Gaah! They turned off the water *while* I was brushing my teeth

[emmaliminal]

So the city is tearing up and replacing the arterial road that our culdesac empties onto. They left a hot-pink flyer on our door yesterday: "... AT 9:00 PM, CONSTRUCTION WILL BE CONNECTION INTO THE EXISTING WATER MAIN. AN INTERRUPTION IN WATER SERVICE IS EXPECTED TO LAST A MAXIMUM OF FIVE HOURS. ..."

So I started brushing my teeth without looking at the clock first. Water worked fine when I wet the toothbrush. Water no longer worked when I needed to rinse. What?! damn! It's 9:05! Mouthful of spit and bubbles and no relief. Entertain the cat by spitting, spitting, spitting some more. Pleh. Ptui. Kitty goes bat, bat at the foam in the dry sink.

I have only myself to blame, really. I was warned.

How mundane and pointless is that?

[butler1850]

1) It was 9:05. A full 5 minutes after their shut off time. What did you expect? (Granted, it's a government project, but I've found those usually start on time, but never end prior to the expected time.)

2) You rinse after brushing? I rinse out the brush, but I've not found any need to rinse my mouth.

3) Fairly pointless, but, this is where that sort of stuff goes.

[emmaliminal]

1) I expected myself to remember the water shutoff and not start brushing my teeth right then. You know, one of these:

2) That's weird. Ew.

3) Thanks!

[Gary "Wombat" Robson]

Originally Posted by butler1850

2) You rinse after brushing? I rinse out the brush, but I've not found any need to rinse my mouth.

The thought of not rinsing has never occurred to me. What do you do, swallow the toothpaste?

[LionelHutz405]

You could have rinsed with the toilet water.

[teela brown]

Originally Posted by LionelHutz405

You could have rinsed with the toilet water.

The water in the tank should be clean and potable.

[Miss Woodhouse]

Well at least you were warned. My town shut off water to half the residents a few weeks ago without warning. From noon to six we had no water. It wasn't drinkable until the next morning because of sediment. That was fun.

[tdn]

At least you didn't have a head full of shampoo.

Or real poo, for that matter.

[PatriotGrrrl]

The thought of not always having some stored water would never occur to me.

Preparedness is useful in many situations other than the zombie apocalypse.

[singular1]

Gah. This reminds me of when I lived in Mississippi, and they did the same thing to us, but with no warning - right after I applied hair color!!!!!!
Man, I was pissed! I had to use an empty water bottle and get the water out of the toilet tank to rinse it, and I had especially vibrant and a bit spotty hair for a few weeks. Still pisses me off when I think about it.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by singular1

Gah. This reminds me of when I lived in Mississippi, and they did the same thing to us, but with no warning - right after I applied hair color!!!!!!

It reminds me of that scene from Malcolm X.

It didn't get all burny, did it?

[kayT]

My great aunt was an undertaker. She and the embalmer particularly enjoyed the unannounced water outage...

[Audrey Levins]

Oddly, this has happened to me. (My apt. complex is always turning the water off to fix something somewhere that has nothing to do with me.)

I rinsed with Diet Coke.

Which creates excess foam and a very unpleasant flavor.

However, Crystal Light creates an even MORE unpleasant post-brushing flavor. By far the worst I've encountered.

[Cicero]

Didn't you have a beer in the fridge?

[emmaliminal]

Oh, sure, you're all very helpful with the suggestions NOW. Where were you when I was standing there like an idiot trying to keep the cat out of my pile-o-spit? Huh?

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by emmaliminal

Oh, sure, you're all very helpful with the suggestions NOW. Where were you when I was standing there like an idiot trying to keep the cat out of my pile-o-spit? Huh?

I was probably having a beer to rinse the toothpaste out of my mouth.

Hope that helps.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Cicero

I was probably having a beer to rinse the toothpaste out of my mouth.

Yeah, that's the ticket. More beer equals better dental health.

I think I'll have beautiful pearly whites by about midnight tonight.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Originally Posted by PatriotGrrrl

The thought of not always having some stored water would never occur to me.

No kidding. Obviously the OP does not live in an earthquake or storm-prone state. Which must be .....no place in the US.

Sorry to be snarky, emmaliminal; but seriously, stash a couple jugs of water in a closet or under the sink.

[emmaliminal]

Originally Posted by The Devil's Grandmother

Sorry to be snarky, emmaliminal; but seriously, stash a couple jugs of water in a closet or under the sink.

Snark all you like; we actually do have a water stash... in the basement, where I was not. We also have a bottle of soda water in the kitchen and of course as mentioned toilet-tank water is potable. I was stuck in unthinking-automatic mode. I blame the cat.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Bwhahahaha! That's a great cartoon!

[NinetyWt]

Sometimes it's an emergency, and the crews have to turn the water off unannounced.

That makes for some horrid situations, to be sure. One lady (similar to singular1) had just begun to wash her hair after perming it. The water department directed her to rush to a gas station and use their bathroom sink.

Another lady requested that she not be charged for water during the time the water was off.

[AuntiePam]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

That makes for some horrid situations, to be sure. One lady (similar to singular1) had just begun to wash her hair after perming it. The water department directed her to rush to a gas station and use their bathroom sink.

This happened to me, at a salon. The stylist had just finished putting the perm solution on and set the timer. She was rinsing the sink when the water shut off. The water crew said it wouldn't be back on for a couple of hours. We ended up driving to her mother-in-law's house in the next town and using her kitchen sink.

[Tamex]

I lived in an apartment that frequently shut off water for repairs. I started keeping a pitcher of water in the refrigerator.

[minor7flat5]

If you live in a house with a basement, in a pinch you could go to the basement and open the faucet for the washbasin: a few gallons of clean water should drain from the rest of the pipes in the house.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by kayT

My great aunt was an undertaker. She and the embalmer particularly enjoyed the unannounced water outage...

Shit! I gotta ask my dad what would happen!!!


You have a cat-couldn't you just use your cat's water dish?

[Casserole]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

You have a cat-couldn't you just use your cat's water dish?

Ha! That's exactly what I thought when emmaliminal mentioned the cat

[Gary "Wombat" Robson]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

You have a cat-couldn't you just use your cat's water dish?

I'm trying to remember just how thoroughly I sanitized that dish after the cats drowned a mouse in it.

Those cats could give Dick Cheney lessons on torture techniques, I tell ya...

[Guinastasia]

We had a water main break earlier this morning. Brown water...ugh.