Toilet paper foam for travel and camping

Flying with toilet paper foam

On international flights, Air New Zealand's restricted items guidance says all liquids, aerosols, gels and pastes in carry-on must be in individual containers of no more than 100 ml. They must fit in a single resealable, transparent plastic bag no bigger than one litre, about 20 cm by 20 cm, with one bag per passenger.

A 60 ml bottle of Foamie Gentle Toilet Paper Foam is under that 100 ml limit, so it can go in your liquids bag with your other toiletries. On domestic flights within New Zealand, Air New Zealand says the restrictions for powders, liquids, aerosols and gels do not apply.

Rules can change and can differ between airlines and airports, so check with your airline before you fly, especially on connecting international journeys.

Packing it so it doesn't leak

A pump bottle can be pressed by accident in a tightly packed bag. A few simple habits help.

• Pack it upright in a toiletry bag or a resealable bag, so any drip stays contained.
• Keep it near the top of your bag rather than under heavy items that press on the pump.
• Bring a roll or a few folded wads of toilet paper, since public toilets don't always have it.
• Keep it out of reach of children in the car or tent, as the label says.

Road trips and public toilets

Road trip toilets range from spotless to grim, and many don't have a bin. That is exactly where wet wipes get flushed when they shouldn't be. Wipes are designed to hold together when wet, which is why utilities such as Watercare ask people to flush only pee, poo and toilet paper.

With foam, you fold three or four sheets of paper, put one pump on the centre, give it about two seconds to soak in, wipe, and flush the paper. Nothing needs binning, and you are leaving nothing behind that the next person, or the council, has to deal with. Wash your hands with soap and water afterwards, or use hand sanitiser if there is no basin.

At the bach

Many baches are on a septic tank, and some still have a long drop. Wipes cause problems in both, because they don't break down like toilet paper. If you take toilet paper foam to the bach, what goes down the toilet is still ordinary toilet paper.

Septic and long drop systems vary, so follow the owner's guidance or any signs, and keep everything other than the three Ps out of the toilet. Our septic tank safe wipes guide covers what tanks can and can't handle.

Camping and the backcountry

At campsites and huts, use the toilets provided. DOC's advice is to use less toilet paper and to put it in the toilet or the bin, and not to leave rubbish in and around toilets. In 2024 to 2025 DOC ordered 15.5 million metres of toilet paper for its facilities nationally, which gives a sense of how much passes through them.

Where there is no toilet, DOC's guidance is specific. Go at least 50 m from water, tracks and campsites, dig a hole 15 to 20 cm deep, use as little toilet paper as you can, avoid bleached toilet paper and wet wipes, and cover your waste and all the paper with soil. The alternative is to carry it out in a compostable bag inside a poo pot or poo tube, and put the bag in a composting or long drop toilet. DOC says bagged waste must not go in flush toilets, vault toilets, motorhome dump stations, gardens or rubbish bins.

Our suggestion is to keep foam for places with a toilet, and to follow DOC's guidance exactly when you are burying or carrying out waste.

How much to take

A 60 ml bottle gives roughly 400 pumps, so even a long trip with a few people won't empty it. It costs NZ$19.95, which works out to about 5 cents a pump.

Foamie is sent from Auckland by NZ Post, free across New Zealand on orders over $25, and to Australia for a flat NZ$25, tracked, in five to seven business days. If you are ordering before a trip, allow for delivery: standard NZ Post is estimated at one to three business days, and rural delivery two to four. You can find it on the product page, with a sign-up to hear when stock is back if it has sold out.

Questions people ask