Toliet paper - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Walter323 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Toliet paper

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

Really do not think I would want them in my holding tanks. As most RVERS will state, If the toilet paper does not break up in water; don't put it in the tank as it is a real messy-stinky job trying to unclog the tank.

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Pieere is spot on...do not use them in a RV.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yep. I wouldn't use them either. When we were in our stix and brix homes, we always used Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper. However, it is one of those that doesn't break down very well. In fact, the manufacturer of the toilet in our Mobile Suites specifically said no Charmin Ultra.

If you use the "Search" function in the blue bar above the forums and type in "Toilet Paper," you will find a few threads with some valuable information about toilet paper and how to determine what is best.

We've tried a couple of different ones that are available in most stores. One is Scott and the other is Angel Soft. With regards to the two, my wife prefers the Angel Soft.

Terry

Workinrvers · RV-Dreams Family Member

we were also Angel Soft users but they recently changed the product and packaging. I did another test on the "new and improved" Angel Soft and it did not break up as good as the old style. I know the test was totally "un-scientific" (piece of the paper in a glass jar) but it sure seemed to dissolve better before they changed it. We have since switched to Scott's which dissolves like the old A.S. but I miss my old TP. hmm

Terry,

you might want to give it a test and see what you think.

Phil

-- Edited by Workinrvers on Monday 17th of December 2012 08:11:17 AM

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here is a web site that says that additives are useless and potentially harmful. It cites the Environmental Protection Agency and a Washington State University study as sources.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/the-happy-homesteader/septic-tank-additives-zb0z10zarc.aspx

I would be surprised if very many of the ones sold today are actually harmful except maybe those containing formaldehyde, but as Jack said they aren't effective either

Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 17th of December 2012 12:25:57 PM

Walter323 · RV-Dreams Community Member

See I love this place lots of helpful info thanks yall !!!!!!

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

The first chart was from a Good Housekeeping web site 10 or 12 years ago and I don't recall the procedure used.
The page it was on no longer exists and trying to access it yields a "page not found" error.

I have a subscription to Consumer Report Online and all they say is the disintegration rating is based on the time required to dissolve a sheet in swirling water. Charmin Ultra Soft and and Charmin Ultra Strong both get poor ratings.

If you have a subscription do a search on "Toilet paper ratings" and you can see all of their ratings.
I am not comfortable posting the actual copyrighted table. Since it seems that the times really dont matter because they are all less than a minute or so, I am not inclined to generate a typed copy. Too lazy I guess.

-- Edited by Clay L on Monday 17th of December 2012 03:23:03 PM

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

some thing to try............Every now and then I add a product called "Rid-Ex" to my tanks to help clean them out better........its designed to boost septic and leach fields but it seems to help clean the tanks and create a better breakdown.

something you might want to google.......its available in most hardware and farm stores.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm not sure about the Rid-X product for two reasons. When we had homes on acreages and a septic tank, the septic tank people cautioned against using the product. The other thing with regards to an RV tank is the question as to how long it works for the enzymes (or whatever) to work on the contents of the trailer. A home septic tank can be fairly large, allowing that breakdown process to work before the water is then allowed out to maintain the proper level. With an RV tank, it is being emptied a lot more frequently, so I'm not sure how effective it would be. For that reason, I suggest that one do the research before using the Rid-X.

Terry

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Rid-X is not going to hurt anything, but I have found no evidence it helps anything either. In an RV application. For the reasons Terry said. But it is cheap and if you like it, it surely will not hurt anything.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

If ya just gotta use something in the tanks, use a couple of packages of yeast and a cup of sugar. I have friends that swear by it. Me, I use a cup of bleach and a cup of Dawn and if I feel like it I will use some calgon water softener.

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here is some info on disolving times of some brands. Unless you dump very soon after using the toilet it looks like any brand will be okay since the worst ones disolve in less than a minute.

Brand...........................................Dissolving Time in Seconds
(lowest is best)
Charmin Plus 1-Ply..................................9
MD 2-Ply...................................................9
Coronet 2-Ply..........................................12
Angel Soft 2-Ply......................................12
Scott 1-Ply..............................................17
Soft 'N Gentle 1-Ply ...............................18
Soft Weve 1-Ply.....................................20
Marcal 1-Ply...........................................20
Soft 'N Gentle 2-Ply...............................21
Seventh Generation 2-Ply.....................21
Quilted Northern Super 2-Ply ...............69
Charmin Ultra 2-Ply ..............................77
Cottonelle 1-Ply ....................................96
Charmin 1-Ply .....................................180

The TPs with an Excellent disintegration rating from a Aug 2000 Consumer Report article are:

Albertson's Soft Choice Ultra
Safeway Select Softly Ultra
Quilted Northern Ultra Soft
Quilted Nothern Soft Prints
Target
Kroger
Angel Soft
Charmin Plus with Unscented Natural Aloe
SoftWeve

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Clay L wrote:
Here is some info on disolving times of some brands. Unless you dump very soon after using the toilet it looks like any brand will be okay since the worst ones disolve in less than a minute.

Brand...........................................Dissolving Time in Seconds
(lowest is best)
Charmin Plus 1-Ply..................................9
MD 2-Ply...................................................9
Coronet 2-Ply..........................................12
Angel Soft 2-Ply......................................12
Scott 1-Ply..............................................17
Soft 'N Gentle 1-Ply ...............................18
Soft Weve 1-Ply.....................................20
Marcal 1-Ply...........................................20
Soft 'N Gentle 2-Ply...............................21
Seventh Generation 2-Ply.....................21
Quilted Northern Super 2-Ply ...............69
Charmin Ultra 2-Ply ..............................77
Cottonelle 1-Ply ....................................96
Charmin 1-Ply .....................................180

The TPs with an Excellent disintegration rating from a Aug 2000 Consumer Report article are:

Albertson's Soft Choice Ultra
Safeway Select Softly Ultra
Quilted Northern Ultra Soft
Quilted Nothern Soft Prints
Target
Kroger
Angel Soft
Charmin Plus with Unscented Natural Aloe
SoftWeve

Clay,

First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums Glad to have you as part of the "family."

Now, do you happen to know the source that tested the dissolving times listed above? Would you happen to know what "process" they used to create it? The reason I ask is because when we were testing paper for our use, the Charmin took a heck of a lot longer than that listed above. It is interesting that the Charmin 1-ply paper took longer than the Charmin Ultra 2-ply version.

Terry

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

To get that "Baby Wipe" clean feeling I installed a Brondell Freshspa Bidet attachment. It was about $50.00 plus another twenty for plumbing fittings and PEX tubing. It took a few hours to install. You can get them at Home Depot or online.

I added it to an Aqua Magic Style II toilet that uses a regular toilet seat.

It works great and leaves you feeling squeeky clean. confuse

An added bonus is that our toilet paper use has gone way down. biggrin

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm kind of with Terry on this one. Rid-x will need plenty of time to work. And to the OP i'd leave the baby wipes out of the black tank!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, Clay. I appreciate the clarification.

In my testing, it was always using something like a pint or quart Mason jar half to three-quarters full and shake three times. Scotts and Angel Soft broke up almost completely. I had to shake Charmin Ultra Soft for a lot longer.

As for the Scott versus Angel Soft, it doesn't matter to me at all, but to Jo, who has to use the paper in a fashion that I don't, the Scott tissue is a lot less desirable.

As for Consumer Reports, I've never been a fan of theirs and when I worked retail, I found out why. I worked as a manager in a "major home electronics" store and folks would come in looking for "such and such" model VCR (or name any other electronic device) and invariably, that model had been discontinued for at least a year. So, it appeared that CR tested models but never got around to publishing their results until it was too late to be of any value. I would actually hope that they have gotten better about that.

Terry

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Clay L wrote:
The first chart was from a Good Housekeeping web site 10 or 12 years ago and I don't recall the procedure used.
The page it was on no longer exists and trying to access it yields a "page not found" error.

I have a subscription to Consumer Report Online and all they say is the disintegration rating is based on the time required to dissolve a sheet in swirling water. Charmin Ultra Soft and and Charmin Ultra Strong both get poor ratings.

If you have a subscription do a search on "Toilet paper ratings" and you can see all of their ratings.
I am not comfortable posting the actual copyrighted table. Since it seems that the times really dont matter because they are all less than a minute or so, I am not inclined to generate a typed copy. Too lazy I guess.

-- Edited by Clay L on Monday 17th of December 2012 03:23:03 PM

Clay, let me add my welcome to you as well. You and I have chatted on another forum in the past about your Sightseer and our Sunova for fulltiming. Great to have you aboard!

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for the welcome folks !
Ron I guess technically Lee and I are snowbirds now rather than full timers since we bought a summer home last July. It's going to take more than one summer to get all of the stuff that was in storage for ten years unpacked though.

nightsky · RV-Dreams Family Member

I say go ahead and use the baby wipes if that's what you prefer, just don't put them into the holding tank. Tuck a box of ziplock bags in the bathroom cupboard and dispose of them with the rest of the household trash. That's how I deal with them when the grand kids camp with me.

melvonnar · RV-Dreams Family Member

I"ve used Scots brand I buy at sams club; been useing it for years; have never had a problem; flush with lots of water.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Or try Great Value septic safe TP from Walmart. Pretty good for a single ply.