Toilet Paper!

Friday July 17th 2020

There has been more discussion about toilet paper in the last four months than ever before, first the shortage, then the hoarding, then the fights over it, I mean like seriously. Now at the park it’s about the excessive use of it by so many people. A few months ago it was about using what ever you could find on a shelf, and if you are on city sewers it really doesn’t mater. But on septic system it does make a difference, the paper has to easily break down. Some packages will say septic safe or there is the expense RV toilet paper brands, but here is a test you can do to see how quickly your paper breaks down.

Take an empty glass jar about one litre (quart) in size, fill it half full of water and add your normal usage of toilet paper, then with the lid on shake it, and observe the results. Two or three shakes should see the paper shredded completely.

The paper should be totally shredded by the water action, if it’s a wet lump you are either using too much or it’s time to change brands!

To get an idea of how paper varies try a face tissue, that will take for ever to shred if it ever does, but you will find a huge difference in paper brands, single, two, three ply all have different results.

Or if you have a favourite but it does not break down well than place it in the waste after use, use a doggy bag or what ever because it just takes too long to break down for a septic system, and causes havoc in RV systems, level indicators included.

NOTE: Do not flush anything in the system that doesn’t pass the bottle shred test … there is no such thing as a flushable wipe!

There are a number of YouTube videos on the topic, we have done this ourselves and the results can be entertaining around the campfire, so please give it a try, and give your septic system a break.

Now on a lighter note, it seems that there are a number of areas here in Ontario the new shortage is graham crackers, and in some areas marshmallows, I guess a sign of the times s’mores seem to be making a strong appearance in our lives, maybe part of the new normal … just saying.