Can I Pee In The Sink? Plumber Explain
This is certainly the topic most people want to avoid, and don’t want to talk about, but it is always present among us. The fact is that some people (mostly men) do pee in their sinks. The reason I said mostly men is that it is much more convenient for them to do this, unlike women. So the question is can you pee in a sink and what are the downsides of that? I consulted with a few plumber experts, and here is what I found out.
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Can I Pee In The Sink?
So Can I Pee In The Sink? Technically you can pee in the sink, but it is not hygienic. Pissing in the sink will not cause any damage to the sink itself, but it can leave a bad smell of urine and you can inadvertently urinate on toothpaste, soap, toothbrush, and the like.
Keep in mind that pissing in a sink has its own pros and cons, like everything else. But on other hand, a lot of plumbers have told me that they often encounter this problem on the field, and sometimes they need to work in a bathroom environment where the bad smell of urine is felt. Here are the Pros and Cons of peeing in the sink:
| The Pros: | The Cons: |
|---|---|
| 1. You will use less water | 1. Bad smell of urine |
| 2. If you have a broken toilet | 2. Possibility to make a mess |
| 3. It’s quieter | 3. Possibility of bacterial transmission |
| 4. If the toilet is busy, the sink can serve | 4. Not hygienically appropriate |
| 5. It can be more convenient | 5. Sink can be set high and pose a problem |
Did you know that Reddit has a whole subsection „Sinkpissers – For people who piss in the sink“ that has 17.100 members. Some people are horrified when they hear there are men who are peeing in the sink, while for others it’s not a big deal.
Here you can check some of the best Sink models on Amazon.
How Many Men Actually Pee in the Sink?
After a study in which more than 10,000 men participated (because men are the ones who mostly pee in the sink), the results showed that approximately 45% of men peed in a sink at least once in their lives or they do it on a regular basis.
Although you will not find much information on this topic on the Internet, we have made an effort to extract all the available data and present it in this article. I hope the information’s from this article will help you.
Why Men Pee in The Sink?
When we go a little bit back in time, most women on the Internet were astounded when they learned that a significant number of men are using a sink to pee. This at no cost is a flattering image that you want to have in your head. Some men find good reasons why they want to pee in a sink. Let’s take a look and see what are those reasons which lead them to do that.
1. It’s Quieter
Did you know that some people have a pathological fear that someone else will hear them while they pee? Yes, you heard me and that is true. If you need to pee late at night in your apartment, and you are scared that your roommate will hear the sound of you’re lifting the toilet and flushing it, you will most likely choose to pee in the sink. Of course, this applies to those who fear that someone else will hear them.
2. You Can Save Water
Peeing in the sink can actually save you water, unlike a toilet that typically uses 1.6 gallons per flush. Therefore, instead of wasting 1.6 gallons (6 liters) of water per flush, you can use much less water after you’re done with peeing in the sink.
The benefit of the sink is that you can use much less water to get rid of the urine. Therefore, we can certainly state this as one of the reasonable reasons why the sink could be used for peeing.
3. If You’re At A Party
When you go to a party, it can happen that the toilet is already used, so you need to use a sink to pee. When you have the call of nature, it’s hard to hold back. But this is not uncommon and often people use the sink to pee when they go at some big party (especially students).
4. Sometimes It Can Be Fun
Some people feel good when they pee differently, while for others is kinda fun. Another reason is that others want to try something new. Teenagers have always been known for wanting to try something stupid and weird. Why do something normal, when you can do something different? This is what encourages people to pee in the sink.
5. Bathroom is Occupied
Anyone who lives with a family or a roommate has finds themselves in a situation where their toilet is busy. This can be quite annoying, so you want to relieve yourself as soon as possible. The easiest way to do this is to pee in the sink. While it can sometimes be awkward to pee while someone else is in the bathroom, if nature calls, you’ll ignore all the discomfort you’re in.
6. Broken Toilet
Although this is not a common thing, sometimes there can be a problem with the toilet also. If the toilet is broken and you don’t have anywhere else to go, then it is normal to use the sink to pee. If you can’t flush the water in your toilet after you’ve done with the urination, an unpleasant odor could appear that would stink up the bathroom and you certainly don’t want that. It is therefore justified to use the sink to pee.
Related Article: Is It OK To Pee In a Shower? Expert Explain
So Is It Okay To Pee In a Sink?
For hygienic reasons, it is not recommended to pee in the sink. The sink is used to wash hands, face, and to brush our teeth. There is no reason for anyone to use the sink to pee instead of the toilet.
On the other side, it is more impractical for women to pee in the sink. Most men are using the sink to pee for the following reasons:
- More Environmentally Friendly
- Not Messy
- More Hygienic
- More Convenient
In the following YouTube video, you can see the famous H3 Podcast discussion where they talked about peeing in the sink and what they think about it.
How Do You Get Urine Smell Out of A Sink?
If you find yourself in a situation where your sink has already been used for urination, and it already took the smell of urine, then you can use one of the methods we listed below. By this method, you will easily get rid of the disgusting smell of urine that caught your sink.
- Use baking soda and pour 1/4 cup of it down the drain.
- Now drizzle about 1/2 cup of white vinegar down the drain, so it gets mixed with the baking soda.
- Make sure to cover your drain, and let that mix move down the drain for about 30 minutes.
- Finally, rinse the drain with boiling water.
Plumbers told me that this is a proven method and that it works if you want to get rid of an unwanted stench in your sink. So I advise you to definitely give it a try.
If you want to find out does someone is peeing in your sink, you can install a hidden camera to find it out. Here you can read How to Set up a Hidden Camera in Your Bathroom?
Can You Actually Save Water By Peeing in the Sink?
The toilet uses about 1.6 gallons (6 liters) per flush, while the average water consumption after you pee in the sink is about 0.3 gallons (1.13 liters) which also includes hand washing.
Therefore, peeing in the sink use about 5 times less water than the toilet. But the question still arises as to whether this data can tell us how much money can we actually save at the end of the month?
The average person uses the toilet 5 times a day. So, the toilet then consumes 1.6 gallons per flush, which leads to 8 gallons per day or 240 gallons (908 liters) per month. The average price of 1.6 gallons per flush costs 1.3 cents, where the 240 gallons per month will cost about $2. If you want to know more about this topic you can read How Much Does It Cost To Flush A Toilet article that I wrote.
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So, if we use 0.3 gallons (1.13 liters) of water every time we pee in the sink and we use the sink 5 times a day, we will consume 45 gallons (170 liters) of water per month which amounts to 36 cents per month.
Calculation:
- By using the toilet 5x per day we will consume about 240 gallons (908 liters) of water which will cost us $2 per month.
- By using a sink to pee 5x per day we will consume 45 gallons (170 liters) of water which will cost us $0.36 per month.
Related Article: Can You Pee In a Hot Tub? Expert Explains
What Are the Disadvantages of Peeing in the Sink?
Although peeing in the sink can save water, there are some disadvantages that can also occur as well. Therefore, it is necessary to consider what are the bad things that can happen to our sink and whether it is worth it. Let’s start:
- It is possible to make a mess. Every time you pee in the sink you can inadvertently urinate on things next to the sink like toothpaste, soap, toothbrush, and the like. Also, during the night when you’re still in the middle of sleep and you need to urinate, you can make quite a mess.
- Possibility of bacterial transmission. Although healthy people, who do sports and a healthy diet should have totally sterile urine, there are those who are not healthy and may have bacteria and parasites present in their urine. By peeing in the sink, these bacteria can cause nausea or illness in other people in the household if they get in touch with it.
- Bad smell of urine. If you don’t wash your sink well after you pee, the smell of urine can linger on the sink and cause a rather unpleasant odor that can be spread by the bathroom. You certainly don’t want that.
Related Article: How Do You Clean Pee Out Of a Sink?
Final Thoughts
As we could read in this article, urinating in a sink is not something new, and there are people that do this often. While it’s not up to me to advise whether or not you need to urinate in the sink, it’s up to you to decide after all the information that I’ve written in this article. Always make sure that you clean and sterile the sink after you’re done. Using the toilet is the best way to pee for me.
