Toilet paper down the loo?

I have tested TP for a mag. The most basic test is so simple that anyone can do it. Any material that passes the test won't be a problem.
  • Put a few square in a bowl with ~ 8 ounces of water.
  • Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
  • Swirl gently with a spoon.
If it falls apart to pulp, no problems. Even if they use too much, wait 15 minutes and the plug will loosen and push through. I do NOT approve of flushing in harbors, but it will fall apart rapidly in the ocean as well.

These materials will fail. Remove them from the head compartment to remove temptation.
  • Paper towels. Obviously.
  • Facial tissues. They look like TP, but they do NOT fall apart in water. Heck, they survive the laundry! So remove the facial tissue box from the head compartment.
  • Heavy duty TP. It's not about whether it is single ply or double, it is the paper. Test it.
Finally, don't be afraid to inform guests that it is not like a home toilet, that the outlet is 3 times smaller, and that if they flush anything other than paper it will clog. There is also nothing wrong with flushing in two phases if it is going to be massive. Not something we normally talk about, but it's better to be frank than have a situation.

Post instructions under the lid. BIG print.

Obviously, if the pipe is scaled up, that needs fixed.
 
Robin said:
When we lived aboard ib USA our loo guru advised only ever use the cheapest supermarket eco paper as it disintegrates fastest.
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The same applies here as your USA Loo Guru has been heard world wide. She used to be on this forum but in semi retirement can now be found on Cruisersforum.com in the USA
 
Bilgediver said:
The same applies here as your USA Loo Guru has been heard world wide. She used to be on this forum but in semi retirement can now be found on Cruisersforum.com in the USA
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You are thinking of 'Headmistress' methinks, (Peggy Hall IIRC). My loo guru (Merle Palmer) was a local marine engineer that specialised in boat plumbing at all levels but was equally excellent on inboard and outboard motors and refrigeration and a dab hand at electrics AC or DC. as well. He was old school repair not replace minded He retired just before we returned to the UK but had trained a half decent replacement in his ways of 'perfection matters'
 
I feel (after reading 60+ responses) fortunate for never having had to address this question myself...my Achilles had the pipework for a sea-toilet, but it was sealed off and I wasn't sorry. But I'm curious how this suggestion will be greeted; it is so simple (and economical), I'm dazzled that only TNLI seems to have mentioned it, and possibly he was kidding.

I wonder whether what I'll suggest is (because of widespread scato-phobia) beyond most respondents' ability even to consider, or whether it's incredibly obvious, and an immediate solution to bunged pipes and underwater Andrex forests.

I rather overdid the Vittoria grapes over the Christmas season. Delicious, tiny and sweet. They also turn my bowels to water.

Two or more sit-down episodes in the same day, caused paper-chafe. Not funny (well, only in retrospect). But instead of suffering a third time, I later found an old forgotten washing-up basin under the sink, and I left it in the bathroom.

Not yet having learned to ease back on the Vittoria grape consumption, I was back in the bathroom soon after...

...but this time, the loo-paper did not stir on its roller. In advance of sitting, I repeat, sitting, I had half-filled the plastic basin with handwash-temperature water, and put the shower gel close at hand.

The deed was done, relief gained, and squatting carefully, the parts concerned (and later the basin) were scrupulously washed, not scratched with paper...and the only thing flushed away had either been digested, or came out of the tap or soap-bottle.

I believe there are plastic bowls designed to fit over the porcelain of a domestic lavatory, to enable the sitter to do this without needing a separate basin. I cannot believe that a similar arrangement could not be fabricated by any practical boat-owner, sized to fit the on-board facilities.

It has the added benefit of making one feel outstandingly clean as one departs the smallest room. :)

P.S., I wrote 'Not for kitchen use' on the basin, in permanent marker. ;)
 
Just to send this off an a whole nuther' direction, there are many bedit attachments, both under the seat and hand-held. When you consider reduced flushing and potentially reduced showering, they don't increase water consumption.
 
dancrane said:
I rather overdid the Vittoria grapes over the Christmas season. Delicious, tiny and sweet. They also turn my bowels to water.

Two or more sit-down episodes in the same day, caused paper-chafe. Not funny (well, only in retrospect). But instead of suffering a third time, I later found an old forgotten washing-up basin under the sink, and I left it in the bathroom.
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What a wuss
What you need is a bucket of cold water and good stiff long handled brush. Wil remove cling-ons and dangle berries and toughen up your derriere all at the same time.
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VicS said:
She stopped posting on these forums many years ago but can still be found on the

What a wuss
What you need is a bucket of cold water and good stiff long handled brush. Wil remove cling-ons and dangle berries and toughen up your derriere all at the same time.
View attachment 130923
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The Romans used a sponge on a stick in their communal loos. The sponge was washed out in running water that ran in a stream past their feet, though I'm sure there were variations on this. I have read of Japanese loos that spray water onto your fundament, but all this still leaves the performer dripping wet and the need to dry with a towel or paper, which takes us back to where we started. OK, a wet wash and a blast of hot air to dry off with. Paper just seems simpler to me.
 
I used a bath-towel to dry off - just as I do after a shower. Pardon me, but what do you do after a shower?

Not asking because I want to know, just wondering why anyone is sure a dry wipe which needs disposing of, is better than washing.
 
While we are in the "anything to add" section of the thread, how can single handers guarantee a movement first thing in the morning.

After a few false starts, I seem to get the urge just as I get the anchor up doing two knots with the tide in a crowded anchorage.
 
johnalison said:
... I have read of Japanese loos that spray water onto your fundament, but all this still leaves the performer dripping wet and the need to dry with a towel or paper, which takes us back to where we started. OK, a wet wash and a blast of hot air to dry off with. Paper just seems simpler to me.
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No, actually no. Hover for a moment and that is enough. At most, it is like being a bit sweaty and dries within a few minutes. No need for TP.

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Lots of comments from people who have not lived with a bedit. We installed one because my wife had 4 months of diarrhea when battling cancer and chemo. For me, paper now seems... primitive, time consuming, and wasteful. And I would have been firmly in the paper camp just a few weeks before.
 
Never had any problems with the bucket and chuck it system.

Currently have a jabsco toilet which copes with small amounts of paper but we use nappy sacks to be on the safe side.A blockage really does ruin your day.
 
dancrane said:
I used a bath-towel to dry off - just as I do after a shower. Pardon me, but what do you do after a shower?

Not asking because I want to know, just wondering why anyone is sure a dry wipe which needs disposing of, is better than washing.
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The difference from a shower is that in a shower one uses a cleanser and copious rinsing, leaving a clean surface to dry, while I don't see a splash or spray leaving the area clean enough for me to want to use a general-purpose towel on it.

We have never rationed the amount of paper used, or even thought seriously about it. The Jabsco copes perfectly well.
 
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