alex9179: "We're absolutely getting an advanced seat (used washlet term like Kleenex). I haven't decided which brand. "I really like the idea of stainless wands and the silver oxide sanitizing feature of the Coway and Brondell, as well as their lower profile. I live in the very humid south, so any extra anti-germ feature for a toilet is great." You may be over-thinking. We spend a lot of time in Japan (relatives), where we have used Washlets and Inax advanced toilet seats many, many times; and the humidity (and summer heat) in much of Japan is at least as great as it is in the American South. Toto and Inax have been selling advanced toilet seats there for more than three decades, and I have never seen or heard of any problem that stainless steel wands or sanitized wands could solve. In modern models of advanced toilet seats, each wand is automatically flushed with water before and after each and every use . . . and the amount of splash-back during use is minuscule: the wands are located several inches below and away from the surface toward which the spray is directed. Two more important features than the ones that you mention are: (1) one-wand vs. two-wand designs; the two-wand (separate wands for posterior and feminine) is more efficient at cleaning (because of optimized angle of spray for each function); and -- relating to your earlier concern -- the posterior wand is not exposed to any splash-back when the feminine function is activated, and vice versa. (2) Possible maintenance. Toto and Lixil (parent of Inax) are GIANT international corporations, with major commitments to the American market (Lixil bought American Standard last year); and each subcontracts with American suppliers for subcomponents. With large warehouses and American suppliers, you are not likely to have parts unavailability problems with either Toto or Inax. Moreover, I suspect that a sanitizing mechanism will require a reservoir of a sanitizing fluid, and where do you go to purchase a refill? "Inax is known for longevity but is more expensive..." The site you are using for comparisons lists only the luxury L series (Luscence) model Inax toilet seats; the Inax C series (Clessence) seats (which have an integrated "armrest" control rather thn a "remote" control) are several hundred dollars less expensive, and (other than the "remote" control) are functionally the same as the L series. And -- honestly now -- how far are you planning to stray from the toilet seat: do you really need a remote control that allows you to operate a toilet seat in the bathroom from the comfort of your living room? This post was edited by herring_maven on Sat, Apr 19, 14 at 0:15

After the exchange of correspondence (below) with Kimberly-Clark/Scott, I decided to Google around to discover if anyone else had noted a change in white Scott Tissue. This thread and several other spots around the web demonstrate rather clearly there was not quite the thundering demand for change in the product implied by the note from K-C/Scott. Rather, the change seems to have landed with more thud than thunder. Judging by the date on this thread's original post (2006), it appears likely that Scott eased the "new and improved" Scott Tissue into the marketplace by stages: in 2009, it has only just arrived in our area. In fact, so recent is the changeover, we still had a partial roll of the original Scott Tissue from a previous 12-pak when we bought the 12-pak discussed in our note below. The comments made in this thread and elsewhere on the web prove what I, a hapless marketing peon who takes orders from on high :-), have always believed. Executive management often commission "studies", focus groups, and marketing research that will merely support the decision they are already inclined toward. ::::::::::::::::::What follows is the We Said/They Said: XX@XXmail.com wrote: From: XX@XXmail.com Sent: 7/18/2009 10:30 CDT Subject: Scott Tissue Product Quality Dear Sirs: Our family have never purchased any toilet paper except white Scott Tissue. On sale or at its regular price, we use it and prefer it over any other brand. Therefore, when there are any changes to the product, however subtle, we NOTICE. Recently, we purchased a 12-pak of Scott Tissue "1000 sheets per roll", SKU 0 54000 42120 4, and from the first roll, we unhappily discovered you appear to have changed the tissue's formula and/or manufacturing process. The rolls in this package strongly resemble "soft" tissue both in appearance and behaviour. I.e., the sheets are uniformly perforated throughout, rather than smooth; the paper's finish, rather than the familiar "semi-gloss" finish, now looks "suede-y"; rather than absorb a small amount of moisture -- as when dabbing a child's teary face or applying astringent -- it seems to shread and "melt" in one's hand; and worst of all, THIS PAPER PILLS. One of the principal reasons we have preferred Scott Tissue all these years was because it did not pill. To sum up, we don't know what changes you've made to Scott Tissue or why, but we are not happy about it. We're only three rolls into this 12-pack and this afternoon, we're going to shop for an alternative and donate the remainder of the package to a local shelter. We look forward to your reply and an explanation. If, as we hope, this 12-pack is part of an aberrant manufacturing run, we will continue to be lifelong customers. However, if this change is permanent, it stops with us. Sincerely, XX xxxxxxx46A Kimberly-Clark Corporation's Reply Ref#0xxxxx46A-KDK Monday, July 20, 2009 6:45 PM From: "consumerservicesdept@kcc.com" To: XX@XXmail.com Dear XX, Thanks for your e-mail about your experience with SCOTT® bathroom tissue. We apologize for any inconvenience. We certainly do not want the quality of our products to disappoint our loyal customers, and we are sorry if that was the case with your purchase of SCOTT bathroom tissue. Because of all the precautions taken, incidents such as you reported happen rarely, and we hope that you will accept our apology. Please be assured that we will do our best to determine what happened so steps can be taken to prevent a recurrence. Also, the new embossed sheet on SCOTT® 1000 bathroom tissue was extensively tested with consumers before it was introduced to the market. Consumer research indicated that the embossed sheet enhanced softness, thickness, and overall product quality. Although consumers preferred this new sheet, we are sorry that you were disappointed. You can be sure that we will share your comments with those involved. We hope that you will consider trying SCOTT bathroom tissue again and are sending you a coupon for a complimentary supply. Thanks again for your e-mail and for giving us an opportunity to make amends. Karyn Consumer Services Kimberly-Clark Corp. xxxxxxx46A

Wow! Thx for the all the advice and encouraging words. I am definitely going to attempt to contact her this time. I am going to start working on the letter to her this week. When my father's will was read in 1981 and her name was revealed it was a very trying time for everyone- we were all in shock since he died suddenly at the age of 42, so no one even mentioned her. I was only 21 at the time and I really didn't think that much of it until the past few years. It was a couple of years ago that I mentioned that I thought that I had found her on the Web to both of his surviving sisters and both acknowledged having heard no mention of her by my father or any one at any time. My father always lived far away from the rest of the family, so it would have been an easy thing to hide from them. BTW, one aunt agreed that it would be "fun" to seek her out while the other discouraged me. I feel she felt like it wasn't necessary since my dad never revealed it. Being that now all of his family and mine for that matter are deceased other than his 2 sisters there is no one to ask anything. That is one of the things that makes me want to reach out to her and see what happens. I can always tell myself at least "I tried" and that will be good enough for me. I agree with all of you who say take a chance and see what happens - if you don't you will never know what might have been. If nothing happens that's OK too and I personally feel that is the worst thing that could happen. As all of you have said I am contacting her and leaving the door open for her to contact me. If she chooses not to- then I am fine with that. foggyj - I wonder what she knows about our dad too. Sad to say, but my guess is that it was a one night stand and her mother just gave her my dad's last name & he was never mentioned to her. This was in the early 60's. Since it was all so secretive I don't know her mother. If I did I would definitely contact her first. joyfulguy - thx for the thoughts as you said some things to "chew on". cherryfizz- What a story! While the situation is not the same - reading it makes me more than ever want to go through with this. A picture is a great idea. naughtykitty - good advice about just saying that I was going through some papers and not mentioning the will itself. Actually finding the will in some old stacks of papers a few years ago prompted me to look her up. cate52 - you are so right -medical history could factor easily in that my dad died from a heart attack at age 42. gardenspice- there is no way that I can be 100% sure that he is her dad. I am going by the fact that she was named in the will and he denied paternity of her. I did a person search on her name exactly as it was written in the will and it showed her living in the exact same small city that I know my parents lived in when I was born. As I said earlier- the site also revealed her birth year and it is about the same as mine. Thanks again and I will let you know how it all plays out. Sipsy

I am a stepmom to a beautiful 7 year old little girl and have been since she was 4 years old. I can literally count on my ten fingers the amount of times her biological mom has made visits since I have known her (more like on one hand). She moved out of state with her when she was four and kept her from my husband for almost a year until he took her to court about three times u tip he finally won sole custody of her and her was granted child support from bio mom. He was also to drive half way from New Mexico to Dallas Texas to have our little girl do OVER NIGHT visits once a month in Texas and two week visits over summer break. Like I said bio mom would constantly cancel visits saying she could not afford it even though we received absolutely no child support checks and when she did make visits she would often request for us to pick up the child early because she had plans with her boyfriend or she would state the child was out of control and she could not handle her. The last visit she had with my step daughter she kept her for a month and it was only supposed to be a two week visit. Also during that time my step daughter was sexually assaulted by step father and we took them to court and the mother called the child a liar and automatically took step fathers side. My husband and I have put her I counseling, pressed charges and done all that we can as loving parents. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and now mother is fighting to move child to Texas with her and husband (what a joke right). Keep in mind no child support has been paid and mother has not attempted contact in about a year and 5 months and before that would very rarely make phone calls. She was granted supervised visits which my daughter refuses to have and if she's forced she does not engage in contact AT ALL. She is terrified of these people but the system demands visits. Last time in court bio mom failed to appear because she put her husband as priority and said she could not make it and all visits were suspended. My step daughter is traumatized and terrified of these people. I wish she had a good bio mom but she doesn't and I have been the one to take This place without the official title. Is it hard? Heck yes you do all the work without the official title and have people constantly belittling you as just the "stepmom" but the title is earned not only because you give birth to a child it goes far beyond that. These children have real needs and it takes true responsibility to raise a child and meet their need and give them the love they deserve. I have experienced the feeling of not being recognized for all that I do as a step mom who has really taken on 100% responsibility but that's what being selfless is its doing these thing without expecting recognition from humans. When I married my husband I took on the responsibility of being a mommy whether full time or once a week. I love it and since we have had trouble having babies of our own I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to be a mommy before giving birth. God placed is in each others life and I cherish every moment. To all the step moms out there I know the feelings that go along with being a step parent but it's a huge role and God sees even when others don't. Keep being good mom mad and you shall be blessed. It's not the child's fault they deserve nothing but the best!!!