I’m Right, You’re Wrong: If It’s Yellow, Let It Mellow?

by Marinka on May 15, 2012

I’m Right, You’re Wrong is back and this week, we’re heading over to the potty!

Yes, all of us! Let’s go!

While I was enjoying my time with roommates in Florida recently, an issue came up.

Disagreement: If you have to pee during the night, do you flush the toilet after?

Disagreers: Marinka vs. Stacy and Loukia.

Position One: Hello? Yes. Use toilet, flush toilet. No one needs to see urine in the morning!

Position Two: It’s just urine. Flushing the toilet will wake up people. If it’s yellow, let it mellow!

What do you think? Middle of the night flushing or no?

One year ago ...

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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }

suburbancorrespondent
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 8:47 am

At home, we leave it. Of course, that would happen whether I liked it or not, because — ironically enough — I have a 9-year-old who is scared to flush the toilet.

In a hotel room with non-relations? I’d flush. I can’t stomach seeing the pee of anyone not related to me by blood.

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Stacy @bklynstacy
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 8:48 am

Who is this “Stacy” whom you claim was your “roommate” over the “weekend?” Because surely, it was not me. Because I don’t pee at all, period. It’s so… inelegant.

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Jodi F. May 15, 2012 at 8:50 am

I concur with the position of suburbancorrespondent regarding “let it mellow”. Home: OK. Away: not OK.

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Shara May 15, 2012 at 8:51 am

OMG!!! Flush the freakin’ toilet. This is a hardfast rule. Yuck, left over pee stinks. Plus, what if you REALLY have to pee and you get some kind of splashback….I just dry heaved in my mouth. FLUSH THE TOILET!!!!!!

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Athena May 15, 2012 at 9:20 am

I could not agree more! Ewww! That stinks!

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Alexandra May 15, 2012 at 9:02 am

Oh, did not expect to come here this morning and be thrown straight into PTSD.

My in laws, first time meeting them…first time disagreement with them.

Sitting at breakfast table after our first stay at their home, Papa bear says, “how’d you sleep last night? to which mama bear (MIL) says, “COULDN”T. Someone flushed the toilet. So many toilet flushings…all night, with the toilet.”

My husband turns to me, “Oh, yeah, Alexandra..forget to tell you. Don’t flush the toilet at night.”

Mortified. Near cause of death: choking on eggs at the thought of having to lay awake all night to be first one up so I can flush the toilet so no one sees my pee.

So, ask ME how I slept last night, Papa Bear…

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alaina
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 9:35 am

This made me choke on my coffee. I’m of the brand – at home: leave it, away: flush it.

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Marinka May 15, 2012 at 9:46 am

Your MIL seems very “Princess and the Pee”

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adil May 15, 2012 at 1:09 pm

The first time we visited my in-laws I peed at night and when I came back to bed hubs (he was just the boyfriend then) said, “OMG did you FLUSH?! I totally heard you FLUSH! You can’t flush the toilet at NIGHT, you’ll wake everyone up!!” And initially I thought he was joking. I had never heard of that stupid rule. Because it’s stupid. Should I not wash my hands because the sound of running water might disturb the neighbors? But it turns out he was serious, and I learned my lesson, so now I just hold my urine until morning when we stay with his parents. Heh.

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Tinne from Tantrums and Tomatoes May 15, 2012 at 9:10 am

I prefer to go flushless if there is a chance that the flushing will wake up the children. If such chance do not exists, please for the love of Holy Clorex flush that potty.

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calliope May 15, 2012 at 9:27 am

This may sound odd, but it depends on the country the toilet is in. Here in belgium/holland, all toilets are water savers and the water level in the bowl is very low, plus the bowls aren’t as deep, so if you don’t flush, the pee really smells if it sits over night.
I’m American though and it seems if you’re using an American toilet with more water and a deeper bowl, the pee can sit overnight. Any longer and it gets pretty rank though.

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Danielle May 15, 2012 at 10:00 am

Flush! My husband is the worst at this…claims he doesn’t want to wake us all up. But since I’m the one that has to clean the toilets, I told him to wake us up if that’s what it takes. Pee that hangs out starts to stink. Bleh. Nothing worse than forgetting about it and then going into the bathroom a day later. I’m never sure if I should clean it or just burn it down and start all over (hopefully with a gigantic tub, marble countertops and a window that doesn’t show the neighbors my goods.)

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Loukia May 15, 2012 at 10:06 am

I may have ever so slightly have snored ONE night, but I never used the bathroom! If I had? Of course, I would have flushed! 😉

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Neil
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 10:53 am

Men solve this problem by just peeing in the sink.

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deb May 15, 2012 at 11:35 am

hilarious. but only if you’re kidding!

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BakingSuit May 15, 2012 at 12:28 pm

He may be, but I know others who wouldn’t be with that statement.

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Catherine Dabels
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 11:10 am

No flushing. But then, I live with a bunch of animals so………

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Suniverse
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 11:37 am

I lived with way too many patchouli-esque motherfuckers in college and after to do anything but FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH in order to restore some balance to their constant reduce/reuse/recycle bullshit.

I may be a bit bitter about this.

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Suzy Q May 15, 2012 at 5:22 pm

Best comment on this thread. Hilarious!

I’m the asshole who requests her sheets changed every other day, even at “green” hotels with their little “please save water!” cards. Actually, I want them changed EVERY day, because I AM ON VACATION DAMMIT and I deserve crisp, fresh sheets every day. Which I totally do not do at home.

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sdog May 15, 2012 at 12:28 pm

EW, can I not read this blog anymore while I’m eating breakfast. FLUSH!! Apparently, my husband would go for position 2, if this morning’s toilet surprise is any indication.

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BakingSuit May 15, 2012 at 12:30 pm

Home and it’s pale, it can stay; out or it’s not pale it gets flushed.

And remember to put the seat down no matter what you’re flushing.

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Awesome Dude May 15, 2012 at 12:44 pm

Applies only to men.

When a guest of honor pee into house the plants.

It also doubles as marking your territory.

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Marinka May 16, 2012 at 6:53 am

Let’s cancel that weekend visit now, ok?

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tracy@sellabitmum
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 12:55 pm

Women pee? Not possible. If someone did pee though – yes, flush. Always.

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Alex@LateEnough
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 1:57 pm

I don’t sleep well so if you woke me up by flushing you’d have to stay up and entertain me with gossip and other stories. Your call.

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Lisa S. May 15, 2012 at 2:00 pm

I usually never flush at night. Our bathroom upstairs is right next to our bedroom and daughter’s room so it would definitely wake them up.

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Mexmom May 15, 2012 at 2:41 pm

FLUSH!! I don’t care who wakes up… or it might be that my son is not a ligth slepper so I am ok. 🙂

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Jennifer May 15, 2012 at 3:24 pm

Away from home? Always flush. At home? It depends. When we lived in a small apartment with an easily awoken baby, we came up with this system: In the middle of the night, don’t flush BUT close the toilet lid so the next person to use it knows that it hasn’t been flushed. So, if it’s morning and you don’t want to see old pee, just flush before you lift the lid. Easy!

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Lady Jennie May 15, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Flush! Or course!

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Marinka May 16, 2012 at 6:54 am

Hey, aren’t you living in France? What’s with all the fancy flushing talk?

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anna see May 15, 2012 at 5:00 pm

i’m a flusher, but my husband is a sound sleeper. i would not want HIM to flush and wake me up, but since he has the bladder of a camel and never gets up at night, it’s a non-issue.

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Kristine
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 5:21 pm

At home, I don’t flush, so as not to wake my husband. He claims he won’t wake up, but the man is not pretty at 2am, and so I prefer not to take any chances.

I can’t believe I just admitted to you that I urinate.

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Marinka May 16, 2012 at 6:54 am

We are just speaking hypothetically here.

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Peajaye
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 6:37 pm

I’ve read the Koryak people of Siberia (that’s in Russia; you’re Russian, right?) drink their own urine.

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Kelly May 15, 2012 at 9:21 pm

Hilarious! I don’t flush in the middle of the night because the bedrooms are all right there. I’m assuming that’s OK because I live with my parents who would have no problem telling me I’m being disgusting. Or at the very least, my Dad does the same, and my Mom has just given up from being outnumbered.

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Nelly
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 9:24 pm

Its just pee, let it be.

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nikkiana
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 10:31 pm

Personally, I flush unless I see a sign saying not to. I had a few friends growing up that lived in some particularly old houses with septic systems that were quirky… and it wasn’t terribly uncommon to see cutesy little cross-stitched signs that said “If It’s yellow it is mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”

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C Smith May 15, 2012 at 11:14 pm

I would pee outside in the woods before I would do ANYTHING that might wake one of my kids up(we are not getting a lot of sleep around here these days). But, I would never leave a toilet unflushed in someone else’s house or in a hotel room I shared.

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Liz @ PeaceLoveGuac
Twitter:
May 15, 2012 at 11:27 pm

Funnily enough, this never came up at Camp Erma, and there were 3 of us in one hotel room. I think I’ll start drawing up a contract before BlogHer.

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Tracy Beckerman May 16, 2012 at 9:26 am

Wow.. this is getting almost as much debate as the Time Magazine cover. In fact, I think you should pose on the next issue sitting on the can with the headline: Are you Mom Enough to Flush? I’d buy that issue!
And by the way, I flush at night just so I CAN wake my husband up to get even with him for keeping me up with his snoring.
Flushing can and should be used as marital artillery.

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dusty earth mother May 16, 2012 at 9:54 am

For the love of God, PLEASE flush!!!!!

But how do I really feel about it?

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Mary May 16, 2012 at 10:22 am

I know it sounds weird but it depends on how yellow and if it comes from a male or female. Pale yellowish water in the morning doesn’t bother me but practically orange, pungent piss grosses me out. My two cents.

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Marta
Twitter:
May 17, 2012 at 6:02 pm

I never flush at night because it makes too much noise!

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