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Learn the Toilet Paper Dispenser Tricks of the Professionals for just $19.99!

WCityMike — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:37:23 -0800

You walk into a public toilet stall. There is a metal toilet paper roll holder. One of two annoying situations is happening. Either the bottom toilet roll is used up and the top toilet roll is still in its storage area.

Or the top roll is down and the bottom "roll" (even if it's just the cardboard tube) has not been removed, and the drag the bottom roll puts on the top roll causes the paper to break after one or two squares comes out.

It's a small annoyance, but a small annoyance I've had with these things for most of my life. Somewhere in the great Mefi User Database, there must be someone who just happened to somewhere along the line figure out the way to make these public metal toilet paper dispensers sing.

(Well, not literally.)

Any takers?

Bonus question: anyone develop a surefire way of preserving one's privacy when in a toilet stall where the door closes but won't lock?

Go ahead and fire all snark cannons for asking the question — but fess up, the answers'd be handy to you, too.

Hey, Stop Chomping the Charmin!

WCityMike — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:45:48 -0800

I have a cat who is a wonderful and well-behaved affectionate little guy in most respects. He has an annoying compulsion I don't know how to cure: he loves to eat toilet paper and Kleenex. I've tried two things. I tried filling a can with coins, sealing it with duct tape, and resting it on top of the roll so that when he starts futzing around with the toilet paper, it would fall and the loud noise would scare him off. He got pinged once or twice by the can, then learned to ignore the roll for a while. I took off the can after he left the roll alone for about two weeks. About four to five days went by and he went back to savaging it.

I also tried a childproof/catproof toilet paper guard. Although he did not unroll the toilet paper, he savaged the heck out of one of the edges.

Additionally, if a Kleenex box is left on my desk, he will take a tissue out and start methodically ripping off pieces of it and eating it (and he knows he's not supposed to go on the desk, either).

This essentially means I need to keep my toilet paper roll resting on my towel rack and my Kleenex on an upper shelf in my closet. I can live with that if I need to; these are not tremendous problems but merely minor-to-middlin' annoyances. But I'd like these things back where they "should" be. (Rescrewing the toilet paper holder up high is something that occurred to me but is not feasible given I'm renting.)

He only does this late at night in the dark when I am in bed, either falling asleep or more usually when I'm already asleep; it's thus impossible for me to spray him with a water bottle in the act, which is the usual disciplinary measure.

Any clues on how to get the cat to once and for all quit it, or, barring that, any other kind of solutions to positively affect the situation?

Linkage to stuff on the Web detailing how people handled this problem also quite welcome.

Toilet Paper: Under vs. Over

otherwordlyglow — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:06:02 -0800

What are the reasons for hanging toilet paper with the paper in front versus in the back? I tend to prefer toilet paper to be loaded on the holder with the paper falling to the back, close to the wall, while my boyfriend prefers to hang it with the paper coming off the top on the side of the roll that's closest to the user. I believe it's the over vs. under debate. When I consider it, I think that hotels generally use the "over" technique so that must mean it is more common, right? I think my preference for the "under" technique has to do with the easier one-handed tear that it allows. I also like the way it looks better this way.

Seeing as we're about to move in together, it's something I'm curious about but believe me, it's no deal breaker. I'm very willing to concede the issue but I just wonder why people prefer the "over" technique. It seems like it's easier to waste tp this way, too, because the roll tends to unwind quicker.

As an aside, he also prefers the non-spring loaded spindle (the ones that have an open side to them, rather than a spring-tensioned rod) because it's easier to change the roll but I think they're also harder to use since if you tear in the direction of the opening with any degree of force (I guess I'm a vigorous tearer) you'll knock it off the spindle.

We seem also prefer our paper towels the same (me: under, him: over).

How to tell someone stop using so much TP?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 May 2007 14:19:34 -0800

How to ask a roommate to use less TP without getting too personal? Our new roommate, a friend of a friend of a friend, uses a lot of toliet paper. We used to change the roll once every few weeks. Now there are new rolls being used every few days! She buys the cheapest stuff and we like to use the medium range. How can we bring it up to her without seeming like we are questioning her hygene?