“Am I being unreasonable to be a scruncher?” one Mumsnet user asked the masses, referring to the fact that she scrunches toilet roll prior to use, while her husband folds it neatly into a little pile of squares.
The woman explained her husband’s colleague had to call out a plumber for a blockage at his home. “Allegedly, the plumber said it was because someone had scrunched loo roll and it had caused the blockage,” she recalled.
At this point, her husband reminded her they must all fold toilet roll rather than scrunching it. When she admitted she was a scruncher, he was shocked. “Then he started asking me my average sheet usage at which point I decided that the conversation was heading south and told him to not be so daft,” she continued.
Of course, everyone had something to say on the matter of Scrunch vs. Fold. (No, really. There were 102 comments.)
One scruncher gave their technique some serious thought: “Scrunching gives you a thicker wodge to wipe with. Folding means the paper is thinner and your fingers are more likely to tear through it.” They added that if you fold, you risk “poopy fingers”.
Another added: “But surely folded paper doesn’t give you the ‘roughness’ to clean properly? Also scrunching uses less paper!”
There were a few people in the fold camp, and they had multiple concerns about scrunching. “I’ve never understood scrunching. It’s just so weird!” exclaimed one person. “Why would anyone think scrunching was the best way to wipe?”
“I just don’t understand scrunching, how can you get a properly clean backside with scrunched up loo roll?” another asked.
There were also people who appeared to switch sides. “I used to scrunch, but now I fold,” one commenter admitted. “Not sure why I changed.”
Do Not Flush:
:: Sanitary products
:: Baby wipes / face wipes
:: Cotton buds or balls
:: Food
:: Cardboard
:: Hair
:: Nappies
The thread also unearthed some rather startling toilet behaviours. One person admitted their husband takes a strip of loo paper and, instead of either folding or scrunching, “he tears off one single square bit by bit and wipes his bum with one single square”. We are shook.
Another added: “Use a baby wipe and get a bin with a lid.” After this remark, utter chaos ensued.
Discussing whether a drain could actually be blocked from scrunching loo roll, someone said their plumber advised them to buy cheaper toilet roll as it’s thin. “The posh stuff blocks drains,” they added.
The most common material to blocks a toilet is loo roll, according to Plumb Jet. Too much being used and dumped for a single flush can cause a blockage so if you’re spending serious time in the loo it might be worth doing staged flushes.
Equally, some toilet papers do not dissolve easily and can build up over a period of time. So it seems the cheap stuff does prevail after all.