# Ask the Person who Hasn't had Running Water for Four Days **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 26, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485 "2010-08-26T00:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/21 "2010-08-26T05:41:13Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Any communal water supply/showers nearby? Keep out of the sun… There’s a public bath that has a well that they draw water from. I might go there to shower. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Do you have enough beer to get you through this dry time? I don’t drink anymore, though I may start again. > [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > …is the official word something like “Things are going to suck for a bit, because we’re making everything BETTER”? Nope. More like, “Please bear with us while we finish this important project. We appreciate your help and patience, dear comrades.” That kinda thing. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Do you warsh yourself with a rag on a stick? I have a rag that I dip into one of my buckets of water that I use to scrub myself down with. Not as good as a shower, but good enough for now I guess. BTW, the Simpsons reference was not lost on me. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/22 "2010-08-26T05:42:47Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > weak, I was 16 before we had running water at all. > [@fifty-six](#): > > I have no pluming what so ever at my house. I do just fine. Tips? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/23 "2010-08-26T06:21:19Z")
Don’t do the farting in a mud puddle thing. Don’t start drinking beer just because. Use the public bath to cool off with. Do the usual drinking water measures. I remember when I met the mayor of Lhasa. Tall guy. Completely totally had his soul broken and driven out before we met. Scary Han dude did the Smithers thing the whole time, too. I hope you get your water back soon. Also, really? a permanent traffic jam? ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/24 "2010-08-26T11:07:24Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Also, really? a permanent traffic jam? It cleared up overnight ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/25 "2010-08-26T11:48:04Z")
What’s the first thing you’re going to do when the water comes back? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/26 "2010-08-26T12:06:32Z")
Having been on private wells many times over the years I’ve been without water at home for days. I’ve been with a screwed up unusable sewer for stretches of two weeks too. You go someplace else that does have what you want. Yes it’s inconvenient and more costly. You get through it even if you are in a bad mood. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/27 "2010-08-26T12:55:29Z")
Where are you in China? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/28 "2010-08-26T12:59:39Z")
My sympathies. I lost power for six days straight in October a couple of years back, and the only thing that comforted me was that I could still take hot showers for whatever reason. Luck. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/29 "2010-08-26T13:16:54Z")
I think you should ask the communist from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575319) to come over and explain exactly why he thinks, “a perfect communist system is very close to what the glorious People’s Republic [of China] has now achieved. … a system in which people are truly free, in which they are unshackled by wants and deprivations …”. Call me a capitalistic pig, but I consider the lack of running water to be a deprivation. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/30 "2010-08-26T14:20:46Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > Oh, are’n _we_ all posh! We hadda sit in a mud puddle and fart to get cleaner. You and yer running water. Win. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/31 "2010-08-26T20:15:58Z")
God. You have my sympathies. I lost water for a full day and it was still miserable. I didn’t have a bucket for flushing (all the stores were sold out) so I spent the day when I wasn’t in class at the library, and then at the gym. I bought one of the last gallons of water at CVS, which my roommates were very grateful for. Pittsburgh has horribly aging waterlines that they’re just not replacing. So every week a new water main bursts in a different part of the city. It would be a real bitch to live in one place sans water then drive to work (in a frickin’ metro area of 2 million!) and still not have water. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/32 "2010-08-26T22:16:53Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > What’s the first thing you’re going to do when the water comes back? It came back on last night just before bed. I took a long hot shower. You wouldn’t believe the gunk that came off of me. > [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > I think you should ask the communist from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575319) to come over and explain exactly why he thinks, “a perfect communist system is very close to what the glorious People’s Republic [of China] has now achieved. … a system in which people are truly free, in which they are unshackled by wants and deprivations …”. > > Call me a capitalistic pig, but I consider the lack of running water to be a deprivation. That guy is out of his mind, as I said in that thread. However, it’s not like we lack running water every day of the year. It’s just due to some construction project and is already back on. I didn’t want this to turn into yet another “bash China” thread. Anyway, I feel much better now! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/33 "2010-08-26T23:06:01Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > It came back on last night just before bed. I took a long hot shower. > Anyway, I feel much better now! Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/34 "2010-08-27T00:31:08Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > That guy is out of his mind, as I said in that thread. However, it’s not like we lack running water every day of the year. It’s just due to some construction project and is already back on. I didn’t want this to turn into yet another “bash China” thread. Sorry about that. I was trying to have a go at that guy, not at China. My choice of wording was poor. Very glad your water’s back. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/35 "2010-08-27T01:23:26Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > > [@kidneyfailure](#): > > > > That guy is out of his mind, as I said in that thread. However, it’s not like we lack running water every day of the year. It’s just due to some construction project and is already back on. I didn’t want this to turn into yet another “bash China” thread. > > Sorry about that. I was trying to have a go at that guy, not at China. My choice of wording was poor. > > Very glad your water’s back. No worries, bud. \<3 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/36 "2010-08-27T01:45:09Z")
The whole city was without water, around here, a few weeks ago. It only lasted for less than 12 hours, but it was unexpected, and took a while to find out what was going on. I was in the middle of doing laundry at the time, and had to take the clothes out and re-start, in case the water was brown when it came back on. I’m prepared enough and poor-condition-tolerant enough that I figured I would have been able to make it about two days, if need be, but I was glad I didn’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/37 "2010-08-28T12:56:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The whole city was without water, around here, a few weeks ago. It only lasted for less than 12 hours, but it was unexpected, and took a while to find out what was going on. What was going on? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/38 "2010-08-29T01:29:40Z")
December ‘08 ice storm; no power, no water, no heat for 11 days. Temps dropped to single digits at night. Pipes froze. Was finally able to live in the house on December 24th. Merry fuckin’ Christmas. Yeah, it could be worse. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/39 "2010-08-30T20:10:43Z")
We had just no hot water for five days once. I showered at the gym but don’t belong to one now. So if I had to face that situation today I’d just have to take cold showers. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485/40 "2010-08-31T01:28:09Z")
I actually forgot about this, but growing up in my first home, our next door neighbor was a dentist, town mayor and a bizarre digger. The man dug shit up constantly around his house, for reasons unknown. On more than one occasion, we’d lose substantial amounts of water pressure or our water would be brown because he’d hit a pipe. We showered at the gym in the meantime, which wasn’t a problem so much as a hassle, but I _hated_ taking our laundry to the laundromat and sitting around for hours. After leaving the house, I vowed to never live in an apartment or house without laundry being more than an elevator ride away. Luckily, I’ve never had to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-person-who-hasnt-had-running-water-for-four-days/551485.md?page=3)