Wee in a bucket - AIBU?

[Monoceros]

Camping at the moment, the toilet building is about 3 minute walk from where we are pitched. My husband tends to wake up middle of the night and - instead of going to the toilet - he uses the kids' plastic bucket to pee into. He thinks it's normal and I am completely unreasonable to think it's a disgusting habit. He's also mad that I told the kids about it, as they are now refusing to use the bucket. AIBU?

We just make the trek to the toilet. If my dh wanted to pee in a bucket I don’t suppose I’d be fussed. He wouldn’t though...like me he just gets up and goes to the loo.
Plenty of campers do as your dh does and it’s not a problem. Chill out.

Is he scared of the dark!!!😁

I must say, the one thing he definitely wouldn’t do is ‘wee in a hedge’ or whatever. If everyone peed around the campsite the place woul;d soon be stinking. No...it’s bad advice. Don’t tell him to pee outside the tent.

he needs his own bucket, well you all need a Wee bucket, not the toy bucket

Was he born in the late 60s/early 70s? It was quite the norm to piss in a bucket overnight when most dwellings had outdoor loos. Never heard of a ‘po’? It was a China pisspot kept under the bed. Everyone did it.

Agree, he needs to let his own wee wee bucket.

^ this. I can on,y assume that the bucket is used on a daily basis for some other purpose like washing up? I don't camp, but other than that I can't see an issue with wee in a bucket.

Out bucket at home has been used for dozens of other things including weeing in it when the plumber was fitting a new toilet and I was busting, sick from poorly children and this week catching an enormous frog the cat brought in.

Sounds fine to me. What's the big issue? Wee is one of the most sterile substances in the body actually. It only starts to smell once it's exposed to air. I think you should stop your kids thinking wee is gross too- it's just wee FGS! I understand their reaction but it's one children would have- not adults. By all means get a wee bottle/ wee bucket for him but at the end of the day it's not a big deal, surely?

Urine, while not sterile, contains an only an extremely small quantity of microbes, unless a urinary tract infection is present (and that's usually pretty noticeable for the suffer!). Thus, compared to most other bodily fluids, it's less of a risk.

However, if it's left to stand around and not disposed of, microbes will grow in it.

So whilst it isn't particularly pleasant, it's not really a health hazard if he chucks it away first thing and washes the bucket with hot soapy water.

Was he born in the late 60s/early 70s? It was quite the norm to piss in a bucket overnight when most dwellings had outdoor loos

This is hilarious! @FurryDice How old are you? I was working by the 1970s and can assure you we didn't have outside loos.

I was born in the 1950s. My parent's flat had an outside loo but they were very poor and certainly by the 60s and 70s there were no modern houses with outside nettys!

Sterile is binary. Either something is sterile (free from microbial contamination), or it isn't.

Sorry @QueenoftheNights. As hilarious as you might find this we frequently stayed with a friend of the family who still had an outside loo only and a bath hidden under the countertops in the kitchen. This was in 1976 onwards.

it is true that urine is largely sterile in most people

It really isn't.

DottyCat123 I’m totally stealing the disposable nappy/bin liner idea the next time I go camping - I only camp for a sporting activity DC do and the camping area is VERY crowded with tents almost touching. The only thing that stops me peeing in a bucket (DC have their own tents, they’re not in there with me) is worrying about the noise, and disposing of it subtly in the morning. Why didn’t I think of this??

I was born in 1972 furydice of all the people I know, only 1 household had just an outside loo! My mum was born in the early 30’s and was poor and lived in a number of houses but always had s bathroom with toilet inside the house!

As for weeing when camping you need a dedicated bucket (pref with a lid) or camping toilet OP. Using kids bucket isn’t fair.

Many years ago whilst the children were all under 8, my DH couldnt be bothered to walk to the toilet block in the night and used to pee in the hedge behind the tent (I didn't know!). After a few days there was a revolting smell of wee around the tent and he thought it was hilarious. I didn't. When the toilet is such a short walk away, YANBU to expect an adult to use it!!

Just tell him to wash it out. I don’t see the big deal. Different if he was shitting or puking in the bucket

This is why wild horses couldn't drag me camping. You are a civilised adult and are having discussions over the merits of pissing in a bucket???

Fuck that for a game of soldiers.

Urine is not completely sterile. It's also a perfect breeding ground for bacteria once it leaves the body.
Unless your DH washed the bucket put immediately it also won't take long for it to stink of a tramp's alley.
There's nothing wrong with having a bucket or bottle to pee into whilst camping, but I wouldn't be giving it to children and expect them to play with it after using it.
That's grim.
🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢

Ok! So we moved into a fully plumbed council house with loo and bath in approx 1977. My mum’s friend STILL had a Victorian terrace with outside loo only and no bathroom, and bath under countertops in the kitchen until at least five years after that. Some people just did, ok!

So, I reiterate: pissing in a bucket was quite normal in the late 60s/early70s. It just was.

I thought this was what most seasoned campers did, it saves the faff of going to the toilet block / portaloo halfway across the campsite in the middle of the night.

We always take an old paint tin rather than a bucket then it can just be binned at the end of the trip. They are slightly heavier too which means less chance of knocking it over

He is very unreasonable to use the kids' bucket and they are not being unreasonable to refuse to play with it now.

But he isn't being unreasonable to want to pee in or near the tent in the night. We have a couple of these in the tent as none of us want to have to struggle into clothes and shoes whilst desperately needing a wee if we wake in the night with a full bladder.

As a family you are all unreasonable for not thinking through before going camping how you would plan to manage 3am wees.

I'm surprised that I'm the first to comment on @dudsville's comments.
They're one of the funniest things I've ever read on here...
Re bucket: get a new bucket for the children.

He needs his own special bucket, not to use the kids bucket!

My dad did this when I was a child... mum bought me a new bucket!

@Ginandplatonic you can get these travel johns - no need to a bucket and nappy liner.

Just hold the plastic against you, wee into the bag, press it closed and the wee then solidifies and you can dispose of it in the bin.

This revolutionised festivals for me where the toilet can be a 10 min walk away.

www.purpleturtle.co.uk/travel-john-3-pack-for-men-women-children-259.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwk_TbBRDsARIsAALJSOYqasAFVjNXpkfyrR1-lnPnebo4F0yaBMY9D4umZRF0jUGy32-aZoIaAjclEALw_wcB