So the ladies in my office think it's weird/gross when someone use flushable wipes after going to the bathroom. I haven't told them that I started using those wipes years ago and I still use them to make sure I am as clean as possible in my nether regions. I've tested how many times I have to wipe to get a "clean" wipe with just using toilet paper (lots and lots) - with a flushable wipe it's much easier and of course I feel much cleaner. So my question is... am I the only one who needs that extra step to feel clean? Or am I missing something about just using toilet paper and getting the same affect?
Update: LOL - some hilarious responses. I actually don't think it's weird or worry about using them. What I was worried about... and I know this might sound silly... is that perhaps I wasn't taught how to wipe properly down there and that's why it takes so much toilet paper for me to be "clean" unless I use a wipe. I thought perhaps they had some secret that some of you others might know of where you don't need that extra step =)
Oh my goodness, what kind of bowel movements are you ladies having? I have never in my life had a dirty butt, after using toilet paper. Then again, my poop smells like roses. I guess it wouldn't matter, if I did.
This thread has me laughing pretty hard right now!!
One word of caution about putting wipes in the toilet. We recently had a sewer back-up (not a story for the faint of heart) and were told by the plumber that they don't break down like toilet paper, even if they're labeled "flushable". I am taking liberties here, but I got the sense that one wipe won't cause plumbing problems but a bunch of them in the pipes can make for problems.... For me, the "ewww" factor comes into play if I wipe myself and then put them in a trash can rather than down the tubes with the other yuks ;)
i don't have any secret butt wiping advice to make it more efficient...lol.
except, don't listen to a 5 year old when he says, "i did it, only once, but i'm done." and then he goes and sits on the couch to put his underwear on. UUUUGH!!
i kinda always thought the wipes are an unnecessary expense. probably one of those things that if you start doing it, it seems AWESOME, and you just want to always do it and don't feel "right" if you don't...but we've been going without those wipes for thousands of years so how necessary can they really be? plus i saw on my TP package the other day that they recommend using them WITH tp...sooo you're not really replacing tp if you have to use both. more expense!
and yes, Catherine C, i always wanted a bidet :)
Just to gross y'all out I had my bowel movement this morning and walked to the kitchen to make my coffe. I felt some "residual" in my "cheeks" and thought "I better go back and re-wipe". Well, I get in there and find that my original wad of TP was still hooked to my body and just sort of dangling between my butt cheeks and thighs... good lord! I laughed at myself while pulling out the old and rewiping with some "sink moistened tp". Yep that was too much info, but whatever... I just had a martini and feeling bold ;)
THE EXTRA STEP is the bidet.
I think the wet wipes are probably nice for bowel movement clean up, menstural clean up, but for pee, who cares?
I don't have any useful advice, except that my Italian in-laws think that all Americans walk around with dirty butts. They use the bidet to wash up after every trip to the toilet. (Of course, we always respond with, "Better a dirty butt than a dirty entire body - at least we SHOWER every day!" - and so it goes, back and forth...)
OMG Grandma T!! That made me laugh out loud!!! I don't use the wipes on a regular basis. But while we're on the subject of TMI - before I went to the gyno last month I "checked myself out" just to see if all looked OK down there. Noticed some leftover TP, kinda like that bear commercial? Nothing a little wet wipe won't take care of. I'm hoping the doctor appreciated it!
Laura!!!!!!!!! I am laughing so hard right now :)
Terri and Catharine C, you are both hilarious! And to add to Catharine's post, if you live in an Asian country, they have washlets that are absolutely wonderful. Warm seats, warm water, different settings, and even a GASP!, blow dryer (which I never used - I think a guy must like that better!) Some of them play music or have fake flushing noises so that the neighbors in the stall next to you can't hear you doing your business. One NEVER has to be dirty and you can use a small amount of TP.
I truly miss our Toto, though we could buy one and have it installed if we wanted. They are very expensive, but totally worth it! Even my kids miss the washlet!
Dawn
I started to use them when I was still having a period. I just felt better and less smelly. I could wipe off the excess blood brom my skin when I went to the bathroom and changed pads and tampons.
Not weird at all.
holy cow. the oversharing going on right now...I guess I'd feel more comfortable if a) I didn't use my real name on this and know for a fact that some of my local friends and neighbors also go on this site and b) if there were no dads on the site. Sorry to you few men on this but I prefer the mamas of mamapedia.
Flushable wipes are cool - I don't use them because of the expense but my daughters like em...and I don't always trust they take the time to fully clean up.
A bidet sounds good!
Living in the country where we are responsible for our own septic tank will make you re-think this! It can be pretty costly to have the tank pumped so we are very cautious about what is flushed. TP with pee is put in the trash and #2 TP is flushed!!
Not weird, since we all want to be clean and fresh. But I'm truly concerned about the effect on public (and private) sewage/septic systems that we all depend on, especially if more and more people begin relying on these wipes.
Here's a short Consumer Reports video that shows the wipes are not nearly as flushable as we wish: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/home--garden.... They recommend bagging and trashing them if you use them.
For me, pee requires only a blot. Poop takes more attention, and of course, some are messier than others. But I use several squares of TP for my first wipe, about half as many if a second wipe is needed, and occasionally a third wipe may seem warranted. By that time, there is really nothing moist left to pick up. And any dry traces left behind have virtually no smell.
So it's a personal preference. If we believe that having even a hint of matter left behind makes us somehow more disgusting or contaminated than all previous generations in advanced economies, who have largely avoided smells and disease trasmission through basic good hygiene (hand washing and regular bathing), then we'll resort to extra measures. Some people feel the need to brush their teeth many times daily as well. I don't think that's a "normal" need, however – there's a touch of phobia or compulsion to it.
I use them sometimes or use tp and then one for a final clean feeling. Its more of just a extra clean feeling that I like to have--not really needed, but makes me feel better.
As for your wiping, as long as your wiping front to back and don't ever reverse, you should be just fine. Sorry if thats TMI, but just wanted to clarify.
M
Wipes in every bathroom, and I use them every time...bm's, pee, you name it, I am wiping it! I even have my HUSBAND using them now! (and I am sure he will appreciate me telling you that!)
The one thing we don't do is throw them down the toilet. We have lidded trashcans in each bathroom and one little clunk of the lid tells you the behind is fresh!
Mommy:
Don't worry about what other people think. It works for you and causes NO ONE else any harm.
The wipes are great for people who have hemorrhoids and they are great for women who just had babies and need something a little less rough than toilet paper.
You aren't missing anything. Keep doing what you are doing. Don't worry about what others think. It's working for you.
I use them too, and I love them!
I feel cleaner and overall more comfortable using them than old toilet paper, my husband uses them too. Well, everyone in his family use them, too. Maybe your friends at the office just haven't tried them yet jajaja
ive been wanting to get these..howard stern uses them (some useless knowledge for you ) you're cleaner than anyone else, how can it be gross...i've resorted to wet TP and keep promising myself to get these....you wont get hemroids that way adn will stay clean!
I have used them for years and years! I don't even buy the flushable cottonelle wipes, I buy Huggies tubs. I flush them. There's a tub sitting on each of my 3 toilets in the house. If they're starting to get low, I panic. If god forbid I have to go when I am not at home, I am uncomfortable not having any around. I sometimes have them in a small ziplock bag in my purse. I don't see how anyone doesn't use them and feels clean. If you feel clean after a BM with just toilet paper, try a wipe people. It's a beyond fresh feeling.
I started using it when my son potty trained... it was much better to use on him, so I started using it also... and prefer it as well. It definitely does a much more efficient job of cleansing the nether regions! Like you said, a lot less wiping to do the same job... I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't tried it! My husband started using the wipes too!
It's not just you, lol. But I can understand how some people don't appreciate the wet feeling after using them (but that's what TP is for)
Why? It's essentially the same thing as toilet paper. Dr. Oz said wipes are even better for women who are prone to getting infections.
Also, some women have more, how you say... 'natural secretions' than others, so I'm sure the wipes would be a great benefit to them.
So while it's not something I would use on a regular basis, it would be pretty helpful for right before 'fun time', or a pap smear or something.
LOL not gross or weird at all. I too feel that I need that clean fresh feeling. But because they are wet i do dry up with toilet paper.
I'm shocked that those women think it's weird or gross! LOL They make feminine wipes for women just for that reason. I would rather hear a woman does that than doesn't, actually. It makes they care even more about their cleanliness. I think the office ladies are the weirdos! LOL
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
This is hysterical. I was actually in a focus group years ago when these were being tested, and everyone in the group thought they were a fine idea. I have used them for exactly the same reasons you do. I have a dispenser at home and a travel size in my purse. How shall I put this delicately....I think as we age things change a bit, and we just need the extra cleaning power! Why anybody would find that weird or gross is just beyond me.
We had a whole tub of Huggies wipes that my son couldn't use (he was allergic to everything but Earth's Best) so I started using them! I think it makes me feel so much fresher and cleaner! I've often wondered why adults don't use wipes :)
