Okay, I have a confession to make. I am very squeamish about peeing in a toilet that contains someone else's. (Yes, I am aware that the correct terminology is "urine" and "urinating," but it takes longer to type, and besides, does anyone but doctors really use those?)
I know, intellectually, that depositing a few ounces of pee into 3.5 gallons (on the economical side) of water, and then flushing it down is terribly wasteful. I know, intellectually, that pee is sterile. I know, intellectually, that you really could possibly drink the stuff (Although, it is a myth that it would somehow keep you alive in dire circumstances. It would, at best, provide a placebo effect, like you were doing something to make things better, not unlike pushing that little button while waiting on the crosswalk signal.). All this, I know. Intellectually. And yet, I still cannot bear the thought of peeing and having someone else's splash up on me. Porta-potties? Pure hell.
I know, however, that water conservation needs to be on my list of greening actions. So, I've taken the whole "if it's yellow, let it mellow" thing to heart in my personal bathroom, during the day, when no one uses it but me. That way I only have to flush 1/3 to 1/4 as often there. And I don't flush in the other bathrooms, either, if just the boys are home. They don't care; they are logistically further away from any splashing that might occur.
No, it's not ideal. It's not completely, whole-hog, full-tilt conservation. But no one ever said it had to be, now, did they? The whole point is actually doing something about conservation, instead of just pissing and moaning.
Hey Lori. I gotta say, as a European, the greatest cultural shock for me visiting the states was your toilets. They are GROSS!!! For me, there is just something wrong with having nasty toilet water that close to my toosh. I fully subsribe to your toilet squeamishness.
I just don't understand why you guys need so much water in that thing. Ours are built so that there is only a little bit of water on the bottom, so its not as gross to 'pee second' :D
And these dutchies are even more efficient than that... Our dutch toilet has an "inspection shelf", so really, there is no water there to splash you. And we also have this flush control system, which means if you need to you can just flush a little bit and stop the flush. Really, I think there should be a social uprising over there to demand Euro-toilets for everyone... Oh, and bidets too ;)
Posted by: Alina | April 13, 2007 at 04:06 PM
Hey, we all have our hang-ups :)
Posted by: Sara | April 14, 2007 at 10:10 AM
at the portland airport, you have a choice between flushing "number one" or "number two." brilliant! that's the only place i've seen such a thing, though. we "let it mellow" at home, but i wouldn't think of it in public.
Posted by: kelley | April 14, 2007 at 10:47 AM
Okay, you've given me a whole new perspective I need to think about. And I appreciate your candor and willingness to share reservations about what is a "good thing" on the surface but leads to squeamishness. It's not about fixing the world overnight, but getting the world on a road to health. I enjoy the blog -- keep up the posts.
Posted by: deliberately | April 15, 2007 at 05:37 AM
Do you have a garden? Because I've got a trick for you - instead of putting things into your potty at all, try peeing into a container (yup, girls can do this too) - like small bucket. If you are really picky, get a commode and everyone gets their own bucket for peeing. Then, dilute it 1/10 and pour it on your garden. No water, no splashies, plus think of all the beautiful, fertile veggies you can grow. Or you could reserve the potty for your own use, and have the other folk in your house pee into mason jars or buckets for garden use. It really does make astoundingly good fertilizer.
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon Astyk | April 15, 2007 at 01:10 PM
I pour it onto my compost occasionally! :D
A composting toilet needn't be a big expense. Depending on where you live, it could be as simple as a 5-gallon bakery bucket with a toilet seat attached. You'd just throw in some sawdust or other compostable whatnot each time you use it-- splashing eliminated!!
I don't claim to be an expert on this, mind you; just thought you might be interested in looking into it. The 5-gal bucket thing appeals to me, anyway... LL
Posted by: laura | April 16, 2007 at 06:23 AM