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Comment by xyst | Hacker News Reader

I switched to bidet at home anyways. Keep a pack of baby wipes in my bag for when I unfortunately need to use public (or private) restrooms stocked with the inferior toilet paper (all TP is useless in comparison to bidet or wet wipes).

Single ply, double ply. No difference to me. I still feel dirty/unclean after wiping my ass with dry af TP that has a strong tendency to tear

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But… you can’t flush baby wipes, unless you want to be a monster that contributes to sewer pipe fatbergs or local blockages.

Or if you're on a septic system. Even if you're on a public sewer, clogs in the line under your property, from your house to the main sewer line, are your responsibility. If you rent, and the landlord figures out that you clogged up the sewer by flushing wipes, you'll probably pay.

Wipes are not flushable. Even if they say they are.

I believe you're mistaken:

https://www.stwater.co.uk/news/news-releases/we-applaud-new-...

Not according to my plumber. Feel free to pay thousands of dollars in plumbing bills when your pipes clog up, if you like.

We’ve had our pipes clog up, and paid thousands of dollars. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t so-called flushable wipes.

That link is a water company - they run sewer systems. Your plumber is out of touch or you're using non-flushable wipes. The two types of wipes are not made the same.

Anything other than toilet paper, which is designed to disintegrate completely in water, should not be flushed. That includes facial tissue, paper towels, and cleansing wipes. If you have modern, smooth PVC waste pipes you might get away with it but the water treatment plant won't like it.

If you have older clay or cast iron waste pipes, feel free to take your chances as GP says. I'd rather not deal with overflows and I'd rather keep my money than give it to a plumber to snake out a clogged drain line.

Let's put it this way, are any of these "flushable" wipe companies willing to insure you against plumbing costs and damages caused by their wipes?

My plumber says that there are no wipes that are actually flushable, regardless of any claims made on the packaging.

We all know about advertisements and how companies lie to us. Why would this be any different?

I’m not taking any risks with our pipes, and we’re not flushing any wipes down the drain. Only human waste and toilet paper. Nothing else. That’s the recommendation from our plumber, and I’m sticking with it.

That link is a water treatment plant company.

I toss them into the waste bin.

There are ones that are flushable. I use them at home. It specially says flushable.

Even the ones that say flushable aren’t. It’s just a marketing ploy.

Seems otherwise:

https://www.stwater.co.uk/news/news-releases/we-applaud-new-...

You're arguing with a water company?

Hah those are exactly the ones I'm using. And the only ones wide available here anyway (even in Spain though it seems to be a UK brand)

Never have issues with them anyway.

Maybe TMI, but...you don't pat dry with toilet paper after you use the bidet? I love my bidet, but I'm using approximately the same amount of TP in both cases.

I keep a stack of small hand towels next to the bidet. Organized in clean and dirty towel stacks.

Keep a few rolls of TP for guests. Mostly sits unused otherwise. Last time I bought rolls was last year.

I do the same. got ~100 ish plain white hand towels/wash cloths that get washed with bleach. Really just used to dry my tushy after using the bidet.

I'm having a hard time believing this. I use three squares of TP after the bidet, to dry myself. In places without a bidet, I'll use a ton of paper to get everything.

How can you dry off with only a couple squares? Does your bidet have a drying fan too??

If you're at home, just leave a small towel where you put the TP roll. You're already clean, so now you're just drying yourself off.

Perhaps if you use soap you’d be clean enough for that, assuming you were the only one using the towel.

I share space with my partner and we are both very clean in general.

I certainly haven't done biological analysis, but in practice I'm totally clean afterwards. Doing a basic visual and smell test, the towel is definitely clean. Far cleaner than had I used TP. We just throw the small towel in the clothes wash after use and keep a clean stack near the toilet.

Haven't bought toilet paper in many years, wouldn't go back.

Ah I see. A stack of towels is very different from “a towel”.

I cant bring myself to get rid of tp especially for if guests come by, but imagine towels do a better job of drying than paper.

It isn't like you get that wet either. I don't know how big or hairy your butthole is, but it isn't like I'm getting a giant part of my body soaking wet.

It is just a couple drops of water after you shake off. If you're wearing underwear, it isn't that big of a deal if a couple drops of water get on there. You probably sweat more than that into your clothes each day.

People make a big deal out of something that really isn't.

First thing I do when I move is install a bidet (bought the house I’m in now, so just replaced the toilets with fully integrated ones).

Not buying much tp any more of course, but it still serves a purpose.

With a bidet, I probably use two squares after a visit, just to remove moisture. There is no way I could operate with two squares without a bidet.

I would get one, but my apartment lease forbids them on "water damage" reasons. I've only seen a clause like this in my most recent lease.

The reason for this is that bidets have had a massive upswing in popularity, and unfortunately many are poor quality and/or fit, installed incorrectly, or both. My family mostly works in the trades and I did as well in college, would not call myself a pro but I'm the friend you call when you have a plumbing problem and want an opinion before calling in a real plumber.

The number of poorly fitting bidet attachment seats that have been badly installed I've seen is quite high. If I owned the bathroom and someone wanted to add a bidet, I too would have my concerns. A ban is crazy, but I think it's totally valid to at least have a plumber inspect and sign off on the work.

Not sure what you mean by poorly fitting. I've only purchased one bidet attachment but i don't see how it could do any damage unless you don't turn the water off or empty the toilet tank on install. Are you saying the water line leaks on some bidets after install?

Not a plumber but I’ve installed a few bidets in my homes and it’s easy to see how the flexible supply line could leak if tightened too much or not enough. Toilet braided steel supply lines themselves are supposedly supposed to be replaced every 5-10 years to reduce the risk of bursting.

I put water alarms connected to my security system behind each bidet equipped toilet.

I can definitely say that my cheap first bidet leaked after about a month on instal. Not from the water lines but rather from the case of the thing became slightly unwelded.

Mine has a pipe attachment that's flimsy plastic, and tends to eject itself after a while. It'll definitely lead to flooding, so I've installed a water sensor under it.

Point out that literally every single house in SE Asia has one.

Hm yeah but they also use squat toilets in many cases. I can't deal with those.

Super rare to see a squat toilet in Vietnam these days except in rural places. It is all bum guns, everywhere... and exceptionally sketchy plumbing (and 220v electrical for that matter). Somehow it works well enough.

Oh ok I was mainly in Thailand where they had a lot of them, even in the office I worked for a while (luckily they had a few mnrmal ones too). They did have bum guns for washing in many cases even with the squat toilets.

Not sure about Vietnam. Never been there, but Thailand is SE Asia too :)

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