I am not actually going to tell you the best toilet paper for an RV or a septic system.  But I recently conducted a rigorous, scientific experiment to test between two kinds of toilet paper.

Why does this matter?  If you have a regular sewer system, it doesn’t really.  In an RV, however, you want something that will dissolve quickly so you don’t get clogs and backup in your black tank.  Our little house has a septic system, and what works for the RV is also good for the septic system.  As a consequence, I probably spend more time thinking about toilet paper than the average person.

What do you want in a toilet paper?  Something that does the job without falling apart in your hand.  That doesn’t stick to your private areas.  That doesn’t feel scratchy.  My parents and John and Jackie use Charmin.  Tom and I use Scott Rapid-Dissolving.  When we were visiting their houses, I noticed that the Charmin seemed to dissolve quickly.  Thus my little scientific experiment.

Charmin is a two-ply quilted toilet paper.  Scott is a single ply.  Even though the Scott is thinner, Tom and I have found it to be strong enough to get the job done.  Both papers claim to be sustainable and good for the environment.

I took two squares of Charmin and two squares of Scott Rapid-Dissolving and put them in two glasses filled with water.  Then I shook the glasses and let the paper sit.  After 15 minutes I shook them again.  After another 15 minutes I shook them again.

The results of my experiment weren’t really surprising.  After 30 minutes, the Scott Rapid-Dissolving was mostly dissolved.  The Charmin was still sitting there as a single sheet without any bits dissolving off.  Obviously Scott Rapid-Dissolving toilet paper is the better choice for us.  It may not be as soft or strong as Charmin but it gets the job done.  You can do a similar experiment if you are concerned about the dissolvability of your toilet paper.

Toilet paper is important in the world today.  Remember the shortages during the pandemic?  We have had people bringing toilet paper to the National Parks because they are concerned, with the budget cuts, that we won’t have any.  Long distance hikers often carry their own toilet paper.  We can “go” just about anyplace, but we want to be able to wipe properly!

What kind of toilet paper do you use?  What are the important considerations for you in choosing that particular brand?