Flush Toilet Paper in Peru?

by Lin
(Peru)

I just came across this statement on the internet, "Because of the unsophisticated plumbing in Peru, used toilet paper is not flushed down the toilet but is placed in a separate bin next to the toilet. This was a hard concept for me to grasp. Like, gross!"

It is typical of statements you are likely to hear when traveling in South America. Here it is attributed to "unsophisticated plumbing." Others will tell you it is because there is "not enough pressure."

Don't believe it. Both statements are totally false. Toilet paper can and should be flushed and won't clog the Peruvian or any other toilet.

These are, once again, the type of old wives' tales that are accepted as fact without bothering to even reason on it. Think about it:

1 - Have I ever caused a toilet to become plugged in my country?

Answer - Yes. Was it the toilet paper? No. What was it? A large and solid bunch of you know what. Or something else that was not meant to be flushed, like a sock or a teddy bear. It was NOT the toilet paper.

Conclusion - Other stuff clogs the toilet.

2 - Is the plumbing in Peru unsophisticated?

Answer - Possibly. But so is an outhouse. If toilet paper will plug the plumbing, it certainly is unsophisticated. But as shown above, toilet paper is one of the least likely things to plug a toilet.

Conclusion - If the plumbing is unsophisticated to that degree, just about anything will plug it (including YKW) quicker than toilet paper.

3 - How about "There's not enough pressure in Peruvian (Ecuadorian, Bolivian, etc) toilets to flush properly"?

Answer - Wrong. Absolutely no water pressure is used to flush a standard toilet anywhere in the world. Ask a plumber. Or try it yourself. Turn off the water pipe to your toilet. There is now zero pressure. Do your thing. Flush the toilet. It works normally. The weight of the water in the tank is what flushes the toilet, not water pressure from the pipes. A bucket of water in the bowl will do the same thing.


Conclusion - No water pressure is necessary to flush anything down a toilet.

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So, the TRUTH is that toilet paper will not clog the toilet because of unsophisticated plumbing or lack of water pressure.

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Like most old wives' tales, however, there is a BASIS behind the false belief. HERE IT IS:

And this applies to your home country too... in past years. What did we use before flush toilets? Outhouses. What did we wipe with? Anything, like old Sears catalogs or newspaper.

FACT - Old Sears catalog paper and newspaper WILL CLOG A FLUSH TOILET. This is precisely because that kind of paper is DESIGNED to resist deterioration from moisture. Toilet paper, however, is designed to DETERIORATE in moisture. Like fall completely apart, dissolve!

So - The practice of not flushing magazine pages or newspaper down the toilet is STILL AN EXCELLENT PRACTICE. Don't try it in my house.

However, that practice falsely has been carried over into South America to apply to toilet paper and is a useless belief.

So just smile and flush the toilet paper behind closed doors.

Fact - After 20 years of living and flushing in Latin America I have never had a problem with clogging a toilet with toilet paper.

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Now, I hope this explanation has not been TOO long. I feel that this subject is top priority in the world and really must be taught and understood before one can find true enjoyment in life!

Live Happy, Flush Happy!