toilet paper alternative- wash with water

Corey Schmidt wrote:One of the things i learned in my over 1.5 years in India was how to wash my butt with water. its fun and easy, its much cleaner than TP and results in greater comfort throughout the day, more environment friendly, etc.
just take a cup of water in your right hand, and pour it down your crack and with your left hand wipe it all clean as you continue to pour. Here in Alaska, we like to use warm water for this, especially in the winter. you can then dry with a dedicated rag or just a couple of pieces of precious tp. and always wash hands with soap after. i find that about 1/2 pint of water is a sufficient amount to acheive squeaky cleanliness. Enjoy!

This would be no problem for guys surely considering your anatomy. Some of us gals are more prone to vaginal and bladder infections given our anatomy. This method seems like you're cleaning in the wrong direction. I'm in favor of big soft leaves though they may be only seasonal. How about understory plants for toilet "paper"?

Yes, good point. My wife also swears by the cleanliness of washing with water and she does it differently from me, but not sure exactly how. I'm not sure how the women of India and other countries do it either, maybe published somewhere??? Maybe if you experiment with it you can find a way that keeps all the flows in the desired directions... plants for tp no prob as long as you know what plant you have and its characterstics match its use (please dont use poison ivy or prickly pear for this). still nothing beats the cleanliness of water imho.

We have a very inexpensive bidet attachment on our toilet, I also just installed one on my mother's toilet in her Cape Cod cottage.  At our home we keep a stack of inexpensive washcloths nearby, and a covered bin for the used cloths.  The cleanness factor is amazing.  But the real savings is the non-use of TP.  Not only does TP use cut the life of your septic system, but TP, like any paper uses so much water to make.  We live not far from where there were paper mills for generations.  The water pollution and smell was horrendous.  These are available online for less then $20 an take about 15 minutes of non plumber's time to install.  This will be fresh unheated water, not warm as the more expensive models provide.  We have heat tape and a heated pump house to keep our water from freezing in the cold New England winters, so actually, in the winter, the water is quite warm.  We also follow the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" mantra so by not using TP there is no yellow TP to clog the drains. It can be strange for some to fathom, but the small use of water in the bidet, actually save a great deal of water in the long run.  My husband, who put of the install for about a year, is now a sworn believer and recommends them to everyone who listen.  Hey if I can get my meat & potato eating, mountain man to use a bidet and eat sprouts, well that says something. (He also tells everyone how great sprouts are now too).

I have TP on hand for guests, but have gone years without using it.   I used to use Coke bottles as a bidet.   But now I use this:   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Z4RGQW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1   Costs $2.08 - which is within most budgets.   Just remove the interior straw, and it makes a perfect bidet.  I just add water.   Some might add soaps or add baking soda.   Instructions:   Invert upside down, aim & squeeze.    You can use a washcloth to pat dry but I generally just sit on a towel that is folded on a stool next to the pee bucket.

I use a 2 bucket system next to a working toilet in my bathroom.   The working toilet is required by law where I live.   (America - land that once was free.)   I do the washing in the pee bucket instead of the poop.   I know that makes some scream, but my urine bucket is really just a funnel that drains into a floor drain.   The poop bucket works far better when it is kept as dry as possible.

Pasted from one of my comments in the bucket toilet thread.

We do not compost wipes and prefer to use t shirts bought from thrift stores by the box for $15. If you do not use cloth as wipes, try it! 
A square, slightly larger than a single toilet sheet will generally do the job and do it much better. I cannot overstate how much more effective it is over any paper including paper towel which we have also used. 

A single shirt makes a several inch tall stack of wipes. 

We had to be very selective about where we source t shirts, they can be heavily contaminated with fabric softener. We do not use fabric softener because it is toxic and deadly, the most toxic substance in conventional homes besides dioxin from bleach and is an uncontrolled cocktail. 

The first warning was odor and smarm on hands during proscessing wipes, then the lingering wretch and headache inducing and otherwise alien (to uor household) odor in the bathroom. 

The last straw was realising where the smarmy oily feeling evinced itself after use of contaminated shirts as wipes. I have the same issue with paper used for toiletry and house cleaning, soaking grease off of food...yuck. 

Dioxin!! 

Our recycled paper is completly cross contaminated with hazmat. So newspaper or toilet paper in compost is a no-no in our practice. 

I am intending on going the organic hemp,re-usable route. Our friends use cloth diapers for both children. The ridicule and scorn was intense! 

They bought a toilet mounted sprayer which i named the babe-beday (never could spell in french) and hosed them off as pre-treat before tossing into a small washing machine bought for that single purpose. Food grade peroxide and vinegar wash, beutiful! 
He is also smart enough to have 3 washing machines, one for diapers, one for general laundry, and one for work clothes. She is a dental hygenist and he worked (thank goodness for past tense) in a machine shop. They decided to not cross contaminate their laundry, a huge problem at military bases also, and for obvious reasons. 

I've never used it so I don't know exactly how to make them to avoid getting splinters up your butt, but here in Scandinavia, the common thing that the natives used back in the day would've been ass-wiping sticks (aside from the usual moss and leaves and handful of grass). They were cut into suitable sizes, presumably from a type of wood that wouldn't give you horrible splinters up your private parts, and some were immediately thrown away after use while others were washed and re-used (heck, they could even be kept for a couple of generations). They were used from viking times all the way up to the industrial revolution and the rise of tp.

Granted, this was before the industrial revolution, so people back then had a very different diet, and thus very different stools, compared to most modern folk. I have no idea what sort of success you might expect trying to wipe a loose stool from your bottom with a wooden spatula.

How funny!

I'm new to this 4m and I use a composting toilet.  I thought I was the only or at least one of the only of a handful of weirdos, who wash their butt after a trip to the composter in the corner.  

What I do is, just take a shower, however it strikes me as funny that I actually already do what this thread is all about.  I actually never thought of it before.  Of course, if I were prone to a "loose caboose" (as in diarrhea) I would use toilet paper, but as it were, I'm pretty regular and all that's been working really well for around 70 years now.

I think it was Mason Williams, who said, "Isn't life funny; isn't life gay; isn't life the perfect thing to pass the time away?"

Corey Schmidt wrote:what is the 3 seashells method?

For anyone else that just came across this thread, read that, and wondered the same thing; it's from Demolition Man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPWv7rWNVgo

For those still curious, the origin of three shells comes from screenwriter Daniel Waters, quoting this source:

I'm paraphrasing, Dan said: "I won't tell you the actual secret, but I'll tell you where it came from. There's a scene where Stallone has to use a restroom. I'm trying to come up with futuristic things you'd find in there. I was having trouble, so I called my buddy, another screenwriter across town, asked him if he had any ideas. Ironically enough that guy was taking a dump when he answered the phone, looked around his bathroom and said 'I have a bag of seashells on my toilet as a decoration?' I said 'Ok, I'll make something out of that.'"

Jd Gonzalez wrote:By Jove I got it !

A pump sprayer. Fill it with water or an astringent herbal "tea", hose your nether regions and dab dry with a cleansing cotton "buttkerchief" that is washable.
http://www.pestmall.com/shops/www.pestmall.com/images/products/originals/74_119_chapin-1gallon-pump-sprayer.jpg

I know this post is two years old, but this is brilliant!

I've been living without Toilet Paper for about 3 months.
What I do?  Clean my ass with water from a squeeze bottle. Gotta scrub it inside the ass, removing all shit for a good cleaning too.
After it is all clean, I just dry the arse up with an old towel reserved for that.
Clean hands well after that.
Butt clean as a baby, the sensations are very unique. It is not as easy as using TP, that is true. But , leaving the squeeze bottle next to the toilet, makes it easier.
It sure is healthier, and it has been studied the properties of water to avoid anal diseases.
I have a website-project with studies about trash here in Brasil. It is in portugese, but you're all welcome to copy and paste the texts in google translator, and check the following post out, with some data about the amount of resources needed fo TP and the shit it is to clean our shit, evrdyay, with it. If you enjoy, look for the group of discussion in Facebook (end of marketing time, thank you).
Her's the link:
https://oficinadelixo.wordpress.com/2017/12/24/alternativas-para-o-papel-higienico/
Ecological hugs

here in pennsylvania people used to use corn cobs and newspaper to wipe their bums in the old days

Agree with the use of bare left hand and water in the dipper handle by your right hand! You just need to do it trice, 1st wash with water, 2nd wash with soap and then wash it again with water. Very neat and clean.

The one I got from Squatty Potty was only $25. Yes it reduces the amount of TP you use. Thing with making TP isn't just saving trees, there is a huge amount of water that is used to make paper, and the water pollution is awful.  I live in New Hampshire and when those paper mills were running the river was brown and the smell was like spoiled eggs. A lot of the people living up there are still suffering from lung illnesses from it.

Josephine Howland wrote:The one I got from Squatty Potty was only $25. Yes it reduces the amount of TP you use. Thing with making TP isn't just saving trees, there is a huge amount of water that is used to make paper, and the water pollution is awful.  I live in New Hampshire and when those paper mills were running the river was brown and the smell was like spoiled eggs. A lot of the people living up there are still suffering from lung illnesses from it.

Sounds like it would be good for people to try and reduce their use of TP, which that bidet-like device helps them do.

In Singapore's public buildings they often offer both regular toilets with paper and then squat toilets with a spray gun and paper for Muslims.

I found the second types much nicer: more spacious, no physical contact with anything, and healthier. You can then dry yourself with paper at the end.

If a bird crapped on your hand would you just wipe it off with some tissue or would you wash your hand under water?

Hello Everyone,

My experience out on an organic farm has shaped my opinion on this topic, though it is also fused with my outlook and other knowledge.

My approach is as follows:

1. Pee outside

2. Poo outside in certain areas. For now it is in areas of the woods that are designated for this, away from any water or homes. The poo is usually all broken down and back to soil in a matter of weeks. In the future, when I have land, designate a portion of the garden for this that and use it for this purpose when it is out of rotation... i.e. a rest year/s.

3. Do the least harm with cleaning up. I currently use a small hand bidet that you can get online for about $10, it simply sprays a small stream of clean water and then I use a small towel to dry. After much use I also use my hand to to clean the area while spraying (originally I didn't because I thought that was gross) and then wash my hands afterwards.... this is similar to showering though and it's more of a mental change then a hygienic.

4. By not using toilet paper we save trees and the plastic wrapping that it almost always comes in. If you read No Impact Man, or do your own research on the topic, you find out that most (he cited 80% as I recall) pollution comes from manufacture. So, while it's true that some toilet papers compost easily there is still much unneeded pollution: logging machines, logging fuels, transportation, processing,  packaging, and more transportation in various places.

5. I think in the future though I will build a small toilet frame for the woods/garden because squatting can be precarious at times. Just a little platform that you can move from place to place outside when you go.

6. I also think a series of small color poles might be nice for the woods, so that if you have others on the land you can simply instruct them that if they see a bunch of color poles in an area that that it toilet area and to walk around it.

All the best!

In Asia I've also seen portable western-style toilet frames that go over a squat toilet. They basically look like a baby high chair. I assume they're for frail people.

In Sri Lanka I stayed in monasteries, and in Kenya on farms, and there was only ever a jug of water with either a tap or a big container of water from where water is scooped out. But no soap anywhere, and that's how people get sick.

If I had a farm I'd have a no-plumbing portable outhouse (just a hole in the ground and privacy walls) and grow high-feed plants or trees around it, like banana plants. In Australia people traditionally grew chayote vines over an outhouse.

Rose Pinder wrote:

Jd Gonzalez wrote:http://m.livescience.com/42921-why-humans-need-toilet-paper.html

Where they say

In the article, Warman notes, "Although we share most of our DNA with great apes, there are some striking anatomical differences between ourselves and our nearest relatives, most notably our vertical posture. This enables us to walk tall with our hands free, but it also comes at a price: we experience problems with our back and joints, and the whole business of evacuating our waste is more difficult. The fundamental problem is that the area used for releasing urine and faeces is compressed between thighs and buttocks, so we are more likely than other animals to foul ourselves. We also differ from other animals in our response to our waste, which we tend to regard with disgust. This seems to have developed as a result of living together in settlements rather than roaming through the forest, where we could leave our mess behind us. Unlike other primates we can learn when and where it is acceptable to excrete."

This might fit into the TMI territory (is that possible on this thread?), but the rewilding crowd's theory is that hunter gatherer humans diet meant that the poo came out in a neater, cleaner, more contained package than we are used to now (and more like what other animals have). I also think there is a difference between squatting and sitting on the toilet in terms of how easy it is to have a clean poo.

Continuing with TMI: I'd agree with the 'squatting results in cleaner poo'.. it's easier on the body & also apparently empties the last 10% of your colon properly (whereas sitting does not). As a side note, I've heard that the majority of bowel cancer is found within that last 10% that never gets properly emptied when you poo sitting, the last wee 'tail' of the colon. If you don't/can't proper squat.. use a wee stool/stand. The branded ones are called 'Squatty Potty' (they have a cute wee 'ad' video on youtube that is defo worth watching!) but ANY stepstool or etc will work. I'm not exaggerating when I say this will change your life!

Edit: Like Josephine said above.. it also means far less TP used!

I've used the squatty potty for a while and it's great. Snugs up against the toilet when not in use, and props your legs up a bit to get that proper squat angle for your hips, you'll literally feel the difference when you use it.

I expect lots of people have issues with the consistency of their stool which is another big issue with cleanliness. When I'm eating healthy foods with plenty of fiber and bulk there's no "collateral damage" to wipe away afterwards, compared to eating tons of junk food (like a party size bag of M&Ms washed down with a 2L bottle on soda) and my body telling me how disappointed it is with my choices. It can take a while to rebuild your gut flora with healthy eating, but if you are consistent then things will start to click at the other end.

I lived in an area of the US where the deforestation and subsequent pollution was sickening, literally. It finally prompted me to wash with water, wipe with a rag, or just use leaves and eschew paper products except in emergencies, building, fire starting, tampons and pads sometimes, and writing paper, basically.

"Nothin wrong with wipin your bum with your hand. Just use your other hand to eat with."

People have been doing it for a long-ass while. My family used to use newspaper in europe. No thanks..I'll pass!

Paul Andrews wrote:Why are we the only animals that need toilet paper?

paul

Animals, for example dogs, apparently produce a mucosal casing around their poo and when it leaves the body the contraction of the anal sphincter "pinches" closed the casing, sealing feces from any  contact with the anal area. Humans can do that too, if we have the right microbial flora in our guts.  Few of us have the right kind  anymore. Antibiotics, even one dose, can kill off 90% of all gut flora, not just the bad bacteria. The 10% of bactetia that are left have to try and proliferate back, but it can take up to 2 years to restore them. In the meantime people will often  have yet another round of antibiotics. At  3 doses of antibiotic per day, usually for 10 days it's a wonder any of us can digest our food and make vitamins. (Your intestines if healthy make B vitamins.) Probiotics in pill form have only a vety few strains of bacteria,  and many of them aren't alive by the time you buy them, anyway. A study was done recently to measure gut flora in nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes in Africa who live in the same way as our ancient ancestors. Their stool samples contained 6,000 different flora from their gut. Modern 'civilized' folk have around 1,000 gut flora. Makes you wonder what all those missing  gut flora could do for us. I discovered this when I started taking a specific probiotic to help with my 'leaky gut'. I can't say whether it helped with the leaky gut, but I experienced the mucosal sac (yes, you can actually feel the difference) and discovered a clean area down there with absolutely no need to wipe. It was very surprising, I can tell you. I put two and two together from my reading about animals and having started a new probiotic. (I don't remember the name of it and I haven't any on hand as I don't use it anymore.) I'm good with the spray-pump idea!

Mark Brunnr wrote:I've used the squatty potty for a while and it's great. Snugs up against the toilet when not in use, and props your legs up a bit to get that proper squat angle for your hips, you'll literally feel the difference when you use it.

I expect lots of people have issues with the consistency of their stool which is another big issue with cleanliness. When I'm eating healthy foods with plenty of fiber and bulk there's no "collateral damage" to wipe away afterwards, compared to eating tons of junk food (like a party size bag of M&Ms washed down with a 2L bottle on soda) and my body telling me how disappointed it is with my choices. It can take a while to rebuild your gut flora with healthy eating, but if you are consistent then things will start to click at the other end.

As a carnivore now, I agree... diet can make a huge change. As long as I stay fairly strict and avoid carbs, the multiple times a day bathroom runs are a thing of the past. More common now is every day to two days, quite a few carnivores report only a couple times a week. With out stomachs being SO acidic, we were designed to efficiently process meat as and when we could get it. Junk food, breads, etc messed me up for decades... wish I had started learning SO many things back when I was 20ish. 😜

BTW, most carnivores support vegans eating their veggies if they choose, etc. as do I. Rather ‘live and let live’ type philosophy... I’m not one of the jerky kind that always want to harangue others to change what’s working for them and making them feel good.

Corn Cob? Bidet?

Sponges hold far too much bacteria to be safe to reuse.

Timothy Ettridge wrote:

Why not just send it with the pee?

The pee is sterile and good nitrogen fertilizer straight from your body. Butt wiping water, on the other hand, needs to be decomposed for a full year to be safe to simply apply to one's land (as pee is right away).

Sill but would this help my grass grow faster?  Have had to re seed a section of grass where I left the tipi for to long... haha!!

I love what I learn on here

I know the lab bottle was mentioned as a sprayer or as a bum cleaner in a previous post for those forgoing TP. You can also use a spent dishwasher soap plastic container (with a little opening in it) as a portable, nomadic bidet. You can use warm water in the cold weather. If you can't find one of these containers with an already manufactured hole in it, you can punch a hole in the cap of a water/pop bottle using a nail and hammer.

Get ahead of the next Covid-19(84) or other socially engineered/manufactured event toilet paper shortage--whether actual scarcity or created hype/fake news--by using water instead. It felt truly liberating to ditch the TP and was also a cleaner experience. Imagine the size of the pile of TP or rolls you use per year multiplied by all the folks throughout the world following this "refined" cultural practice. I use it whether I am using my soil toilet/dry toilet system out in the sticks or when in the city on the centralized peak sewershed. When using the soil/dry/compoosting (not a typo) toilet system, allow yourself the "luxury" (and don't feel bad about it) of a bit of water to clean your ass since you aren't doing any flushing anyways.

Tip...Eat ONLY with your right hand.

As someone in a third world country pointed out. You don't clean your body with toilet paper, you use water and soap. Toilet does not get your ass clean, it simply wipes and makes a mess. Wouldn't you use water and soap. Many places have a ladle, soap and a towel. makes sense to me.

Switching from traditional toilet paper to a more hygienic and effective method of cleaning can be beneficial. If you're looking for an alternative that ensures a thorough clean without the drawbacks of using only tap water like with bidets, consider a dedicated cleansing product.

Using a foam cleaner such as Flushubbles can enhance your hygiene routine significantly. This product is applied directly to toilet paper and provides a thorough clean that water alone might not achieve. Flushubbles is designed to be gentle on the skin and is safe for plumbing systems, making it an ideal choice for sensitive areas. It offers the benefits of enhanced cleaning without the harshness of chemicals, ensuring you stay clean and comfortable.

This method is not only hygienic but also environmentally friendly, reducing the need for excessive toilet paper use. It’s a practical and effective solution for maintaining personal cleanliness and comfort throughout the day.

Making the switch to family cloths. I've been using them for awhile, but my spouse has been wary. We ran out of toilet paper today, and not enough money in the discretionary budget to buy toilet paper (takeout twice this week!).

Since my spouse is the only one who uses toilet paper, and we have a free alternative, they've decided to join me. Toilet paper for guests only!