cup etiquette?

[manicfrog.livejournal.com]

i was at a friend's house the other day & we were discussing my diva cup. i mentioned that you typically empty it out into the toilet & rinse in the sink, which he thought was sort of gross (the whole "period residue in the sink" thing). he thought that it would be better to rinse off in the shower.

so my question is: when the time comes to empty your cup & you happen to be at someone else's house, do you go ahead & rinse it in the sink, or would you just clean with toilet paper (as though you were in a public restroom) or rinse in the shower?

Comments

[rachelish.livejournal.com]

I rinse mine in the sink, and just always make sure that there's nothing left there when I'm done. Honestly, I would much rather have someone else's blood in my sink than my shower, because my bare feet don't touch my sink. (Not that I think too much residue is really left after a good rinse anyways, but if I had to choose, I'd say sink.)

[conuly]

What they don't know won't hurt them, but it's probably more polite to just wipe it out, if you think they'd be at all squicked.

[tsukichibi.livejournal.com]

I probably wouldn't even think of emptying it into the sink. I mean, I'm sure the sink has probably seen worst things than menstrual blood anyway. Besides, by the time you were done washing it out, there would be nothing left, and no one would even know unless you expressly told them.

[violet-tigress1.livejournal.com]

I bet that's partly why the handicapped stall is almost always full when I go to use it.

[imnotyourstarx.livejournal.com]

i usually leave mine in all day/night, so its never been an issue. ill empty it once every day or so, and its usually only half filled. *shrug* so i guess it would only be an issue if i was away from home for more than two days.

[sparkle-lite.livejournal.com]

I empty it in the toilet and then rinse it out in the sink, or wash it out if I have my little bottle of Diva Wash with me. By the time I've rinsed out the sink and washed my hands with soap I figure there's nothing left. Sometimes I use a soapy hand to wipe the sink if it left any traces. I'm just always careful to wash all traces away, out of simple courtesy.

It would be a little strange to turn on someone's tub or shower to rinse the blood down.

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

At home, I tend to use my bathtub faucet, simply because it's located more conveniently. I can rinse out my cup while my arse is still on the toilet. (It's not lazy; it's efficient!)

At someone else's house, though, I'd probably use the sink. I'm not sure if it would sound the same as running the tub, and I wouldn't want to have to explain that one. That said, I wouldn't feel too badly about dumping and rinsing, as long as I made sure to clean up everything afterward.

The way I figure it, if I'd gotten my hands royally bloody and messy while changing a tampon -- or, for me, even just from wiping after peeing -- I wouldn't hesitate to wash off the blood in the sink. That's "period residue," too, and for me, it can be a considerable amount. What gets dumped out of a cup might or might not be substantially more.

[nyessax.livejournal.com]

My menstrual blood would end up in their sink anyway when I wash my hands, since I invariably get it on my fingers when I remove my cup (or when I used to change tampons). I've never really considered *not* rinsing my cup at someone's house. The only reason I don't rinse it out in public restrooms is so that other people who don't want to see it don't have to see it.

[mari-mac1109.livejournal.com]

I'd wipe it out with toilet paper and put it back in on the toilet, just because I'd be terrified of bleeding onto/into something other than a toilet while rinsing it. I mean, it's either ruin some undies or stand with my pants around my ankles while I rinse.

Mostly, though, I empty it when I wake up and when I go to bed.

[rose-yuille.livejournal.com]

Wodge of toilet paper between legs, grip in place with thighs, try to walk with knees together! This is how I get from the shower to the bedroom when I've forgotten to bring a spare pad in with me, and need my hands to hold the towel up in case flatmate walks by. Boyfriend finds it hilarious.

[smudgepuss.livejournal.com]

If there was a sink, I'd always empty it there. I hate it when I have to empty it down the toilet and the flush doesn't reach all the way to the bottom of the pan...

[dayglow.livejournal.com]

I don't have a cup but I don't see the problem in emptying your cup into someone's sink vs. shower... I'm also very low on the germaphobe scale. It's not like they're actively licking their sink or anything, right? (A kitchen sink would be a bit more touchy.) But seriously, I'm sure there's been other gross stuff in that sink before like blood from cuts, vomit, hair, snot... they're designed to get rid of liquid waste.

And if it's my personal bathroom, well, my sink is pretty old/stained/slightly gross as it is so someone's blood in it for a few minutes isn't going to make it any worse. :P

[ms-empathy.livejournal.com]

I empty it in the toilet and rinse in the sink. I figure the residue in the sink will be washed away when I wash my hands anyway.

[mintblue.livejournal.com]

Depending on the bathroom layout... I would not think twice about emptying my cup in the toilet then rinsing in the sink. It's what I do at home, and I would be kind of curious if someone used the toilet in our house but I then heard the shower running.

That said, I know my bathroom back home in Australia has the toilet separated from the bathroom and its sink, as do other friends' houses here - in that case, I'd empty the cup in the toilet and give it a bit of a wipe down with toilet paper, then wash it with hot water next chance I got. (In the shower if I'm home.)