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Moist toilet wipe boxes

(25 Posts)
Willow500 Sun 21-Oct-18 07:20:45

OK so I know this is a trivial subject but why have manufacturers of moist toilet tissues stopped supplying the boxes to store them in? Did this happen overnight or have I just missed the slow demise of them? I've just spent an hour I'll never get back searching for a suitable container online only to find there is nothing available (apart from a very expensive one from Germany). I did have two Tesco boxes I'd decorated some years ago and was going to replace but they fell apart so now we're reduced to the packets on display sad

NanKate Sun 21-Oct-18 07:23:43

Next time you are near a Pound shop Willow check out their plastic boxes. DH found a very suitable one there recently.

Willow500 Sun 21-Oct-18 07:45:05

Ooh thanks NanKate - I'll have a look later this week grin

Izabella Sun 21-Oct-18 11:43:57

Hate to put a dampener on this one but there are huge environmental concerns with wet wipes of any description.

BlueBelle Sun 21-Oct-18 11:48:57

Izabella you took the words out of my mouth if you can go back to a damp flannel or Jcloth please do ...wet wipes are causing awful environmental problems

maytime2 Sun 21-Oct-18 17:15:16

The use of toilet or baby wipes can turn out to be expensive.
My next door neighbour paid £300 to have a blockage cleared from the sewage pipe after the toilet became blocked and unusable. The blockage turned out to be a mass of toilet wipes. The various water boards ask that wipes are not flushed down the toilet.

GrannyGravy13 Sun 21-Oct-18 17:20:27

What's wrong with dampening some toilet paper? Wipes of any sort, even if they say flushable should never be flushed!!!

PamelaJ1 Sun 21-Oct-18 17:20:30

I'm sure that Willow would never put her wet wipes down the toilet.
I do agree though Izabella, I never use wet wipes, I'm the flannel granny!

GillT57 Sun 21-Oct-18 18:11:37

wet wipes are bad for plumbing, bad for the environment and totally unnecessary. They were marketed by the companies that make baby wipes, marketed to make us all feel as if we are somehow dirty if we don't use them. Loo paper is all anyone needs, dry or damp.

crystaltipps Sun 21-Oct-18 18:23:08

Yes ditch the wipes they are very environmentally unfriendly.

notanan2 Sun 21-Oct-18 18:50:15

There are no "flushable" wetwipes.

The claims of "flushable" mean they can get around the U bend, but they then cause problems further down the pipes or sewers or treatment centres.

"Family cloth" are increasingly popular...basically flannel that you just use for down bellow & launder.

The only things that should be flushed is human waste and regular toilet paper which disintegrates when wet.

chelseababy Sun 21-Oct-18 19:28:22

I saw in Sainsburys the other day a spray to dampen the toilet tissue rather than use a wipe. Don't know what was in it but presumably not just water!

Willow500 Sun 21-Oct-18 21:00:54

Yes I know about the environmental issues - I have some 'problems' and need to use these - they are put in nappy sacks and then in the bin. I couldn't use a flannel and then put it in the washing machine with the rest of the washing shock

phoenix Sun 21-Oct-18 21:21:41

Sorry, but the thought of a "family cloth" hanging around makes me feel bleurgh! Willow500 I think you have the solution.

Notanan2 with my sensitive skin, I might well "bellow" grin

notanan2 Sun 21-Oct-18 21:27:19

It's no different from a laundry point of view than cloth nappies.
Not something I use myself but having used terry nappies on my kids I don't see what's so strange about it & it is becoming more popular. They can be used damp so worth mentioning the option I thought.

Bathsheba Sun 21-Oct-18 22:24:18

I do so agree with you notanan. Why have people become so horrified at the thought of laundering things that come into contact with their nether regions? It truly puzzles me ?.
My underwear comes into contact with that area and I have no qualms about throwing them in the washing machine, so why not a clean cloth, used once with warm water?
Heavens above, I'm sure the majority of us older grans used to wash our babies' Terry towelling nappies, without throwing our hands up in horror at the very idea. And our grandmothers had to wash their menstrual cloths every month too, shock horror ?
When did people start to get so squeamish about these things? ?

Bathsheba Sun 21-Oct-18 23:04:13

Although having said that, I couldn't see me embracing the Family Cloth idea. Not only do I think that's a step too far but I can't really believe it's better for the environment than flushable toilet tissue. All that laundering (and in a family of women, there would be a lot) - surely can't be very eco-friendly? Especially when you factor in the use of biological detergent, as I cannot imagine a detergent without enzymes would adequately deal with it.

GrandmaKT Sun 21-Oct-18 23:32:12

Hang on, surely manufacturers aren't allowed to put false claims on their packaging? Either the things are flushable or they aren't? I must say, call me squeamish if you like, but the concept of the family cloth totally freaks me out!

Farmor15 Mon 22-Oct-18 00:11:50

www.buzzfeed.com/terripous/what-is-the-family-cloth-and-why-should-you-use-it-an This link explains the ‘family cloth’ , which despite the name is not a shared cloth!

However, having read about it, I think the hand held “bum wash” (or bidet spray) is a more environmentally friendly solution. After use, a small piece of toilet paper is enough to dry one off. They are quite cheap and quick to install.

Washing with spray of water is much less irritating to sensitive skin than any kind of wipes, especially if you have any problems ‘down below’.

Elrel Mon 22-Oct-18 01:11:31

GrandmaKT - a speaker from Severn Trent explained about 'flushable'. Manufacturers can so describe their wipes if they can be flushed any lavatory including by the old style high cistern chain pull. The speaker emphasised that NO wipes should be flushed and showed photographs of huge fatballs which include wipes.
It's time the manufacturers stopped describing wipes as flushable.

absent Mon 22-Oct-18 05:38:46

Isn't it time that that the Brits embraced that bizarre standard European utility, the bidet? Problem solved.

notanan2 Mon 22-Oct-18 07:29:46

Hang on, surely manufacturers aren't allowed to put false claims on their packaging? Either the things are flushable or they aren't?
Flushable can be taken literally as meaning getting past the U bend. So it is not technically false even if they cannot be processed beyond that in the sewage system.

notanan2 Mon 22-Oct-18 07:31:18

It is similar to "aids digestion" or "aids digestive transit". Anything that stimulates saliva and peristalsis does that. Any food. Its not a false claim. It also doesnt mean its good for you.

notanan2 Mon 22-Oct-18 07:37:31

You don't need biological detergent to wash diapers, flannels, bath towels, underwear etc so you wouldn't need biological detergent for family cloth. Just a rinse and a hot wash. Besides which it is usually used in combination with water washing/bidet so you wouldnt be using an equivalent amount of cloth to toilet paper

Toilet paper doesnt appear from thin air. It takes a lot of water and waste to produce and energy to transport. It also takes energy to process once flushed. So no I really don't see how laundering could be worse.

Izabella Mon 22-Oct-18 21:32:21

The answer is not to put them in landfill either. Most contain polyester which will take around 2-500 years for the plastics to break down. I suggest Cotton muslin cloths (absolutely fine for this particular world travelling stoma warrior) and I add a dash of Napisan or similar followed by a hot machine wash. Simples.