Pee while taking a shower

Start collecting rainwater in plastic tons or in a cistern.

You do know that that is illegal in many municipalities.

Stupid, huh?

One reason for making cisterns illegal is that they will end up full of mosquito larvae if not emptied on a regular basis. In Michigan, we had a good amount of West Nile virus cases in humans up until this past year, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the lower 48 have had cases in the past decade.

I'm sure the die-hard recyclers and gardeners would empty a cistern or rain barrel often enough, but the problem is the average Joe who lets the water stand for a month. Even tire swings are discouraged because of the rain that can pool in the bottom.

In states not lucky enough to be surrounded by lakes like MI, it may also have to do with refilling the groundwater table, but if a homeowner is collecting this water for his own lawn and garden, what is the difference? It will still filter down to the water table. Once your barrel overflows, you certainly can't be hoarding water.

One reason for making cisterns illegal is that they will end up full of mosquito larvae if not emptied on a regular basis. In Michigan, we had a good amount of West Nile virus cases in humans up until this past year, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the lower 48 have had cases in the past decade

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why couldn't you put a top on the barrel?

Perhaps that is the answer. But unless the cover somehow creates a sealed system with the downspout, they can still get in to lay eggs. Plus, if it is a sealed system, the people who don't empty the covered barrels will probably just let the water back up into the downspout, eventually backing up the gutter and letting the mosquitoes breed there.

Window screening works fine on top of the barrel, plus it keeps out leaves and other debris. I've heard that some areas in Colorado outlaw the barrels on the same principle that you can't dam a public stream for your own purposes. Nuts, huh?

"Window screening works fine on top of the barrel"

Excellent idea.

"some areas in Colorado outlaw the barrels on the same principle that you can't dam a public stream"

Interesting. Why is the water falling on your own roof "public" property? If you have a swimming pool or bird bath, do they also expect you to drain off the estimated rainfall? It does seem silly.

I could be totally wrong, but the municipalities may want to avoid their residents paying less for their water bills. The cities and towns want to make the most money possible. Cold hard cash is a key factor in many things.

here in Morro Bay California, water/sewer bill is combined, and based mostly on how much it costs the city to provide water ( pumping, chlorination, or desalination, purchase state water from calif aquaduct ) and treat your sewage, and less on the amount of water you use, conserving won't really reduce your bill, much because the cost of keeping water at pressure is still the same, demand almost equals capacity, and exceeds it at peak periods, conserving will prevent an over-capacity failure, and conserving will delay the costly expense of expanding the system to increase capacity, which with state water already at maximum the only available additional source is desalination, the most expensive water there is. without conserving, your bills would have to go way up to pay for desal. just a local perspective.....

And it tastes like chicken.

No way in hell am I gonna drink piss!

Sharon Stone? Are you talking about the actress?

Actually, you'd get more bang for your bucket if you drank your pee.

Better if you used it to fertilize your plants. It's nitrogen and plants love it -diluted, of course.

Wow, I have a well and don't have to pay for my water... The dedication to the planet is inspirational. (um, not)

We used to have a big steel tank behind our house where we would collect rainwater from the roof. Of course we didn't have plumbing. So, once you get one of those, you could shut off your water main.

It's a good idea.

Here in Turkey, when you get out of the cities you see that everyone has a cistern. They build these above ground concrete things...a slab and four walls, with a valve at one of the bottom corners. They run pipes from that valve all over their garden - and their entire yard is garden.

They also have solar water heaters on the roof.

The rain gutters on your house probably have downspouts that go down into the sewer system.

No, actually, they usually go to the street or to storm drains. When there's heavy rains you don't want to overflow the sewage treatment plant, because it will just dump untreated sewage into the waterway.

There are also "gray water" systems which take water that is relatively clean, such as shower water, water from dishwashers and clothes washers, and uses this for irrigation. This avoids using potable water for watering the lawn/garden, but doesn't create unnecessary health risks.

Dennis, the downspouts on your gutter almost certainly do not go to the sewer. Treating raw sewage is very expensive on a per gallon basis, and your sewer bill would be sky high if this were the case.

In addition to what crispy noted above, there are actually some government agencies and environmental groups that don't want you using rainwater and cistern systems. I am currently working on a highrise project where cisterns were proposed and the state Department of Natural Resources shot it down because the rainwater runoff goes to streams that salmon use to spawn. Theoretically, if we all started hoarding rainwater, then the stream would dry up and the fish would die off.

a note! not all cities have separate storm drains/ sewage systems, especially older east coast cities, where when they were built ( ie Boston ) everything poo and all was dumped to the sea, this was done until modern science learned how the untreated sewage was killing the harbor, they had to start treating everything, sadly it's cheaper to treat all the water, than to build a separate storm sewer system today.

west coast cities built only storm sewers for the winter rains, and sewers as the cities became too big for septic tanks, and there are many cities that still lack sewage systems, ( big mess as cities try and pay for infrastructure nowadays )

second note, Urban runoff should be treated, as it is highly contaminated with more than bacteria. ( bacterial from pigeons, oil dripping, anti-freeze, gas, diesel, grease, dog poo ) none of which do you want simply draining into your local creeks and rivers

Interesting, as a west coaster I hadn't heard that.

IUf anyone's feeling nerdy and wants to read an article about combined sewers, check this out http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257666/

"a note! not all cities have separate storm drains/ sewage systems, especially older east coast cities,"

Same here in Southeast Michigan. The storm drains empty into the sewers, which then go to the water treatment plants.

If you want rainwater for your garden, you can also extend your roof gutter drains so they aim at the garden.

You could collect the water in a barrel, but it is then a breeding ground for mosquitoes, so not recommended. The local municipalities here even drop mosquito-larvae-killing pellets into the catch basins for the storm drains because of the water that pools there.

here in California, they are changing building codes, so new construction has to provide ON-SITE rain-runoff groundwater recharge, vs the traditional drain to city curb / storm sewers and then either requireing costly treatment or oceanic discharge (risk of pollution), there is no one answer, but every drop counts, I think we need to rethink how homes discharge water, sinks and laundry should go to "gray water" irrigation. and only send human waste for treatment.

Showering together is a neat thing for couples and for socializing.

Please forgive me, but I just got a visual of me asking my neighbor over for a shower so we could socialize. I think maybe a backyard barbeque might be better! LOL!

Well, maybe the reason is that you're always peeing in the shower!

oh crap!

HCG76, don't say "crap" in this thread!! Someone might think you're "irrational" for not wanting to shower in it (see any post by JackK).

Hey YY,

I woke up this morning with a killer stomach ache. I took a shower and yadda yadda yadda, I feel great now and smell like a daisy.

ok that was just wrong, you better come and help me off the floor!

eewww!!

Do you step on it right away and squish it down the drain cover holes, or let it sit awhile and break down? I guess you could also go with a poor diet and hope for runny poo.

LMAO

What you've never taken a dump in the shower?!? What if you are in to the shampoo rinse and it hits you...You gonna get out of the shower all nice and clean and hit the crapper?

And yes dontbh8n, you gotta let it break down.

I have never done it intentionally, bbbbuuuuuuuuuuut there have been a few times while taking a shower that I let one go and some watery comes out!

...You gonna get out of the shower all nice and clean and hit the crapper?

Well yeah! And then get back in the shower and wash your ass!!

Well yeah! And then get back in the shower and wash your ass!!

Too much trouble.

It's all pipes man.

yeah it's all pipes, but you don't dip your toothbrush in the toilet or rinse your hair by flushing.. even dogs walk forward while pooping to keep their paws outta it, no wonder athete's foot fungus spreads everywhere... ok.. gotta go before I barf, don't know how you do it. but more power to ya!

:-)

You do understand how a shower works don't you? Water comes down, rinses whatever is on your body down the drain...

No toothbrush involved. hair is rinsed by the water coming out not the water on the floor. no poopy on my paws. no athletes foot.

Now that I see all this irrationality, I an hereby taking a pro shower poopy stance...watch out below. :P

yes, and in my shower, the water pools at my feet before swirling down the drain and if I watch the shamPOO suds as I rinse, which is kinda gross, though you are correct, it all will get washed down the drain, and is less gross than stepping in dog poo with you bare feet and wiping them on the grass.

also to reply to #9 below, Pee is mostly ammonia ( a cleaning agent ) and unless you have a urinary infection. pee is sterile, and can be used as an Astringent in survival situations, can be consumed as water needs and also the ammonia will releive Jellyfish stings.

So you are ok with peeing on yourself out at the beach after a jellyfish sting, but taking a dump in the shower is gross?

Also, to reply to #9. I'll pee while I am taking a bath. Not just because it is sterile, but because of a concept called dilution. You germaphobes must believe that second hand smoke will give you cancer too...lol

I dream of a world where you can pee in your bath water and take a dump in the shower without the irrational harassment of disapproval from one's peers.

well I've never been stung by a jellyfish, but am more ok with having peed my pants ( it'll dry soon enough ) compared to diarrea, which I unfortunatly because of IBD have quite often, and have had a run from my crack down my pantsleg into my sock. which only undressing IN the shower... so yes. I'll take pee over poo anyday,

but this reminds me of camping with my 3 year old nephew, he was not feeling too well but we went anyways, he said he had to go, so we showed him how to squat, he said " i can't go", not realizing he had very bad diarreah, it was sad and funny, he was better after that, and had a good time, but we should have cancelled the trip really,

...I'll pee while I am taking a bath

That is just nasty. Sitting in your own piss water no matter how diluted it may be, is effin' disgusting.

That is just nasty. Sitting in your own piss water no matter how diluted it may be, is effin' disgusting.

So swimming pools and hot tubs are out for you?

JackK, yep, they are as a matter of fact. I refuse to go to a public swimming pool. There's a nice water park here in town that I also refuse to go to. I don't have either a hot tub or swimming pool myself, and if I did, there would be a "no whizz" rule in effect! LOL

Wow, that's about as irrational as it can get. What about the air you breathe, do you avoid tobacco smoke because you believe you will get second hand smoke cancer?

There's a show on A&E called "Obsessed". You should check it out.

My, the discussion really goes from techno to due south here.

When did the discussion get techno? :P

See comment 4.2. It gets rather technical.

Wow, that's about as irrational as it can get

Really? REALLY??! Not wanting to sit in my own pisswater, let alone water that hundreds of others have pissed in is irrational? What the eff EVER!

See comment 4.2. It gets rather technical.

Ahh, you are talking about the gripping discussion about water conservation.

Trust me. Of all the conservation and recycling efforts in the US, this one is near the bottom of the list in importance. I think we probably have a pretty good grip on this one...

Really? REALLY??! Not wanting to sit in my own pisswater, let alone water that hundreds of others have pissed in is irrational? What the eff EVER!

Really...Surely you must look around every once in a while and notice that thousands of people every day go swimming, enjoy a hot tub, etc. and never suffer any adverse effects. That is except for the mental trauma of someone like you.

Effing seriously..."Obsessed" :P

Isn't the crapper usually like, right there?

Yeah, but you have to dry off, get out of the nice warm shower, hit the crapper, and then get back in the shower.

Orrr, you can just let it fly right down the drain, stay nice and warm, and then give the undercarriage a thorough cleaning with soap and hot water.

Like I said before, 1. I'm lazy, 2. I am usually running late in the morning trying to get to my job on time, and 3. because I have no irrational fear about the poo that hits the floor and then goes directly down the drain somehow harming me, this is clearly the best logical solution to the problem.

Plus, I'm doing my part to help out with the critical water shortage here in the US...

but you have to dry off, get out of the nice warm shower, hit the crapper, and then get back in the shower.

I think I'll put in the extra effort, seems well worth it to me

I think I'll put in the extra effort, seems well worth it to me

It is definately worth it to me. I don't want to go out to the truck, to get the hand held sewer snake and clear that Sh*t out of the Shower drain. Especially on a cold morning.

If someone else wants to cr*p in the shower, thats their business. But if the drain clogs, they can pay me $100 or so, to make it my business.

Like I said before, 1. I'm lazy,...

One person's lazy is another person's just-plain-nasty.

I think I'll put in the extra effort, seems well worth it to me

You get an E for the effort Davoh...and I'll give you a cookie too...just don't eat it in the shower. That's just plain nasty.

get the hand held sewer snake and clear that Sh*t out of the Shower drain

Does @!$%# clog up the shower drain???

If someone else wants to cr*p in the shower, thats their business. But if the drain clogs, they can pay me $100 or so, to make it my business

I'll give you $100 to snake the crap between yaddayadda's ears

One person's lazy is another person's just-plain-nasty

You say tomato, I say retardo...

Maybe the fresh water evaporates and is rained on the salt water, making it undrinkable? I dunno.