Toilet paper alternatives: What you should and shouldn’t flush down the bowl
As shoppers continue to struggle in their search for toilet paper, more alternatives have been suggested.
However, the public has been warned some of these alternatives could block sewers and push excrements back onto the bathroom floor.
SA Water’s Anna Jackson said the utility company was concerned by “advice” circulating on social media about the possible replacements people could use.
“Paper towels, wet wipes, baby wipes, even tissues, are designed not to break down, are tough and strong, and therefore get caught in our sewer network and create blockages,” Jackson told the ABC.
“The unfortunate side effect of a blockage in a sewer network is that everything that was meant to go down the pipe comes back up.
“We don’t want people to be dealing with things on their bathroom floor.”
According to Michelle Ringland, head of marketing for commercial and domestic drain specialists Lanes for Drains, flushing nothing might be the best option.
Ringland recommended using bidet bowls, ‘bum guns’ or shower heads. “After this is all over I can see a return to bidets,” she told FEMAIL. “The more we can avoid putting it in the toilet, the better.”
Other alternatives that involved flushing nothing included water scooping tools such as the Tabo from the Philippines or gayung from Indonesia.
Jackson said only toilet paper, faeces and wee could be flushed down the toilet. “We need to make sure that if you are reaching for an alternative to use in the bathroom, that you are putting it in a bin in the bathroom, and that bin is emptied into the outdoor bin regularly.”