In this era of water crises it is time to remind people that if they can get control of a misplaced yuck response, they can do their part to save a lot of water. In short: Don’t flush the toilet so often. This is not a new concept. It has been well-studied and recommended for decades.
The idea is that flushing after peeing once in a standard household is not necessary and wastes water. Pooping, however, you will want to flush every time.
A few facts:
• A modern standard household toilet uses an average 2800 gallons a year. You should be able to reduce that by half by peeing two or three times before flushing.
• Science tells us urine is not very pathogenic, much less than, say, saliva. So don’t spit in your toilet, you’ll be making it dirtier. And every flush sends an invisible plume of liquid into the air. Less flushing, less urine plumes.
• You have a window of several hours of peeing before diluted urine produces any odor. Standing urine does increase hard water deposits a bit, but run the brush after every flush to fix that. And if you have a guest bathroom, reserve it for the guests to avoid surprises.
The West’s water crisis won’t abate in your lifetime, so you have a lot of time to get control of your learned disgust, make the change, and be part of the solution.
Tom Horton, Park City