An alternative to toilet paper has gone viral: No one is buying it anymore

From potties to bidets and when toilet paper appeared

We Europeans are often great critics of the hygiene habits in our surroundings. However, few people are aware of how we got into various habits and who, to put it succinctly, “kicked us into” behaving this way. The knowledge that germs are lurking everywhere is basically a novelty. Before, we were not afraid to pour the contents of the toilet bowl into the street.

The importance of sanitation and clean drinking water was reinforced by the occurrence of cholera. Spitting bans, hospital cleanliness and ventilation are responses to the spread of tuberculosis. Wearing masks before performing medical procedures is an invention closely related to the spread of the Spanish flu. Even doctors did not wash their hands properly after an autopsy for many years, which led to frequent deaths in cases where they subsequently assisted childbirth. All this changed essentially during the 19th century and often by force.

Toilet paper was also waiting for its mass use from the first mentions from the 6th century in China until factory production in the 1880s. Even today, we argue about how to properly handle toilet paper. What is the dilemma? Is it correct to hang it with the free end against the wall or in the space? The following post from the YouTube channel 3 T and Interesting things from the world will also tell you about it.

How much does toilet paper cost us?

But it is also possible without paper, and significantly more hygienic. We all know why we use toilet paper and what always sticks to it. Not only can cleaning be insufficiently effective, but toilet paper also costs something, not just money, but also resources.

Few of us realize that approximately 0.2 kg of wood is needed to produce a single roll of toilet paper. This may not seem as terrible as having to also use a full 140 liters of water, 0.5 kWh of energy and various fabric softeners and bleaches.

In a year, the average European consumes roughly 75 to 80 rolls of toilet paper, the inhabitants of the United States even double that. Thanks to recycling, it is possible to reduce resources by almost half. But there is another way.

Would you like sheets, washable napkins or a shower or bidet?

Very natural people like to reach for a leaf or a handful of grass, but this is not a real solution. These people call for an extremely natural lifestyle, and you can easily imagine all the shortcomings of this approach.

Recently, various washable hygiene aids have also become very popular, and it is up to each of us to consider whether this method is bearable or not. Washable wipes can also be wet, as in the case of wipes used for delicate baby bottoms when changing diapers. The advantage is that you don’t have to make these towels, but you can buy them, and then just maintain and reuse them in the recommended way.

However, a significantly more elegant way is to use a bidet shower, bidet or, abroad, bidet toilets. As such, a bidet is essentially a toilet-shaped sink where the person can wash their background thanks to a nozzle that is properly directed. Combined toilets also work in the same way, which have a nozzle relatively low in the bowl under the cutting board on the back, which can be controlled by a tap on the side of the toilet.

However, buying a bidet or a special combined toilet bowl is definitely not a cheap spree. In the case of a separate bidet, you need to think about its location during the renovation or construction of the bathroom. However, the solution for every household is to connect a simple bidet shower. It’s basically a short hose with a shower head on the end that can be operated easily with a lever. Toilet tanks can be installed on the already existing water supply.

What should you know about bidets?

You are probably thinking that even bidets and similar solutions use water, and that is certainly true. If the shower or nozzle has good pressure, then really only a very small amount is enough. It is then possible to use napkins, tea towels or towels to dry the background.

Once you get used to the bidet, you’ll hate going back to toilet paper. Bidets began to be talked about not only during the pandemic, when there was a lack of basic hygiene needs, but surprisingly also after the end of the football championship in Qatar in 2022. Bidets or bidet showers are common in Arab and also some southern European countries. In Qatar, many sports teams and their facilities had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the use of bidets, which are, among other things, considered more hygienic and even beneficial to health in the case of hemorrhoids.

Sources: medicalnewstoday.com, reelpaper.com