To flush or not to flush - that is the question!

I’m not surprised people leave the opened lid open in a public loo during a pandemic. I’m certainly trying not to touch ANYTHING I don’t have to and especially in a public loo.
I have a travel gadget for tea and coffee which you pop into your cup and it boils the water required. Uses less electricity and just the job for one person.

youtu.be/2pXuAw1bSQo

kjmpde

water is not limitless - our water company has asked people to save water - at least 5 litres a day but to flush takes about 20 litres. i agree with Martin Lewis - but about 3 wees = a flush to keep things not too smelly

Water is not limitless? I cannot understand that argument, other than some overpaid CEO of a water company arguing that it must be conserved.

The planet is two thirds covered by water, we are told that global warming is causing water levels to rise. Many countries are using desalination plants.

Desalinating sea water to create fresh water produces sea salt, negating the need to mine salt.

Why do we believe that water will run out?

I agree we shouldn't waste water just because we're in the fortunate position that we could.

However don't forget that almost three quarters ofEngland's waterindustry is currently owned overseas. At least 71% of shares inEngland'snine privatisedwater companiesare owned by organisations from overseas including the super-rich, banks, hedge funds, foreign governments and businesses based in tax havens

I have a very close family member whose job means he knows the water situation faced by our water supplier - one that supplies a huge area - and via him I know that we have been very close to having severe restrictions put on our supply now for several years running.
Most consumers remain in blissful ignorance of this and continue to waste this precious resource!

This shortage will not come in our lifetime ( well, most of us) but if we carry on as we are it will certainly affect our grandchildren.
How do some of you feel about desalination units built on some of our beautiful coastline?
These units are very expensive to run. Who's going to pay, the tax payer.
They also use a lot of electricity. Where's the extra electricity going to come from? More wind farms?
And on and on it goes because people think water is going to be there forever.

A friend of mine worked for the water board and said it was crazy to flush after used for having a wee wee. Having worked for Oxfam I know how valuable water is and we were fitted with a water meter. So we only flush after 3 tinkles as my mother used to say! BUT always check clean water in if we have guests. People just waste water and such a precious commodity.

SunnySusie, I also remember the potty for night time. That may be considered to be unhygienic, but there were less of certain bugs. We never had outbreaks of stomach bugs that affected the whole family, or half of the school.

jillybird
I hope this isn't too sciency for you.https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170412-is-the-world-running-out-of-fresh-water

I flush every time but I do have water saving devices in my tanks / dual flush to save water. If there was a drought I'd go with the yellow mellow, brown flush down, but only at home! I wasn't aware we had a drought at the moment as we've had quite a lot of rain here but we all need to conserve water as much as possible whether we're metered or not. I've always turned the tap off when brushing teeth and only put dishwasher or washing machine on with a full load.

I too have heard this saying and I know some who do it and I`m sure its better as regards saving water but I just do not like to do, to me, its normal to flush after use whether its brown or yellow

As DH and I have our own ensuite, we are quite relaxed about not flushing after a wee as nobody else goes into our bedroom or bathroom, and we certainly don't flush at night. This is more to do with water conservation than meanness over the water bill as we live in the driest part of the country. The loo gets flushed a couple of times a day, and we have a low usage dual flush. Trying to do our best, and I really don't think it is disgusting as others have said. The main bathroom always gets flushed if used by adult DC who are temporarily at home.

MerylStreep I have been told that before. I must get round to it! I actually got some white vineger from Tesco last order, so can start right away.

water is not limitless - our water company has asked people to save water - at least 5 litres a day but to flush takes about 20 litres. i agree with Martin Lewis - but about 3 wees = a flush to keep things not too smelly

We have a water hippo. When we first got the water meter we didn't flush every time but more flushing crept in and we now always flush. Our water bill is still considerably less that it was before the meter. Would be lower if DH didn't fill the kettle full when he wants only one cup of coffee or a small pot of tea.

Is it just me who spent quite a lot of their childhood with a pottie full of wee under the bed at night? There was no possibility of flushing as we had no mains drainage or indoor toilet. I dont remember anyone getting upset about it or saying it was unhygenic. The alternative was walking a very long way down the garden to the pail closet, on freezing dark winters nights this was such an uninviting prospect no one thought twice about whether or not to use the chamber pot.

I always flush regardless it’s so hygienic I believe . I always think of the drought in the poorer countries and never let the water run while cleaning my teeth. In fact when I got a new boiler the kitchen sink used to have to run for ages before we got hot water so I bought a quooker In a sale half price where I now get instant boiling water no longer any need for a kettle which takes ages to boil especially if you stand and watch it the quooker saves on electricity too. Try it ladies nothing ventured etc

Sorry Jillybird I really did type it correctly the first time.?

JenniferEccles Wed 26-Aug-20 17:11:49
Anyway back to water conservation, does anyone remember a Minister for Drought appointed in the late summer of 1976 ?
Immediately following his appointment the heavens opened!

Not quite, The Sikh community claim that their prayers, not the appointment of Denis Howell, caused a miracle for the rain to start. Then it rained and rained and rained.

In East London there was a potato grower who sold his wares in a lay-by along the A12, the main road east out of London. He got so fed up with the persistent rain that he made a large notice that read: "Would The Guru Please Turn Off The Tap."

Jolly bird, I seem to remember that the poster who used the word finite was someone who had experienced a water shortage. I may be wrong?
In HK we only got water for 4 hours every 4 days for quite a long time. It seemed fairly finite then.

I put the lid down to flush, but raise it again once it's finished. Quite bemused now to find that this would horrify some of you if you happened to be the next potential user!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dont flushevery time I pee at-home. But when I'm out that's a different matter. I always flush.

I try to put lid down to flush when at home. But when I go to a public toilet I distrust the ones with lid down in case there’s something horrid in there. Tend to choose one with lid up that I can see is clean!

So taking this one step further......