<p>I'll preface this with a little disclaimer: I know that this is a weird problem. However, my roommate and I are completely at a loss at to what to do about it.</p>
<p>We live in a double that is attached to another room via a bathroom. We drew into the room separately, so we don't know the girl who lives in the single across the bathroom very well, but initially she seemed friendly. Everything seemed fine for the first few weeks, until we realized something - she literally NEVER flushes the toilet. Her boyfriend doesn't either...and I mean never. As a result, it REEKS in there, and it's seeping into our room too.</p>
<p>We tried to politely bring it up with her, but it was awkward and she cheerfully told us that she didn't believe in flushing the toilet unless it was absolutely necessary because it saves water. She also said that when she studied abroad, she lived with a family that didn't even have running water, so we should just acknowledge how privileged we are to even have a bathroom. Then she mysteriously had to run off to meet her boyfriend while my roommate and I stood there openmouthed. </p>
<p>We tried keeping the window open to diffuse the smell a bit, but she always closes it and the other day was in the bathroom loudly complaining to her boyfriend about how inconsiderate we were to be leaving the window open. We live in Minnesota, so it's getting cold and this isn't a permanent solution - but it's gotten to the point where neither my roommate and I can stand being in the bathroom because it smells just awful. We try to flush it when we can, but I feel like I am in some sort of psychological war against her and her boyfriend because there is ALWAYS pee (or worse) in there. </p>
<p>My roommate and I have no idea what to do. I see her point; I'm a science major and I know how important conservation is, but frankly, it's not her private bathroom and we're paying a fair amount to go here in the first place. I feel like I have the right to a bathroom that I can actually use, because right now I've been showering, brughing my teeth, etc. in the public bathroom one floor up - it smells that bad. And it's making our room smell bad. </p>
<p>Am I completely out of my mind here? This really isn't a problem I ever thought I'd have to deal with living with adult college students. It feels awkward to go to the RA about something like this, though...</p>
Why? This seems like a perfect case to bring to authorities. Both parties involved have rational reasons for their preferences and neither of you are willing to compromise. </p>
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There are countries where families of 6 share a space the size of a college bedroom, countries where the average life expectancy is 30 years not least because of poor hygienic conditions, and countries where it’s expected for women to get raped every now and then. Different doesn’t mean better…</p>
<p>Full disclosure: my grandparents live in the German countryside and have a century-old toilet that doesn’t flush. It serves its purpose rather well and was clearly designed to circumvent the problems you are having. (For example, it’s disconnected from the main building and far enough away that oder isn’t a concern inside the house. And excrements fall into a pit deep enough that it’s not nearly as gross as an unflushed toilet.) There’s a HUGE difference between using one of those toilets, and not flushing a standard American toilet. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t even be surprised if not flushing a standard toilet was a health concern…</p>
<p>In places where the life expectancy is in the 30s (there is no country where the life expectancy is actually 30 or less, but there might be sub-national entities) it’s because of AIDS, not because of poor hygiene.</p>
<p>Is there a cover on the seat? If so, ask her and the boyfriend to please leave the lid closed after use. Then, when you go in, flush before lifting lid. Use the excuse that the lid is to help contain germs/smell if she is not going to flush to be environmentally correct, then she also needs to be mindful enough about stopping the spread of germs from the toilet. Another idea would be to get one of those great odor-absorbing things from walmart, target, etc. Some are sort of pretty and look like a jar of marbles, but it absorbs odor. Leave it on a shelf in the bathroom, or get one that sticks to the side of the toilet. If there is no lid on the toilet, you should speak to the RA and request one…for health reasons.</p>
<p>Absolutely go to the RA. That’s disgusting, and probably somewhere against the rules. Tell her to use a different bathroom if she won’t do anything about it. Better yet, don’t use modern conveniences at all; tell her to go to the bathroom in the forest. ← That part was only semi-joking</p>