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?

Erm....urine isn't sterile in the slightest
Not in the body or when it touches your skin

There is bacteria in the bladder, the urinary tract and on your skin so it isn't actually sterile by time it enters the bucket

www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/urine-not-sterile-and-neither-rest-you

All this talk of weeing in nappies, and potties, and buckets in the night, and a 3 min walk to the toilet block, not my idea of a holiday tbh.

It doesn't. "Sterile" means free from bacteria or other micro-organisms; totally clean.

o my goodness!

There are times on MN when I see such basic misunderstandings of science that I just have to keep on coming back and repeating myself.

Sterile means no bacteria.

If something nutritious is sterile it is colonised and contaminated very very fast.

if it is colonised by a pathogen, that pathogen will multiply many times faster than in the normal environment, because there is no other competition in that medium.

Think of agar in petri dishes.

It is used to identify bacteria in the environment because it is sterile, therefore one exposure of a second or less to the environment and you get to see colonies developing within hours, very fast, because it was sterile, and nutritious, as urine is.

Urine being kept for a few hours becomes a health hazard very quickly, Its not going to do you any harm if disposed of quickly and carefully in the morning and the container scrubbed out.

But pleas e don't confuse "sterile" with " antispetic"( which kills pathogens)

"sterile" doesn't kill pathogens, sterile and nutritious encourages them.

I have unfortunately come across mothers with this confusion about what "sterile" means before..

I took to peeing in a plastic pint cup at Leeds festival as the toilets were VILE.

But that's a bit different.

To clarify, I hope you mean nutritious to bacteria as its filled with toxins for humans

yes sorry, I mean of course full of nutrients delicious for hungry bacteria, not humans!

I think he should walk to the loos, but if not, at least get the kids a new bucket!

When I went camping with the school, in Wales no toilets, totally roughing it. We just weed behind bushes at night or rocks. Can't he do the same.

We went camping last summer and the toilets were quite a walk away and didn't fancy the trek, along with unsavoury campers nearby, so we peed in a bucket! In fact, think we will do it again this weekend especially as there is rain forecast in the night, and it's not nice getting wet in the middle of the night for a wee. Tell your husband to buy the kids a new bucket

If you have a camping wee bucket, it should be for the use of everyone in the family. Though if it was a 3min walk, I would go to the loo instead. I did use other methods (see link below) on one 2 night camping trip where the loos were two fields and across a road away!

Next time buy these Travel John These are fine to use as is for DS and DH. I also use them but have to use my She Wee with it

Fantastic things. No wee to pour away in the morning or to spill and no smell. I only use them if the loo is far away or if it is pouring with rain (too expensive otherwise) when but it is nice to have them as a standby

We have a camping emergency wee bucket for overnight .....a small bucket lined with a bin bag and with cat litter in (the wood/sawdust pellet type).

Like with the previous poster who used nappies it means you can't spill it and in the morning you just tie up the bag and dispose of it.

Camping? You just wee in the woods by your tent SURELY?

I think my husband quite enjoys a solitary pee in a hedge when camping at night, looking at the stars...he wouldn't use the indoor toilet when we went in a caravan!

Peeing in a bucket that could then be accidentally tipped over? No way! Using a nappy or kitty litter to line it? Nope. It's really simple, pee in a sealable bottle, using a funnel to help if you're female. Works a treat, takes up little space and won't spill the contents. It also isn't using stuff that ends up in landfill (we don't need even more plastic bags and disposable nappies used!), it can be emptied, cleaned, and either reused or recycled.

@dottycat123 what a waste of plastic especially when you could just wash the bucket out on a morning.

Don't wee in the hedges or by trees if it is a normal family type campsite!!. There are too many people in close proximity on those sites to make that acceptable. Other people are likely to use the same pitch at some point soon and the small will linger for a while, particularly if it is hot (as it has been) Also If everyone did that the edges of the campsite would stink over time , particularly in the hot weather we have been having

If you are 'wild' camping, that is probably OK as there would be very few others around to do the same thing or to small it and over time the wee breaks down

A Goldenbug Invention.

Most campsites have a series of wires about for pitches with electric sockets. Why not have a network of tubes that would go into people's tents for weeing into? I imagine the 'socket' end would be a bit like one of those rubbery shower units you can ram onto the tap in your bath. A little gentle suction would pull the urine to a central point in the campsite for disposal into the sewers.

As a seasoned camper a bit of wee doesnt bother me so no he is not bu to do it in a bucket. If you buy some cheap nappies and line the bucket with a plastic bag lined with an open nappy, you can then just tie the bag up and throw away.

Far better to use a bucket and dispose of it in the morning properly than to wee around the campsite where small children might go exploring the next morning.

Or get a Kampa Khazi as mentioned above, it changed my camping life.

Anyway, this thread is a good opportunity to recommend this book by Emma Kennedy
It perfect describes what our family holidays were like in the 70s. And if you didn't fancy the idea of camping before reading it you certainly wouldn't after!

Thank you for the replies everyone! I haven't had a chance to read them all yet, as phone reception is not great here and I'm saving battery life. For those who suggested bushes or trees, this is not a viable option, as there are no bushes or trees in the immediate area. The campsite is quite densely populated and there is not much privacy. I think DH will be getting his own personal portable toilet for Christmas this year