Conflicting advice about loo roll in pump out toilets

[Ronaldo47]

One of the two canal boats that a group of us hired back in 1976 had Elsan loos, the other marine-type loos that discharged effluent directy into the canal from  below the water line (they were legal then). One of our group, who had his own small yacht, recognised the marine loos as a type that had to be used with hard toilet paper. Apparently soft paper was not recommended as it was liable to interfere with the workings of the mechanism, something the owner was not aware of. Not the sort of thing you will find on the canals today. 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Ronaldo47
Typos

[MidnightStroller]

33 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

One of the two canal boats that a group of us hired back in 1976 had Elsan loos, the other marine-type loos that discharged effluent directy into the canal from  below the water line (they were legal then). One of our group, who had his own small yacht, recognised the marine loos as a type that had to be used with hard toilet paper. Apparently soft paper was not recommended as it was liable to interfere with the workings of the mechanism, something the owner was not aware of. Not the sort of thing you will find on the canals today. 

Thank you!

[IanD]

Strict advice from Aqua was "only use 2-ply like the stuff we provide, *do not* use luxury 4-ply/quilted paper, if you do and block it we'll charge you for the call-out to fix it". Speaking to Justin today this advice was based on several unpleasant experiences for his team...

[The Bearwood Boster]

We are Greeks like quite a few other boaters, in other words paper goes into a bin.We've found our local council kitchen waste bin is just the right size lined with scented bags.?

 

[Dr Bob]

OK, lets be clear about toilet roll and kitchen roll. Important info if you are flushing them away!.

All paper products these days are basically cellulose fibre bound together with plastic. They vary with the amount and type of plastic. So in comparing toilet roll with kitchen roll.

Toilet roll is designed to disintigrate the minute it hits water. The plastic is designed to allow the fibres to break apart very easily.

Kitchen roll is totally the opposite. It is designed to let the fibres swell and take up water BUT NOT to disintegrate as that would be very against what the kitchen roll is doing. The plastic is keeping the fibres together. Toilet roll will therefore become a 'mush' when flushed away but one that breaks up very easily in a boat system (but maybe still not good enough for a vacuuflush system). Kitchen roll will become a 'mush' but will tend to stick together and not break up....and get stuck in many places in a boat system.

You are therefore asking for trouble putting kitchen roll down any toilet ...even a house one...as it will clog up drains etc. Bonkers to use kitchen roll!

 

 

[Alway Swilby]

We have a bin for the toilet paper with a paper bag lining. We burn it on the fire. The thought of having to unblock a macerator was enough to put this rule in place.

[Bewildered]

Don’t bother with toilet paper it is wasteful and can be hard to source in a pandemic, I recommend a fully reusable Roman toilet sponge

fully washable, easy to make and environmentally friendly.

 

[ditchcrawler]

5 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

OK, lets be clear about toilet roll and kitchen roll. Important info if you are flushing them away!.

All paper products these days are basically cellulose fibre bound together with plastic. They vary with the amount and type of plastic. So in comparing toilet roll with kitchen roll.

Toilet roll is designed to disintigrate the minute it hits water. The plastic is designed to allow the fibres to break apart very easily.

Kitchen roll is totally the opposite. It is designed to let the fibres swell and take up water BUT NOT to disintegrate as that would be very against what the kitchen roll is doing. The plastic is keeping the fibres together. Toilet roll will therefore become a 'mush' when flushed away but one that breaks up very easily in a boat system (but maybe still not good enough for a vacuuflush system). Kitchen roll will become a 'mush' but will tend to stick together and not break up....and get stuck in many places in a boat system.

You are therefore asking for trouble putting kitchen roll down any toilet ...even a house one...as it will clog up drains etc. Bonkers to use kitchen roll!

 

 

I used some "Plenty" kitchen roll to set some seeds on in water, it was still tearable  a month later with no sign of ever breaking down. Most tea bags are the same

[Murflynn]

21 hours ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

We are Greeks like quite a few other boaters, in other words paper goes into a bin.We've found our local council kitchen waste bin is just the right size lined with scented bags.?

 

many years working in Turkey where every loo had a sign (in English!) saying "do not put toilet paper in the toilet - put it in the waste paper bin provided".  It took a lot of getting used to having to wash the mucky parts and then use the paper only to pat my bum dry.  The Turks must think Brits are reet dirty b*gg*rs.

[Ronaldo47]

The same practice was used in a hotel in a remote part of Crete, although everything went in the WC in a hotel we stayed at in Athens. Possibly reflects whether cess pit or main drainage sewers are used?

Edited August 30, 2020 by Ronaldo47
Typos

[Alan de Enfield]

4 hours ago, Murflynn said:

many years working in Turkey where every loo had a sign (in English!) saying "do not put toilet paper in the toilet - put it in the waste paper bin provided".  It took a lot of getting used to having to wash the mucky parts and then use the paper only to pat my bum dry.  The Turks must think Brits are reet dirty b*gg*rs.

 

The iniquitous 'Bum-Gun' widely used (every toilet) in Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.

 

[Ronaldo47]

My late brother-in- law's house in France had a bathroom with separate WC and bidet, and an en suite shower room with a dual function WC that was also a bidet.  

Edited August 31, 2020 by Ronaldo47

[Murflynn]

3 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

My late brother-in- law's house in France had a bathroom with separate WC and bidet, and an en suite shower room with a dual function WC that was also a bidet.  

did it have a wastepaper bin though?

[Ronaldo47]

No, it was everything in the pan, but no bleach as he had a cess pit.

 

In the 1970's you often found the "hole in the floor" WCs in French public conveniences and transport cafes that would sometimes wash your shoes when you flushed if you didn't look out! 

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo47 said:

In the 1970's you often found the "hole in the floor" WCs in French public conveniences and transport cafes...

Came across one of those at a motorway stop in ‘81. The missus decided to pee in the bushes instead. 

[ditchcrawler]

20 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The iniquitous 'Bum-Gun' widely used (every toilet) in Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.

 

Never having had the pleasure of one of these, does it not take a fare degree of skill to tit the right point and not soak the surroundings

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Never having had the pleasure of one of these, does it not take a fare degree of skill to tit the right point and not soak the surroundings

 

It does and when you stand up the excess water runs down your legs into your trousers, You soon learn.

[BEngo]

20 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

The iniquitous 'Bum-Gun' widely used (every toilet) in Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.

 

Found in most bogs in India too.  V useful for hosing down the pan in certain  circumstances...

N

[Tracy D'arth]

I thought at first that they were for putting a curry fire out.

Should always be on the right hand side when squatted so the left hand is free for manipulations, Arabian style.

Top hotels have warm water........................luxury.

 

I miss a bidet on the boat.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I thought at first that they were for putting a curry fire out.

Should always be on the right hand side when squatted so the left hand is free for manipulations, Arabian style.

Top hotels have warm water........................luxury.

 

I miss a bidet on the boat.

 

The water is always above body temperature in Cambodia that is why they don't have a 'hot' supply to the showers, the cold is more than warm enough.

Some of the hotels for tourists will have an electric shower so they can get the water 'scalding' if they want to.

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Tracy D'arth said:

 

I miss a bidet on the boat.

I'm in enough trouble if I miss the toilet pan - I dread to think how much bother I'd be in if I told her I was aiming for the bloomin' bidet!  ?

 

[Tracy D'arth]

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I'm in enough trouble if I miss the toilet pan - I dread to think how much bother I'd be in if I told her I was aiming for the bloomin' bidet!  ?

 

Do you still lift a leg?

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Do you still lift a leg?

Only one - I fall over if I lift another one.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

36 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Only one - I fall over if I lift another one.

 

We had a Jack Russel like that - he had a back leg bitten off by a Badger.

 

(asleep with No2 Son on the boat floor)

 

 

[Oddjob]

On 16/07/2020 at 10:44, rustynewbery said:

2-ply works for me.  Leesan advice was - put a couple of [clean] sheets in a kitchen bowl with water; swirl around with a wooden spoon or the like and if it disintegrates then its good for the pan!

 

I've unblocked a vacuum generator a few times too many to not abide by the advice

Aircraft use vacuum bogs they just vent the toilet tank to outside and the 6 to 7 PSI cabin pressure diff does the rest (hence that rushing sound when you flush that's the cabin air rushing down the bowl)  to clean pipework they have ice making machines in the hangers and you put a bucket of crushed ice down and flush (on the ground vacuum pump used) and job done. The idea of the ice is it can't get stuck as it just melts.