Toilet Paper in the Septic. Myth or Truth?

[Criss Colon]

Until Keith Gets Back From Lunch,and as a fellow moderator on DR1,

Let me inform "Spirit 7" of one very important fact: YOU have NO RIGHTS to say anything on DR1.What you have here,are PRIVILEDGES!!.."Nada Mas y Nada Menos"!

You post at the will of the owners of the board,and the whim of the moderators.

Your senseless self-serving attack on the moderator of this forum will not serve you well.

Makes no difference if you are Dominican,or "Martian"you will have to play by our rules.If you choose to leave,we and the thousands of other members will struggle along without you,just as we have for many many years!!!

"Shalom"....Cris Colon

 

[Pib]

When I have visitors over I tell them that they can flush the toilet papers down the toilet " As a matter of fact, I do not tell them a darn thing. Practice this if you don?t speak Spanish: Tiren los papeles cagao en el inodoro y denle al inodoro. No pongan papeles cagao en el ba?o ". That is BS, when they say that is they way we do it here..bull. It?s a nasty habit and don?t be afraid to tell them to flush down los papeles cagao.

Speaking of manners, maybe you would like to rethink about what you posted.

 

[Spirit7]

Let me inform "Spirit 7" of one very important fact: YOU have NO RIGHTS to say anything on DR1.What you have here,are PRIVILEDGES!!.."Nada Mas y Nada Menos"!

You post at the will of the owners of the board,and the whim of the moderators.

Your senseless self-serving attack on the moderator of this forum will not serve you well.

Makes no difference if you are Dominican,or "Martian"you will have to play by our rules.If you choose to leave,we and the thousands of other members will struggle along without you,just as we have for many many years!!!

"Shalom"....Cris Colon

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION ON DR1 WITH CRISS COLON AT THE LEAD.....HA! HA!
HA!

Your posts have clearly demonstrated who and what you are and believe me you have no more rights or PRIVILEGES than I or anyone else on this forum does....this clique mentality here, dominated by the ex-patriates is the most negative thing about this forum....TOO BAD!

 

[FloridaHick]

As a patent translator I can assure you that most name brands of toilet paper comprise ingredients that break up the structure of the paper as soon as they're flushed.

Mirador

But that has not allways been true it used to be a problem in the states but we changed our tp some time in the 70s all brands started advetising that it breaks up in the septic tank. could it be that dominican brands of tp don't. I have seen the same thing in Venezuela and wondered if they used old formula tp.

 

[Mirador]

Rest assured, they don't make tp in the dr, it's all imported, rolled and repacked...

TIP OF THE DAY! maybe I will be scolded for this one ;-), but I've cured many from chronic cough or asma-like symptoms by inquiring whether they sleep or work in a room full of paper (newsprint, old books). It so happens that most paper is made with sulphuric acid and other caustic materials which decomposes over time, ...and can wreck havoc to your respiratory membranes...

Mirador

But that has not allways been true it used to be a problem in the states but we changed our tp some time in the 70s all brands started advetising that it breaks up in the septic tank. could it be that dominican brands of tp don't. I have seen the same thing in Venezuela and wondered if they used old formula tp.

 

[Pib]

Rest assured, they don't make tp in the dr, it's all imported, rolled and repacked...

I think you are wrong. Actually I know you are wrong.

 

[bienamor]

agree pib

I think you are wrong. Actually I know you are wrong.

There is no way that blue crap could be made anywhere else!!!!! :tired: . And I don't think it would break down in sulfuric acid.

 

[Argo]

But that has not allways been true it used to be a problem in the states but we changed our tp some time in the 70s all brands started advetising that it breaks up in the septic tank. could it be that dominican brands of tp don't. I have seen the same thing in Venezuela and wondered if they used old formula tp.

I don't understand how that "rubberized" Domincan TP can ever break down

A>

 

[Pib]

There is no way that blue crap could be made anywhere else!!!!! :tired: . And I don't think it would break down in sulfuric acid.

Don't diss it until you urgently need to go at a gas station on the road to La Romana. You will actually thank the gods there is that blue version of sandpaper available. Plus it scratches.

And yes, that confounded with our apparently-dysfunctional septic systems would explain why flushing paper has the same effect as pouring concrete down the drain.

 

[dulce]

This thread may end up being one of the funniest just for it's title and subject matter. There has even been a couple of pizzin' contests in this thread.

In my first apartment in SD it took my landlord a while to get the guts to tell me not to flush toilet paper. Actually he never got the guts but instead asked a friend to tell me. He explained that because the house sat at then end of a sloped driveway and the pipes were not large enough that the pressure was not strong enough to push everything uphill to the pipes in the street. My friends face was so red with embarrasment to have to tell me this fact about his country. I laughed my azz off and explained to him that some Americans know of such things. I grew up in the woods of Maine with an outhouse and no running water. Many times we used newspaper or magazines for toilet paper.The we dropped the paper into the hole. When I was 10 years old my family moved to Massachusetts and that is when we had our first flush toilet and running water. My father insisted that we NOT flush the toilet paper because it would clog the pipes. Because of this I understand why many Dominicans will continue to use baskets for thier toilet paper. Old habits die hard.

 

[bienamor]

Not dissing Pib, just an observation

Don't diss it until you urgently need to go at a gas station on the road to La Romana. You will actually thank the gods there is that blue version of sandpaper available. Plus it scratches.

And yes, that confounded with our apparently-dysfunctional septic systems would explain why flushing paper has the same effect as pouring concrete down the drain.

Have been more than glad to find the blue sandpaper believe it was 40grit, know it was less than 100grit, but I digress. Not sure a great septic system would help this stuff. You can see it on the rocks at the Jaragua in SD.

 

[Perjr]

question

I am staying at my parents house and over the last six years they have had to have their septic tank pumped twice. I have had a septic tank for years and have never had to have mine pumped? What could be causing thiers to back up? Does brand of TP make a difference? They do not have a garbage disposal or anything. Could it just be a slow drain on the drain field? We have had a lot of rain lately could that have and effect on it backing up?

 

[RP23]

I think you need a trash can in your bathroom that way you and others will get the idea to put your papers in the trash. It might help your problem. Big time. Good luck

 

[DunHill]

Most people in this country "forget"/Don't know these rule

Newspaper is NOT toiletpaper !!
Use a "piece" of toiletpaper, NOT the WHOLE roll

Because the lack of those 2, i can imagine the "palabra"
Don't flush paper in the toilet

 

[Ricardo900]

Since we are on the subject

I remember a similar topic was brought up a while ago, I've noticed that Dominicans do not like to flush toilet-paper, they rather toss that mess in the waste paper basket. In NYC, you see the same thing in Dominican restaurants. I don't know it might be a Dominican thing.

 

[RP23]

A Dominican Thing????

I remember a similar topic was brought up a while ago, I've noticed that Dominicans do not like to flush toilet-paper, they rather toss that mess in the waste paper basket. In NYC, you see the same thing in Dominican restaurants. I don't know it might be a Dominican thing.

No its not a dominican thing. Its the smart thing to do. Most of the reasons why many people have to get your toilet pumped is becuase something is stopping the flow of water. Mmmm...... I wonder what it might be? OOOOOOOO yeah the toilet paper. If it's not that then go see a doctor! :surprised

 

[Ricardo900]

No its not a dominican thing. Its the smart thing to do. Most of the reasons why many people have to get your toilet pumped is becuase something is stopping the flow of water. Mmmm...... I wonder what it might be? OOOOOOOO yeah the toilet paper. If it's not that then go see a doctor! :surprised

Keeping feces in a waste-paper basket is nasty and un-sanitary, you can flush toilet paper without problems, just don't pile it up.

 

[macocael]

Well I just have to give thanks to DR1.com yet again for the marvelous medium it is, as I would never have expected to clear up this bit of misinformation.

I have always found the disposal of toilet paper to be one of the foulest aspects of Dominican life and I always wondered about the validity of the reasoning behind it. (I might add that in several Asian countries toilet paper is unheard of and one washes one's backside with water from a tap that is located conveniently nearby. Once you get used to this, you will begin to wonder why anyone would want to use toilet paper at all, and all the Indian people I know comment on the filthy custom of Westerners in this regard.)

So now let me clarify this absolutely, because I want to get this right, once and for all. I know already that toilet paper should be no problem for the septic tank itself, so I am clear on that aspect of the myth. However, I also know that septics in the campo tend to be on the small side -- when I saw what my mother in law was using, I was amazed that it has given her no problems as yet. ( But that will have to rectified and none too soon.) So is toilet paper in this case a factor or not? -- it would appear not to be if in fact it dissolve, as it is not adding significantly to the overall mass.

But I am puzzled by one thing still: the size of the PVC vs dissolvability of the paper. In the apartment where I live the PVC hooked up to the toilets appears to be a generous size, so I am willing to bet that there should be no problem, but I also know, after working on a clogged pipe in the kitchen, that some of the plumbing was designed in such a manner as to defy gravity and the piping, some of it, twists around in odd ways to accommodate the architecture. Odd, but I am surprised by nothing here anymore. Also I know that some of the PVC in the houses in the campo are rather too narrow, though they flow in straight lines generally, as they have room to maneuver.

So here is my question: is the width of the PVC really a factor at all if in fact the toilet paper is made to dissolve upon contact with the water? Should we be cautious and throw the paper in only when we are sure the PVC is wide enough? (excuse me fulano, but I have to use your bathroom -- btw, your pvc, just how wide is it?) And are all the brands on sale dissolvable or just some?

 

[drtampa]

Septic System- Bleach

Is there a problem with bleach from the washing machine? I did not see that in this post. When we have had a septic system we would not use certain bleaches because it would destroy the bacteria necessary to disolve certain solid matter.

 

[BKS]

Pumping septic tanks

I am staying at my parents house and over the last six years they have had to have their septic tank pumped twice. I have had a septic tank for years and have never had to have mine pumped? What could be causing thiers to back up? Does brand of TP make a difference? They do not have a garbage disposal or anything. Could it just be a slow drain on the drain field? We have had a lot of rain lately could that have and effect on it backing up?

Every septic tank needs pumping. The purpose of the tank is to separate solids from liquids, not to treat the wastes. The majority of the treatment is done in the leachfield where wastwater contacts soil. Only a proportion of the solids can break down, and the rest settle, gradually reducing the capacity of the tank. Unless the tank is pumped it will fill up with solids and the wastewater will them bypass the tank and go directly to the leach field. The required pumping frequency depends on the volume of wastwater, and the capacity of the tank. Your parents are doing the right thing by having their tank pumped regularly.

(My first post on DR1, and its about septic systems!)