Nice on your bum, nasty on your drains (Charmin Toilet Tissue)

Member Name: sandrabarber

Product:	Charmin Toilet Tissue
Date:	02/02/03 (459 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: soft, absorbent, reasonably priced

Disadvantages: can block drains

When Charmin toilet tissue first appeared at the supermarket, it was always priced around the £1.99 mark. As this was considerably more expensive than supermarket luxury type own brands, I didn't bother trying it. However, I noticed a few months ago that it had come down in price to £1.67 at my local supermarket, so decided to try it. And I was very impressed.

I was brought up in the days when all public toilets used not a soft tissue, but a thick paper with a shiny, slippery coating. Not only did this stuff literally scratch, it did not absorb anything and actually spread the ? erm ? substance around your nether regions. Horrible, unhygienic and downright disgusting.

Since then, I have always regarded toilet paper as something worth paying more for when it comes to the softness and absorbency stakes.

Charmin comes in different colours, though some supermarkets only seem to stock white. Fine by me, as I only ever buy white anyway.

It comes in a pack of four rolls, each roll having a two-ply thickness and 180 sheets. Apparently this makes each roll 22.5 metres long. This is shorter than Andrex but in line with many supermarket luxury/premium brands.

You can also get Charmin in double roll size from some shops, with each roll being 45 metres long. I don't know the price off-hand, but I do know that it's not twice the price of the regular Charmin, so you do save a bit of money buying it this way.

But let's get down (so to speak) to the most important bits?

Charmin is very soft. It's not quite as soft as your Double Velvet but not far off, and on the plus side it does actually feel 'plumper'. It feels very comfortable where it matters, and does not scratch, chafe or irritate at all.

Charmin is also very absorbent, meaning that it does its job very well indeed.

Had I written this op last week, I would have given Charmin 5 stars without quibble. However
- and this is an important however - I have recently heard reports of Charmin being responsible for blocking people's drains, and plumbers advising people not to use it if their drains are old. I don't know exactly why it does this, but guess it may be something to do with the 'plumpness' I mentioned earlier taking up too much room in your pipes.

I will run out of Charmin next week (I stocked up last time I was at the supermarket as it was on special offer), and can't honestly say whether or not I will buy it again because of this. I'm tempted to take my chances, because I've been using it for months with no ill-effects and because I like it, but then I know I'll be cursing if my drains do get blocked and I have to find an exorbitant plumber's fee out of my salary.

In conclusion then, I think I must give Charmin 3 stars because although it's a quality product at a reasonable price, it could turn out to be a very expensive mistake.

It would be irresponsible of me to recommend Charmin, so I can only say that you pays your money and you takes your chance. And if the worst happens, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.

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