Trigger warning: old-fashioned butt hygiene. Low-tech version of bidets. Liberation from needing toilet paper.
Still here? OK, read on!
A few years back, when the pandemic toilet-paper shortages started, I nade a couple of posts about bidets, toilet cloth, and how to make your own simple DIY bidet bottle. I also included links to articles about the traditional form of bidet which is a small dipper or pitcher.
If you do a search on “bidet” (or “Lota”) in this blog, you will find those old posts.
There is an additional great article I found the other day, when people online were talking about worry of toilet-paper shortage because of the tariffs.
A guy from the Philippines commented that there was nothing to worry about because of “tabo.”
Oh! I thought to myself. I bet a “tabo” must be the same thing as a Lota. And sure enough I was right. A tabo is a little water scoop used for in the Philippines for butt hygiene.
I’m telling you, I’ve been doing this for years and if you try it you might not want to go back either. It’s a whole new level of clean.
I’ve link to the article below. It goes into detail about the mechanics of how you go about cleaning yourself without needing to buy toilet paper.
A lot of people then dry off using reusable squares of “toilet cloth” (old pieces of fabric you cut or tear into squares). And note, you should NOT be having to wipe actual poop with the cloth, as your “parts down there” will already be clean before you blot them dry with the cloth. (Many people toss the cloths into a basket located near the toilet and then launder them in batches.)
The article even mentions that toilets in the Philippines often don’t have seats as we know them, because you need the extra room to work “back there” with the tabo.
Happy hygiene to you, and may you never have to worry about toilet-paper shortages. The planet will be better off as well, I suspect.
No toilet paper in the Philippines? Meet the Tabo. By Adam McKee. https://docmckee.com/travel/no-toilet-paper-in-the-philippines-meet-the-tabo/?amp=1