I read this article about the presence of BPA in toilet paper yesterday.

I realized that I didn't know much about alternatives to toilet paper. I realize that there is the non recycled type that would prevent me from being exposed to BPA, but I feel like it is not the most sustainable solution.



The bidet seems like a good idea, but I am not sure how practical it would be with a composting toilet for instance, and it requires space.

Thoughts?

I know what about wilma went toilet paper free. She used water. I couldnt get on with it very well myself.

Another alternative is reusable cloths. However im not terrible happy with the hygiene level there for myself.

Several permies I know here in town use old, cut up t-shirts for pee and wash them with the regular wash (which they use as greywater for trees. Some also use them for poop and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to keep the smell down.

Rags make sense, I guess it is not that different from using a wet cloth for cleaning up a baby.

Though we haven't made the progression to cloth wipes in our house (yet), I practice what's referred to as pee-cloths, which I store in an old plastic diaper pail until laundry day.

Old flannelette diapers and/or baby washcloths work wonderful for such (which is what I use).

A yogurt container filled with warm water, turns any toilet into a bidet. A separate seat could serve this function for outside and composting toilets. That water could run to a small leach field.

I've planted mullein to serve all types of toilet.

In India the norm has always been to wash with water over a squat toilet (or the ground), and not use toilet paper. Modern middle class houses all over India now have a pedestal seat toilet like the west, and toilet paper handy, but they also have a sprayer. Sometimes the sprayer is plumbed in from the wall nearby, and is a squeeze valve sprayer such as are often on kitchen sinks in the US. Increasingly, instead there is a small water jet attached under the seat: you turn a handle and a narrow, strong, precisely aimed jet hits your crack, and you can wiggle and get it right on your anus. I'm not crazy about using water in the middle of the day or when not at home, because I feel sort of damp in my clothes for a while afterwards. Frankly I prefer toilet paper and a daily bathe. Oh, but the water system is great for women who use menstrual cups.

Here's a typical modern jet that is installed under the seat unobtrusively:
http://www.indiamart.com/ajantapolymers/toilet-seat-cover.html#jet-spray-toilet-seat-cover

I googled briefly and found this traveler's tale:
http://mumbaiontheslowlocal.blogspot.in/2012/11/talking-crap-indian-toiletsvariations.html
Here's a dead serious explanation:
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-an-Indian-Bathroom

I googled Indian toilet jet spray and saw this link (but can't click YouTube from this poor connection)
How To Install A Bidet Spray To ANY Toilet! Hygienic and ...

eBay in the US seems to have a section called "Toilet attachments and bidets" and there's one listed for $30 that you attach to the seat.