When I was in college, one of my roommates at the house I lived in for a year mentioned that her mother didn't always flush her toilet. Not, obviously, when there were, uh, solids involved. But for the other stuff? Not every time, because she didn't want to waste water.
A laudable goal, especially considering the mother lived in Phoenix. As in, pure desert area. As in, a place there is not so much water and you really should limit your impact on the local supply*.
But I, being a typical insufferable 22-year-old, said something to the effect of, "That's gross."
I may have even said those exact words. Ever polite, that was me.
And now? Now I don't flush either.
Well, not NEVER, obviously. But not that often. Again, when solids are involved, those get immediate disposal, but pee? Eh. Whenever it starts to look too yellow.
Oh, 22-year-old me. You had no idea what you would become.
The reason we don't flush every time is because we don't want to waste water either. And the reason we don't want to waste water is because we (meaning A.) have to work so hard to get the water to our house. That's the reality of living in a place without a municipal water supply. So, no excess flushing.
And now it's time for you to weigh in on this potentially divisive topic, duckies! Are you an occasional flusher, or is the very idea of skipping a flush enough to make you gag?
* Although most people living in Phoenix probably use more water than anyone, thanks to the CAP water and the fact that everything has to BE watered to survive. But that's a topic for another place.
12 comments:
I never flush at night--not wanting to wake the household and having grown up in Colorado where one never wastes water! My husband, however, is a frequent flusher.
I have to flush! I just don't like to see a "used" toilet. . . just sayin'
i never really know how much toilet paper is going to be too much, so i usually flush.
but hey, let's get together sometime when you want to grip about unsustaianable water usage and planetary doom.
I am so happy to see this post. I grew up being taught not to flush at night, not to save water but as someone else stated, to keep the house quiet at night. Nowadays, I tend to pee quite frequently (I know, TMI right?) and we have a septic tank, so I would prefer not flushing so often BUT I have a very fussy husband who is all "oooh gross" about the whole thing. You would think he didn't grow up as a farm boy! So I only get to save a flush if no one else is home, but I'm glad to see a kindred spirit in the flushing world! Maybe I should show my husband your post.
I usually wait until I have gone three times to flush. I worry about the paper and do not want to stop up the toilet. I always flush before I leave the house for the day. I just cannot let it sit all day. When I come home at night I go back to the three times rule. (This only applies to liquid waste)
I don't always flush but my husband NEVER flushes! Even when solids are involved -- unless it is a huge pile. I don't mind the pee, but the poop makes me sick. I try to explain to him that he has an "out-y" and gets to stand to pee, so getting splash back from a poopy toilet isn't likely. But I have an "in-y" that requires sitting in close proximity to the toxic toilet, so splash back is totally not cool and that means I am going to flush first and then use the toilet and then flush again (which makes him nuts).
So now I have recruited my 2 year old daughter to yell at daddy about flushing the toilet. If she has to remember to flush after a number 2, so should he. She's a great ally because the daycare even has a song about flushing the toilet. And nothing is more embarrassing than your 2 year old yelling "Daddy! YOU FLUSH THE TOILET! YOU POOPED!" at a party.
Rain barrel, bucket,septic tank,paper into trash can,less water to flush. Beth
Holy crap! Umm ... I mean ... Wow! I thought I was the only one that didn't want to wake people up.
Awesome! I also don't flush when only peeing...and have taught my kids this. We live in a state surrounded by water, but water is still a precious commodity. I was raised hearing "If it's yellow, let it mellow...if it's brown, flush it down!"
We have a septic system here in KS so we don't flush every time for pee. But always for poop. Just too smelly! I was raised this way so nothing new for me.
Inga
We have a septic system so I definitely don't flush every time. Growing up, we had a sign next to the toilet in the bathroom "In this house of sun and fun, we never flush for number one." I guess that's what you get when your father installs septic systems for a living. (The sign is still up and I practice this in my house too).
Another septic tank owner, and a private well as well. Wet paper in the wastebasket, no flushing after pee.
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