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If you are reading this I am hoping you are looking for an alternative to using toilet wipes. Although toilet wipes create a moment of supreme comfort they can also create a lifetime of misery, from blocked toilets to untold damage to the environment. So what can you use instead of toilet wipes?
The simple answer is water. Until recently it has not been practical to use water to clean your bottom, especially when you are away from home. However, the range of modern, portable and handheld bidets has now made this possible.
Why Flushable toilet wipes are a Nuisance and Block Toilets
Flushable and biodegradable toilet wipes are marketing at its best. They sound great and yes they flush. However, to be precise, they disappear from view!
Take toilet paper, for instance, the minute it touches water it starts to disintegrate. By the time it has hit the water in the toilet bowl and travelled some way in the waste pipe, it will have started to break up.
However, flushable or biodegradable wipes are made up of fatty chemicals which hold the wipes together so they feel moist during use. The wipes then travel someway before they start to break up. They can often get snagged up on other solids in the drains and start to accumulate and break down into what is commonly known as fatbergs. Before you know it you’ve got the start of a blocked sewer.
What are Toilet Wipes made of?
Toilet wipes, cosmetic wipes and baby wipes are fibres spun into a mat and then compressed, to make a sheet. The sheet can then be impregnated with cleaning products, infused with perfumes and fatty soaps. In order to make the wipes stronger, they include polymers like viscose and cellulose. Sounds like a horrid mix, doesn’t it?
Flushable wipes are made from shorter fibres than Non-flushable and may include treatments to help them disintegrate more quickly once flushed.
Why toilet wipes are bad for Septic Tanks
Septic tanks are large chambers positioned underground that take household water and sewage that cannot be routed to main sewer plants. The anaerobic process then breaks down solids and organics. This process struggles to break down man-made fibres used to make wipes.
Periodically septic tanks need to be pumped out and taken away and this is where the problem starts. Tankers use mechanical pumps to move the sewage and if there is one thing mechanical pumps don’t like and that’s fibrous mats or wipes to you and me!
The Advantages of using Bidets
Bidets use water, free-flowing lovely water! No fibrous tangled mats, no thick wads of stuck together toilet paper to get snagged and block your drains.
A simple question, would you rather use water or a paper towel to clean mud off a shoe? Using dry scratchy toilet paper between your cheeks could leave you with irritable skin for the rest of the day. We all feel clean and fresh after a hot bath or shower, so why not treat your peach to the same sanitary experience after using the toilet.
There are many modern bidets to suit your needs and budget.
Electric Toilet Seat Bidets
The height of luxury provides Fixed electric bidets, which are built into the toilet seat, offering such pleasantries as warm water, variable water streams and even post clean drying!
Fixed Hose Bidet
The less swanky bidets but by no means basic, are the fixed bum guns, offering a retro “fix to the toilet” hose with a small shower head at the business end for the cleaning process.
Portable Bidet Spray
For a more versatile option, there are portable handheld bidet sprays, which sit ready for use beside the toilet or taken with you on your travels. Fill the reservoir with warm or cold water, push together and press the button!
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