Toilet paper down the loo?

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ColinR

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Do you put toilet paper down the loo on your boat? If no, is that for environmental reasons or to not block it? I must admit I have always done it, although nothing else goes down there apart from what goes through you and loo paper. But last summer two things made me wonder about it. I had a bad case of blocked pipes and having dismantled the system and found it badly caked with scale. I banned loo paper from being flushed and provided a separate bag for onshore disposal. I have since renewed the entire installation and I am wondering whether to keep the same policy. Then I happened to go sailing with a friend in the Baltic and when he was showing me how the loo worked he said 'obviously no paper down the loo, only what goes through you'. Well it made me wonder what others do on this delicate topic? I sail on the west coast of Scotland where there are no pump out facilities for holding tanks. I know the Baltic countries are very strict about discharge.
 
Our electric ones handle paper fine as long as not too much and allowed soak and soften a little.
One guest used wet wipes - I should have made them dismantle the pump to clear it.
 
Yes, never had a problem in nearly fifty years. A friend had no end of trouble with a complex holding tank system, traced to a kitchen wipe in his second-hand boat.
 
Perhaps a difference between a gravity tank holding system and a direct flush?

I hired a boat in the Baltic a few years ago and they said to leave the tank outlet open all the time - so whilst they may well have holding tanks, how many use them?

Parked next to a modern dutch boat in a dutch marina - they were using their heads direct as you could see the discharge. Somebody was swimming a bit further down the pontoon! Some of us (without a tank) made the 100m walk to the heads up on the side.
 
The only time I have had a blocked toilet, I had used toilet paper to mop up after a shampoo bottle fell over. In a bit of a strop, I chucked the paper in the toilet and pumped.
The only redeeming feature was that shampoo impregnated paper is less unpleasant than the usual alternative
 
oldbloke said:
The only time I have had a blocked toilet, I had used toilet paper to mop up after a shampoo bottle fell over. In a bit of a strop, I chucked the paper in the toilet and pumped.
The only redeeming feature was that shampoo impregnated paper is less unpleasant than the usual alternative
Click to expand...
With paper in the loo, it’s a question of how much before you pump and how much you pump.
Regarding whether you put paper down the toilet; tidal waters and open sea isn’t so much of a problem. However anchored in small enclosed bays in the Mediterranean etc is where holding tanks become very important. It’s not very pleasant to go snorkelling and find loo paper littering the sea bed.
 
I have always pumped the paper, I had two blockages in 20 years. One from wetwipes which my friend (who had chucked up all over the place ) used to clean up with, and some new extra nice loo roll which wifee had bought...

On both ocassions I found the process less unpleasant that my imagination suggested that it might have been.

I did once attempt to replumb a loo on a boat belonging to a forumite, (whom I shall not name)...I discovered that there was a brown mullet in the pipe....I chucked so hard that I burst blood vessels in my face and eyes...he laughed...
 
The only blockage I ever had to deal with was when a blockhead sucked up some seaweed and, when it got harder to pump, just pumped harder. As I wasn't the blockhead (this time!) and it wasn't my boat, many brownie points were gained.

TP is allowed, but if it didn't come off that roll or out of your body, it doesn't go in the loo.
 
The paper doesn't cause the scale, and not flushing it is not the same as performing basic maintenance on the toilet. If anything you'd be better off asking people not to pee in the toilet.
 
If you have a seriously caked up outlet pipe, with its effective bore reduced to 10mm, an ordinary Kleenex paper hanky will block it.

No need to ask how I know.
 
When we lived aboard ib USA our loo guru advised only ever use the cheapest supermarket eco paper as it disintegrates fastest. We had free weekly holding tank pumpouts included in our berth contract but the poop pump boat doing it had big signs on it's tank saying ;gratuities gratefully received' rich yanks used to profer $20 a time so $1000+ a year but we negotiated an occasional donation of $50 say every 3 months as a better option always than trying to be away on pumpout days.

Back here in UK and still living a board we have holding tanks on both loos but with diverter valves to select direct overboard when just liquid effluent, otherwise a walk to shoreside facilities. Bearing in mind ladies seem to use loo roll as winkie blotting paper rather than just twerking like the guys we have small lidded bins in each loo for paper disposal. These are usually lined with cheap supermarket nappy bags for easy disposal.

It has always amazed me how little loo roll is actually involved in the wiping process proper as opposed to merely doubling up as backing paper to prevent finger poke through. Scope for some enterprising designer to come up with alternative ideas for reusable backing pad perhaps?
 
Robin said:
When we lived aboard ib USA our loo guru advised only ever use the cheapest supermarket eco paper as it disintegrates fastest. We had free weekly holding tank pumpouts included in our berth contract but the poop pump boat doing it had big signs on it's tank saying ;gratuities gratefully received' rich yanks used to profer $20 a time so $1000+ a year but we negotiated an occasional donation of $50 say every 3 months as a better option always than trying to be away on pumpout days.

Back here in UK and still living a board we have holding tanks on both loos but with diverter valves to select direct overboard when just liquid effluent, otherwise a walk to shoreside facilities. Bearing in mind ladies seem to use loo roll as winkie blotting paper rather than just twerking like the guys we have small lidded bins in each loo for paper disposal. These are usually lined with cheap supermarket nappy bags for easy disposal.

It has always amazed me how little loo roll is actually involved in the wiping process proper as opposed to merely doubling up as backing paper to prevent finger poke through. Scope for some enterprising designer to come up with alternative ideas for reusable backing pad perhaps?
Click to expand...
The finger poke through...
I think I've mentioned on here before that Royal Marines have been known to refer to that accident as a 'brown ballerina'.
 
Toilet paper down the toilet. Now use an expensive stuff that seems strong but dissolves rapidly in water. Only blockage has been since installing a gravity holding tank hence change of paper. Have also modified holding tank so that I can easily pressurise it to clear any future blockage by using the lavac pump.
 
I used to wonder why wild nature's creatures do not need toilet paper. It only seems to be us humans.

A while back I had to make a lifestyle change by giving up added sugar, processed food and reducing tea and coffee intake. Since then, I use very little paper. Came as a surprise.
 
Never had a heads blockage in 25 years. (Jabsco PAR) and we pump paper overboard. The secret is to use plenty of flushing water and to avoid having tight bends in the pipework.
 
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