True enough. Depends on circumstances. Definitely they do need to keep clean in medical offices and in food handling, but there are other offenders besides our hands. Cell phones, computer keyboards and men’s ties have all been found to harbor pathogens. And, I suspect, that belt buckles are germ carriers too since I think most people buckle their belt before washing their hands.
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I thought one of the main issues was the pumping system for waste disposal, that the wipes simply clogged in the pumps and fowled everything up. Installing a grinder pump would at least fix that aspect of the problem (not that it’s cheap, but if you are going to funnel an excise tax into the problem…). I’ve kind of been thinking about installing one in my septic system but I’m not totally sure how the leach field would handle it.
I worked at a tech job where we created products for hospitals. It was mandatory for us to take blood born pathogen training as part of our employment. In our training, we were taught that using hand sanitizers killed basically the same amount of germs or more as hand washing.
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Pretty cheap to try it out.
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Came here to post this, but I see my work is done.
I toured the local wastewater facility in my town recently. I’ve been very interested in wastewater and water treatment issues for a number of years and have done some volunteer work around maintaining local waterways. Basically the rule is bodily fluids, water soluble non-hazardous waste, and toilet paper. No tampons, applicators, “flushable” wipes, grease, or party hats (wastewater slang for condoms). If in doubt, throw it out (as in out in the garbage).
A lot of people don’t think about where their water comes from, and what it means to treat wastewater and drinking water. It’s often expensive and it’s not something to pinch pennies on (see: Flint, Michigan… which I believe still doesn’t have clean water.) And you definitely pay for it, through the least progressive forms of taxation–meaning you often pay more than your fair share to repair and maintain these facilities. Chances are, you’re contributing to the problem without knowing. Over in the Midwest, lazy out of town contractors will often hook up sump systems to drain into the sewers, when they’re really a form of storm water, and should drain into the environment, All of that water ends up getting treated unnecessarily. Most homeowners don’t know which way their sump pump is pointing, and all they know is they don’t want a flooded basement.
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Toto makes bidet seats too.
https://washlet.totousa.com/view-all-products
Or get a regular bidet, if you’re building a new house or significantly renovating an old one. People will think you’re wealthy and European.
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I love bidets, and wish I wouldn’t be considered some sort of fetishist for admitting it publicly.
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Uh, people who use these things don’t care.
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Wow, almost like in Gravity’s Rainbow.
And kinda reminds me of that part in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) where he talks about all the things that New Yorkers flush.
Also, my mother had a caregiver who would flush her crack pipes wrapped in a hand towel every time she had a personality crisis. That ended up costing a bit.
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It’s very weird to me that in 2016 it’s still considered some kind of strange affectation to have a bidet in your house. If a bird poops on my arm, I’m not going to wipe it off with a piece of paper and consider it clean, I’m going to wash my arm.
For about $20 you can get a toilet seat bidet doohickey that takes about five minutes to set up, uses no electricity, and rinses your backside.
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I think I’d like that, if it was warm. But if it’s cold… I’d rather stay with my current routine. The only place I’ve ever tried one was my godmother’s house, and she didn’t have hot water. I was not impressed.
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Or mount a separate shattaf next to the toilet. If you have a lot of bathrooms, you can buy them in quantity:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Bidet-faucet-spray-shower-faucet-toilet_60156819482.html
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that was my thought as well, they shouldn’t be allowed to be called “flushable” wipes. they should have to have “do not flush” warnings on the packages.
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The one I use now has a long, fat feedline which means it has a pretty big reserve of ambient-temp water all all times. Otherwise you can buy an expensive one with a heater, or plumb it up to the hot line of your sink with a thermal valve for the right temp – some toilets already have a tepid feedline to prevent condensation anyway.
Using TP always seemed just fine to me until I got used to using water and now TP seems like a gross, stupid hack. If you had shit on your face, would you wipe it off with paper?
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forget bidets…laser cleaning is where it is at:
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Surely someone will use one of these on rusted blights for reverse graffiti…
As to cleaning my bum, I’d need a bigger bathroom fan to get the smell of vaporized poo (and flesh) out.
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All this talk about wipes and bidets and lasers… why not just use a gentle puff of air?
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when the shit hits the fan…
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The fan, the wall, etc.
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