Edinburgh pensioner uses old shirts to wipe amid toilet paper shortage

An Edinburgh man sick with continued failed attempts to buy toilet paper during the coronavirus stampede has resorted to cutting up his own shirts to use as wipes instead.
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And Gordon Nicol, is so satisfied with his needs-must solution that he may never go back to conventional ablutions.

The 71-year-old former music studio owner said: "After five futile daily attempts going to my local supermarket to find toilet paper, I decided to take this problem into my own hands and thumb my nose at all of those despicable and utterly selfish panic buyers who have actually exacerbated the food shortage.

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"So, I used an old shirt which I'd grown tired of and cut strips the size of three pieces of toilet paper. I used pinking shears to help avoid fraying but these are not essential.

Edinburgh pensioner uses old shirts to wipe amid toilet paper shortageEdinburgh pensioner uses old shirts to wipe amid toilet paper shortage
Edinburgh pensioner uses old shirts to wipe amid toilet paper shortage

"Then, I folded the strips and put them in a plastic container and soaked them with water so, now they're like wet wipes except they can be used over and over. I think I got at least a dozen strips which will last for really ages."

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After using the strips to wipe it's a case of dropping the soiled strips into a container with bleach and water.

He added: "Surprisingly, after only a couple of days, there wasn't a hint, not even any sign of a single stain."

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"After two days, I only had 8 strips in the bleach container. Simply empty the solution down the toilet and, then I just filled the sink with boiling water and soap and gave the strips a really good wash. I rinsed them out and they're back in the “clean” plastic container ready for use again.

"So, now I'm toilet paper free and actually, these shirt strips are much softer and smoother than toilet paper so, I'm likely to continue after the pandemic reduces or ends."

He said: "I suppose I am a DIY kind of person, I just don;t want to be held to ransom by these idiots."

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