To flush or not to flush...

I got in a "heated debate" (argument) with a family member last week who thought it was crazy that I don't always flush the toilet after every use.. My general policy is that at my own home, I just don't flush if it (pee) is clear... it just seems unnecessary and wasteful.  My opponent's argument was that 1) it is unsanitary, and 2) toilets these days are so efficient with the amount of water they expend in a single flush that it's silly not to just flush every time. 

Thoughts?  Good counter points?  Anyone agree with her? 

In general I agree with you.  I don't think the unsanitary argument holds water (pun intended).  How sanitary are toilets to begin with?  It's not like you're going to use your toiletbowl as a dinnerplate!

It also depends on your toilet.  If you've got a low-flow toilet, you're not wasting too much water by flushing.  If you've got a dual-flush toilet, you're probably using less than a gallon to flush your urine.  If you've got an ultra low flow single-flush toilet, it's 1.28 gallons.  A low flow single flush is 1.6 gallons.

In general I don't see anything wrong with not flushing urine if you don't have a personal problem with it.

When I was little, my family used to operate on the "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" philosophy.

As for her 2nd point, most toilets in the United States are in fact NOT high efficiency toilets.  Quite a few still use anywhere from 3 to 7 gallons per flush (clearly far above the 1.6 GPF efficiency standards).

What do other folks think?

It may be a terrible waste, but I flush every time.  I don't know, the idea that there's something in the toilet is unsettling to me.  Especially because I have to sit down, and my backside (not to mention the other unmentionables I have down there) are only inches away from the water in the bowl... and that if there's any splashage (you know what I'm talking about) the yucky stuff can go anywhere/everywhere.

And I have cats, and they like to drink from the toilet.

 I have to agree with Missy....unsettling to leave "anything" there.  The new dual flushers reduce water consumption to 0.8 gallons per flush - a 50% savings re low volume and almost 1/2 gallon compared to super low flushers.  Sounds like a progressive, if not a complete solution.

Since we have a 20 month old that likes to play in the bathroom the toilet gets flushed every time.  Up until last year our two dogs (dead now) would drink from the toilet regardless of what was in it. So we end up wasting water and flushing our toilet but.......I make up for it by using the tree outside after it gets dark outside. 

I agree with the first post about not always flushing after every use... we flush about every other time..usually the 2nd "usage" person is the flushing person.. and of course if you do anything else it is expected of you to flush... we just bought a house a year ago this past march. It was built in 1904 and we can honestly say there have been no updates on  the house since the 1950's!  We are planning on gutting and remodeling the house and when we put in new toilets to put in the low-flow toilets that have 2 buttons on the top: a 1 and a 2 for the obvious reasons for usage. But that won't be for a year or so. Our toilets are some of the older ones that use anywhere from 3-5 gallons of water a flush! So yes, I agree to not flush everytime unless there is a NEED for the flush... it took me a little bit to realize and personally get over the fact of not flushing everytime and our philosophy of the "saving of the water" and our water bill has been greatly appreciated. But let's put this out there too, that of course if there is company.. flush every time!

Edited by ruth08 - Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:36:53 GMT

Haha, that's fair! I think the benefits outweigh the costs on leaving things alone when you can. Thanks Ruth.

My friend has a beach house that operates this way because they have a septic tank, so the less water they dump into it the less often they have to pay to have it emptied.

This is probably TMI, but I almost always have to urinate prior to defecation so there's already urine down there when I'm at risk of splash back. Maybe most people do not operate this way, I don't really know.

You can also prevent most pets from drinking out of your toilet by closing the lid. I know that's a terrible thing to suggest but no one said saving the world would be easy :p

Well, I'm not the only person who lives in my house.  I'm not really all that worried about my own fresh splashage... but I'm a bit iffy on other people's.  Especially if it's been sitting there for eight hours growing bacteria and other godknowswhat.

And letting the cats drink from the toilet means less bowls of water I have to maintain for them.  Besides, they LIKE the toilet water.  I've even seen them trying to pull the lid up.  And training my cats not to drink from the toilet would be a bit easier than trying to train my husband to put the lid down.  (I have enough problems trying to get him to put the seat down!)

When we get a house someday, Kiwi wants to get a waterless urinal.  Sounds like a good solution to me, for the guys at least- pee doesn't need anything to wash it down.

Sometimes we'll have to pee at the same time (like if we just got home from shopping or eating out)- in which case we don't flush in between.  But I don't like to let it sit- it gets to my germ OCDing.