Another reason to go cloth.....

[Clara]

I know I've been banging on about cloth tp forever but here's another article about the impact of loo roll on the environment.

I appreciate that most ishers probably use recycled tp if/when they can, but still seems so unnecessary - what could be more luxurious than actual cotton, rather than something messed about with to feel like it!

[Annpan]

I am a convert to wee wipes but..... nope..... just can't bring myself to do it for a no.2 Still, as you say we are using unbleached recycled loo roll which goes into our own septic tank so I don't feel to guilty about it.

I hate the thick toilet rolls, they are just weird.

[Clara]

I am a convert to wee wipes but..... nope..... just can't bring myself to do it for a no.2 ...

If you wash and then wipe, technically the cloth is cleaner than one you'd wee wiped with...

[Rosendula]

Hmm. I haven't (yet) converted to wee wipes I'm afraid. I used to buy Nouvelle toilet rolls because it was recycled, but then the quality went right down the pan ( literally). So I changed to Kleenex Double Velvet which is approved of by the WWF as they plant more trees than they chop down. I tried Nouvelle again recently, as the KDV shelf was empty, and it seems to have improved quite a bit. Now I don't know whether to buy Nouvelle because it's recycled, or KDV because they plant lots of trees. Nouvelle are cheaper, but KDV is softer and stronger and I don't seem to need as many sheets (sorry for the image ). Still a few rolls to go before I have to buy any more, so any thoughts are welcome.

[Clara]

Has to be recycled surely? Even if they plant more trees than they chop down, chopping down of trees will be destroying habitat and what they plant won't be natural varied forest but what amounts to no more than monocropping. As I understand it Greenpeace really have it in for Kleenex because of the damage they do to virgin forests.

If the WWF standards are anything like the RSPCA freedom foods, it'll be fairly bog standard and pretty meaningless.

or.....CLOTH CLOTH CLOTH CLOTH CLOTH CLOTH

[Annpan]

I use sainsburgs recycled, it is quite rough but thats how I like it.

To make wee wipes I cut up an old flannelette cot sheet, keep cutting it in half until you get pieces around half the size of a face cloth, and put zig zag stithcing around the outside of each one to stop it fraying. Not that you are so good with a sewing machine now

I currently wash mine with the nappies at 60oC once a week but I think I shall have to just be putting them in a normal wash soon.... as we use fewer nappies.


Clara, I can't figure out how I would wash effectively without covering the bathroom floor with water or becoming a contortionist....oh yeah, I've just remembered I only have cold running water..... no thanks....but maybe in the future, if I can figure it out

[Clara]

If you don't have a tap next to your loo (i.e. our bath is right there) from which you can fill a suitable pouring implement (old shampoo bottle, jug) then like some of my friends you can keep a water bucket right there with which to fill the bottle etc. This may also counter your cold water problems as the water will slowly come up to room temperature. To be honest we have a different problem in that you hope to fill the bottle before the water from the solar tank kicks in and burns your butt

Our washing machine is also in the bathroom so they just get thrown in as we use them and get washed at whatever temperature the solar hot water is at (usually 40 -50 degrees), as wee is sterile and the no 2 wipes are technically just for drying off I don't see there is any major hygiene worries about it.

[Annpan]

... This may also counter your cold water problems as the water will slowly come up to room temperature. To be honest we have a different problem in that you hope to fill the bottle before the water from the solar tank kicks in and burns your butt

Our washing machine is also in the bathroom so they just get thrown in as we use them and get washed at whatever temperature the solar hot water is at (usually 40 -50 degrees), as wee is sterile and the no 2 wipes are technically just for drying off I don't see there is any major hygiene worries about it.

Well my bathroom is currently at around 6 or 7oC so 'room temperature' isn't to be desired either.... we are getting the bathroom knocked down and re-built though, so some clever design might make it easier. Oh for the luxury of burning my bum

I'm not too worried about the hygiene, knickers get washed with everything else anyway, just our nappy bucket is right beside the loo so it just happens that way.

[hamster]

...

To make wee wipes I cut up an old flannelette cot sheet, keep cutting it in half until you get pieces around half the size of a face cloth, and put zig zag stithcing around the outside of each one to stop it fraying. Not that you are so good with a sewing machine now

...

My sewing machine can't do zig-zag, would cutting squares out with pinking shears work?

[Clara]

It'd be fine - TBH the last lot I made in a hurry and just cut them with regular cloth scissors from a flannel sheet, they've been used multiple times and are a little frayed but nothing major.

[Annpan]

Oh yes, you could do whatever you like, that was just my method the stop the fraying.... I made some more yesterday but I have only sewn a few... God it is boring doing rectangles of zig-zag...

[Ovalina]

Gawd! You wouldn't want room temperature up here in our unheated bathroom in Shetland .

Also (not trying to play devils advocate) wouldn't the extra washing counteract any diverted eco impact by not using loo roll? I'd really be interested to find out.

[MuddyWitch]

Also (not trying to play devils advocate) wouldn't the extra washing counteract any diverted eco impact by not using loo roll? I'd really be interested to find out.

I wondered that, too

MW

[Annpan]

They are really small and don't take an extra load to wash them, they just go in a wash that is already going on anyway. In my first week of using them (between me and LO) we used 1 loo roll instead of 4, that is

less loggers
less shipping of logged trees
less polution from the loo roll factory
less trucks leaving the factory to go to the distrubution warehouse
less trucks leaving the distrubution warehouse to go to the supermarket
less emptying of our septic tank,
less petrol to go to the shop when we run out of toilet roll...

and less of our money being flushed down the loo

So..... in a word.... No.

[Clara]

Also (not trying to play devils advocate) wouldn't the extra washing counteract any diverted eco impact by not using loo roll? I'd really be interested to find out.

I can't put it any better than AnnPan, but it really is a no-brainer, try applying the same logic to paper vs conventional plates, or why don't we just have disposable clothes? Your commonsense could answer the question for you.

It's just convention to use disposable tp, a fairly recent one at that and one that most of the world manages without. My cloth is thrown in with the rest of the laundry, a few "sheets" a day, I don't have to do extra washes because of it.

It's interesting that some things become the norm so quickly. I also use an american forum and people often discuss how to make the transition from paper to reusable plates, napkins etc. Just stuff we take for granted. Also people asking how to line dry, I mean that just seems normal to us, but if you've grown up with certain conventions perhaps the greener alternative just seems complicated.