The Toilet Rag.... ?!?!

eekman

eekman

Joined
Mar 9, 2002
Messages
36
How many people on this forum use an Ass/Toilet rag when they are in the wilderness?

I've heard several people talk about using a "rag" and I like the idea of not carrying & disposing of toilet paper BUT... and maybe I'm just dense... BUT how do you use and reuse a rag and keep the process sanitary???

Really, this isn't a joke, I'm really curious. Do you wash it out right after? what if there isn't a water source nearby? I've heard people say they clip it to the outside of their pack to "dry out" but wouldn't that get feces on you and your pack? Some have said they keep it wet and in a zip lock bag but then you end up with a bag of fecal "juice"... yuk!

Does anyone here use this method? and if so, what are your "tips" for making it work and be as sanitary as possible??

Thanks,
Eek
 
I'd use a smooth stone or stick before keeping a rag on my pack, thank you! :barf:

Good luck on your quest, though.
 
Sorry, I can't help you with that one. However, I spend a good deal of time in Alaska/Yukon/NWT where many forest areas have thick, soft moss growing as ground cover. I know some guys who don't even carry TP. They just cut a strip of mossy groundcover, use it, then replace it. You don't have to dig a hole either----just cut out a square of "turf", lift it, use the empty space, then replace it. Heck, it might even grow better!

My only reluctance would be encountering something like poison ivy---that would be a disaster. However, the guys who use the mossy turf assure me there's nothing like that to worry about.
 
You could use the time-honored but often overlooked corn cob. Yes, I said corn cob.

Back in the Ozark hills where I grew up, you could see folks going to the outhouse with two red cobs and a white cob. The reason for the white cob? To see if you needed the other red cob.

Corn cobs are biodegradable and friendly to the environment. An excellent choice for the discriminating hiker.
 
ya might want to post your question on the Hoods Woods forum (www.survival.com). They use this method, I believe. There was a thread on the Q&A forum that discussed it in depth :barf:

Pat
 
In my experience, baby wipes (preferably all natural and unscented) are the best way to go for up to 3 week backpacking trips. They can keep your hinie squeaky clean no matter how long you go without bathing. (On the subject of bathing, baby wipes also work excellently for sponge baths.) Once you are able to keep your nether regions clean, underwear becomes unnessary. Once you're clean and underwear free, chafing problems of long-term hiking and backpacking disappear.

Also, once you experience the luxury of baby wipes, you'll never go back to toilet paper, even in city life.

If you don't want to carry toilet paper, or you find yourself in an "emergency", then I'd say that woolly mullein is the Rolls Royce of wild toilet paper, and corn lily leaves are a good secondary choice.

This business about carry a scuzzy rag sounds totally unappealing and unecessary. I agree that I'd rather use a smooth rock or a stick, but I've always been able to find something better.

Heck, when you start talking about options as disgusting as this rag method, why not just use your hand and then wash up thoroughly?

Actually, both using a rag and using your hand sound to me like they would likely contribute to fouling water sources--yet another reason not to do them.

I can only venture to guess why Mr. Hood uses or recommends such a method. Perhaps he is talking specifically about particular tropical locations where there might be germs or worms on leaves which you wouldn't want to go rubbing into your sensitive areas.
 
I am SO glad that others haven't been conned into this "rag business". I can see no good reason whatsoever for this idiotic practice, other than an "expert" touts it as THE way to do it. The only way I could this working and not creating a major health issue is if you were to carry bleach with you to wash out that disgusting mess (and your hands). If you have to carry bleach (surely WORSE for the environment than TP), then the supposed weight savings of not carrying TP are negated. Other than as a cult phenomena, I see no logic to this at all. If you take the core out of a TP roll, it compacts nice and flat, and weighs next to nothing. And considering the relative "luxury" of TP in the wilderness, why subject yourself to this inane practice?
 
Originally posted by Evolute
I'd say that woolly mullein is the Rolls Royce of wild toilet paper
Click to expand...

I second that one, Evolute. Wooly mullein is the KING of toilet papers. Plus, it's medicinal in many ways and it provides one of the best materials for fire drills. I once was caught in a rainstorm unprepared, so I stuffed mullein leaves between my shirts and stayed toasty warm until I got back to camp. And the feel of a centimeter-thick soft, wooly leaf wiping your fanny clean is almost good enough to make you have to go more often. :rolleyes:

EEK - I'm curious to know just what you've heard about the 'rag'. Why would it even seem appealing? Others have discussed sanitation, so I need not revisit that aspect. I guess it would be effective if what you were after was solitude...
 
Originally posted by coyotlviejo
>> EEK - I'm curious to know just what you've heard
>> about the 'rag'. Why would it even seem appealing?
[/B]
Click to expand...

I first heard about the "rag" in a Hoods Woods video (Vol 11, Solo Survival), but I have since read about it several times. See some of the following links.

http://alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/poboysurv.htm
http://www.survival.com/14day.htm
http://www.woodsdrummer.com
http://www.aboman.com

Several of these guys sure seem to know their stuff... so while the ass rag seems kinda gross... I'm just trying to figure out if there is some kind of "trick" that I'm missing to help make the whole thing more sanitary?

The reason the idea appeals to me is that I'm tired of all the toilet paper & baby wipes I see when I'm out on the trail. You can bury it but animals dig it up, and its doesn't decompose that fast... this stuff seems to last for ever! So I was thinking if I can get over my personal hangup then I could help keep the woods "cleaner".

Anyway, that was my thinking. I think the idea has some merit, but I figure there has to be some way to make the whole process more sanitary - I wonder what pilgrims and indians did? (besides leaves and corn cobs)

Thanks!
Eek
 
eekman said:

"The reason the idea appeals to me is that I'm tired of all the toilet paper & baby wipes I see when I'm out on the trail. You can bury it but animals dig it up, and its doesn't decompose that fast... this stuff seems to last for ever! So I was thinking if I can get over my personal hangup
then I could help keep the woods "cleaner"."

Why not just burn 'em, or pack them out in triple Ziploc baggies?
 
I'll dig a poop hole and throw tp in there then before I leave burn it really good. I think that would make good compost.


evolute, the baby wipes might attract bear cause of the perfumy smell.


tp or rocks always work, I haven't complained yet.



in india they still use their left hand. so when you shake someone's hand in india you always use your right. when you eat you always use your right. it has been working for them for thousands of years, but I am left handed so I wasn't too popular there. :D
 
Chris,

I am well aware of bear issues. My original post specified unscented baby wipes.

Still, it is well worth explicitly stating that you should eliminate (pun half-intended) all scented items, and take every precaution regarding food or food smells on clothing and skin, when in bear country.
 
"take every precaution regarding food or food smells on clothing and skin, when in bear country."

Same caveats apply in bare country, too. ;)
 
Aw come on guys...whats the big deal? The rag would be multi functional. You could blow your nose, wash your face, wipe your mouth, clean the dishes, bandage the cut on your arm, and wipe your arse all with one tool! Wow!...what a space saver.:)

Pass the sticks and rocks please.....

Paul
 
From reading the linked info at HoodsWoods it looks like the idea behind the rag is to have it for the 'just in case', like when no smooth stones are around, sticks are miles away, no moss, no grass, no pine needles, no tp, no baby wipes (unscented, OF COURSE!), and absolutely no mullein leaves. I think that in that situation you'd be just as well off walking out with a stinking behind as with a stinking rag, so why sweat it? If all I can find is sand (and yes, I've been there before), I'll just squat, do my thing, and keep a'walkin.

Oh yeah, snow is great as long as it's not too icy. Gets you all clean and fresh, and has a slight abrasive quality to get you sqeaky..
 
If all I can find is sand (and yes, I've been there before), I'll just squat, do my thing, and keep a'walkin.
Click to expand...

Not a good idea if your ass is hairy, or your stool soft, and even worse if both... I've been in that situation, and it only took a few hours to make walking almost impossible. Sh*t can really cause bad abraisions, and on top of that they will get really sore and then infected really fast! Felt like someone was holding a hot poker between my cheeks every time I took a step...

YMMV of course. A lot also depends on how sensitive your skin is generally...
 
Hasn't anyone of you folks ever just ripped the sleeve or portion of a sleeve off your shirt to fashion an emergency sh_t rag? I'd much rather do that then "wallow" in my own excrement....

Was common in some of the bush camps I worked in to see T-shirts with only one sleeve....

Personally, I now have TP stored in every vehicle (in ziplocs taped to the car jacks) and in every pack....I don't like ruining my shirts anymore, but if it's really, really needed - well, I'll donate a couple of pieces of my shirt to the "cause".

:cool:
D
 
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