[polaseverine]

Hello! I have a weird thing that happens during masturbation. Ever since I started doing it, I release a lot of liquid before and during orgasm. Usually it is a lot of squirting. This is great, however, I leave a huge stain afterwards. The problem is that it smells strongly acidic like pee and something else and when it dries, it is sort of a yellow dark color. So, my mattress, my sheets and some of my clothes have permanently stained. Is this normal? I pee before and after doing it. Even if I use a towel it all turns yellow. Even my waterproof sheets That is one of my downsides to masturbating because when everything dries, it is stained. It’s a big issue that has always bothered me. Is there something wrong?

[Alison H.]

Hi Polaseverine,

I want to start by saying that yes — what you're experiencing IS normal. Partly because it is normal for you, but also because the color and composition (including smell) of squirt can vary widely, as we talk about in this article on squirt, its color, and what it is.

Squirt is a mixture of female ejaculate and urine. (Yes, to some degree, all squirt IS pee.) However, the exact composition varies from person to person in terms of urine content vs. female ejaculate content.

As we found out when researching the topic and speaking with doctors, along with the scientific studies we referenced, even if the bladder is emptied before sex or masturbation, it fills back up during sexual stimulation. One study we sourced verified this through the use of ultrasound before stimulation, during stimulation, and after orgasm, finding that it was empty at the start, filled during stimulation, and released again after orgasm/squirting.

Given what you describe, it is likely that your squirt simply has a higher and more concentrated urine content.

(For more information, we also wrote a much more in-depth article on the topic here, which includes video interviews with doctors and sexual health experts right in the opening paragraphs.)

As far as dealing with the staining and mess, I'll offer a few ideas:

Urine tends to be darker in color the more concentrated it is — which typically happens if we're not drinking enough water. The more water you drink, generally, the lighter the urine color will become as it'll be more diluted. This may be something worth trying — make sure you're drinking enough water and keeping your hydration levels up.

Additionally, to help mitigate the mess, it might be worth investing in some washable waterproof pads and covers — ones that you would lay over your sheets during masturbation or sex. That way, they're not only absorbing the liquid, but they're easy to throw straight into the washer afterward. And then your sheets aren't getting stained.

It might be worth using a laundry soap like OxiClean, or even pre-treating the waterproof pads and/or towels in a bucket of water with some OxiClean before putting them in the washer. (I swear by that stuff — I've got kids and dogs and stains USUALLY don't stand a chance with OxiClean.)

But most importantly, there isn't anything wrong with the way you squirt — that's normal. Everyone's squirt is different since our bodies are all different from one another.

[Kayla Lords]

Alison has provided a lot of great information above. Let me also add, as someone who used to regularly squirt during orgasm (until perimenopause hit) that squirting tended to leave me dehydrated when I was done. So I got into the habit of drinking plenty of water leading up to masturbation or any sexual moment when I thought I might squirt and then after -- this helped me stay hydrated and more comfortable post-squirt. But also, anecdotally, I noticed that my squirt smelled less like urine and left behind fewer stains than when I wasn't hydrated.

As Alison already stated, everyone is different so you may continue to see stains regardless, but drinking more water is definitely a tip I highly recommend.

Also, when I worried about the mess but still wanted the big release that squirting orgasms provided, the shower was my friend -- for masturbation and with my partner. We might start in the shower where I could squirt as much as my body was capable of and then we'd usually end in the bed for whatever else we wanted to do outside of the shower.