Can’t find any TP? Here’s some advice for you
These are safe, sanitary — albeit a bit unusual — alternatives to toilet paper
An East Bay couple riding out the statewide coronavirus stay-home order at their Sonoma County vacation home hasn’t seen toilet paper on nearby store shelves in three weeks. They had a friend ship them some from their other place, but aren’t sure what will happen when it’s gone.
“They do get regular shipments of TP at the grocery store, but they are immediately purchased,” said one of the pair, who asked not to be identified, fearing local hostility toward Bay Area residents who fled to rural vacation properties. They were told if they leave, they won’t be allowed to return. “We have Kleenex, and then we’ll either get another care package or go back.”
They and others readily acknowledge that at a time when more than 10,000 across the country have died in the coronavirus pandemic that has sickened more than 350,000 in the
U.S., put more than half the states under stay-home orders and wrecked the global economy, toilet paper isn’t the biggest worry.
But the persistent lack of availability of a household staple everyone in the country has been accustomed to using daily their whole lives has added to the anxiety and frustration of millions already worried about their futures in the face of a deadly new disease for which there is yet no cure. And they’re looking for alternatives.
So what are they? Major tissue manufacturers say they are stepping up production to meet an unexpected surge in demand that hit early last month and hasn’t let up.
“We are producing and shipping Charmin at record levels,” said Procter & Gamble spokeswoman Tonia Elrod.
Cottonelle maker Kimberly-Clark has launched a “#ShareASquare” campaign that “encourages people to share toilet paper instead of stockpiling it,” spokesman Terry Balluck said.
But for many, the supermarket
and pharmacy aisles that once were lined with rolls of toilet paper remain bare — if they’re lucky, they might find a retailer selling individual rolls, limited to one per customer. Online? If you placed one of those orders on Amazon that said it would arrive in two to four weeks, you’re still waiting, with no sign of progress on your shipment.
The internet, of course, hasn’t been shy about suggestions for alternatives, some helpful — like PracticalFrugality.com’s suggestion to cut up strips of old clothing and other fabrics. Others, not so much — “I just use a hose! #notoiletpaper.”
People, of course, haven’t always had toilet paper, said to have been invented in medieval China. Ancient Romans used a sponge soaked in salt water and often shared. Others used wool. Colonial Americans used corncobs or husks.
But it’s hard to imagine modern Americans returning to those days.
So what can you do if you run out? Like the East Bay couple sheltering up the coast, other disposable paper products like facial tissues and paper towels are the first alternatives that
come to mind. But experts warn that these and other alternatives like baby wipes can’t be flushed like toilet paper without wreaking havoc on your plumbing or the municipal waste system.
We repeat: Can’t be flushed.
“Toilet paper is designed so it breaks down,” said Stephen Groner, spokesperson for Bay Area Clean Water Association representing the region’s wastewater treatment plants. “Wipes or paper towels are designed so that they stay together, it’s meant to be absorbent and not to break apart. Kleenex, same thing.
“Use it, but then throw in the trash can. Just don’t put it down the toilet. It creates a problem down the system, either in a person’s home or when it goes to the treatment plant.”
Dr. Felice Gersh, medical director of the Integrative Medical Group in Irvine who has been doing a show on Instagram on living in the age of coronavirus, said that overseas it is common for people to put toilet paper or other wipes in trash bags, as many Americans already do with baby wipes and diapers.
“It’s really terrible for landfills, but right now we have to sort of pick our battles, so that could be an option,” Gersh said.
Others are exploring another alternative popular overseas, a bidet that sprays water instead of using wipes, either as a toilet seat attachment or built into the toilet seat — a universal feature even in public restrooms in Japan. They can range from $30 to more than $1,000 (complete with heated seats, remote controls, night lights and air dryers), and are selling fast on Amazon. So are portable squirt bottle bidets.
Gersh notes that in many parts of the world, people just use a cup of soapy or even plain water. They then keep a supply of towels or rags to dry themselves, wash their hands and put the towel in the laundry.
“It’s going back to a long time ago when people didn’t have toilet paper,” Gersh said. “I’ve traveled to other countries where toilet paper isn’t used at all. They use water. There are relatively safe, simple solutions to having a toilet paper shortage. As long as you have soap and water and some towels you can get by.”