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Peeing in the sea!

(20 Posts)
Farmor15 Sat 18-Jul-26 18:57:48

This seems to be slightly controversial at the moment judging by some articles and letters in the Guardian. I've always thought it was OK in sea (though not in a swimming pool), as long as not near other people. Michael McIntyre included in one of his stand-ups the kind of nonchalant face a person might put on when not wanting others to know what they're doing.
I was minding grandchildren recently and they ended up doing a "bush wee" as public toilet was broken- we were in rather a remote area. Next day we went to the beach and I introduced them to a "sea wee"! It was a quiet beach with no facilities.
What does anyone else do?

Treebee Sat 18-Jul-26 19:05:06

As children we used to go as a family to a beach which had no facilities whatsoever (there are now). Our options were to go in the sea or in the dunes. There was prickly vegetation in the dunes so the sea it was!

Plevey08 Sat 18-Jul-26 19:27:57

Well I remember the relief of peeing in the sea, as a child and adult too! And I've practised the nonchalant face, as I've witnessed others do. Essential, if it's a pebbly beach and loos a long way off, filthy or out of order.

Plevey08 Sat 18-Jul-26 19:33:57

Just read that it's perfectly clean to do so as long as it's not near a coral reef. It's mostly water anyway and the potassium in urine mixes well with the salt and acts as a natural fertiliser 😊

David49 Sat 18-Jul-26 19:40:44

Plevey08

Just read that it's perfectly clean to do so as long as it's not near a coral reef. It's mostly water anyway and the potassium in urine mixes well with the salt and acts as a natural fertiliser 😊

So it's entirely sustainable and environmentally friendly Im sure it happens very frequently it is the convenient and often the only option.

Luckygirl3 Sat 18-Jul-26 19:42:19

To go one better, my friend and I were sunbathing on a beach some distance from her 2 year old DD, who was naked at the edge of the water and proceeded to open her legs, stand in silhouette and produce a massive poo! My friend and I were in stitches and chose to pretend we did not know her!
We did scoop it up later .....

butterandjam Sat 18-Jul-26 19:49:48

I follow the lead of every marine inhabitant, mammal fish or bird.

BoggledMind Sat 18-Jul-26 20:03:31

I wouldn’t be surprised if most kids who have ever been in the sea have done it at some point. I'm pretty sure I did although I don't remember any specific time.

Considering what can end up in the sea, pee is probably the least of the problems, although it's not good practice to relieve oneself in the vicinity of others.

butterandjam, that's a good way of looking at it.

Plevey08 Sat 18-Jul-26 20:20:00

That's brilliant Luckygirl 🤣

Cossy Sat 18-Jul-26 20:27:40

I’ve always wee’d in the sea

Whitewavemark2 Sat 18-Jul-26 20:35:06

Well I suppose you are only adding to the rest of the wee and poo spewed into our seas by the water companies, so it hardly matters in the scheme of things.

Mamie Sun 19-Jul-26 10:07:09

I think if you go from a warm beach to a cold sea, peeing is inevitable.
Speaking of peeing and water companies; any tips for people without water for 24 hours and no relief in sight? We had emergency bottled water in stock and have had a delivery from the water company. Also have wipes, hand gel and spray water. I think dry shampoo might be helpful?

MT62 Sun 19-Jul-26 10:29:56

The sea at our nearest seaside town already looks filthy so you wouldn’t catch me having a swim.

Fallingstar Sun 19-Jul-26 10:57:58

I used to love swimming in the sea but wouldn’t do it now knowing how dirty our seas are, but when I did swim I did pee as did my DH and children.

JamesandJon33 Sun 19-Jul-26 14:22:34

My mother only went in the sea if she needed to pee.

JaneJudge Sun 19-Jul-26 14:57:46

I remember being told to do this as a child so my parents could sleep on the beach all day. All the palaver getting changed into clothes discretely too when we could have just walked to our caravan!

25Avalon Sun 19-Jul-26 15:06:58

Reminds me of the old joke: Why was the sand wet because the seaweed. Groan. Seriously how many beaches are clean anyway - not many have blue flags these days. When water companies can discharge sewage into rivers what else can we expect. My advice is swim in the sea but don’t swallow the water.

Witzend Sun 19-Jul-26 18:57:07

TBH it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong with peeing in the sea. Think of all the fish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales, turtles, etc. that poo in it, and presumably pee in it too, assuming that they do such a thing.

petra Sun 19-Jul-26 19:13:40

When you see all those private yachts and cruisers off the beaches what do you think they do 🤷‍♀️

Labradora Sun 19-Jul-26 20:14:11

Plevey08

Just read that it's perfectly clean to do so as long as it's not near a coral reef. It's mostly water anyway and the potassium in urine mixes well with the salt and acts as a natural fertiliser 😊

What a relief !( no pun intended).
Something that I've always done but was slightly ashamed of is OK after all.
😊😊😄