Mark Hendriksen

The 3Ps and ‘Proof before Panic!’

If you’ve not read this anywhere or, understandably perhaps not realised… ‘The use of tissues, wipes and kitchen roll is ‘clogging up the sewers!‘ Tissues, wipes and paper towels all contain plastic in their weave making them much stronger than toilet paper and therefore harder to break down in sewerage pipes. It’s only the 3Ps that should be flushed: pee, poop and paper [toilet paper] 4Ps if we include the word, ‘Please!’ We mentioned it last week but want to repeat the message. It’s an issue, even in ‘normal times.’ Plumbers who may be getting lots of work sorting out peoples pipes because of it, are getting fed up too, and so are the oceans and sea-life that suffer! The other please is, ‘Those of you who are still panicking about toilet paper… please stop it at once!’ We mentioned one calculator last week, here’s another that helps you see just how much toilet paper you need and use: https://thepooptool.com

There are more pressing issues to be dealt with, so put down those unnecessary packets of toilet paper…. and step away from the shelves – please! That said, your staying calm would really help the supply chain and logistics companies, and their amazing people, to keep doing their good work during these times, i.e. keep you supplied! Thank you to them and everyone else who is working on our behalf to get us safely through the days ahead, we love all he clapping for them that’s been going on worldwide.

Here’s the tail (tale) that could soon wag the dog, the dog being the toilet paper manufacturers and the tail being bidets.

Some while back we wrote about the option to use a ‘bidet’, bum-gun or an ‘attachable shower wash’ instead of the total wipe option. What started in France was the bidet, [Bidet: Mid 17th century (in the sense of straddling a ‘pony’) from the French bider ‘to trot’, of unknown origin.] A separate low basin for sitting and washing your bum. In fact other regions had been using small vessels of water called lotas or tabo for cleansing centuries before bidets appeared on the scene. Interestingly, (for those reeling in disgust or disbelief) it’s a very popular method across Europe, in the Arab world, and in Japan where their toilet technology is extraordinary. With bidets in approx. 80% of Japan’s homes that’s barely surprising.

Is this just a ‘flush in the pan?’

However, since Covid-19 and the toilet paper purchasing stampede/panic, bidets have begun a resurgence as ‘traditional wipers’ consider all the options and in doing so begin to see the benefits of owning one. Importantly, the design developments have meant you don’t need a separate ‘basin’ either, just an attachment to your current toilet system. Though we should point out that you can get an ‘all singing and dancing toilet’ in the first place, in other words a toilet/bidet and all sorts of other luxuries built in. Think; wash, dry, music, gadgets and even medical body checks all included. To get you started, look at Business Insider‘s ‘Best Bidet Toilet Seats‘ and then look at what’s hot in Japan…

‘The winds of change are blowing!’ [pun intended :)] But, seriously this has become a real disruptor and nothing indicates that more that the uptake by Americans, as the USA is the world’s largest consumer of toilet paper [36 billion rolls a year according to Statista.] Yep, stop and take that in for a moment… think trees, carbon footprint, water usage (it takes a huge amount of water to produce toilet paper btw!) According to The Scientific American, ‘It takes about 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to produce all that toilet for Americans and 253,000 tons of chlorine to bleach it. To break this statistic down further, it takes up to 37 gallons of water to make a single roll of toilet paper!’

Now think about a bidet style wash by comparison. Of course, as with so many cultures that wipe, they grew up with it and changing public perception takes either a long time, or a world-changing moment to break it. We just have one right now!

The companies who produce and sell ‘bidets’ are getting lots of views and whereas a major player like GEBERIT offers some super cool and funky remote control bidets (see the video) the likes of TUSHY make it accessible to (practically) all. That in turn is educating consumers and their previous behaviour. Add to that the realisation that washing yourself with a bidet can help with cleanliness, may lead to fewer instances of rashes, hemorrhoids, urinary infections, can also be a better option for people with IBS and other medical issues. Then allay other fears, i.e. ‘If you’re worried about using toilet water to clean your intimate parts, then you shouldn’t be. It’s tap water, just like the water you’re already using when you take a bath or shower.‘

The question of ‘tail wagging dog‘ as posed above is becoming more probable. To give you an idea of the current movement [it just goes with the subject;)] towards bidets take a look at TUSHY who we mentioned above. An American company founded back in 2014 who offer an affordable, easy fit bidet for your bathroom, and guess what, as the New York Post reported just last week ‘Sales have been up about [tenfold], which is pretty crazy,’ Jason Ojalvo, CEO. TUSHY also claim their device reduces a person’s use of toilet paper by 80%. That’s got to be an affordable alternative to toilet paper, that may be worth a second thought and… will pay for itself in no time at all.

If you have any questions about the whole bidet business, ie How to use it, how to dry off afterwards, hygiene, health, how happy your butt’ll be etc. head to the TUSHY ‘All your Questions Answered‘ page – it’s enlightening!

I feel we’ve done a lot to get to the bottom of this in today’s post [sorry!] The main thing and our point is, there’s been a greater awareness of bidets than ever before, the USA was the least likely to adopt them and yet it’s begun to happen. Will this be a flash in the pan? We think not. With the other topics we love to keep discussing, like the companies that are changing the way toilet paper is produced, sold and marketed e.g. Who Gives a Crap, Cheeky Panda and such like as well as other of the ever familiar names popping up in bathrooms everywhere, PooPourri to name but one – yep, times they are a changing!

In fact John Branden writing for Forbes in an article about, ‘What Coronavirus Trending Topics Say About Our Current Predicament‘ commented, ‘According to several apps I’ve been using to track trending topics on social media and online, what we care about is bamboo toilet paper, Instacart, and (very curiously) Drizly. Also — UHT milk. I had to look that one up. (It lasts much longer. Go buy some.)‘

It’s not just the toilet paper manufacturers that are the only ones who are being disrupted, America could also be on the way to losing the toilet race! Bidets are already out there in vast numbers, it’s not like you have to create a product (like the i-phone was for example) it’s just education, desperation or realisation. On a final note, why not look at all that’s included in the $17,000 NEOREST by Toto (Japan) and imagine that in your bathroom. Now that’s a throne fit for a King or Queen!!

Let us know your thoughts… chat@thedailypoo.co.uk We’ll be back next Friday!