Lately I’ve been noticing people in the men’s room who approach a urinal, flush, and then proceed to urinate.
Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone here do this?
If so, what is the point of the initial flush? Is it that you want the urinal to be clean before urinating? Why does it matter?
Could there be any real sanitary benefit, or is it just (as I would suspect) psychological? Even if the previous user neglected to flush (and it seems like it would be hard to tell anyway), I don’t see the big deal.
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. It’s really been bugging me…
Good to see someone who saves his posts up for really important topics. Here, you’re lucky to find a urinal with a flush device, although some to flush automatically. With this latter category, I notice that some seem to do it as you approach them, while others while you’re in the act. Not many do it afterwards.
Anyone else hate those damnable red plastic mats they place over the drain-away holes. It makes me come over all queasy, as well as increasing the likelihood of splashback.
The point is that yes while it’s psychological, it’s also sanitary.
Though healthy piss is sterile, dirty truck stop urinal piss might contain pathogens. And it might have been “clean piss” when it was deposited but it also could have been the ultimate warm wet dirty germ haven in the meantime… After all it is bacteria that turn the piss into ammonia (yes I know not necessarirly harmful bacteria).
Another possibility is that some people have stage fright in public toilets. Flushing first somehow gets the pipes moving, which also explains those who feel the need to first spit in the urinal before urinating, a truly bizarre practice.
It’s two factors. I flush before using it because I don’t want their piss a couple feet from my face. Those foot and a half tall urinals suck. They’re too low and it’s difficult not to piss on the top, or they mount them so the bowl is within a couple feet of your face. I flush because the smell and view make it hard not to puke sometimes.
Also your breaking the number one rule in the men’s room, pretend you notice nothing. Ill mannered people now a…
I ALWAYS flush urinals that have remained unflushed when I enter the bathroom, whether its the one I’m using or not. The last thing I need is to have the bathroom smelling like stale piss.
You would never find a Brit doing that because British men’s urinals (I cannot speak for women’s urinals) do not have a flush. Well, they do, but it is not operated by the, er, customer; it’s automatic.
As a complete aside, I was thoroughly flummoxed when I encountered in a bar in New York last year a trough-style urinal full of ICE. What’s that about? To keep the piss nice and cool so it can be piped straight back up into the beer taps?
Love the restrooms in most of the new casinos here in Las Vegas.
Automatic urinal flushers…just walk away and it flushes for you. Same with the water faucets when you wash your hands…just put your hands under it and water turns on. Very germ free and sanitary.
In other places, where you do have to flush manually, I generally do because the idiot who was there before me didn’t, and I don’t need to look at it or smell it thank you very much.
Of course, then there are places like Hofbrauhaus in Munich…lot of beer drinkin’ goin’ on and they don’t have urinals, they have a trough…a huge river of urine just flowin’ by at a good clip…you could put a little sailboat in there and watch it fly by. Normally, though - when you are there and have had enough beer to have to use it, it don’t make a damn bit a difference and you don’t even care that 163 guys are all lined up pissin’ in a row.
