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Does anyone else bring their own TP? :-)

Fern Crest

By Fern Crest,
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Fern Crest

Fern Crest

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Putting the last few things in the bags for tomorrow's sailing (YIPPEE!), and there's always a spot for a roll of fluffy, non-shredding stuff. Was wondering if anyone else is weird like me and doesn't fully appreciate the disappointing, disintegrating paper they put in the bathrooms?

 

Or maybe it's just me! :D

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PattBenatar

PattBenatar

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Posted (edited)
Putting the last few things in the bags for tomorrow's sailing (YIPPEE!), and there's always a spot for a roll of fluffy, non-shredding stuff. Was wondering if anyone else is weird like me and doesn't fully appreciate the disappointing, disintegrating paper they put in the bathrooms?

 

Or maybe it's just me! :D

 

 

ROFL, your post is epic, I would have never asked that question. I bring way too much already to worry about TP.

 

I think they have to use the TP they use so it breaks up in the system. If you use TP that is not compatible it may plug up the toilet and that would not be pleasant in your cabin or other cabins that are backed up.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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ROFL, your post is epic, I would have never asked that question. I bring way too much already to worry about TP.

 

I think they have to use the TP they use so it breaks up in the system. If you use TP that is not compatible it may plug up the toilet and that would not be pleasant in your cabin or other cabins that are backed up.

 

Myth busters to the rescue. This is a persistent urban legend about cruise ships. People equate the dissolvable toilet paper used on small boats for their sanitary systems with use on a cruise ship with its vacuum toilet system. The small boat system has no treatment ability, and the paper needs to dissolve quickly to keep from blocking pumps and valves. To put it crudely, the "product" in a vacuum system needs to hold together and form a "plug" in the pipe that can be carried along by the vacuum. If the paper dissolves too quickly, the "plug" will break down, and the "product" will not be able to travel through the piping as needed (sometimes up). The cruise lines buy the cheapest toilet paper they can, because they go through so much of it.

 

In 40 years of working on vacuum toilet systems, I've never seen a blockage caused by "incorrect" or too much toilet paper.

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crusinpsychRN

crusinpsychRN

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Myth busters to the rescue. This is a persistent urban legend about cruise ships. People equate the dissolvable toilet paper used on small boats for their sanitary systems with use on a cruise ship with its vacuum toilet system. The small boat system has no treatment ability, and the paper needs to dissolve quickly to keep from blocking pumps and valves. To put it crudely, the "product" in a vacuum system needs to hold together and form a "plug" in the pipe that can be carried along by the vacuum. If the paper dissolves too quickly, the "plug" will break down, and the "product" will not be able to travel through the piping as needed (sometimes up). The cruise lines buy the cheapest toilet paper they can, because they go through so much of it.

 

In 40 years of working on vacuum toilet systems, I've never seen a blockage caused by "incorrect" or too much toilet paper.

 

I thought for sure you'd say the opposite. Surprised again. Thanks.

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kwadley

kwadley

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No, it's not just you. I take my own TP wherever I go. I have a sensitive bum. Also, there is nothing quite as gross as the TP provided not being "strong" enough. Just nasty.

Not even through my first cup of coffee when I saw your post. Nearly messed up the screen! lol

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SadieN

SadieN

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Only one cruise where we should have brought some onboard. It was basically rationed the first two days of a Princess cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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Cushing985

Cushing985

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Myth busters to the rescue. This is a persistent urban legend about cruise ships. People equate the dissolvable toilet paper used on small boats for their sanitary systems with use on a cruise ship with its vacuum toilet system. The small boat system has no treatment ability, and the paper needs to dissolve quickly to keep from blocking pumps and valves. To put it crudely, the "product" in a vacuum system needs to hold together and form a "plug" in the pipe that can be carried along by the vacuum. If the paper dissolves too quickly, the "plug" will break down, and the "product" will not be able to travel through the piping as needed (sometimes up). The cruise lines buy the cheapest toilet paper they can, because they go through so much of it.

 

In 40 years of working on vacuum toilet systems, I've never seen a blockage caused by "incorrect" or too much toilet paper.

 

Learn something new every day! Thanks for completing my life!:D

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firemanbobswife

firemanbobswife

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Myth busters to the rescue. This is a persistent urban legend about cruise ships. People equate the dissolvable toilet paper used on small boats for their sanitary systems with use on a cruise ship with its vacuum toilet system. The small boat system has no treatment ability, and the paper needs to dissolve quickly to keep from blocking pumps and valves. To put it crudely, the "product" in a vacuum system needs to hold together and form a "plug" in the pipe that can be carried along by the vacuum. If the paper dissolves too quickly, the "plug" will break down, and the "product" will not be able to travel through the piping as needed (sometimes up). The cruise lines buy the cheapest toilet paper they can, because they go through so much of it.

 

 

 

In 40 years of working on vacuum toilet systems, I've never seen a blockage caused by "incorrect" or too much toilet paper.

 

 

Very interesting! Why then does John Heald tell people not to use the wet wipes and to dispose of them in the Sanitary bags instead of flushing them?

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firemanbobswife

firemanbobswife

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Wet wipes aren't toilet paper.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

Well I know that.

 

You still wipe your behind with them and they claim to be safe for septic systems, plumbing, and all that stuff. Just wondering why it doesn't matter which TP you use, but these are forbidden. I'm guessing it's because they are thicker and don't break down as fast.

 

But I would like to hear the real reason from an expert. Because I admit, I fell for the TP myth as well. Not that I would ever pack my own but I thought it was true.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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Well I know that.

 

You still wipe your behind with them and they claim to be safe for septic systems, plumbing, and all that stuff. Just wondering why it doesn't matter which TP you use, but these are forbidden. I'm guessing it's because they are thicker and don't break down as fast.

 

But I would like to hear the real reason from an expert. Because I admit, I fell for the TP myth as well. Not that I would ever pack my own but I thought it was true.

 

The difference in paper products is how they are produced. Toilet paper and facial tissue use "pressed" paper fibers, which will break apart when wet (as we all know :o ). Wet wipes, paper towels, and shop wipes use "woven" fibers that will not break apart. While the "product" "plug" does need some cohesion to move along the pipe, it also needs some "give" to manage corners and the like, and the woven products just won't do that. They are also difficult to "macerate" when they get to the treatment plant, so they end up clogging these filters as well, and have to be removed. Also, because vacuum pipes don't slant downhill like septic lines ashore (some even go up), over time they can build up a scale that partially clogs the pipes, and the woven products get stuck here. This can be managed by regular dosing with citric acid packets in the toilet (typically weekly for pax cabins, monthly for crew) which dissolves the scale.

 

There, now you are all marine sanitation system experts. :D

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firemanbobswife

firemanbobswife

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The difference in paper products is how they are produced. Toilet paper and facial tissue use "pressed" paper fibers, which will break apart when wet (as we all know :o ). Wet wipes, paper towels, and shop wipes use "woven" fibers that will not break apart. While the "product" "plug" does need some cohesion to move along the pipe, it also needs some "give" to manage corners and the like, and the woven products just won't do that. They are also difficult to "macerate" when they get to the treatment plant, so they end up clogging these filters as well, and have to be removed. Also, because vacuum pipes don't slant downhill like septic lines ashore (some even go up), over time they can build up a scale that partially clogs the pipes, and the woven products get stuck here. This can be managed by regular dosing with citric acid packets in the toilet (typically weekly for pax cabins, monthly for crew) which dissolves the scale.

 

 

 

There, now you are all marine sanitation system experts. :D

 

 

Thanks! I always enjoy your answers.

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TruckerDave

TruckerDave

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The last time I brought my own toilet paper was when I was in the Navy. Toilet paper made by the lowest bidder still had bits of wood in it (well, that's what it felt like anyway :eek:).

 

I usually kept a roll in my rack as well. Plus I was a DC in R div so the CHT system was part of my job. :eek:

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