On the t-word and water directions

Those of you who are squeamish about certain parts of the bathroom, go someplace else now.

I've gotta get something cleared up nice and quickly. The third-most common question we get asked (after "Where are you from?" and "Why did you come to America?") is "I'm kinda embarrassed about this but does the water in the toilet go the other way?"

Well to cut a long story short, we don't know. Y'see American toilets freak Aussies out. This Great Big Pool of Water is Scary and Intimidating. The way the water gets slurped down and then sorta floods back up again is completely worrisome. Will it stop before it reaches the top of the bowl? Any toilet Back 'Ome that rises up that far is blocked and therefore of extreme concern. (and the ones that auto flush? Yeah we have them too but having the water only a coupla inches beneath one's nether regions is ahem challenging!)

Aussie toots work by having a much smaller amount of water in the bowl. Like we have 3 and 6 litre flush loos in new houses. That is less than two gallons by a lot. (Old houses that haven't been renovated have like 15 litre or four gallon flushes.) So they work not by sucking and refilling but by dumping new water on the old. Since there is no suck, there is no swirl of water.

Hence we can't say if the water goes the other way.

You might ask well what about the bath then? Well I can't say there either cos it is a while since I've done a bath in Oz and I didn't bother looking to see how the little tornado whirled around.

(BTW, our downstairs toilet also randomly refills the cistern. It is a bit freaky when you hear the toilet apparently flush at 3am when both of you are in bed....)

Soon I will rise up out of the sewer, mebbe even get into the gutter. Or even higher! I have more pics, I just need time to edit them. I am sooo busy at present!

On recycled "bathroom tissue"

Ah, the joys of finding new products in a new country. This is an issue that is, well I'd like to say close to my heart but really it is much closer to somewhere else.

Those who are sensitive to such issues had best go find another blog to read right now - the title should give you an idea of today's topic.

Back 'ome, my local supermarkets carry not just one but four brands of recycled dunny paper. (Gosh I said dunny! Next I will say toot, toilet, loo, lavatory, bog or other such taboo words!) And I reviewed them all in a side by side (so to speak) comparison earlier this year.

Here I've found just one so far.

Golly, it ain't worth it, I can tell you! It is like applying fine grade sand paper (and I am sure would feel like coarse sand paper on bad days). From my Oz experience, recycled bog roll does not have to be like folding up photocopier paper or that really cheap poster paper for little kids and one should not have to martyr various delicate parts of one's anatomy just to be environmentally conscious (but heck, it sure makes you conscious!).

Does anyone have any suggestions for brands other than 7G (name shortened to protect the guilty)? Or should I just give up and go running for the Kleenex Cottonelle cos that sure is soft, or at least the version back 'ome is! Are there issues here with various paper companies cutting down virgin forest like in Oz, or are they all OK? This enquiring mind (and other regions) needs to know! Thanks!