Foreign country sewage piping

[edwardh1]

off topic I know but whats up with foreign countries that tell you to put used toilet paper in a trash can next to the toilet? that is, dont put ANY paper in the toilet. Peru is like that and Turkey.

Is it a toilet fixture problem (the toilet itself?or the buildings piping? or the streets piping?)

I stayed in a semi expensive Peru place that had granite bathroom, 4 head adjustable shower flow, jacuzzi, heated tile floor that you controlled, towell warmer, and oxygen piped into the room (high altitude) but dont flush paper down the john per the big sign on the wall. The john brand was Centy, and it did a real poor job with just human waste.

Seems it would be a real disease source in hot weather if there were flies about. Peru rail is like that too, and the small trash can for the paper really overflows on the floor- a mess.

Made me glad to get "home", least our water is clean and we treat the sewage.

[John Kogel]

Maybe it's the 50 gallon drum they use for a septic tank. []

[Jim Katen]

I suspect that it has to do with their poor sewage treatment plants, which are probably unable to handle the paper.

[hausdok]

Ever see the size of the sewer pipes used in most "older" nations?

We here in the US and Canada are used to seeing large sewer pipes. In these countries homes are close together on narrow streets where any attempt to lay the large pipe we westerners are used to seeing could result in serious damage to homes. They put down relatively small pipes and if a whole town is dumping paper in those small pipes they get clogged and backed up - especially when they don't use a lot of water for flushing like we do.

At least they had paper. Spend some time in parts of the middle east that aren't as modernized as Turkey. You'll find out real fast that visiting a public facility over there is pretty bad. Heck, just reaching around there or through there with that left hand to clean your bottom isn't just gross - it's hard to do - unless you've got really long arms. Then there's the rinsing and cleaning - using that little hose and nozzle next to the toilet that the guy before you had his hand on after scraping his bottom - ugh. All done usually without benefit of even a washcloth or towel. Then you have to get dried off - wut a friggin nightmare!

One good thing about it. The first time you experience that your body says uh, uh to doing it again and your butt clams up tighter than Ft. Knox and you find yourself going an incredibly long time without the need to visit a facility. My body would not even send a signal in the presence of a public facility but when I was within a few minutes of a western-style toilet, or even some American latrines, where there was TP, it would throw that switch into fast eject mode and I'd find myself hustling to get in there before the doors opened.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Morrison]

A lot of Mexico is like that. I don't think it's an issue with the treatment there. It's a clogging issue. Newer buildings are fine, but it's the older ones where you see those signs. I suspect they paid less attention to pitch and pipe diameter back in the day.