Best Toilet Paper On The Market Reviewed

Toilet Paper Brands Compared

How To Find The Perfect Toilet Paper

Softness

There’s plenty of science behind the race to achieve the ultimate softness – there’s actually an Institute of Paper Chemistry whose scientists have worked tirelessly to produce the softest possible paper for your comfort and joy.

All that hard graft, and most of the time we barely think about it. We just wipe and go – or do we mean go and wipe?

Value for Money

The general rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for, right? The more you spend, the better you expect a product to perform. Interestingly, toilet paper may be the exception to that rule. The luxurious quilted cushioned comfort of the pricier brands to wipe your down-belows may be a treat you like to pay for.

The downside of these products is that the chemicals used in the process of formulating the more expensive, stronger toilet papers reduce its ability to break down. That, in turn, causes problems with blockages in drains which are costly to resolve and, further down the line, cause environmental issues.

Therefore, that springy softness which you crave and are willing to shell out good money for isn’t necessarily the right thing for you or for the environment and could have quite a negative impact on your pocket.

If you’re looking for value for money, then actually cheaper – therefore thinner – toilet paper which breaks down more easily is the way to go.

Wet Strength & Absorbency

Toilet paper is obviously designed to cope with being wet but it also needs to retain its strength in order to wipe cleanly without any ‘finger breakthrough’ (as it’s charmingly called in the business).

Using techniques like quilting and embossing, manufacturers have successfully developed products which combine strength and absorbency but performance varies from product to product – often depending on cost, with the cheaper brands being less strong and less absorbent.

Since less paper will be needed if it’s both strong and absorbent, it could be a false economy to buy a cheaper paper.

Perforation

One way to judge the suitability of a toilet paper brand is on how easily the sheets separate along the perforations. Our view is that the harder it is to separate the sheets, the more sheets people will end up using.

Also, if it doesn’t tear easily, then there’s more chance of the user spinning the roll in the holder and ending up with dozens of sheets when only a couple would have been plenty.

That’s more waste down the drain (not forgetting the possibility of costly blockages), more money flushed away and more trees needlessly felled, so ease of perforation is something worth considering when you’re deciding on a brand.

Septic Breakdown

Another option is to choose recycled toilet paper which dissolves more quickly and contain fewer chemicals that interrupt the natural bacterial breakdown in your tank. It makes sense to avoid using any toilet paper with additives like lotions or waxes in your septic system for reasons that are quite obvious.

To ensure you get the best product for your septic system, it’s a good idea to look for products which have been certified ‘septic-safe’ by the National Sanitation Foundation (a non-profit which tests environment and health-related products).

Septic-Safe Toilet Paper

There is plenty of choices out there if you’re looking for toilet paper marked ‘septic-safe’. The bottom line here is that it’s intended to dissolve rapidly but, in reality, some do that better than others.

If like us, you’re skeptical about manufacturer labels, our advice is to look for toilet papers that have been certified septic-safe by the National Sanitation Foundation to ensure that they’re fit for purpose.

Beware of Wipes

Residual Lint

High on the consumer’s list of complaints about toilet paper is when those little bits get left behind where they’re not wanted, known in the trade as ‘residual lint’ but our research told us that they’re also known as ‘dingleberries’ – who knew?

Much research and experimentation have been carried out by manufacturers in their efforts to minimize the annoyance of residual lint by creating toilet paper which is soft yet strong enough to do its job and not break down in the process.

Eco-friendly

Chemicals Used

There can’t be many manufactured products these days that don’t involve some kind of chemical additives to enhance their performance in some way. Toilet paper is no exception.

Chlorine bleach and formaldehyde are both used in the process, neither of which are kind to our environment and have been shown to have negative effects on human health, too. Scroll down to our section below for more information about the chemicals used in the production of toilet paper.

1. Quilted Northern Ultra Plush

Best Rated Toilet Paper

This luxurious, quilted, 3-ply toilet paper from Northern is designed with your ultimate comfort and cleanliness in mind and claims to be the only premium toilet paper with 3 layers of tissue. The 4.3 stars on Amazon would suggest legions of very satisfied customers - placing it in our top position as the best-rated toilet paper.

The ‘supreme’ rolls boast 319 sheets per roll and a pack of 24 Supreme rolls is the equivalent to more than 92 Regular rolls, so you won’t need to re-order too often – one less thing on your long to-do list.

Although it’s made from virgin pulp, the fact that Quilted Northern toilet paper is Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified will give you peace of mind if you have environmental concerns.

One word of caution, though… Some negative reviews are written by people who’ve had to pay for expensive call-outs to resolve blocked sewer lines would suggest that this toilet paper doesn’t break down so well. That may be a price you’re willing to pay for the luxurious softness it provides.

Although it is advertised as ‘septic-safe’ we wouldn’t recommend this product for septic systems based on these negative review comments.

2. Presto! Amazon Brand Mega Roll 

Best Toilet Paper For Septic Systems

Amazon’s own-brand toilet paper Presto! combines strength and comfort at the same time as being septic-safe. The generous-sized roll (308 sheets) means it lasts well, so you don’t have to change the roll so often.

Better still, Presto! Ultra-Strong is certified by the PEFC, meaning that the pulp is sustainably sourced from managed forests and controlled sources.

Although it’s 2-ply rather than the more luxurious 3, reviewers really rate its comfort factor and claim it’s as good as some of the more up-market branded toilet paper and much more economical – win/win!

This Amazon toilet paper is backed by their Happiness Guarantee – if you’re not happy with any Presto! products, Amazon will refund you. So you have nothing to lose by swapping this septic-safe toilet paper for your usual brand.

3. Seventh Generation Unbleached

Best Toilet Paper For Allergies And Sensitive Skin

Many people don’t realize that something as innocuous as toilet paper, something we use multiple times each day, contains chemicals and compounds which are known skin irritants and, even worse, cancer-causers.

If you’re sensitive to contact with such heavy-duty chemicals, then you’ll be looking for the best-unbleached toilet paper you can find. We think we have the solution to your problem with this hypoallergenic toilet paper from Seventh Generation.

This product is 100% unbleached and manufactured from a minimum of 80% post-consumer recycled paper. No dyes, fragrances or inks are added during the manufacture of this environmentally-friendly and skin-kind toilet paper.  

If you’re concerned that you may need to sacrifice comfort, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how soft this recycled toilet paper feels. And at the same time, you can be confident that you’re ‘doing your bit’ by taking an active part in ensuring the continued cycle of fiber use.

4. Cottonelle Ultra ComfortCare Clean Ripple

Best Soft Toilet Paper

If you and your family rate toilet paper by its softness and the all-important comfort factor, then we think you’ll appreciate this Kimberly-Clark product. It’s highly-rated by reviewers on Amazon, scooping a very healthy 4.2 stars out of 5.

Those unique ripples are designed to improve the efficiency of the cleaning process and if all the positive reviews are anything to go by they do a great job. This soft toilet paper is nice and thick, too, in spite of being only 2-ply, so that saves a good number of trees.

Cottonelle Ultra is also strong. In fact, Cottonelle toilet paper claims to be 3 x stronger, 3 x thicker and 3 x more absorbent when compared to the leading national brand. There must be something in those claims to keep those positive reviews flooding in!

At first, I used too much because of other papers I had used but you don't need as much with Cottonelle. It is gift-giving worthy!’.

With 36 long-lasting rolls in this pack, you’ll find you won’t have to be re-ordering every five minutes and, let’s face it, there are few things less exciting than shopping for toilet paper.

5. Firebelly Outfitters RV

Best RV Toilet Paper

6. Scott Rapid-Dissolving 

Best Dissolving Toilet Paper

7. Charmin Ultra Strong Clean Touch

Best Strong Clean Toilet Paper

8. Silk’n Soft Bamboo

Best Bamboo Toilet Paper

If like a growing numbers of ethically-aware consumers, you’re concerned about the environmental impact of regular toilet paper and the presence of BPA in recycled toilet paper, then one of the best alternative options is to use bamboo toilet paper.

None of those worries with this tree-free toilet paper from the True Earth Paper Company. In fact, it may even perform better because this toilet paper is 3-ply – usually a feature of premium toilet paper brands - giving it extra strength and it’s super-soft, too.

Bamboo really is the ideal alternative to using wood pulp from trees because it’s the fastest growing, renewable and sustainable plant on the planet. Bamboo toilet paper is preferable to recycled toilet paper because of the heavy-duty chemicals used in the manufacturing process.

This environmentally-friendly bamboo toilet paper is 100% biodegradable, so it’s ideal for septic, RV and marine use. It’s also fragrance-free and BPA free, so it’s a great choice for those with sensitive skin.

9. Seventh Generation 100% Recycled

Best Recycled Toilet Paper

How Is Toilet Paper Made?

New Pulp Paper

Toilet paper is generally made using a combination of softwood and hardwood trees (a combination of approximately 70% hardwood and 30% softwood) from so-called ‘virgin’ pulp. After debarking, the logs are chipped and then ‘cooked’ in a vast pressure cooker for about 3 hours.

Evaporation of the moisture is the next stage, resulting in a usable fiber pulp. The pulp is washed to remove a component called lignin (which would turn the paper yellow if not removed) and then bleached.

At this point, the pulp is mixed with a large quantity of water (0.5% fiber to 99.5% water) to produce ‘paper stock’ which is drained on mesh screens, pressed and dried. The dry paper is wound onto huge reels, cut, embossed and perforated. Finally, it’s cut into rolls and wrapped ready for sale.

But we think it’s always more fun to show than to tell, so why not take a look at this clip, which will show you how it’s done.

Recycled Toilet Paper

Large bales of recycled paper are mixed with lukewarm water and reduced to a pulp. The residual ink is removed by injecting the pulp with air that makes the ink rise to the top in a foam. The foam is skimmed off, leaving ink-free pulp.

Great rollers squeeze out the water and bleaching agents are added to produce pure white pulp. The rest of the paper-making process is the same as for toilet paper made from virgin pulp.

The Bottom Line on Bamboo

What Chemicals are on Toilet Tissue?

Label: PCF or ECF

Acronyms for the bleach derivatives related to the bleaching of the paper. Processed Chlorine-Free (PCF) appears on recycled toilet paper packaging, indicating that no bleach was used in the manufacture (it may, however, have been used at an earlier stage in the process).

Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF) indicates chlorine dioxide was used rather than the more dangerous elemental chlorine (actually phased out in 2001 after links with cancer were identified).

Label: Recycled or Post-Consumer Recycled

The fact that the product is recycled indicates that BPA (Bisphenol A) is present since the recycled paper is a mixture of all types of paper including such things as receipts and luggage labels that typically contain BPA.

The level of concentration in toilet paper is tiny – it amounts to about 2% of one person’s typical daily exposure to BPA. In reality, you’re typically likely to have far more daily exposure to BPA from handling plastic containers and other household items than from toilet paper.

Label: With Lotion

Indicates petroleum-based mineral oil is present. This may not present any particular health concerns but anecdotal evidence from reviews online complained of ‘burning’ when they used toilet paper infused with Vitamin E and aloe (in petroleum-based mineral oil and paraffin-based coating).

If you are particularly sensitive, then our advice would be to avoid these ‘infused’ toilet papers.

Label: Ultra Strong

Likely to contain formaldehyde, typically added to toilet paper to improve its wet strength. Formaldehyde is a known skin irritant (linked in a 2010 study to chronic irritation of the vulva) and its links to cancer have been proven.

Perhaps it’s best to avoid toilet paper which claims to be ultra-strong if you’re keen to avoid contact with this aggressive chemical.

People also Ask (FAQs)

What is toilet paper made of?

Toilet paper is most commonly made from wood pulp. However, increasing quantities of recycled paper are now used in an attempt to address environmental concerns about the use of virgin wood pulp.

The heavy-duty chemicals needed to create toilet paper from recycled material have also come under the spotlight, which has led to the development of other sources.

Use of bamboo, sugarcane, and hemp to make toilet paper is now gaining popularity since the carbon footprint of these materials is lower and fewer chemicals are needed in the manufacturing process.

Is Bamboo toilet paper biodegradable?

Yes, bamboo is 100% biodegradable. It doesn’t contain any bleach or dyes, so it’s the perfect toilet tissue to use in septic systems, boats, RVs, etc. It will dissolve naturally and won’t clog up your pipes or your tank. 

Is toilet paper bad for septic systems?

The thicker and more chemically-treated the toilet paper, the less septic-friendly it’s likely to be. Always check the label to see that toilet paper you choose is septic-safe. It’s a fact of life with septic systems that you may need to sacrifice a little luxury and that’s never truer than with your choice of toilet paper.

That said, if you make the wrong choice, it will be expensive for you because you’ll have to have your system pumped more often.  

How long does a roll of toilet paper last?

Ah…the ultimate how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question. This all depends on how thrifty you are in using it; that is, whether you use 3-4 sheets on each occasion or if it’s more like 15.

Some rolls are longer than others but it’s a no-brainer that it will last longer if you use less – it will also be kinder to your hard-working drains and your pocket.

How long does toilet paper take to decompose?

This depends on the quality and type of toilet paper and how much it’s moved around – the more movement, the faster the decomposition. The fastest and best from a drainage management perspective is recycled toilet paper because its short fibers break down completely and relatively quickly.

What to do if too much toilet paper clogs the toilet?

There’s often one family member – or, worse still, a visitor! – who’s a little heavy-handed with their use of toilet paper which leads to the inevitable blockage. Someone has to deal with it and it’s always you, right?

Conclusion