Philippines Toilet Etiquette

[JJReyes]

In the United States, I can safely assume there will be toilet paper in a public restroom. It will be a huge roll, single ply, with another roll in reserve. No one steals. The dispenser requires a key and you don't have a similar dispenser at home.

In the Philippines, chances are there won't be any.  Toilet paper is treated like gold.  I recall visiting a friend at his corporate office. Needing to use the toilet, his secretary went ahead of me, installed a roll in the dispenser before allowing me to use the commode. Opening the door, she was standing there waiting to retrieve the toilet paper.

My wife and I always carry tissue packets. However, these are three or four ply, so we are afraid of clogging the toilet. We therefore cut sheets of two ply marine toilet paper (dissolves easily) for the Philippines and store them in Zip Lock sandwich bags. Someday, Customs is going to ask what are they.

Modern homes have a water sprayer gadget attachment. The water pressure is too high. You are guaranteed to get a jolt. Or worse, an unintended water treatment more commonly administered in a hospital. I call the gadget, "a bidet without a bidet," but the French won't understand. 

I almost forgot, there is also the issue of no soap. Do you carry your own supply? We have solved the problem by bringing small bottles of hand sanitizer. Also useful before and after meals.

Older homes have a water bucket and a cup. My question to forum members, how do you explain the mechanics to a visiting foreign friend?

  

[scott h]

19 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

My question to forum members,

Things are improving JJ, I have noticed in the last 6 years of living here that more and more public (malls, restaurants etc.) now have paper (and even toilet seats,,,,,,,,,lololol). Things are improving. 

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

My question to forum members, how do you explain the mechanics to a visiting foreign friend?

I don't, they have to figure it out just like I did. 

[Clermont]

It is a problem over there, but if your with a PI when you go to the toilet for number 2, check their face out, smiles from ear to ear when you come out, you've been caught. The stepson did that to me, let me go to the toilet but never told me about no paper and he didn't offer the paper his mother had given to him before I went, mongrel. Actually he's pretty good, they do have a sense of humor. 

[intrepid]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

In the United States, I can safely assume there will be toilet paper in a public restroom. It will be a huge roll, single ply, with another roll in reserve. No one steals. The dispenser requires a key and you don't have a similar dispenser at home.

In the Philippines, chances are there won't be any.  Toilet paper is treated like gold. 

Just a little off topic.  In 2015 I went to the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC to apply for my 13A visa.  After waiting a while I needed to use the CR.  It was located in the basement and required using outdoor stairway to gain access.  While standing there using the urinal
 I noticed there were no paper towels at the sink.  Got me thinking and looked into the empty stall and found there was no toilet tissue.  Just empty dispenser with a missing spindle.  Just sort of made me smile.  I did take a picture to send to a few friends

[Reboot]

Dealing with bucket and cup in my rental...which for me means every shit basically turned into a bath until I bought a pack of TP. Had a bad case of the shittenpukes on my 1st day here which did not help. I explained to my wife how I was doing it and she said that I was doing it correct. In the Ph I travel with a pack of wet naps on the road for when you gotta go.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Reboot

[Dave Hounddriver]

3 hours ago, JJReyes said:

In the United States, I can safely assume there will be toilet paper in a public restroom. It will be a huge roll, single ply, with another roll in reserve. No one steals.

Perhaps you are only going to the "good sections" of town?  In the past I have seen many poorer areas in US and Canada where people steal the toilet paper.  It is one of those things, like pens and hotel towels, that many people thought it was OK to steal.  The difference I see is that the smart ones use that HUGE roll which is impossible to walk out with so many will just roll off a wad and stick it in their purse or pocket.

I have seen a trend to that in Philippine malls, but the HUGE roll is in the common area and you have to peel off a wad to take into the toilet with you and there is often a sign about not removing any of the toilet paper from the CR.

[JDDavao II]

We shipped a handheld bidet here ahead of us from the US in a BB box with our other chosen bath fixtures. Following the advice of a plumber we had who also worked for the city water company, we moved our meter to a new water district as we were right on the edge were two districts met. The pressure is so great in this district that some of our fittings leak at night when the pressure is highest.

The pressure is also so great that using that handheld bidet will launch you ass-over-teacup into the tub. 

 

 

[Clermont]

Off topic but on topic, is the main reason why they don't use t/p is because the outlet pipe is only 50 mil ? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

14 minutes ago, Clermont said:

is the main reason why they don't use t/p is because the outlet pipe is only 50 mil

Or is the outlet pipe only 50 mil because they do not use t/p.  Even when t/p is available, most filipinas prefer the wet hand method, at least that is my observation when noticing that filipinas will come out of the CR that is equipped with tissue and have wet hands but the amount of tissue in CR is still the same.