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toiletpaperwtf

-6 karma · joined September 21, 2013

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toiletpaperwtf··on Venezuela seizes toilet paper factory to avoid shortage
Answers:

(1) Doesn't the spray get droplets of feces-water mix everywhere? (Supposedly ideal bathroom hygiene is to close the toilet lid before flushing, to avoid sending a mist of toilet water into the air. Any forced-water rinsing seems to guarantee a mixed-mist reaches everywhere, including parts of the buttocks and legs far from the rectum that are never contaminated by paper-wiping.)

Not really, it depends upon the spray. Most sprays are gentle, not the high-pressure hosepipe you seem to be imagining.

(2) Short of absolutely drenching yourself with multiple power rinses, how do you know you're "done" - that none of the remaining dampness is still fecal-contaminated water? (White paper provides a visual completion indicator.)

You can always check with paper. Other than that, you check with your hand. Still much cleaner than leaving dried fecal matter in your rectum.

(3) My very rough impression is that fecally-transmitted diseases (typhoid, hepatitis, cholera, anything diarrhea-causing, etc.) are more prevalent in rinse-cultures. Are you sure that "a lot of South Asian countries" should be the "ideal way to wash" model, as opposed to the other way around? (North American practice would change very fast if there were evidence paper-wiping was insufficient to protect health.)

That has more to do with the water supply being contaminated with fecal matter, and not enough fresh sources of uncontaminated water being available for drinking in those countries.

toiletpaperwtf··on Venezuela seizes toilet paper factory to avoid shortage
So I had to create a throwaway account since this is kind of a sensitive subject, but:

Why do so many people in the Western hemisphere use toilet paper? If you had fecal matter on your hand, would you wash it, or just wipe it with some paper and call it good? I've never actually understood this, and it leads to questionable personal hygiene. (Let's just say I put a finger somewhere during..um..and it didn't exactly come out clean.)

The ideal way to wash is with water, and maybe afterwards pat down with some TP to dry off. That's what a lot of South Asian countries and the Japanese do. I hope the American and European people learn to do this simple trick some day. Might help decrease the use of this ridiculous anachronism and save some trees.