apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Our house is in a unique situation: I had tooshie surgery that's dictating our TP choice. For the first several weeks after surgery, any time I used the loo I had to take a sitz bath to ensure total cleanliness. Then I "graduated" to wipes and then to normal TP.

Now I'm pregnant and it has caused some complications. I'm back to at least one bath a day (two is ideal) and soft tissue or wipes.

The minute I'm cleared we're switching to recycled. If we owned/it didn't require moving walls to make the space in our bathroom, we'd install a bidet and buy the recycled stuff tomorrow.

If anyone has suggestions that won't irritate an already sensitive area, I would love to hear them.

EmmieB, a bidet toilet seat may do the trick-- check out the Toto "washlet" and Brondell "swash." Very rare outside Japan-- surprising given their universal appeal.

well, you're comparing a more expensive brand to start with. if you're buying the cheapest stuff, then the recycled stuff is a huge price jump. i prefer to buy the cheap for now & just cut back paper waste in other areas.

ooo - thanks Salsa! I'll check that out!

In some parts of the world toilet paper is a quaint concept. A bidet style system is what is considered civilised and sanitary.

http://www.biobidet.com/
http://www.usabidet.com/

"our only options are recycled versus the fluffy white"

You're kidding, right? You do know, surely, seeing as you're a "green" blog and all, that people use cloth wipes?

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31377151&ref=cat1_gallery_9

http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/09/cloth-wipes-set-up.html and http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/09/cloth-wipes-all-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html

http://sortacrunchy.typepad.com/sortacrunchy/2009/09/cloth-wipes-qa-part-one.html

http://earthandliving.blogspot.com/2009/03/green-pee-poop.html

I switched to recycled a few months back, but I really miss the soft plushy Northern Quilted :(

Every time I bring recycled into our house, I get vociferous complaints from my husband and children. So, for now, we're back to the plush stuff and we're working diligently in other areas to make up the difference.

I'm with the first poster. I have a GI related disease, and my best friend has Crohn's. The recycled stuff just doesn't work if you're already sore and sensitive. I've been pricing washlets, but I'm a little daunted by the prospect of putting one in, and trying to get warm water to it.

Hmm, I know this wasn't the intent of the thread, but I have to say that I LOVE that toilet paper holder (I am picturing it painted white).
If anyone knows where I can get one online, please feel free to let me know!

We use the President's Choice brand (in Canada) - when you get it on sale, it is cheaper than ANY of the regular stuff.

I can't go back to using soft TP now. When I'm at a friend's house and use it, it feels like I'm using velvet or something to wipe - very wasteful and uncomfortable!

I purchased "green"er toilet paper recently and I am allergic to it. I believe it is the non-bleach that they use to whiten it, but they don't list what the non-bleach chemical is.

I admit that I haven't thought much about this. For the year that my bf and I have lived together his parents have given us all the toilet paper we need. They're always giving us stuff like bags of potatoes, boxes of pasta, etc because his dad buys loads of bulk items. So I'm not sure what kind of TP he's giving us but I tell you, it's not 2-ply, quilted, plush, soft, or like a pillow on your butt. Not sure if its recycled or not.

I tried to buy the recycled kind but my husband complained about it being rough it so now we are back to regular although i didn't mind the sacrafice personally. I do have to say though the recycled brands are nearly twice as much money as the less expensive regular brands. Cottonelle is a pricey brand to compare to.

i know rebekkap already gave some links, but for anyone interested in reading more, i thought i'd mention that it may be more fruitful to google "family cloth" rather than cloth wipes, as cloth wipes more frequently refer to diapering. it gets referred to this way to distinguish it from the diapers and the "mama cloth" that typically lead a family down the path to, well, more cloth.

Let me add that some recycled brands are better than others, with regard to the softness. The Green Forest brand is much softer, and the Trader Joe's brand is both acceptably soft AND thicker than the average recycled tp.

The Seventh Generation stuff is so rough that my ex referred to it as "John Wayne toilet paper."

The only condition I hold about TP is that it's recycled...I could care less about softness, 2-ply, quilting, etc. Sure, I notice when the TP is rough or whatever, but as long as it gets the job done I'm happy.

I've never had a convo about toilet paper with my live-in beau or my parents (when we visit them). I guess I didn't realize people held strong opinions about softness in their TP!

Thanks for the tip on the 'family cloth' -- I'm off to check it out!

I had switched my family to recycled toilet paper but now we are back on a non-green brand. While my son and my dad didn't mind it I absolutely hated it. It caused far too much irritation, which is one of two toilet paper no-nos (the other is lint.)

Also, @rebekkap thank you for posting those! I'm sure my dad wouldn't be keen to switch but since he has his own bathroom that shouldn't be a problem and it'll at least decrease the amount of TP we use monthly.