To flush the toilet during the night...

[MelbourneClown03]

... in other people's houses.

When staying over night at other people's houses, do you flush the loo if you get up in the night for a wee? I don't know what the etiquette is.

I can remember, when staying at my nan and grandpa's house as a child, that no one flushed the loo if they got up in the night. By the morning it seemed to resemble a long drop and made me feel even as a child.

Staying for a few nights with PIL at the moment and DMIL has made several comments about hearing me get up in the night to go to the loo. I have apologised to her for disturbing her and she said not to worry, it was just that PIL could hear the loo flushing from their bedroom. Help!

It has never occurred to me that this could be a problem [CONFUSED]. I very rarely go to the toilet at night and have never been woken by the sound of someone else flushing. However I have a huge bladder and am a very heavy sleeper. I think flushing is so ingrained in me that I would do it reflexively. I would just ask MIL outright what she would prefer. I certainly wouldn't ask a guest to not flush but if it bothers them that much I would try not to do it as a guest IYKWIM. Possibly get traveljohns and use those? No urine lingering and no flush win/win. Or use a jug of water.

I was brought up not to flush at night. We had a Victorian system that would honk and wail for about 10 mins after flushing and would wake the whole house.

When I moved out and in with a flat mate I was shocked when she was angry I hadn't flushed, even though her bedroom was next to the bathroom she said she didn't care.

Now I don't flush as wouldn't risk waking the kids!

I don't if I am on my own but always would if a guest was staying or I was a guest.
I can't get my children to bloody flush in the day (ones) let alone the night. I always make them go back and flush but they still leave it! Grrr

I'm amazed that going to the loo in the night is so common. It's very rare I get up in the night for a wee. Same with DH, DC's have never gone during the night.

Flush! It's just white noise and far preferable to leaving it.

Another yellow mellow/brown down person here. I might flush at night if it was obvious a number of others hadn't but it does depend a bit of the water system . Some houses you barely notice other it sounds like the whole house is coming doen.

We always flush, it never occurred to me not to. The idea of peeing into a urine filled loo, with potential splashes... yuck. And I don't fancy it all marinating and whiffing overnight, either.

This exact question was asked recently I'm sure. It boiled down to asking the hosts what they prefer.

I don't flush at mine or close family as I know that's their preference but at friends I usually do because I don't know who's going to come across it in the morning!

As soon as I saw this thread I thought of the Mitchell and Webb sketch that was an ettiquette guide thing mostly about the rules of asking if a chair is taken, but then ended with something along the lines of "We've also agreed that if you're staying at someone's house and you wake up to use the toilet, you shouldn't flush and risk waking them, unless it's a poo, in which case do flush, but shout "it was a poo, it was a poo!"'

I always flush. It stinks by morning when it's been left to fester overnight and it's massively unfair to expect someone else to have to deal with the stench of your stale urine first thing in the morning!

My dad never flushes for wees - and he now has his own bathroom that he can stink out to his hearts content! I hated it growing up - he said it was saving water but the stink was awful, especially if he'd gone at about 10pm and nobody else had used the bathroom all night - bleugh!

Ask what they would like you to do-their house, their rules. Personally I prefer to sleep undisturbed at night and flush in the morning

I'd always flush but I rarely go to the loo in the night so it doesn't come up much. I wear earplugs and DP sleeps like the dead so at home nothing wakes either of us up.

I think the problem here is most people seem to spend their lives fairly dehydrated... if you drink enough, your wee is quite pale and inoffensive and not flushing it really isn’t an issue.

I always flush

I always ask.

We lived in the South West for a while and the water black were horrific, around £270 a month so we did a lot of saving water.

Even now, I don't flush during the night, turn the tap off when brushing teeth, only put the amount of water in the kettle for each cup etc.

I saw my Dad's water bill when I came home for a visit once and said that I didn't feel too bad as his water bill was £230 something. He called me daft and said that was per year not a month!

I feel richer now paying £11 a month for water

Ask the host and go by their rules. Or use the downstairs loo if you feel awkward not flushing. I wish all houses were built with ensuites so this problem didn't arise!

When people think "if it's yellow,let it..", does it mean you don't flush during the day either? You only flush for number 2?

I am sorry, but it does sound pretty gross, especially in this country where many loos are actually in a bathroom!

^ some people do that during the day, I’m sure I’ve read it somewhere!!

I don’t flush at night, I’d rather poke my eyes out than wake up my asd daughter who doesn’t sleep in the first place. Our house has one big circular hall which all the doors to each room start-so we’d all probably wake up with the noise

Always flush, unless specifically asked not to (and I wouldn't bring up the subject).

Always flush unless told not to.

We’re a non flushing at night house here (since having light sleeping dd!) - to answer the PP question we flush in the morning and through the day. Apart from nap time. At nap time we really really try to make no noise. He who wakes the monster early must deal with the fallout!

When the DC were very little, both dreadful sleepers, their room was next to the only loo, the cistern was a noisy old thing and took about 20 minutes of groaning to refill, DH and I would leave our wees (never anything else though, we'd chance the DC waking and they often did). Nowadays, we all flush (although we all have en suites).
But in someone else's house, I'd always flush.

I think the problem here is most people seem to spend their lives fairly dehydrated... if you drink enough, your wee is quite pale and inoffensive and not flushing it really isn’t an issue.

Yeah, at first, but not after it's sat in a stagnant toilet bowl overnight, probably with other people's pee splashed on top of it.

My pee doesn't smell straight away, but you can definitely smell it if it's been left for a while. Human (especially male) pee will smell after it's been sat for hours - and it's not pleasant for other people to deal with.

Also, for me, flushing is automatic. I don't even think about it or make a conscious decision to do it, so I find it quite odd that people go to the toilet and don't automatically go to flush it!

I think it makes more sense with those old clunky systems which really make a racket - probably that's where the practice comes from.

With modern plumbing a flush is unlikely to wake anybody.

Not at home for wees because my children will wake up at anything. Always in someone else's house.