This breaks down quickly and hardly ever causes blockages but may not have the same texture and aroma of the multi ply super soft 24 layer more expensive brands which earlier posts have confirmed can be problematic . Usually in the Supermarkets this brand is found right at the cheap end of the shelf. Buy it from a propriety marine supplier with a marine label and it can cost more than Andrex,

This topic is cover in The Headmistresse's book.

Amazon.co.uk : get rid of boat odors

 

[ashtead]

We never put paper down the heads but we have a manual Jabsco with tank however I think the issue is blockages are caused by having a holding tank as all waste goes through the tank and out into sea and the design of the tank which seems to cause issues. In last boat without holding tank we never really had paper issues. Whether position is better with an electric heads or as between different heads I would love to know. Given the price difference between different electric heads maybe some have better chopping motions than others ? So normal comfy paper and a nappy sack if you must use heads on board seems wise but I guess if you have a techno heads or vacuum heads life might be simpler.

 

[thinwater]

Try this simple test.

Take 1 sheet and place it in a small bowl of water for 15 minutes. Swirl gently with a spoon or straw.

If it falls apart into pulp in just a few stirs it is OK for a marine head, if not, it is not. Thickness or claims of biodegradability do not matter, only this test. Will it fall apart when wet for 15 minutes?

 

[duncan99210]

We have 2 heads: aft one is connected to the holding tank and used at anchor or in a marina for solid waste, diverter valve send liquids straight to the sea. Forward head is used for liquids only at anchor or in a marina. Both heads have suffered blockages due to none flushable solids, hence the rules about no paper etc. In most circumstances I agree that normal cheapo paper will happily flush away but if pipework has become encrusted to even a fairly minor extent, then it’s all to easy to wind up with a blockage, which occasions deep joy, much cursing and a disenchanted skipper, which the admiral reckons is to be avoided at all costs.

 

[thinwater]

We have 2 heads: aft one is connected to the holding tank and used at anchor or in a marina for solid waste, diverter valve send liquids straight to the sea. Forward head is used for liquids only at anchor or in a marina. Both heads have suffered blockages due to none flushable solids, hence the rules about no paper etc. In most circumstances I agree that normal cheapo paper will happily flush away but if pipework has become encrusted to even a fairly minor extent, then it’s all to easy to wind up with a blockage, which occasions deep joy, much cursing and a disenchanted skipper, which the admiral reckons is to be avoided at all costs.

The REASON you perform the above test is that paper that falls apart in water will fall apart in the pipe, even if wadded up, if you just wait 15-30 minutes.

Another thing to watch out for is facial tissue (Kleenex). Do NOT keep it in the bathroom and warn against flushing it. It does not dissolve in water, but people see it as the same as TP. Heck, the stuff will survive the laundry.

 

[[70521]]

Does anyone use biodegradable toilet roll in association with a holding tank? Any issues?

When I read "quick dissolving" that had me worried, just how quick and would it survive the morning after with four blokes on a boat after a hot madras?

We currently don't have a holding tank, that might change if we to go the Baltic, but an observation from childhood. The parents had a caravan with a chemical toilet. If we emptied it after a journey it was almost all liquid, if it was emptied after a few days in a caravan park well, lets just say it was "lumpy". Are you guys not taking your boats out to sea to stir things up?

 

[Leighb]

The REASON you perform the above test is that paper that falls apart in water will fall apart in the pipe, even if wadded up, if you just wait 15-30 minutes.

Another thing to watch out for is facial tissue (Kleenex). Do NOT keep it in the bathroom and warn against flushing it. It does not dissolve in water, but people see it as the same as TP. Heck, the stuff will survive the laundry.

Actually it does worse than survive the laundry, it disintegrates into thousands of little bits which stick to everything else and are a nightmare to remove.
We are firmly of the toilet paper in the bin persuasion. I don’t understand the reference a few posts back of a hand holding dirty paper out of the heads door?? Why anyone need to do that?

 

[sailaboutvic]

I very surprised anyone these days talk about putting anything down the loo .
Heads get block at the best of times you don't need to add to the problem.
Most places in the world you find a bin by the loo.
what is it with people back in the UK wanting to put paper down the loo.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Does anyone use biodegradable toilet roll in association with a holding tank? Any issues?

Blue Diamond Blue Diamond Enviro-Soft Toilet Roll (4-pack) | GO Outdoors

Isn't all toilet roll biodegradable its made from wood fiber the outer part is short wood fiber and the inner is longer fiber but will all disintegrate given time.

We use normal branded toilet roll sa required by SWMBO in out electric lavac and electric converted Jabsco without issue the only time I had a blocked head was when SWMBO dropped a 'J' cloth down the Lavac in error

 

[thinwater]

I've had holding tank systems for decades and never clogged one with TP (only flushable wipes and Kleenex--they are now prohibitied and ziplocks are provided). Never had one block with paper at home. So many of us don't understand the problem and can't see adding another step. I think it is a matter of using the right paper. It is also a matter of head and plumbing design.

If you have a problem, then use a bin. No problem, no bin.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I've had holding tank systems for decades and never clogged one with TP (only flushable wipes and Kleenex--they are now prohibitied and ziplocks are provided). Never had one block with paper at home. So many of us don't understand the problem and can't see adding another step. I think it is a matter of using the right paper. It is also a matter of head and plumbing design.

If you have a problem, then use a bin. No problem, no bin.

Just saying the day your toilet does get block I assure you , you be doing things differently.

 

[johnalison]

I've had holding tank systems for decades and never clogged one with TP (only flushable wipes and Kleenex--they are now prohibitied and ziplocks are provided). Never had one block with paper at home. So many of us don't understand the problem and can't see adding another step. I think it is a matter of using the right paper. It is also a matter of head and plumbing design.

If you have a problem, then use a bin. No problem, no bin.

I don't think that my wife would have come cruising with me for the last nearly fifty years if I had even gone so far as to suggest using a bin. OK if that's what you want, but half a century without a single blockage leads me to think that the risk is something I can live with. I have only tried the disintegration test once, on some paper made from bamboo, sold by the charity 'whogivesacrap'. It dissolved almost immediately.

 

[thinwater]

Just saying the day your toilet does get block I assure you , you be doing things differently.

Silly. As I clearly said, it has been blocked by flushable wipes and Kleenex. Not that big a deal and I didn't feel any need to change my ways.

a. Wait 30 minutes, and if you are using the right paper, it will go right through.
b. Let people know that if they are going to use a lot of paper, flush twice. No big deal.

Like all of the systems on a boat, it is about proper design and proper use. If it was poorly laid out, you have to live with that... or fix it.

One nice thing about my PDQ (and many newer boats) is that the head floor is a bathtub molding. If there is a minor mess, just use the shower to hose it down the drain. Easy to clean up.

 

[Gwylan]

Absolutely.

Things I don't miss having retired from boating.

 

[Gary Fox]

I wouldn't consider sailing on a yacht which had such badly installed plumbing that used toilet paper needed to be kept on board, how utterly disgusting.