Clarification On Earth Day Post

I received a comment today from someone who asked:

As a father of two who are still getting the hang of using the restroom in a timely and thorough manner, I’m curious how your underwear-free proposition would actually stop the streaks from just getting on the pants instead of the underwear?

The not-flushing thing… I just can’t see that happening at our house. It may save water, but there’s got to be a negative consequence to leaving waste sitting in stagnant water beyond just the smell. Why not just pull their little potty chair up to a window sill?

Let me address question one first. Because the tighty whities are just that – tight and white – the streaks are much more visible on the white fabric. The underwear, even if it’s not tight, often comes in contact with the area from which the streaks derive. Pants and shorts, however, are not tight-fitting – unless your kid is a geek, which I assume he or she is not – so the material of the pants rarely comes in direct contact with the above said area, therefore no streaking occurs.

Onto the next question… you wonder why not pull the potty chair up to a window sill? Well, we’re out of the potty chair phase so we’re dealing with bona fide toilets here. As for the waste sitting in stagnant water… I must clarify. If it’s brown, we flush it down (although sometimes a child may forget, in which case my husband and I are Johnny on the spot with a finger on the flusher). If it’s yellow, we let it mellow. Just for a couple days, three maybe, and sometimes even an entire week, unless someone has had asparagus. This “conserve water tip” is most effective when the window IS open and the door IS closed to the bathroom. Otherwise, the smell does become too overpowering and we throw all this yellow-let-it-mellow-conserve-water-save-the-earth-happy environmentalist schtick down the… well, you know… the toilet.

Thank you for your challenging questions Mr. Procool. (www.procool.blogspot.com) I’m glad our mutual friend sent you to my blog to find out how the average Joe (or Jo, in the female case) can make a difference every day!