# How often do you flush the home toilet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361 "2013-11-20T17:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/21 "2013-11-20T19:19:35Z")
I can’t imagine being so cheap that you’d leave piss in the toilet just because of a water bill. However, there are two situations that come to mind where “If it’s yellow let it mellow” makes sense. 1. Islands. On an island where people have septic systems it can be a real problem. Sandy ground combined with smallish camp or cottage type septic systems sometimes just can’t handle being flushed twenty times an hour. If you are having a party and live on an island it’s common to see a sign letting people to know not to flush every piss. 2. Hunting camps. Basically the same reason. Ten guys all drinking scotch and beer do a lot of pissing. That septic system installed in 1970 and never since updated may not be able to handle it. Usually I just encourage people to piss outside in that situation and leave the bathroom for number twos. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/22 "2013-11-20T19:23:34Z")
The let it mellow people appear to be in the minority. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/23 "2013-11-20T19:24:08Z")
Whenever it needs it. Getting water is not a problem (there’s a whole fucking Great Lake in my front yard), and neither is disposal of reasonable amounts. But why stress the pump and plumbing if you don’t need to? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/24 "2013-11-20T20:21:49Z")
The only time I don’t flush every time is if it’s in the middle of a drought. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/25 "2013-11-20T20:27:06Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > \ > After a few weeks I did the math and found that I was saving something like $4 _per year_ and decided that it’s just not worth it for a few flushes a day. It’s not about saving money for us; it’s about not wasting water - we live in a semi-arid area, and clean, drinkable water shouldn’t be taken for granted here. It probably shouldn’t be taken for granted in any area that gets treated city water - it takes a lot of energy and chemicals to make reliably clean drinking water. > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Once a week. Maybe sooner if it gets to where the lid won’t close. That is…quite the vivid mind picture you’re painting! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/26 "2013-11-20T20:27:58Z")
If I just blow my nose on some TP and throw it in the bowl, I don’t flush. Anything up from that goes the route. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/27 "2013-11-20T20:34:42Z")
It took awhile but I finally got my husband to flush every time. The yellow stain in the bowl convinced him. If there was a water shortage, I’d conserve some other way. If it was a serious drought, I’d probably do my business outside, dig a latrine. I’m not a clean freak, but an unflushed toilet is unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/28 "2013-11-20T20:36:26Z")
> [@saje](#): > > For you guys that only flush sporadically - who cleans the toilets? I do. > [@](#): > > My husband “forgets” to flush. It Drives. Me. Nuts. I’m the one that cleans the effing bathrooms, and yes the toilets get gross faster, and the room stinks, when pee “mellows”. Yuck. > > I spend most of my life dealing with the excrement of others. I’d like ONE being in this house (besides me) to be able to take care of their own! The kids are gone, so there is no one but us to worry about it. But I’ve never detected a smell, and toilet stains are from other causes. Sure we flush if anyone but us is going to be around, but that is rare. Maybe you guys should eat less asparagus. After that we do flush. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/29 "2013-11-20T20:40:25Z")
Every time. I had to school my roommate, he would let his mellow. His piss made the whole bathroom smell like piss and I’d have to flush it while gagging before I could use the toilet anyway! Dis-gus-ting. We’re not even paying for water, it’s included in the rent! Not to mention, if you poop into pee-water and it splashes up and hits your rumpus, that is \*infinitely \*more disgusting than plain toilet water. /vomit ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/30 "2013-11-20T20:44:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It’s not about saving money for us; it’s about not wasting water - we live in a semi-arid area, and clean, drinkable water shouldn’t be taken for granted here. It probably shouldn’t be taken for granted in any area that gets treated city water - it takes a lot of energy and chemicals to make reliably clean drinking water. I remember talking about dishwasher with someone (was it you?) a few years back and this came up. I argued that worrying about getting one dishwasher over the other because it saved a half a gallon shouldn’t be something to worry about and the other person said what you just said. I often forget that, like Musicat, I have a virtually endless supply of fresh drinking water that needs minimal treatment to be drinkable (at least compared to other places). We draw right off one of the great lakes. Waste water is cleaned very, very well and dumped right back in. I don’t think water conservation has ever been an issue in the Great Lakes states, at least not that I know of. I mean, no one is leaving their garden hoses on for fun or turning the shower on and going to work, but with that, we’ve never been taught not to flush the toilet or been asked not to water the lawn or hold off of washing our cars\*. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/31 "2013-11-20T20:57:03Z")
Ok, we live where there’s a ruddy great river flowing through the city but it still costs a lot to treat the water we get. Like one other poster, I save water not because it saves me money (we don’t have meters and don’t have itemised water charges on our city rates) but because every litre comes out of the river and gets treated to a potable standard. Why waste 11 litres flushing away a couple of hundred mls of pee? It doesn’t end up making the room smell like a public convenience except if I’ve been eating asparagus. That does get flushed straight away. I answered that we flush after every 2-3 pees, but it may be more pees than that if the pee rate is higher. I notice that if I’ve peed at night, when I go in the morning the bowl looks clear. Maybe there is a very small leak that’s diluting it overnight. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/32 "2013-11-20T21:45:08Z")
I answered “explain”. I flush every time except if I get up in the middle of the night and my wife has not been sleeping well and I think doing so will waken my wife. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/33 "2013-11-20T21:53:08Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > For most houses / single family residences, yes. In fact not only do you pay for what you use but often times it’s on a sliding scale where you pay increasingly higher rates for each increased plateau of use. > > For apartments and the like I imagine you’ll see a mix between direct billed and all utilities included. > > In rural and country settings it’ll be a mix too between those on city water and those with their own well system. In addition to the sliding scale, there is often also a base charge. For instance, I get charged for 2,000 gallons whether I use that much or not. It’s probably safe to say that I usually do. In addition to city water and wells for rural customers, there are also rural water systems. And, at least out here, the rates for rural water are much higher than for city water. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/34 "2013-11-20T22:19:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Every time. I’m willing to be frugal, but there’s a limit. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/35 "2013-11-20T22:20:37Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Every time. I had to school my roommate, he would let his mellow. His piss made the whole bathroom smell like piss and I’d have to flush it while gagging before I could use the toilet anyway! Dis-gus-ting. We’re not even paying for water, it’s included in the rent! > > Not to mention, if you poop into pee-water and it splashes up and hits your rumpus, that is \*infinitely \*more disgusting than plain toilet water. /vomit Double yep. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/36 "2013-11-20T22:40:23Z")
“If it’s brown flush it down. If it’s yellow still flush it down unless you want to be a disgusting asshole.” That’s my motto. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/37 "2013-11-20T22:53:35Z")
I can still recall as a youth of single-digit age being chastised at my neighbor’s home (who were also relatives). During a visit, I went into the bathroom, discovered a pee-filled toilet, gagged and flushed, then peed and flushed again. I don’t believe I ever used the bathroom at their house again. Mark me down as an every-time flusher (except the once every two months or so when I start daydreaming mid-stream and then wander off forgetting to flush). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/38 "2013-11-20T23:00:00Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I can’t imagine being so cheap that you’d leave piss in the toilet just because of a water bill. > > However, there are two situations that come to mind where “If it’s yellow let it mellow” makes sense. > > 1. Islands. On an island where people have septic systems it can be a real problem. Sandy ground combined with smallish camp or cottage type septic systems sometimes just can’t handle being flushed twenty times an hour. If you are having a party and live on an island it’s common to see a sign letting people to know not to flush every piss. > > 2. Hunting camps. Basically the same reason. Ten guys all drinking scotch and beer do a lot of pissing. That septic system installed in 1970 and never since updated may not be able to handle it. Usually I just encourage people to piss outside in that situation and leave the bathroom for number twos. I have never had a septic system, but I thought it was the solids that were the problem for septic systems. Assuming you don’t have more water during the day than it can handle, why does urine and the extra gallon or two of water matter? ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/39 "2013-11-20T23:12:20Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I can still recall as a youth of single-digit age being chastised at my neighbor’s home (who were also relatives). During a visit, I went into the bathroom, discovered a pee-filled toilet, gagged and flushed, then peed and flushed again. I don’t believe I ever used the bathroom at their house again. I remember being at a friend’s house once when I was really young, and they told me not to flush the toilet. So then after using the bathroom I had to go back and ask them if I flush if I go #2. I was so embarrassed, but I didn’t want to get in trouble for unauthorized flushing. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361/40 "2013-11-20T23:16:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Pretty much every time, except at night. Then we follow the “yellow/mellow, brown/down” rule. This is what I do also. No need to wake the rest of the house at night but I can’t bring myself to not flush during the day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-flush-the-home-toilet/674361.md?page=3)