Toilet Paper

[Guitarist]

This might make some of you laugh but many moons ago my grandfather actually studied which way toilet paper should be set to consume less, the verdict: overhang, or B in the picture below.

[kolorado]

You can also slightly flatten the roll before hanging it. That will make it harder to turn to pull of the sheets.

[dahlink]

Reversible toilet paper is the answer!

Okay, joking aside.  I have found a way to save on toilet paper.  It's called a bidet.  But they now have bidets that can attach to your toilet between your seats.  I know this may seem gross to most people.  After trying one out when I lived in Japan, I could not go back.  Technically, this is more sanitary and cleans better but many in America are socially closed to the idea. 

You can see some on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bidet

There are many different varieties but being a mustachian, I have a basic one that is not ridiculously expensive, about 36 bucks.

I still use toilet paper but it’s just to dry off.  You literally feel as clean "down there" as you take a shower.  Gone are the days when I feel like I ruined a shower because I had to go #2 just after I got out lol.

[Guitarist]

Decent idea, but I would have wished you all the luck in the world trying to convince my WWII-vet grandfather to get near one of those. :-)

[arebelspy]

Whew, I'm relieved to hear that the way the wife and I both prefer is the way that uses less!

I would have been in quite the dilemma to use less TP or to use a little more to do it the right way.  ;)

[MsLogica]

You can also flatten the role before hanging it to stop annoying pets from playing with it.  It works for my cat!

(Although I guess a true Mustachian would use the shredded paper that the cat leaves scattered all over the floor....)

[tfordon]

I'm a bidet acolyte as well.  It is more hygienic and uses less TP, which is good for your wallet and the environment.  The only reason I can think to not do it is cultural. 

Questioning the cultural norms to save money and conserve resources ... sounds Mustachian to me.

[AJ]

Ok, I'm in! This thread has totally sold me on the bidet :) Now, to convince the partner...

[bikecyco3]

I was checking out the different bidet models in Amazon. I'm ready but I'm not sure what is worthwhile and what might be worthless junk. Any particular recommendations?

[bikecyco3]

I was just wondering if it would be possible to calculate the marginal utility costs of bidet usage. At what point would you break even, figuring in the costs of water, heat, and the cost of the unit itself.  ;)

[tfordon]

This is the bidet model I've used MB110

As for a cost analysis... I'm going to have to do some approximations, but here is a quick guess:

The model I use does not heat the water, so I'll not factor that in for now.  The bidet uses approximately 1/8th a gallon per use.  With the national average for water costs being ~$2/1000 gallons, this works out to $0.00025 per use of the bidet.

I save approximately 8 squares (just a WAG) per use.  My toilet paper costs $.75 per roll and the roll has 176 squares (yeah, I know we should buy less expensive TP, but sometimes quality matters).  This works out to $0.03409 savings per use.  So subtracting the water cost, the bidet would seem to save $.03384 per use.

There are two people in my house and the we each use it about once a day.  so the annual savings should be $24.72.

It took me about an hour to install, and it is slightly harder to clean the toilet since you have to clean around the nozzle.  I would put the extra effort at 15 seconds a week or 13 minutes a year.  Using $25 / hour this works out to an additional $25 up front and $5.42 per year.

So, initial cost for us was $65 with installation, and we save 20.30 dollars per year factoring in  the extra cleaning time.  Breaking even in a little over 3 years.

Not the best ROI, but I would hope to get at least 6 years out of my bidet and save a little money.  There is also the benefit of not wasting the resources associated with TP, and the hygiene.  The numbers will obviously be different for different bidet models and households.

[velocistar237]

With a 3-year-old, we've lost entire rolls of toilet paper in one potty sitting after we've let our guard down. It didn't matter whether the roll was in position A or B. Now, the roll sits on the tank, and the TP holder is empty. I'll have to try squishing the roll, and maybe the little one has gotten over it by now. I doubt a bidet would go over well, but it might take just one try to learn that lesson.

[smorgasbord]

Our toilet roll holder is more like a peg on the wall so its not a choice we have to make. And we have never discussed if left or right facing would make a difference.

[Early FI]

With a dog in the house, A is the only way to go for me. If I didn't have any pets, B would be the clear choice.  It's just easier to unwind when it's set up as B.

[arebelspy]

With a dog in the house, A is the only way to go for me. If I didn't have any pets, B would be the clear choice.  It's just easier to unwind when it's set up as B.

Unfortunately our cats are clever enough to get it either way.  =/

[sol]

I worked as a janitor (thank you, humble beginnings) for a local department store back in high school, and part of my job was cleaning and restocking the public restrooms.  I was given very clear instructions to use method B when hanging the tp, and probably would have been scolded if I had tried method A above instead.

I also learned that women's restrooms need cleaning about twice as often as do men's rooms.

[The Money Monk]

Instead of worrying about which direction will save me 15 squares of paper a year, i just use the bathroom at work as much as possible, and occasionally snag rolls of TP from government buildings haha. I haven't bought TP in forever.