Personal hygiene and comfortable cleansing following use of a toilet facility are important considerations. For many people the most effective means for cleaning themselves, or others in their care such as the elderly or small children, is moistened, but not wet, paper or cloth. Various approaches are known in the prior art for moistening, especially, paper, but all are subject to certain disadvantages and drawbacks. Paper, such as toilet paper, may be moistened by holding the paper under running water from, e.g., a bathroom sink faucet, but this approach results in either spotty application of the water or excessive wetting of the paper and is an unsatisfactory solution.
In another approach, water may be sprayed onto the paper from a hand held spray bottle or from a device mounted on the wall and containing a water reservoir. A hand held spray bottle is often inconvenient to use and store, and requires both hands for operation; one to hold the paper and one to activate the spray. The mounted spray devices typically require a pumping action to activate the spray, and while it may be possible for a user to operate the devices known in the prior art with one hand, it is cumbersome to do so and it is difficult to avoid overspray. In both cases the water reservoir must be refilled when empty. Water held in a reservoir is subject to growth of bacteria and algae, which can be detrimental to the users.
Packaged pre-moistened wipes may be used for cleansing, but such wipes are typically not flushable, and are significantly more costly than conventional toilet paper.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an effective and easy to use device for moistening paper or cloth, and especially toilet paper that does not require refilling of a water reservoir, avoids overspray of the water intended for moistening, may be unobtrusively and conveniently mounted for easy access.