[quote=“Deuce Dropper”]
BTW, I fucking hate the big public toilet rolls whose paper is so thin and weak it breaks off every time you pull on in forcing you to reach inside and spin the thing until you find the end bit of paper again.
FUCK OFF KIMBERLEY CLARK!!![/quote]
I saw Greg Malone of The Wonderful Grand Band do a bit about this when I was home in November. Talked about airport security vs. how hard it was to wipe your arse at the airport. Funny stuff. Wish I could dig it up somewhere.
Taiwan is most definitely not a 3rd world country. Spend any time traveling in southeast Asia (particularly Cambodia) and the differences between Taiwan and the 3rd world become abundantly clear.
I must say, I’m a relatively new Forumosa poster and I’m a bit disappointed by the tone of this thread.
I throw my toilet paper in the basket. I throw it in the basket because that’s how my wife taught me to do it. I have no problem with this, because that’s how it’s done here.
I’m not in Taiwan to reinvent or reeducate people on how to attend to their delicate personal duties, and I’m certainly not about to speak authoritatively to the Taiwanese about their plumbing systems. Also, I’m assuming the flushers in this thread didn’t come here to fill the niche for native English speaking plumbers.
It’s not that big a deal to do it their way. And when you leave Taiwan, frustrated by how you weren’t able to change the toilet habits of an entire nation, you can flush all the toilet paper you want.
[quote=“adamandeva”]I must say, I’m a relatively new Forumosa poster and I’m a bit disappointed by the tone of this thread.
I throw my toilet paper in the basket. I throw it in the basket because that’s how my wife taught me to do it. I have no problem with this, because that’s how it’s done here.
I’m not in Taiwan to reinvent or reeducate people on how to attend to their delicate personal duties, and I’m certainly not about to speak authoritatively to the Taiwanese about their plumbing systems. Also, I’m assuming the flushers in this thread didn’t come here to fill the niche for native English speaking plumbers.
It’s not that big a deal to do it their way. And when you leave Taiwan, frustrated by how you weren’t able to change the toilet habits of an entire nation, you can flush all the toilet paper you want.[/quote]
You’re disappointed in our disappointment with the persistent third world mentality of people who continue to put shit paper in those cans next to the toilet?
Your wife had to teach you how to dispose of used toilet paper…did she also have teach you the step immediately prior? That’s the problem…people do things as they are “taught” without any critical thinking. I was told flushing paper would clog the pipes, too, but after they saw that wasn’t the case, they agreed it was more convenient and sanitary.
Seriously, flushing paper down the toilet is no longer an issue. As long as you’re not wiping with the Sears catalogue, you’ll be fine.
Some of us are not here short term, and like residents and immigrants in other countries, feel we should be able to contribute to development and social progress despite our ‘Alien’ status.
My hypothesis was that we are being subjected to a third world habit in a first world country every time we use the can in Taiwan, and that we have to tolerate the filth of everybody’s soiled toilet paper under our noses because many people, you included, don’t want to address such a ‘delicate’ and ‘personal’ issue.
The mayor of Tainan urged the residents of that fair city to flush, not blush, so it’s not just a bunch of meddling foreigners who believe that Taiwanese should get off their bums on this issue.
Given that the predominant habit is to put the paper in the bin, it raises a bunch of hygiene issues as well, that also needs to be addressed. The open cans are disgusting because you are exposed to the visual filth as well as the smell. Then you have bins with lids, where you have to make contact with your hands and/or the paper itself to get it in. Sometimes the can is on the opposite side to your wiping hand and slightly behind, which makes it very awkward. Sometimes when using a squat toilet, the can is right in your face. The best cans for the job have a foot pedal, but how to you use that when using a squat toilet? You have to stand up to use the pedal… :loco:
The whole tissue issue is :loco:
My parents are visiting Taiwan for the first time next week and i’m worried that it will be a big shock for them. They’re not big travellers. My mom in particular will have a problem with the throw the toilet paper in the waste basket not the toilet routine.
Any advice on an alternative waste disposal method?
Are you sure you need to do that? We always flushed it and never seemed to have any problems.
Yeah, what’s with the toilet paper. We flush. So do they at my gf’s parent’s house.
This is a good question! How many of us who have chosen not to follow the local custom, have actually had backed up plumbing?
I have to confess that I fluhsed too, on rare occasions, with no toilet backflow.
The word I always heard was that Taiwanese sewer systems can not deal with non-organic waste. Other people explanined it as a problem of water pressure and pipe capacity. As a new arrival in Taipei, I was always kind of dubious about this, until I used restrooms in the most up-market 5 star hotels in the country - only to find tissue buckets there, as well.
Now that you mention it… are these placed there
to meet city code, or to satisfy the die-hard habits of local guests, who are unfamiliar with the custom of wipe-and-flush?
Sorry Jack,
I didn’t really respond to your question. First of all - LUCKY YOU! Your parents actually are coming to visit - great! In all my years in Taiwan only one friend from college visited me.
I think you should provide a clean bathroom, with a clean bucket w/ some kind of a lid, and just explain to your folks the custom. Tell them that this is the custom, if they can deal with it - fine, if not, and they flush - should be no probelm, too.
Don’t underestimate your folks. They are coming all the way around the world to see you - this is probably an adventure for them. My guess is that they will be perfectly happy to do as the Romans do.
My folks are retirees, and if they had come to see me in Taiwan that’s how I would have played it.
Mwalimu
Any sewer that can deal with s*** can deal with low-wet strength tissue paper! I always flush it… the trash cans are smelly and attract flies. I also do not like emptying them!!!
It’s wise to be sensitive to the needs of the plumbing, but since Taiwanese don’t go in for water saving I never found much of a problem. California on the other hand could do with trash cans, even two 1.8 gallon flushes don’t always seem to do the job!
Paper is organic.
Of course the systems can deal with paper. Toilet paper turns into a liquid mush in minutes. Your Guinness log will still be big and black and staring at you hours later.
quote[quote][b]Your Guinness log will still be big and black and staring at you hours later. [/b] [/quote] ??????? You mean the paper'll go down, but the log will stick around like a Sunday morning Seven day adventist?
When I was staying in a University Dorm (3 single rooms to a wing, with 1 shared sit-down and 1 squatter toilet), I managed to block and overflow the sit-down within 2 months of regular daily use (the other 2 students staying in the wing prefered the squatter).
It was only then that the concept of the bucket was explained to me by the building manager (I always assumed it was for ‘feminine products’)
Those squatter things are just as confusing. To do the job properly, you need to get the strides completely off, and that can be quite time consuming if you’re wearing doc’s. Or if time runs, then slam, bam, thankyou mam …
Just to be a little technical - if you use enough paper to fill the toilet discharge - it can block and stay blocked as few Taiwan buildings have double riser sewer system. ie the small pressure in the single riser will hold the blockage in place.
My understanding is that the custom of the toilet paper wastebasket is a holdover from days when the septic system was nonexistent/antiquated and the toilet paper was not made to decompose rapidly in the septic system.
I’ve always flushed (and I know plenty of Taiwanese households that do also) and I’ve never had a problem.
In mentioning squat toilets, could their popularity be an anatomical thing. I notice that Chinese are quite comforable to squat with their feet flat on the ground for long periods.
Western races tend to squat on their toes, which is painful after a while and it makes it harder to balance while doing your duty.
I recall when travelling on the mainland, going into a bathroom and finding two guys there squatting over the communial trench, quite comfortable and passing the time with a little gossip.
When I try to squat with my feet flat I tend to fall over backwards. Of the people here, who can do it? Is it just Westerners who need to sit to … ?
I hope yer joking
Those of you from the States know that most of the toilet paper is biodegradable. So flushing it down with the browns doesn’t cause any problems. But, if you take a (sheet) of Taiwan toilet paper and put it in a glass of water, it will still be there even after the water has evaporated. Try it and see for yourself. And if you find a paper that is gone in the morning, please let me know which brand. Some of Taiwan