The Selective Flush - "If It's Yellow..."

If it's dark out. I just go out into the backyard.

Men, of course, are at liberty to pee in the sink, provided they clean up after themselves. Takes a lot of rinsing to watch 1.5L spiral down the drain.

This approach has failed to gain much traction in our household, as it seems to require more frequent cleaning of the toilet.

A more effective way for readers to conserve water, oddly, is purchasing wind power. That is because roughly 250,000 gallons of water a year is used in the generation of electricity for the average U.S. household.

For info on green power suppliers, see "Your Electric Choices" at www.green-e.org. This site includes a clickable map of the U.S. which will show you the choices in your state.

If you don't feel that you can afford to go 100% wind, a very inexpensive option is to buy 10% or 20%. For the average household, the cost will be 5-10 cents a day . . .

Regards,
Thomas O. Gray
American Wind Energy Association
www.awea.org
www.ifnotwind.org

Our household of two tends to do this intermittantly. We often don't flush at night (which is also partly a courtesy to spare each other or the upstairs neighbors the noisy flush), and I tend to especially avoid flushing if I can barely tell anything's there -- pardon the imagery. That's on my list of things to implement more officially when we have another "greening the apartment" conversation. That and finally getting around to putting a brick in the tank.

I've been doing this since my college years in the early 90's. Now that I own a house and actually have to pay water bills, it's even more beneficial to me. I try to keep bathroom water pretty low-use - I also take "Navy showers" and actually time the water usage to 3 minutes (which gives me plenty of time to clean every single part of my body).

I definitely think this sort of post and the post about Navy showers are useful and important for this website. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who can't afford to spend money on small tubs of $60 "eco-friendly" face cream, tiny LED lamps that cost in the hundreds of dollars, or $50+ for "sustainable" t-shirts, especially on a city government paycheck. But I'm very passionate about minimizing my impact. My favorite posts are usually the ones that don't recommend spending thousands of dollars. Even if I already practice a lot of what those posts preach, it's great to see them reinforced and broadcast to potential new audiences.

Is it norm @your house/ are you recoiling in disgust... we'd love to know....

Forgive me, but is this really the best we can do?? Yes I'm recoiling in disgust. We do everything we can to take the toxins out of our home. Whoever came up with this is out of their mind. If you really want to save drinking water, turn off the d**n faucet while in between rinsing while showering, brushing teeth, rinsing dishes, and install a water saving device in an old toilet that uses more water than necessary. Not to mention the stench that we've just been asked to live with. Give me a break.

Toxins? Stench?

Your urine is very different from mine, I guess.

Urine is pretty sterile and non-toxic and doesn't smell much at all.

Maybe you don't drink enough water if yours is different.

Why can't we have toilets with different modes of flushing:
Number One: Small Flush
Number Two: Normal Flush
The Big One: Electric Power Blades + Ultra Flush

"is this really the best we can do?? "

I don't think you realize just how much water this save for one person, and how much it would save if more people did it. Especially for those who don't have low-flow toilets yet (many many people).

Think about it.. How many times do you flush a day? Multiply that by 365 and by the number of people in your house and that's a huge quantity..

You could also buy a dual-flush toilet, which uses very little water for a #1 flush, more for a #2 flush.

I agree that "selective flushing" does indeed leave the toilet requiring more cleaning more often, which given the caustic nature of most toilet cleaning products, can't be good for the environment.

Instead, I have a double-flush toilet. One button (and a quarter flush) for number ones, another button (with a full flush) for number twos. And I still "let it mellow" at least once before I flush, even with the "pee flush".

I do the same as SarahH. If I can barely tell the toilet's been used, I don't bother flushing. Likewise, if I've just blown my nose and thrown the used tissue (actually, toilet paper--I avoid buying tissues) into the toilet, I don't bother flushing.

Incidentally, I remember practicing selective flushing when I was a kid. I must have read about it somewhere and gotten it into my head that it was a great thing to do. My mom eventually put a stop to it, though, because of the smell.

We've been doing this for years, and have taught our kids to do the same. The only major downside is it does promote growth if you leave it there all day every day, so we flush at night after we are ready for bed and in the morning after we are done getting ready for work. So we are twice-a-day-flushers.

No, it doesn't smell. Unless we forget to flush and it sits all day when its hot, and the A/C isn't on because you are trying to save electricity, too. I can't even see it because we often put the seat down after use. Brown, that goes down every time.

Combine flushing less often with our low-water toilets and our well/septic system is very happy. There's nothing disgusting about it unless you choose to be disgusted. Personally, I'm more disgusted by wasting flush water than not flushing waste.

Anotherway of doing the same thing is to not use "drinkable" water to flush the toilet in the first place. I was at the AIA Convention last week and found a company that has developed a device to use the water from the sink to flush the toilet.

Check out the links below:

Product Brochure www.WaterSaverTech.com/Promotional_Material-Downloadable_PDF_file.pdf

o Owner’s Manual www.WaterSaverTech.com/WaterSaver%20Users%20Manual.pdf

- includes: Installation Instructions

o LEED information www.WaterSaverTech.com/LEED-Certification.html

· Frequently Asked Questions www.WaterSaverTech.com/AQUS-water-conservation-questions.html

Anticipated Savings
o Average Savings from The Aqus www.WaterSaverTech.com/Average-Savings.html

o Aquacraft Savings Report www.WaterSaverTech.com/Aquacraft_Savings_Report.pdf

News Room - articles
Drop By Drop, It All Adds Up – Builder Architect
www.WaterSaverTech.com/WST%20Article%20for%20submission%20to%20publications,%20v.3.pdf

Green Builder Magazine review
www.WaterSaverTech.com/GBM_Jan07_page32.pdf

Seminar focuses on ‘greening’ of new homes - San Francisco
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/07/HOG28LHOCU1.DTL&hw=west+coast+green&sn=001&sc=1000

Top 10 Products - Green Builder Magazine
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Doesn't have a name? I've always called it Mellow Yellow. Usually as a verb but I don't use it in conversation that much.

Anyway. I almost always mellow yellow when I'm home alone, but never when there's anyone else around. That's a bit too far.

My wife and I do this over night so as to not wake anyone up and often we will buddy up on #1with one going after the other before the flush.

I also pee in the shower, hey the waters going down the drain anyway and the tub floor is rinsed clear right then and there. Grey water collectors might not want to do this unless it goes right to the plants wouldn't care.

I do this. It annoys me though when my girlfriend won't let me pee in the toilet immediately after she pees. she thinks it's gross for our pees to mingle.

i'm always horrified by these guys in public bathrooms that can't wait 30 seconds for an empty urinal so they use a stall to pee.

it'll be neat when more poor environmental choices become crimes.

Our family has been doing this for years as well; the kids have grown up with the concept. We easily save 16 flushes a day.

Just be happy that you have the option to decide whether you'll flush or not. Many people from the former soviet bloc continue to not flush *anything* until the toilet is *full*. There are plenty of places in the world that have modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing, but water is such a precious resource that none is put to waste.

But yeah, if you're a guy and can get away with it, go out in the back yard. I actually suggested it to a family with 3 boys.. but somehow I don't think they took me seriously.

The other side of the story is if your urine is yellow then your not getting enough water intake yourself. I wish I could find the source now but basically the normal amount of water you should be taking in will dilute the waste enough that your urine should be clear. So if your yellow then your not drinking enough, up your water intake and after a while you shouldn't be yellow.

When my wife's not around I pee in the sink. But don't let her know that. She forces me to flush every time and she flushes every time because she insists she needs about three feet of toilet paper to "feel clean."

Maybe there's a market for a toilet lid cover with an integrated urinal? Or maybe a toilet without a handle that flushes on a timer or when the waste weighs a certain amount?

When I worked at home, I would do this all day, maybe only flushing once, and when it's just me and my boyfriend, we also let it mellow. Now that I work in an office, though, I just can't do it. More reason to telecommute, I guess

I had a friend who nailed an old urinal to a tree in his back yard, just to make things clear.

Also, why can only boys pee outside?

I think the "yellowness" is a perfect personal hydration indicator. If I can't let it mellow without anyone noticing I'm not drinking enough water.

"On this island of sun and fun, we don't flush for number one"

In the interest of common sense, there's a caveat here.

If you're using a few sheets or more of toilet paper per evacuation of the bladder, especially in any house with older plumbing, letting the waste build up between flushings is a bad idea that can and does lead to slow-running or fully clogged toilets. Most older piping will not easily handle large clumps of paper waste going through.

Fixing a clogged or slow-running toilet by dumping very toxic chemicals to eat the way through the obstructions and flush out into the wastewater is no healthier for the environment than flushing after every use. So, as in all things, use moderation and common sense.

I'm grossed out. I admit it. I want to not be grossed out, because I recognize the environmental benefits, but I am.

Don't assume that I have my a/c running because you see me on the net Anonymous @ 9:55 . And don't bring my health into it either the only thing I can usually afford to drink all day is water. I'd also like to know how you feel about that same issue when your toddler learns how to open the childproofed bathroom door and the toilet and "investigate" for the first time.
I agree with Tom Gray and 2:28pm Anon. There are more effective ways to go about saving water.

>>i'm always horrified by these guys in public bathrooms that can't wait 30 seconds for an empty urinal so they use a stall to pee.

pee-shy... give me a urinal with a door.

if you live alone or you have your own personal washroom in your house (as I do), then it's not a problem to not flush.
but if you share a bathroom, it's rather unpleasant to be greeted with the urine of the last person who used the toilet.
but nonetheless, whatever floats your boat (and is eco-friendly) is fine!

When my urine is clear colored or really light then I don't flush but otherwise, I flush.

This is exactly the type of thing I think treehugger should be covering! The type of thing that everyone could or should think about. this is way better than the $600 bamboo end table (that probably flew 2000 miles to your door).

On to the question at hand. Though I feel I should be mellow yellowing, I don't. As a woman, I frankly find it kind of gross to sit on a bowl filled with another's pee. It could splash on me! I know it's sterile and all, but I have trouble getting over that thought.

Maybe we could have a bowl that filled with water only when necessary, and could be evacuated sans water after a pee -- sort of like the toilets in airpplanes. until that is invented, I 'let it mellow' only occasionally, often at night.

http://www.twoflush.com/

This is a dual flush retrofit kit as seen on builditsolar.com. It allows you to "microflush" and have a regular flush when the need arrives.

My boyfriend pees in a 1.5 liter airtight container he got at Target that he keeps in the back bathroom.

At my house he puts it either in the compost or under the banana tree [which hadnt done *anything* until he started doing this].

At his house he flushes it when its full, thus saving a ton of water. Its not practical for me being a girl, but i think its super cool that he does it!

And the letting it mellow does require more frequent cleaning if you forget about it! I use all natural cleaner tho, so its nothing i worry about.

My mom has a major problem with selective flushing. I couldn't tell her that I selectively flush for the benefit of the environment because I thought she might throw a fit. She thinks it's disgusting (It's just tinkle!).
I still do it, of course
I don't think anything's wrong with it, except maybe in public bathrooms. That's nasty, I don't want anything to splash back up on me.
Also:
I pee in the shower, too.
And I peeing outside isn't just for the boys, and you don't even need a bush or some brush to cover you if it's dark enough outside.

Great post, and I'd like to see more in the same genre! Things that everyone can do themselves, rather than buying eco-this and eco-that.

When vacationing at Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas, they had posted signs in all the bathrooms "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down. Far from being grossed out it made so much sense that my husband and I have continued this practice ever since when possible. If we have company we flush. For the most part my husband joins the many that pee outdoors, however we go one step further. Jerry Baker "Master gardener" has a recipe for fire ant control that uses urine so he pees into a container for our fire ant concoction.

We also keep a bucket by the kitchen sink and whenever we soak anything we pour the water in the bucket, leftover coffee including the grounds, tea. We water our plants indoors & out and they love the soapy mix. Once you start it becomes apparent how much water goes down the drain needlessly. This is anal behavior but we just incorporate it into our recycling and composting routine.

My boyfriend pees right into our composter, I would, but I think I might have some difficulty. I may have been more freaked out about this before I started backpacking a lot, I've noticed a lot of national parks going to composting toilets and while I live in a high density neighborhood I would seriously consider it in a less dense one (although I seriously believe that the National Park Service should do nothing to augment a park and if you like camping you certainly can handle going outside.)

I wonder if people know that you can pour water directly into the bowl to make it flush and it takes only half the water. To fill the tank takes about 4 gallons and to fill the bowl only 2 gallons. You need to pour the water in fast because it's the swirling action that makes it go down.

Does anyone know of a safe "toilet tablet" to put in the tank that releases cleanser with every flush? This would solve the frequent cleaning problem, except that most of them seem to be bleach-based.

Why not go even further? If its yellow, let it mellow; if its brown, let it mound (at least until it rises out of the water; then a flush is more than appropriate).

I agree with "let it mellow". It's just urine. In an emergency, with no water, you can drink it. I flush at bedtime.

Here's my two cents. How about just "going camel" about it...holding it in until you really, really gotta go. your body gets into this rhythm where it becomes natural to only go a couple of times a day, and you only drink as much water as your body needs (personally I think Americans over drink their water).

I've spent considerable time in areas with no public restrooms and bathroom norms. Men could pee all they wanted, but with no privacy, women couldn't afford the same luxury. We could only go at dawn and dusk, when we were least likely to be spotted. Most tribal, aboriginal, and water deprived communities live like this.

Modern people are very spoiled.

I lived w/o running water for years.

Every drop of water that came into the house had to be carried from the spring. It caused me to be very inventive with water usage.

I took a 'bucket bath".

Warmed up half (or less) of a 5 gal pail of water on the stove; used the rest to cool it down. In the tub I'd stick my head into the bucket, pour a little water over me and soap up. Then the rinse. No problem -I got clean!

Today, even though I have electricity and running water, I rarely flush my toilet. Whatever water I use for a bath is used during the day to flush with. In the summer I also use it to water plants on the deck and in the gardens. Plants LOVE soap!

For watering the gardens I have a 100 gallon stock tank (aka rain barrel) under a downspout. This way I use rainwater and not my well water!

I am in college and live in a dorm. Last year my floor started an "Environmental Stall" that followed the yellow-mellow rule, and you'd be amazed at how much drama this has caused among the girls on my floor. It blows my mind that people have such high levels of expectation for what they "deserve," to the point where some girls even flush the toilet in the environmental stall and then use a different one just because they can't stand the thought of peeing in the same room as it.

This is something that I would gladly do as long as I am at home alone. :) This could especially be done by those who have a private bathroom seperate from guest bathroom.

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We combine this method at my house with greywater to seriously cut down on the water we use to dispose of waste. Basically, the sink in our bathroom drains to a bucket, and then we use the bucket to flush the toilet. When you wash your hands and hear it drain to a bucket, you are very conscious of how much water you actually waste in the process of washing your hands, so we've managed to cut down a lot on that, too. It just makes me happy to know that I'm not flushing a couple gallons of clean, drinkable water down the toilet every time I take a shit. At least this way, we use the water twice before we dispose of it.

See when i was younger i watched alot of horror movies (starting at age 2) because of this i was very afraid of flushing and having disturbed some bad thing in there. When my mum would see it i usualy got yelled at so i would flush and run.
Now that i'm an adult and living with my fiance, although we both try to be green he still yells at me. After awhile i told him that i was being green and that why i wasnt flushing. So now two years, he has gotten used to it (and doesnt flush occationaly) and so have our friends that come over to hang out or spend the night. :)

Why not go a little back in time and use outhouses? Up to about 25 years ago, that's all we had at my house (just before I was born, and it's just outside suberbia) but at my cottage, that's what we have. Actually, that's what everyone on my lake had: septic sytems were just not practical in a rather isolated place. Now that all the "yuppies" have moved in and started living there permantly, there are fewer outhouses. But we use an outhouse every summer that we're down at the cottage, and it's not that gross. Just move it every so often, and when you do, you've got some wicked good fertilizer left behind. Maybe not practical in a completely suburbian setting, but hey, you can get really effective venting systems, and they rarely stink.
Also, composting toilets use the same idea, just indoors. Just empty every day or few days, and again, great compost for the garden or whatever. Very little water used, and some models have the waste slide down, away from the bowl so it's not just sitting there.
At home we've always used the selective flush just because we're on a well system which tends to run low in the summer, so it's just become habit over the last 25 years since we got indoor plumbing. Not an unnatural thing about it. If you're that uncomfortable about letting it sit all day, at least "coordinate" your trips, so you all go at once and then flush after everyone has gone.

I'm on a well and have a septic...so it doesn't cost me anything to get water and water isn't really a limited resource for me- my well has never run dry.
Still, I have low flow shower & toilets and I have Navy Showers & use Selective flushing. Being on a septic you really have to stay connected with what you flush. My septic tank is only 600L and will get full quickly with 3 adults.

As for the 'smell' my boyfriend has a kidney disease, so he's the only one that flushes when yellow.

The problem I have is the amount of toilet paper that is consumed...not only will it clog the drain but also the septic tank. I have one roomate that uses a whole roll every other day...obscene.

Another note: I am totally into modern design and those 'mellow yellow' signs that you get for cottages would not look nice in my modern bathroom. Does anyone know where to get clever environmental reminders for your home that have a modern design?

I don't flush if someone's gone to bed. Not out of environmental concerns but out of paranoia that I'll wake them up.

I grew up in a family that detested wasting anything that could be conserved - not the "green" type, the "I have to pay for that!" type.
Consequently, I've lived by this creed for several decades.

I'm now much more of a "green" type, but the basic concept still works. And the toilet tissue isn't a clogging problem when we place it in the trash can next to the toilet rather than the toilet bowl. We use a septic tank, so the avoidance of flushing tissue is a definite plus.
We clean with an environmentally friendly cleaner, and, as long as the yellow isn't left to mellow too long, there isn't an appreciable increase in build-up to clean, anyway. We also have a low-water usage toilet, which helps, too.

I love running across articles like this, that press for changes which cost absolutely nothing to implement, and conserve so much!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"I was green when green wasn't cool."

I let it mellow, and then fill my tank with water from the shower. A 4-minute navy shower with low-flow head usually gives me about 3 gallons, enough for 1-2 flushes. Right now I collect this water manually in an 11-quart bucket. It's primitive, but it works. Green on a budget.

I live alone, so I often make it the whole day on one flush or less if I don't have any guests. Most of my visitors are close friends, so I apprise them of the situation and let them do what's comfortable for them.

As for the cleaning requirements: I've found that cleaning the bowl doesn't take much effort when done regularly. For me it's just a few seconds with the brush. Use eco-friendly cleaning agents instead of caustic chemicals. You can also use a flat cola to this end (good this: it returns all kinds of hits).

When it's hot is usually the time that you need to conserve the most water...

At any rate, I don't think there are any major water shortages in the US except maybe in Arizona, and if you choose to live there then you're obviosly out of your mind anyway.

Flush. Please flush. Unless it's white or something..
Otherwise, I think it's more hygienic and clean to flush a toilet. If you really want to save water, there are other ways to do it.
love and PEACE

I am lazy. Who cares to flush? Just leave it there:D

There are some no flush urinals that require not flushing there is a fluid that is lighter than the urine that is placed in the "bowel".http://www.waterless.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=55

Not only does it use less water it is easier to process more concentrated urine at treatment plants. There are people who are advocating a separating "toilets" urine in one chamber feces in another.

Waste water treatment systems mostly try to use the Mix first separate later system http://www.holon.se/folke/kurs/Distans/Ekofys/Recirk/Eng/mifsla_en.shtml

So diverting urine to composting is a good solution but maybe be less than legal - sanitation rules are in place to prevent the spread of pathogens etc.

In times past tanneries and dye makers would actually hire boys and young men as a source of urine (chemical feedstock)