Question Toilet paper shortage again?

[TJ&LadyDi]

I did the "dissolve test" on some Charmin Ultra Soft (thanks to @J&JD) for providing the test samples).

Procedure: dropped three separated sheets into a large jar of cold water and capped it.

Test #1 was to immediately shake the jar and observe the results. The samples were obviously wet, but did not break down.

Test #2 was to let the samples soak, undisturbed, for a couple of hours, then shake vigorously. They broke down into small pieces on the first vigorous shake. A subsequent vigorous shake resulted in some additional breakdown, but nothing really significant.

Test #3 was to let the sample fragments soak in the jar for an additional couple of hours. Another vigorous shake did not produce a further significant breakdown. Upon draining most of the water from the jar while retaining most of the sample fragments, they were reduced to a light, pulpy consistency that I believe would easily flow through the Sani-Con pump.

My conclusion is that Charmin Ultra Soft passed the test and is safe to use in mascerating toilets and Sani-Con systems. Please note that this test evaluated only Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper and is not applicable to other, similar Charmin products.

TJ

 

[Jim]

And just the other day someone was asking me what sets this site apart from the rest.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Post of the day, @Jim, and running strong for Post-of-the-Week!

TJ

 

[Just George]

For those of us with macerator toilets (i.e. Dometic 8700) I see the situation a bit different regarding the test method. In my view a critical piece of the usability info is does it get through the toilet macerator pump? In most cases the TP is only going to be in the water for a very short time before the flush. Now I've recently had the pleasure of dismantling my 8700 to remove a wayward wipe that was wrapped around the macerator/pump blades. Based on my experience you will know based on the sound of the flush if the TP has cleared the macerator/pump. The good news is the 8700 macerator/pump blade is sitting in water between flushes so if some TP should happen to not clear on the initial flush, my though is as long as it has a tendency to break down in water it should work fine. I've seen a U-Tube TP test where Sams member mark TP was tested and seemed to break down pretty good, along the lines of @TJ&LadyDi test results. Since the Sams TP is what we use at the sticks and bricks I'm switching to that in the coach. If it turns into a big fail I'll be back with an update. If you don't hear back from me, no news is good news.

 

[J&JD]

For those of us with macerator toilets (i.e. Dometic 8700) I see the situation a bit different regarding the test method. In my view a critical piece of the usability info is does it get through the toilet macerator pump? In most cases the TP is only going to be in the water for a very short time before the flush. Now I've recently had the pleasure of dismantling my 8700 to remove a wayward wipe that was wrapped around the macerator/pump blades. Based on my experience you will know based on the sound of the flush if the TP has cleared the macerator/pump. The good news is the 8700 macerator/pump blade is sitting in water between flushes so if some TP should happen to not clear on the initial flush, my though is as long as it has a tendency to break down in water it should work fine. I've seen a U-Tube TP test where Sams member mark TP was tested and seemed to break down pretty good, along the lines of @TJ&LadyDi test results. Since the Sams TP is what we use at the sticks and bricks I'm switching to that in the coach. If it turns into a big fail I'll be back with an update. If you don't hear back from me, no news is good news.

Two years of flushing Charmin Ultra through both our macerators without a problem (X?)

 

[redbaron]

The only thing that I know for certain that does *NOT* work in a macerator is Flathead Cherry Pits. 3 years ago my youngest child helped me figure that one out.

 

[NWIP]

I heard the occasional wash cloth that is hung in the near vicinity of the toilet at night significantly reduces the efficiency of macerator toilet?

 

[Neal]

I'm giving up on sharing my secrets and asking people to not spread them! @NWIP, I never told you what I used to clean your pellet grill. Some things are better left to oneself.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

In order to live up to the confidence expressed by @Jim in an earlier post in this thread... ...I did a second set of TP tests. This time, I compared Charmin Ultra Soft to our preferred TP for the coach; Camco RV & Marine (2-ply).

Procedure: place three separated sheets of each sample in a large jars, each filled 2/3 full with cold water. Immediately after dropping the sheets in and capping the jars, each was shaken vigorously for 15 seconds and evaluated for breakdown. The jars were then allowed to sit for 2 minutes and the vigorous shaking was repeated.

Test 2A - The Camco RV & Marine (2-ply) broke down into small pieces on the initial vigorous shaking. After sitting for two minutes, the jar was shaken again for 15 seconds. There was llittle to no additional breakdown as the result of the second agitation.

Test 2B - The Charmin Ultra Soft results were the same as the previous test in stage 1; sheets were thoroughly wet, but no discernible breakdown. One sheet was gently agitated with a spoon and immediately began to break down. After sitting for 2 minutes, the jar was vigorously shaken again for 15 seconds. The remaining Charmin Ultra Soft sheets then broke down into small-to-medium pieces.

Conclusion: It would appear that the Camco RV & Marine (2-ply) breaks down more quickly and completely. The Charmin Ultra Soft takes up to 2 minutes to break down to approximately the same level as the Camco product. The fact that the Charmin product would easily begin to break down when manually agitated, however, would indicate that it would likely also breakdown easily in the macerator toilet.

Either product would appear to be suitable for use in macerator toilets and Sanicon pumps.

This concludes the exhausting testing that makes this RV forum different from all the rest.

TJ

 

[Neal]

You are testing with proper samples such as soiled test specimens right?

Isn’t camco single ply and charmin 2 ply? (Or more?)

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

You are testing with proper samples such as soiled test specimens right?

Isn’t camco single ply and charmin 2 ply? (Or more?)

Pristine samples! Both are 2-ply.

TJ

 

[El Blondie]

I still want to install a bidet seat in our half bath but can’t find one that would fit the Dometic 8700 series. Interestingly enough, the 8500 series has a bidet seat so I called dometic and asked if the seat was compatible with the 8700 and they said nope. Wouldn’t eliminate the need for toilet paper but would greatly reduce it.

Not sure if you have solved the bidet issue, but here is my input. We recently upgraded to a 2020 Dutch Star 4369. I asked the dealer, TRANSWEST, to look into a bidet toilet for the main bath. They installed a Luxe Bidet Neo 320 (less than $50.00) and it works perfectly (available on Amazon). I’m not sure what the Dometic model # is but I’ve asked them to install one in the mid-coach bath and they did not see it as being a problem.

 

[MapNerd]

Not sure if you have solved the bidet issue, but here is my input. We recently upgraded to a 2020 Dutch Star 4369. I asked the dealer, TRANSWEST, to look into a bidet toilet for the main bath. They installed a Luxe Bidet Neo 320 (less than $50.00) and it works perfectly (available on Amazon). I’m not sure what the Dometic model # is but I’ve asked them to install one in the mid-coach bath and they did not see it as being a problem.

I have not solved it and will definitely look into this. Thanks @El Blondie!