The questions that needed to be asked about Colombian Toilets?

kat says on Oct 6, 2004, 11:06:

is true I don't know what happend with colombian toilet but for me just to see the site of the bin full of s..t make me feel seek.you can't throw nothing there cos u end up with a swimming pool.and about toilet paper i think some people steal them.is better to go where there is an assistant on the door because they are monitor constantly.and better to carry a bit of toilet paper with you.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 6, 2004, 11:28:

Sounds like... Sounds like you need to hang out in some better-class joints, Sydneygirl. I haven't seen toilets like that since last time I was in Mexico.

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Desideria (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Oct 6, 2004, 11:31:

toilets Maybe you've been spending too much time locked inside the house again sydney....but yes, some of your complaints are justified. I've never lived in Bogotá, have been there a half dozen times, and the longest stay has been two weeks, and I have no recollection of similar problems in Bogotá, but maybe I wasn't paying that much attention.
Lets's see...help me out on this one Bogota people!
1. Are the toilets in your country deeper or do they just flush with less water? We have both kinds here in Scandinavia: the majority of toilets have a double-flushing system for different "needs".
2.I've flushed the paper down with the rest of the stuff at home in Cali, with no problems with flooding. Otherwise, your best option is just to make the pile in the bin higher.
3. I don't know.
4. We had a brush in every toilet and so do my friends and relatives. If there's no brush at the house you're staying go buy one.
5. You do what you need to do. Wrap your stuff in toilet paper and deposit it in the bin. Or stuff it in your pocket....whichever feels more comfortable.
6. Because people steal the toilet paper. Have a wad in you purse/bag or whatever you carry with you.
7. I would be worried if I were a man.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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elmodefoque says on Oct 6, 2004, 12:27:

i love all these drity talk from women, i'm getting all excited.
more! more!

I'll get there, when I get there!

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heat says on Oct 6, 2004, 12:46:

i don't recall the toilets being shallow in bogota when i was there but definitely remember flushing everything down, paper and all.

i have also been to costa rica and had been told about the bin next to the toilet but for some reason could not bring myself to use it. so as usual the toilet got the whole kit and caboodle. luckily i didn't encounter the dreaded overflow. i was a little nervous the first time i did that but figured that if the toilet could manage the "one thing" it could manage the paper as well. i wouldn't recommend however, not using the bin. i think my problem w/the bins that i encountered was that they were not covered. is that what you've seen in bogota? that just cannot be sanitary and what about the flies!

now if it's that time of month i do use the covered bin next to my toilet at home. i have one there too but it's generally for trash. i am afraid to flush those things down the toilet because still, after all these years, i haven't figured out if that's the right way to dispose of them. if it's that time of the month and you are in a restaurant and the toilet won't flush, and there is no bin in sight, i would hide it behind the toilet or in a corner somewhere!

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JWB says on Oct 6, 2004, 17:21:

I'm an american from NYC and my novia is from Cartgena, and I could never understand why she used the bin all the time until I visited her barrio. Her barrio is very poor with a sewage system that leaves much to be desired.

Jeff

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Roncita says on Oct 7, 2004, 09:52:

I admit it always takes some getting used to having to throw used toilet paper in the bins beside the toilets every time I arrive in Colombia, and when I've got used to it I go back to London and start automatically reaching for the bin! So I will try to give some insight to your questions:

1. Don´t know, the toilets I've used in Colombia aren't shallow
2. I've always been told to throw the paper in the bin, that Colombian drains/pipes aren't big enough to cope with paper as well, so even if the bin is overflowing, that's where it goes
3. You don't
4. Maybe they keep them hidden away somewhere.....also people say that because there is a lot of water in the bowl when you flush, it takes everything with it so no need to brush around afterwards
5. Don't throw Tampons down the loo anyway - if there's really nowhere to put it (ie no bin, which there usually is), either wrap it in tissues that you carry around with you and take it with you, or hide it somewhere
6. Because people might steal it (it's the same in public universities, at least in Medellin)
7. Can't comment I'm afraid

GOLDEN RULE: Carry your own packet of tissues around with you wherever you go, and don't flush anything down the loo!

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