• Categories

  • Pages

  • Tags

  • Archives

  • Meta

  • Why does the water in the toilet change colour after I use the toilet facilities?

    Posted by admin on February 13th, 2010 and filed under facilities | 4 Comments »

    Why does the water in the toilet change colour after I use the toilet facilities?

    I suppose that depends on what it is you’ve done, while using the toilet facilities, doesn’t it?

    Urine is a liquid that is basically a composite of byproducts from the metabolic activities that your body naturally goes through on a daily basis. It is composed of urea, ammonia, proteins and all sorts of other lovely things. The chemical breakdown of urea by carbon dioxide is as follows:

    (NH2)2CO + H2O —-> CO2 + 2NH3

    But it is the urobilins which are mainly responsible for the sunny yellow color you seem fascinated with, when you use the facilities. Perhaps you should just paint your bathroom walls yellow, yes?

    4 Responses

    1. gram_stainer Says:

      I suppose that depends on what it is you’ve done, while using the toilet facilities, doesn’t it?

      Urine is a liquid that is basically a composite of byproducts from the metabolic activities that your body naturally goes through on a daily basis. It is composed of urea, ammonia, proteins and all sorts of other lovely things. The chemical breakdown of urea by carbon dioxide is as follows:

      (NH2)2CO + H2O —-> CO2 + 2NH3

      But it is the urobilins which are mainly responsible for the sunny yellow color you seem fascinated with, when you use the facilities. Perhaps you should just paint your bathroom walls yellow, yes?
      References :

    2. cupofjavaa Says:

      turd makes many things go brown, including water.
      References :

    3. anonimous Says:

      There are numerous potential ways to interpret this question. Since this is in the Philosophy section I will stay away from the chemistry and optics aspects of the question and stick with the motivation of designer of the system.

      The water changes colour (or in the USA color) because the designer of the toilet wanted the user to be able to tell whether the toilet had been flushed after the previous usage.
      References :

    4. Kate A Says:

      Because you deposited something of color into it.
      References :

    Leave a Comment

    Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.