
This week Mayor Tony asked Los Angelenos to take it easy with the long-ass showers due to the long-ass drought that we're in the midst of.
But when LAist was in college in Santa Barbara in the late '80s there was a drought up there that we remember quite clearly. Because of a year-long drought we were told not to wash our cars, water our lawns, and we were very sensitive about drippy sinks.
However there's one sign we saw at a party on Del Playa that we will never forget. Sage advice from hippies that might not agree to all sensibilities, but if you care about this city you will practice.
If it's yellow, mellow; if it's brown, flush it down.
If each flush of even a low-flo toilet equates to 1.6 gallons, imagine the gallons and gallons of water you can save in your house in just one week if you too mellowed when it was simply yellow. Just sayin...
photo by corsakti via Flickr




Low flow toilets suck. I have a better idea for saving water. How about we get rid of lawns and encourage native flora. Desert gardens for the desert we live in.
"Letting it mellow" leaves horrible stains in your toilet. You will use much more water, plus introduce a bunch of cleaning products, like bleach, into the environment by trying to scrub off those disgusting stains.
(A Former Mellower)
Being someone who has 2 roommates. I would not like to see the "mellow" approach being utilized. Maybe the neighbor could wash his cars once every 2 weeks instead of twice a week and maybe sweep with a broom.
an uncomfortable practice if, like the above commenter noted, one has roommates. too bad our squeamish sensibilities waste so much water.
oh, and just pointing out--you can use bon ami, which is just as effective as comet yet not harmful to the environment. also, in my personal experience, cleaning toilets is a practice that usually needs only one or two flushes, but perhaps other people's toilets are dirtier than mine...
I think it's "If it's yellow, keep it mellow; If it's brown, flush it down." Works much better rhythmically. Get your hippie sayings straight, Pierce.
pretty sure it is "let it mellow", nikki
sounds even better.
i win!
just don't shower. ever.
In defense of Tony, from a late 80's-early 90's UCSB graduate, it was "if its yellow its mellow, if its brown flush it down" we even had it in our dorm rooms. FT, remember that place Tony? We also saved a lot of water by drinking 25 cent beers at McBurleys instead of water, but thats neither here nor there.