An important investigation into exactly how much toilet paper you should be using.

The people of the internet are in a tizzy over toilet paper. Or more specifically how much of it they’re using… and if it’s too much.

One Netmums user took to the message board to ask if her households usage – nine rolls of TP between two males and one female each week – is ‘excessive’. And well, there was no general consensus.

It’s a fair concern for this woman to have. There are billions of people who use toilet paper everyday (as well as billions who don’t), which is why 86 million rolls of the stuff are produced daily. Yeah – 86 million. Daily.

Obviously individual usage depends on many factors – women will need to use more for obvious reasons (even if men are regularly sitting down to pee?) and those with conditions such as IBS probably need more as well. Plus there’s the questions of household size and the all-important difference in ply.

In the interest of the environment and our pockets, but mostly just to satisfy our weird curiosity, we conducted a very important investigation into how much toilet paper people and their households use.

Here’s what we found.

Sarah.

“I get a box of environmentally friendly tree-free toilet paper delivered every eight weeks. With one female and three males, but lots of visitors, a box of 48 rolls lasts most of that time.

“I think I always need to buy a few rolls whilst between boxes so far. Maybe a dozen rolls at most.”

Ali.

“My grandma told me to use one piece and fold it in half as a child and it was a tumultuous few years, but then my mum told me I can use however much I want to. I want to say I use approximate 5-6 sheets for a wee and maybe double for a poo.”

Kate.

“I can’t be 100 per cent sure how much but I know it’s a lot. I feel guilty for it as my husband is horrified compared with his usage. I would have to say it’s a gendered issue – women need more than men for obviously reasons. Perhaps an 8 pack every few weeks or maybe more? Hands up I feel guilty AF for this.”

Lynnaire.

“I live with two girls and two boys. I work from home and also have clients and people who always use my bathroom. I buy a 12 pack a week, but after the week we usually have 3-4 rolls left over so I’d say we use about 8 a week.”

Grace.

“I live with two boys (it used to be three) and they sh*t a lot and use a lot of toilet paper, so like 4-6 rolls a week? But we do use the long rolls.”

Rachel.

“Ooooh I was once accused by a former flatmate of using too much toilet paper. How they determined how much I was using I’m not sure, but alas. And what they considered to be ‘too much’ is unknown too. Our household of two (husband and I) goes through one of those bumper/double length rolls every 2-3 days probably. So we buy a maybe a pack of 12 bumper rolls each month.

“How frequently we go through toilet paper is not something that worries me, or that I even particularly notice. And to be honest – it’s not something I ever want to skimp on! Toothpaste on the other hand – I feel like we are constantly buying new tubes and I don’t understand where it all goes.”

Lauren.

“I wee SO MUCH and my partner could use a whole toilet roll at once. So we buy a 24 pack that usually lasts a month between the two of us.”

Joanne.

“Family of five (three daughters), we go through a roll almost every day! I really do think we use too much (apparently the man who cleaned out our septic the other day agrees) but despite regular discussion nothing changes. The septic man did suggest we use a thinner more papery one that would break down more easily – ummm no!”

Kim.

“We use lots in our house of four! I’m mostly to blame I think. When I was a kid I went on a school camp for two weeks and mum said there was so much extra toilet paper she ran out of room to store it. It was a pattern whenever I was away from home.”

Denise.

“Family of four (three women) and easily use one roll a day, sometimes maybe more when we’re all home. We always need toilet paper! Drives me crazy!”

Okay, so that’s all well and good – but is there a number we should be conscious of when we… wipe?

Sort of. A very insightful website called Toilet Paper History lists the average number of rolls each person uses a year at 100… So you might want to get out your calculator.

How much toilet paper you use depends on many circumstances… but one thing remains certain: The only correct way to hang said toilet paper is over.

How many roll of toilet paper do you use a week? Let us know in the comments.