Do most Americans actually flush their toilet paper?

[u/Softy_popss]

Coming from Latin America, I'm used to the 'trash bin rule' to avoid plumbing disasters. The US approach seems like a dream in comparison, but is it really universal? Are there any regions or older buildings where you're still expected to throw it away instead of flushing?

[u/Rachard_766]

Yes, flushing is totally the standard rule across the USA.

[u/PacoTaco321 → u/Rachard_766]

Standard to the point where I never would've considered not flushing it when you have a toilet.

[u/nsa_k → u/PacoTaco321]

Many businesses with large numbers of foreign or ethnic clientele put a sign in the bathroom instructing people to flush all toilet paper instead of using a waste basket.

[u/hey_there_moon → u/nsa_k]

I used to work at a doctor's office with a large part of our patients being Mexican and Guatemalan. We absolutely had signs in the bathroom saying to flush the toilet paper. Unfortunately many of our patients couldn't read.

[u/comfortablynumb15 → u/hey_there_moon]

We had the same problem, so I grabbed a poster size piece of paper and did stick figure diagrams on how to flush and not to stand on the toilet because you could fall off.

We also put a toilet bin near each toilet we emptied into the bowl every time before using it ourselves. Gross as fuck.

[u/phord → u/hey_there_moon]

I was in a company restroom in China and there was a big sign instructing me not to flush paper. I thought, "Do people really flush the paper towels so often that it causes a problem?" I didn't realize they mean toilet paper until many years later.

[u/FactorLies → u/PacoTaco321]

This is a huge problem in most of the world. Only the wealthiest countries have plumbing suitable enough to flush toilet paper, and western tourists have been wreaking havoc in these regions for decades. As such the most touristed regions have badly translated signs in the bathrooms saying variations of NO FLUSH PAPER all over the world

[u/buscoamigos → u/[deleted]]

I have a bidet and still use paper to "pat" dry.

[u/vw503 → u/buscoamigos]

Same but then you’re patting yourself dry. Then the bin would just have wet toilet paper vs shit paper

[u/MaximumUpstairs2333 → u/vw503]

I'm gonna be real with you its not that reliably "wet toilet paper" to throw it in the bin. Paper towel usage post bidet evolution are more like a go/no go check. Sometimes.. its no go.

Repeat the evolution.

Perform the post evolution check.

[u/slayingadah → u/vw503]

Which is why we started using portable bidets while traveling abroad and then just... never stopped. Wiping shit around w paper seems barbaric now.

[u/Due_Variety_3082 → u/[deleted]]

Seriously wish they'd catch on more.  Feel like a fucking Neanderthal when I have to travel away from home.  25 dollar ones from Amazon work fucking great for the price though. 

[u/Darth_Floridaman → u/Due_Variety_3082]

Preach. I am the bidet fairy. I buy these ones for all my buddies houses. So far got 3 other folks hooked, with more intended. Lol

[u/nopuse → u/Darth_Floridaman]

Preach. I am the bidet fairy.

I sound like I'm doing a sales pitch for my pyramid scheme when bidets come up. I've been able to convert some people.

[u/sapphire343rules → u/Rachard_766]

This is true, but I have spent some time in extremely rural areas of the US with limited infrastructure and sketchy septic systems where they didn’t flush TP. It’s definitely out of the norm and was a bit of a shock to me, but those areas do exist!

[u/Aronys → u/sapphire343rules]

I saw it in Queens, in a fairly central area too. Old building, old pipes.

[u/catcatcatdogdogcat → u/Aronys]

I live in a 100 year-old house with a 100 year-old sewage system and we definitely flush paper but we can only use the one-ply stuff.

[u/GFrohman]

It's universal, with very few exceptions. We would consider it extremely gross and off-putting to discover someone throwing toilet paper in a trash can. In bathrooms near the border, we have signs in the bathroom (in Spanish) reminding people to flush their toilet paper.

You might find a handful of toilets in the middle of nowhere applalachia or on tribal land with really old or really bad out-of-code plumbing that require it, but in my 35 years of touring the country I've seen 3 toilets that needed it, and they were all clearly marked with multiple signs.

[u/AlmostCalvinKlein → u/GFrohman]

I work in the construction industry. My last site had a lot of immigrant labor and we had to sit though several meetings with everybody on site just to go over proper disposal of toilet paper, and this is nowhere near the southern border.

[u/mistablack2 → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

Oh now I understand why I see used toilet paper on the floor on some jobs

[u/PepsiStudent → u/mistablack2]

And I know why a couple of buildings that I clean have those signs and paper towel in the trash on a semi regular basis.  

Answers so many questions that I had. 

[u/hyperlite135 → u/PepsiStudent]

Consider yourself lucky that you had to find out why this way. I live in Houston and I’ve seen far too many shit filled TP in trash cans in my life. It’s fucking disgusting.

[u/ToddMccATL → u/hyperlite135]

lol I did site cleanup for my godfather in Houston for a while in the 1980's and I swear to this day it was designed to humble the arrogant gringo teenager they saw.

[u/Bright_Ices → u/ToddMccATL]

Did it work?

[u/ToddMccATL → u/Bright_Ices]

Most definitely, and it gave me a lifetime of "match this" stories.

[u/Fun-Dragonfly-4166 → u/PepsiStudent]

that maybe it, but I think it has more to do with sanitary pads and diaper wipes than toilet paper. those things should go in the trash. they will clog the toilet - even the "flushable" wipes.

[u/hapnstat → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

I worked retail at one place and we couldn't figure out why the bathroom smelled like death no matter how much it was cleaned. The guys had carved a small hole in the cabinetry next to the toilet and were putting it in there.

[u/TheShadowKick → u/hapnstat]

Why? Why would you not at least throw it in the trash to be disposed of?

[u/ZookeepergameRight47 → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

We had a bathroom remodeled in our home and the workers had access to use our other bathroom while they were onsite. We ended up with so much shitty toilet paper in our trash can; it was disgusting.

[u/drone42 → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

Wait, is THAT why they keep stuffing the urinal part with toilet paper? It's so infuriating and it never happens when the trades that use their labor are finished and off-site.

[u/Cat_tophat365247 → u/drone42]

A lot of guys will stuff the urinal so they don't get splash back. I'm a female working construction and have seen a LOT of strange toilet practices. I LOVE when I get my own locked porta john on jobs!

[u/Brave_Browser_2002 → u/Cat_tophat365247]

I still don't know why there is a custom to splatter the interior with poop.

What part of the world is that a thing?

[u/_WhoElse → u/Brave_Browser_2002]

Don’t visit a jail, you’ll actually find out the answer to your question

[u/JareBear805 → u/drone42]

Always wondered about this

[u/ronchee1 → u/JareBear805]

My brother used to work in a place that had feet prints on the toilet seat.

Some of the workers came from a place that just had the squat over the hole toilet, and used the toilet we had as such by standing on the throne itself

[u/MisinformedGenius → u/ronchee1]

There are few things more surreal to me than the bathrooms at Tokyo's Narita Airport where you have toilets with more technology on them than a fighter jet, immediately next to a stall with nothing but a hole in the ground.

[u/Gremlin1001001 → u/MisinformedGenius]

That whole country is a trip. No trash on the ground but no trash cans. (In my experience). Also the fastest deplaning of a 300 seat 767 I’ve ever seen. 😀

[u/thetoerubber → u/Gremlin1001001]

Japanese people take their trash home to dispose of.

[u/Gremlin1001001 → u/thetoerubber]

I have heard that. I walked around in Tokyo Station for quite a while one day looking for a place to dispose of my Starbucks cup. 😜

[u/No-Tangelo2039 → u/thetoerubber]

I was at an event in Yokohama where they had trash attendants to make sure you disposed correctly between garbage, compost and recycling. However, when i travel i have a habit of keeping my trash in my own bag.

[u/Pleasant-Pattern7748 → u/MisinformedGenius]

First time I walked into a public restroom in Japan and saw a hole in the ground, I assumed the bathroom was under construction or something. Went in to the next stall over used the future turbo toilet. Fun trip.

[u/cshmn → u/ronchee1]

If you've ever gone to sit down on a public toilet and it's unbolted from the floor/ ready to tip over, this is why it's broken.

[u/No_Trouble_3588 → u/ronchee1]

Feet prints or shoe prints? There’s a world of difference there.

[u/ronchee1 → u/No_Trouble_3588]

Lol it was a long time ago he told me, but I'm betting it was shoe prints

Well, I'm hoping...

[u/SignificanceHead9957 → u/ronchee1]

I was in a country that had squat toilets for about a year. Assuming you're flexible enough to use one I found them to be superior to our thrones. The plumbing less so.

[u/FitIndependent9764 → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

Well I made a comment about my experience about immigrant labor and was flagged with hate. Wow. That’s funny since I was talking about a different group of people from across the globe who hated our southern immigrants and gringos like me that spoke Spanish in the Houston area. Leave it to Reddit to report that as hate.

[u/ThePicassoGiraffe → u/AlmostCalvinKlein]

Not in construction but have seen bathroom signs in Salvadoran restaurants that serve a lot of day laborers. I’d already been to Costa Rica so I knew why it was there

[u/Kooky-Badger-7001 → u/GFrohman]

Being American, with good plumbing, I am used to flushing the paper. It was a real eye-opener when I visited Taiwan and learned that you must put the waste paper in a trash can (that is always provided). Flushing even the flimsiest single-ply in Taiwan will screw up the plumbing really bad. But I've been to other countries (Kenya, Tanzania) where the plumbing, where there is plumbing, can handle waste paper. It was odd to me that Taiwan, a country with otherwise excellent infrastructure, should have such lousy plumbing.

[u/deltatux → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

Were you in rural parts of Taiwan? Last time when I visited Taipei & Kaohsiung, we were able to flush toilet paper as usual and it wasn't expected for you to do otherwise. Generally if you're in the major cities in east Asia, you should be able to flush your toilet paper without issues.

[u/FriedMobile → u/deltatux]

I ran into the same thing in Taipei. I was surprised because I assumed in the city flushing would always be fine

[u/qrvne → u/deltatux]

I stayed with a friend's family in a nice apartment in Taipei in the early 2010s. I was told to put toilet paper in the trash can rather than flushing it.

[u/originalcinner → u/deltatux]

I lived as a student in Beijing (in 1980, so things may have changed since then). At the college campus, it was all chicken wire trash cans and squatty potties. But at the fancy international hotels in the city center, it was "proper" toilets and you could flush toilet paper.

[u/deltatux → u/originalcinner]

ya, it's definitely different now, even in the 2000s when I was in Beijing you can flush tp without issues.

[u/myfatherthedonkey → u/originalcinner]

I think it’s safe to say that Beijing has changed a bit since 1980.

[u/chironinja82 → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

My husband and I had eye opening experiences when we visited my family in Taipei almost a decade ago. We went to Jiufen and other parts along the northern half, including some rural areas. Let's just say I'm happy to have good mobility in my hips and ankles lol.

[u/OutlyingPlasma → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

What I don't get is RV toilet paper exists. If it's possible create toilet paper that dissolves so thoroughly before it's even flushed, why the hell can these plumbing systems absorb a 2 lb log but somehow not the instantly dissolving TP?

[u/Easy-Bathroom2120 → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

How do you even dispose of that?

I swear, there are days where I have to flush several times due to the amount of TP I use. Like when you just feel absolutely no friction at the first wipe.

Do you just change the trash when it gets half way full? Because I can just imagine it being almost full and there not being room because of a day like that. ☠️

[u/Kooky-Badger-7001 → u/Easy-Bathroom2120]

Every bathroom has a small, discrete waste bin with a lid and lined with plastic bag. It's a hot climate, but the bins do a good job and do not smell. At our home in Taipei, the trash truck comes 6 nights a week at about 8PM. Unlike here, trash is not picked up at your curb. The truck parks on a block and everyone comes out and throws their trash bags into the truck. This inlcudes the bathroom bags. Most trash is incinerated. Food waste is kept separate and goes to composting.

[u/Blue_Letter_Bible → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

This is not true as far as my experience goes. The bins absolutely do have a smell.

[u/gottarespondtothis → u/Easy-Bathroom2120]

You gotta eat more fiber my dude!

[u/kess0078 → u/Easy-Bathroom2120]

My friend, this is a sign your diet needs more fiber. It should not take that much TP.

[u/ReginaldDwight → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

A friend spent some time in rural Kenya and the first several days he was there, it wreaked havoc on his digestive system. On the fourth night, a bat flew out of the latrine hole and hit him in the face. Ever since he shared that with me I've been extra appreciative of indoor, quality plumbing.

[u/CitronTraining2114 → u/Kooky-Badger-7001]

It must smell horrible.

[u/leilani238 → u/GFrohman]

Once in a while, usually in a remote area, I'll encounter a toilet with a sign saying something apologetic about delicate old plumbing or septic, and to please not flush toilet paper.

That's very rare, though, just a few times in decades including a lot of travel.

[u/Floppy-Over-Drive → u/GFrohman]

Do they have signs in their bathrooms (in English) reminding people to throw their toilet paper away?

[u/GermanPayroll → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

Yes, at least in Mexico where it’s been an issue and where there are English speaking tourists I’ve seen it.

[u/DigitalArbitrage → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

I recently visited Argentina. Every bathroom in a hotel or house there has a separate standalone bidet, because that is their custom.

[u/GNTsquid0 → u/DigitalArbitrage]

I’ve never had a bidet clean well enough that I didn’t also need to use TP

[u/Bayou_Blue → u/DigitalArbitrage]

The best thing I ever invested in was a bidet.

[u/ron-paul-swanson → u/Bayou_Blue]

Yeah but now that I have one, pooping at work or somewhere that isn’t in my house is a NIGHTMARE. The only bad part of having a bidet now is having to poop without one.

[u/Suspicious-Garbage92 → u/ron-paul-swanson]

Bring a squirt gun

[u/Nahuel-Huapi → u/DigitalArbitrage]

I noticed the same thing. All the ones I saw in Argentina shoot straight up, meaning there could be bits of the previous users "material" sitting their, waiting to get shot up into the next user. It didn't seem very hygienic.

The models that shoot from an angle seem more sanitary.

[u/Potential-Ninja-7075 → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

Signs like that are very common in tourist areas in Mexico.

[u/StrippinChicken → u/Floppy-Over-Drive]

Yes, in highschool our spanish department did a trip to costa rica. The bathrooms had signs asking to please throw away toilet paper because of the plumbing.

[u/IWantToBeYourGirl → u/GFrohman]

But we shouldn’t flush our wipes and those are doing the real work.

[u/SmoresNMoreSmores → u/IWantToBeYourGirl]

Yes, those are really bad for the sewer system.

[u/ineptplumberr → u/GFrohman]

It's not just gross. Lack of sanitation is a huge cause of disease. Next time you see a plumber give them a hug because they are protecting the health of your nation.

[u/The_Truth_Believe_Me → u/ineptplumberr]

But make sure they are wearing clean clothes first.

[u/keithrc → u/The_Truth_Believe_Me]

...and have washed their hands!

[u/WeAreAllBotsHere → u/ineptplumberr]

"Don't touch me you fucking weirdo."

• a plumber

[u/morosco]

It is quite the culture shock to visit another country where the bathrooms have trash cans full of shit paper.

[u/PoetAny6521 → u/morosco]

Finally got adjusted to it after 2 weeks in Greece. Kept remembering as I was dropping the toilet paper in the bowl 😭

Edit: and yes I had diarrhea at the start while my gut was adjusting

[u/HildegardofBingo → u/PoetAny6521]

I kept forgetting during my first few days in Santorini. Thank goodness it didn't mess up the plumbing at my hotel! Some of the signs reminding foreigners not to flush toilet paper were pretty funny.

[u/Finie → u/HildegardofBingo]

Our Santorini hotel didn't have bin liners in the can! They did empty it at least once a day, though, when they made up the beds in the morning and turned them down in the evening. I had brought my own small bags because I knew it was a thing there, but I was surprised by that. I'm ok with throwing it away (I did forget twice, too), but it needs to be contained.

[u/Nice-Mixing → u/morosco]

I’m 42 and traveled quite a bit(even to Mexico!). This particular one is TIL. I thought squatting over a hole was bad but this is MUCH worse

[u/Electrical_Cut8610 → u/Nice-Mixing]

Japan was wild. I squatted over a floor toilet and used the fanciest noise making, music playing toilet with 20 button all within the same day.

[u/Global_Ant_9380 → u/Electrical_Cut8610]

Hahahaha yes. The squat toilet in Shibuya station was so gross 

[u/imstillapenguin → u/Global_Ant_9380]

I don't see my fat ass being able to squat long enough to shit. Good thing I'm too broke to ever visit Japan 😅

[u/poppingtogether → u/imstillapenguin]

oddly enough squatting is what helps you take a good shit

[u/humburga → u/poppingtogether]

Yep. Theres even toilet stools you can buy online. So when you sit, your feet rests on the stool to mimick the squatting pose. Which helps you sit better.

[u/JoeGuinness → u/Electrical_Cut8610]

I skipped the one squat toilet I came across in Japan. I didn't have to go that badly.

[u/DisenchantingTin → u/Nice-Mixing]

Nothing is worse than “squatting over a hole”!

[u/Ok-Adhesiveness-4935 → u/DisenchantingTin]

Falling into it...

[u/Allys_Phantom → u/DisenchantingTin]

Might be TMI, but as a woman, my pee stream can go in wild and unpredictable directions. I ruined a skirt once while squatting.

[u/SkittlesLentil → u/Allys_Phantom]

Dudes are the same way, sometimes the stream goes in two different directions. Which one goes in the bowl? Sopee's choice

[u/xiaorobear → u/DisenchantingTin]

Something coming out of the hole...

[u/myselfbutworse → u/xiaorobear]

And it’s been doin just fine

[u/pashed_motatoes → u/myselfbutworse]

Gotta gotta squat down because it isn’t tall

[u/myselfbutworse → u/pashed_motatoes]

It started out with a piss, how did it splash me like this?

[u/pashed_motatoes → u/myselfbutworse]

I guess I must have missed, I guess I must have missed

[u/UnicornBelieber → u/DisenchantingTin]

The smell of the combined fecal matter of the 451 people that went before you that week.

[u/TastyTacoTonight → u/Nice-Mixing]

I’ve been travelling in South America and it seems to be the same everywhere - Colombia, Ecuador and Peru so far. Their plumbing system is not equipped to handle toilet paper and can cause it to clog, that’s the reason.

[u/ImaginarySalamanders → u/morosco]

The first time I was ever told not to flush the toilet paper, I very seriously thought they were joking. They were not. I was flabbergasted.

[u/ammy_immoral]

Our toilets are designed to flush the paper. Please flush it.

[u/sugary_suave → u/ammy_immoral]

More importantly, our PLUMBING is designed for it (in most cases).

[u/joelfarris → u/sugary_suave]

4 inch wide (10+ cm) sewer pipes, baby, yeah!

[u/Constant-Current-340 → u/joelfarris]

I will never not be impressed with the plumbing and sewage system that covers the entire grid of this country

[u/JayyMuro → u/Constant-Current-340]

I was just talking to my brother about this the other day. When I am in the shower I often think about how lucky we are to have had people working to perfect this since the days of Romans developing our modern systems.

We have running water, indoor showers and toilets and it all works flawlessly.

[u/wuhter → u/JayyMuro]

It is really fucking wild when you think about it. Now, I’m very naive, but everytime im in my apartment underground parking garage and see all of the pipes, I’m like huh I wonder which one is sewage. I would imagine it has to be one of them, but it’s just wild to see all of those and then remember the ENTIRE country is mapped with all of those. It’s insane.

[u/Wessssss21 → u/wuhter]

I work in building engineering.

Typically the unpainted cast iron ones. Some places use PVC now though. Also every 90° or 30 feet of run will have a "cleanout". Basically a branch that is immediately terminated with a cap. If there is a clog the cap is pulled and that's where the plumber will clear the drain from.

[u/marklemcd → u/JayyMuro]

Except at my house where 1 wife and 2 daughters constantly plug the shower drain with their hair.

[u/joelfarris → u/marklemcd]

(Have you heard of the ShowerShroom? If you have anyone in the house with long hair, you owe yourself. Saves so much work.)

[u/cptcatz → u/JayyMuro]

Mostly works flawlessly. But when it doesn't, shit starts piling up.

[u/ThePrussianGrippe → u/Constant-Current-340]

Anytime you hear someone talk about building an ideal community/utopian city/etc etc, if their very first bullet point on designing the whole project isn’t dealing with sewage just stop listening.

[u/richalta → u/sugary_suave]

We have an “American Standard”.

[u/DumE9876 → u/richalta]

The joke, for people who don’t get it, is that “American Standard” is a brand that manufactures toilets, among other things.

[u/ineptplumberr → u/richalta]

American Standard fixtures are all manufactured in Mexico now

[u/ryancerium → u/ineptplumberr]

North American Standard.

[u/richalta → u/ineptplumberr]

The “Standard” is we can flush toilet paper.

[u/rage1026 → u/ammy_immoral]

But ONLY TOILET PAPER AND STUFF THAT COMES OUT OF YOU.

[u/likeCircle → u/rage1026]

"Flushable" wipes are NOT FLUSHABLE! They wreak havoc on wastewater systems costing the public a lot of money.

[u/DOOManiac → u/rage1026]

Considering what people shove up their butts we should clarify further.

[u/Starfury_42 → u/DOOManiac]

I worked in an x-ray department and have seen things I cannot un-see.

[u/hardFraughtBattle → u/Starfury_42]

Obligatory Scrubs reference...

Dr. Cox: I don't know what to tell you, there, Bobbo. Either this kid has a light bulb up his butt or his colon has a great idea.

[u/zeekar → u/ammy_immoral]

More importantly, the toilet paper is designed to be flushable! Even with our amazing US super-toilets, please don't flush anything not designed for flushability, like paper towels or cotton balls or napkins or tampons.

[u/Mayor__Defacto → u/zeekar]

Or so-called flushable wetwipes. I still don’t understand who is using these things. If you need a wet wipe to wipe your ass just use a bidet ffs.

[u/desertrose0 → u/Mayor__Defacto]

Because they are super useful in a lot of ways, and they get the job done if you don't have a bidet. But, you're right, please don't flush wipes.

[u/Punisher-3-1 → u/Mayor__Defacto]

Yeah that be me. I use wetwipes. Started using them when I was in the army and that is what you have to use. I would buy them buy the truckload since I had them prepackaged in rucksacks and in my locker/cage, and boxes of them at home. Realized it’s just more convenient. For years I flushed the until I realized you weren’t supposed to, so now I just put in the trash.

[u/accidentalscientist_ → u/Mayor__Defacto]

Public places don’t have bidets. I can carry a pack of wet wipes in my backpack easy peasy.

I also don’t flush them, I wrap them in TP and put them in the tampon mailbox in the stall.

[u/GyantSpyder]

Yes. It is very rare to find a place in the U.S. where you can't flush toilet paper. But it's not just the pipes and septic systems that are designed differently, the toilet paper is also different.

U.S. toilet paper is less study, breaks apart more easily, and is made to break down and even dissolve in water.

Latin American toilet paper is a bit tougher and holds together better so that it is easier to throw in the trash.

It's a bit of a self-fulfilling cycle - originally it was the pipes that were different, but because it is more of a norm to throw your toilet paper in the trash in Latin America, companies making toilet paper make it so that it is better at being thrown in the trash at the expense of being harder to flush down the toilet.

[u/mc-funk → u/GyantSpyder]

I was going to say, there has to be a difference in the TP too, because I can’t imagine a plumbing system that fails bc you flush US style TP, but can successfully handle poop

[u/AhChirrion → u/mc-funk]

As I commented in https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/jeBYcLBZgP the problem is in the city sewer pipes - they're 50+ year old clay pipes connected with cement that formed spikes when they cured.

Here in Mexico I have a relatively new Kohler toilet in my house with PVC pipes and TP that dissolves in water (flushable), but when it reaches the city sewer pipes, the TP clings to those cement spike long enough for more material to be flushed and make the clogging bigger until it completely blocks.

The city water and sewage department simply doesn't have the money to upgrade the sewage system because the city, state, and country simply don't have enough revenue.

[u/bking → u/GyantSpyder]

…that it is easier to throw in the trash.

I don't think any of the scandalized Europeans or Americans in this thread are thinking about the challenge of throwing away toilet paper. The bigger concerns are the trash cans full of little bits of human shit. This would be the same case with used American toilet paper, or a small beach blanket that's been rubbed on an anus.

[u/smbpy7 → u/bking]

challenge of throwing away toilet paper

Ya, I'm a bit confused by that. Who cares if it's flimsy or sturdy if it doesn't need to be dissolved? Why does it need to be sturdier to be thrown in a bin? If it's a cost thing, wouldn't the flimsy one be cheaper?

[u/taxitolondon]

We flush our tp in Canada as well.

[u/avalanchefan95 → u/taxitolondon]

And UK. And Spain.

[u/fickle_tartan → u/avalanchefan95]

I think pretty much all of western Europe tbh.

[u/sa_ostrich → u/fickle_tartan]

We flush it in South Africa too!

[u/TheSultan1 → u/fickle_tartan]

We flush it in Eastern Europe.

Unless it's an outhouse, of course.

[u/you-absolute-foolish → u/fickle_tartan]

Not when I was in Sicily

[u/fickle_tartan → u/you-absolute-foolish]

I mean I did say "pretty much all", not "all"

[u/FiddleThruTheFlowers → u/avalanchefan95]

Because I've seen more than one comment claiming that flushing is a western thing: You also flush toilet paper in Japan and South Africa. For the latter, that applies for Kruger and the major cities, which is where tourists are most likely to be. As far as I know, in Japan you can flush toilet paper everywhere.

It hadn't occurred to me that you don't flush the toilet paper in some places, but I've also never been to Latin America. I'd imagine less developed parts of Africa and Asia also throw it away rather than flush it.

[u/jaydubyah100 → u/taxitolondon]

Everywhere in Europe I have been (I’m British) except for Greece.

[u/ProfStacyCA → u/taxitolondon]

Yes except for places with non standard or really old plumbing. Rural and bush cabins come to mind.

[u/monkeybuckets]

I work a job where immigrants happen to be the majority of our workforce, and I was perplexed at yesterday's meeting when the boss announced that people had to stop throwing their tp in the sanitary napkin disposal bins because the custodial staff was threatening to boycott us. Now I understand why it became a problem in the first place.

[u/bmd201]

can’t imagine throwing globs of toilet paper filled with shit in the trash and let it just sit there until one decides to throw it out.

[u/makingkevinbacon → u/bmd201]

Probably a strong incentive to take out the trash tho. I bet you don't often have to ask for it to be done lol

[u/Putrid-Box4866 → u/makingkevinbacon]

I don’t care if it’s taken out daily, that’s still gross. 🤮

[u/CiCi_Run → u/Putrid-Box4866]

As someone with ibs, I agree... it would be so hard for me to adjust to not flushing the tp. I'd end up using dog poop bags for myself and hope the stank doesnt stink too bad

[u/BurnedLaser → u/Putrid-Box4866]

name checks out

[u/xtrobot → u/makingkevinbacon]

Yeah, when I stayed in Athens I was implored to please throw the paper in the bin because the plumbing would not accommodate it, but that bin was emptied religiously every day AND the trash on the streets seemed to be picked up every day as well.

[u/Anangrywookiee → u/xtrobot]

Yeah it still grosses me out, but the bins seal and are disposed of regularly in Greece. It’s more the idea of it then any actual smell.

[u/hapnstat → u/bmd201]

Kinda sounds like a diaper pail to me.

[u/StrippinChicken → u/bmd201]

In my experience (one 9 day trip to costa rica) the trash bins keep the smell in very well. Porta potties in the US smell far far worse

[u/MetalHead_Literally → u/StrippinChicken]

Comparing it to Porta potties is a bit silly, not like that’s a reflection of a regular toilet

[u/smbpy7 → u/StrippinChicken]

trash bins keep the smell in very well

We've got a few good ones for dog/cat poo and baby diapers. They keep the smell in as long as the lid is shut. But open it for a 1/10 of a second and BAM your whole house smells like fart for half an hour. I'd imagine in a public setting that smell locking bin would be next to useless.

[u/BlockedbyJake420 → u/smbpy7]

“The smell is fine as long as you keep it closed!”

“Yeah but don’t you have to open it to actually use it…”

“Well….”

[u/Mayor__Defacto]

Yes. Just don’t flush wet wipes.

[u/horrgeous → u/Mayor__Defacto]

EVEN if they claim they are flushable they are NOT

[u/CommercialLimit → u/horrgeous]

I don’t know why they are legally allowed to call them flushable. I feel like I should clog my toilet with a flushable wipe and sue.

[u/Silly_Personality_73 → u/Mayor__Defacto]

My sister did this in my home for a year without telling me. I had to park a Porta potty on my property for a year, because I couldn't figure out the problem. She admitted she did it, but refused to pay the bills.

[u/snakesnake9]

In Europe we also flush our toilet paper. Not flushing is the weird thing to do.

[u/AlpsHelpful1292 → u/snakesnake9]

I’ve been to rural areas of Spain where you couldn’t flush toilet paper. Also parts of the Balkans. 

[u/maplesyrup5000 → u/snakesnake9]

Not in Greece, where you trash it instead of flushing it (at least in all the places I’ve been there but who knows about fancy hotels or something)

[u/Pakkaslaulu → u/maplesyrup5000]

I knows about the fancy hotels because of my work, they flush at least in Athens!

[u/kroqus → u/Pakkaslaulu]

I think it's okay on the mainland, but the islands they ask you to bin it. 

[u/GandalftheKite → u/kroqus]

The majority of places in Athens ask not to flush toilet paper also.

[u/maplesyrup5000 → u/Pakkaslaulu]

Ah interesting, I guess your work was nicer than mine- I only got put in cheap hotels where I had to bin the TP (even in Athens!)

[u/cinred → u/maplesyrup5000]

Greece being the "Latin-America of Europe" is the least surprising thing I've heard all day.

[u/bigatrop → u/snakesnake9]

Not everywhere in Europe. I know you don’t flush it in most of Greece and large parts of Turkey. I’ve also seen it in parts of southern Italy.

[u/DreamsAroundTheWorld → u/snakesnake9]

In Greece not everywhere from what I know

[u/Girl_Of_Iridescence → u/snakesnake9]

Not in parts of Portugal when I visited. There were signs about it. I didn’t realize and I assumed most places you’d be able to flush. I was dying on the inside when I had to shit in the hotel with my boyfriend knowing it would be stinky.

[u/DebutsPal]

The only time I've ever been somewhere in the US where it wasn't the case that toilet paper was flushed it was because there was a problem and the plumber would be there Monday.

[u/GeekyTexan → u/DebutsPal]

I've been to a number of older buildings that had signs telling you not to flush TP and to put it in the bin.

But these are very old buildings, and their plumbing simply isn't up to modern standards. (Most are old dancehalls, because I like to visit old dancehalls I've never seen. But I remember one restaurant, too. In a very old building.)

[u/EqualThat9875]

Flushing is so standard in Canada, US, most of western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand that most people from those countries probably aren't aware that it isn't universal. Most of us never encounter it unless we travel South America (not sure where else). I'm pretty sure in all my travels in Mexico and Thailand and the Philippines generally flushing was standard too if you're in any developed place.

[u/Bora_Horza_Gobuchol → u/EqualThat9875]

Most places in Mexico now flush TP, even Mexicans (younger generations) think is gross and unsanitary to have a poop bin.

[u/BooksBootsBikesBeer → u/Bora_Horza_Gobuchol]

Flushing TP was definitely not the norm in Oaxaca City as of last summer.

[u/ForestOranges → u/EqualThat9875]

My experience in Mexico has been a mixed bag. A $10 hostel in Mexico City might be able to accommodate TP being flushed but hop on the subway and ride for one stop and you have to use the bins.

[u/Fit_Football_6533]

I've been to 40 states and only been to one place where it wasn't typical and that was a scout camp that ran out of the toilet paper that their septic system could handle and the only stuff they had left was causing issues. It was resolved by the next year.

[u/InsomniaticWanderer]

American sewer systems are built to handle toilet paper. It is very much required that you flush it.

Now, "flushable" wipes on the other hand are very hard on our sewers and should NEVER EVER be flushed.

It should be illegal to call them flushable, but for whatever reason it isn't.

[u/sexrockandroll]

Yes, the sewer system in all the places I have lived can handle it.

I've been to places where we had to use the trash bin, but it's more like people's remote cabins.

[u/RagingRxy]

I just can’t imagine having a shit trash can in my bathroom.

[u/First-Expert-9953]

Yes, I don't know if it's the toilet paper or the plumbing systems that are different, but we can flush our toilet paper without problems. I never heard of putting toilet paper in the trash until my first international trip.

[u/ShakarikiGengoro → u/First-Expert-9953]

Even in houses with bad/old plumbing like mine we can still flush toilet paper. We just can only use single ply or it clogs the septic tank.

[u/theFrankSpot]

Toilet paper is made to basically dissolve (fall apart) in water, and flushing it is significantly more sanitary than throwing it into a bin.

[u/BeneficialTrash6]

It's universal. I have been to almost every state and I have never been to a place where you cannot flush toilet paper.

It's pretty amazing that America practically invented modern plumbing with the bessemer process, we figured out how to make our pipes large enough, and so many countries that installed plumbing AFTER us couldn't figure it out.

I can sort of understand places like Greece, which might have to tie into ancient plumbing from eons ago. But for anything in the western hemisphere, that's just a complete disaster and mistake.

[u/DrDeke → u/BeneficialTrash6]

It's pretty amazing that America practically invented modern plumbing with the bessemer process

The Bessemer process is a process for mass-producing steel. It is extremely uncommon for sewer pipes to be made of steel.

[u/Jimmy_Johnny23]

It would be DISGUSTING to not flush. Everyone does it And it is expected 100% of the time. 

[u/desire_reds]

This was a little awkward when I had Colombian friends visit and had a trashbim full of poopy paper lol.

[u/kjb76]

I’m Dominican and I had a cousin visiting from DR when I was a teen. One day I saw shit covered paper in the trash can and told my mom because I was so grossed out. She had a conversation with my cousin to let him know that we can flush paper in the US.

But also of note, in DR all bathroom trash cans have lids so the shit paper isn’t on display.

[u/ramcoro]

Yes, out pipes are designed for it. It's almost universal.

The only places I've seen a request to not flush toilet paper was in deserts where they are trying conserve water. I've seen some rural places with septic tanks asked to "be cognizant of toilet paper" thats always been a private residence.

[u/stuntin102]

where in Latin America is this? I grew up as a kid in Lima and we flushed the paper normally. We also spent a lot of time in Ica, Tumbes, Buenos Aires, Recife and other towns / cities big and small and always flushed paper normally.

[u/VeryThoughtfulName → u/stuntin102]

I'm from Uruguay, we also flush the paper.

[u/darwinDMG08]

This was not on my bingo card for things I’d learn today and now I am legit terrified to take a shit in a foreign country.

[u/Carlpanzram1916]

Yes. I didn’t even know about putting toilet paper in trash bins until I traveled to a country where it’s common. It’s almost unheard of in America to not flush toilet paper down the toilet.

[u/somedude456]

100%. Most Americans, who also haven't traveled to another country, don't even understand that there are countries where you don't flush toilet paper. They would be disgusted by that fact.

[u/Y0___0Y]

The trade off is people who live in places where they can flush toilets just flush anything. Modern plumbing can only withstand toilet paper and waste, but people flush period products, diapers, dental floss, and it creates massive blockages in sewers that need to be regularly cleared.

[u/shoresy99]

No. All Americans flush their toilet paper.

[u/Sensitive_Ad_5169]

Plumbing that can’t handle the some of the thinnest paper made would worry me