# Gaah! They turned off the water \*while\* I was brushing my teeth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339 "2009-04-08T01:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/1 "2009-04-08T01:13:18Z")
:mad: 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? ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/2 "2009-04-08T18:09:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/3 "2009-04-08T19:19:30Z")
1. I expected myself to remember the water shutoff and not start brushing my teeth right then. You know, one of these: :smack: 2. That’s weird. Ew. 3. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/4 "2009-04-08T20:02:58Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > 1. 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? ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/5 "2009-04-08T20:09:40Z")
You could have rinsed with the toilet water. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/6 "2009-04-08T20:12:44Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > You could have rinsed with the toilet water. 😛 The water in the tank should be clean and potable. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/7 "2009-04-08T20:13:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/8 "2009-04-08T20:17:24Z")
At least you didn’t have a head full of shampoo. Or real poo, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/9 "2009-04-08T20:19:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/10 "2009-04-08T20:24:04Z")
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!!!_:mad::eek::mad::eek::mad::eek::mad::eek::mad: 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.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/11 "2009-04-08T20:36:12Z")
> [@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? ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/12 "2009-04-09T08:36:59Z")
My great aunt was an undertaker. She and the embalmer particularly enjoyed the unannounced water outage… ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/13 "2009-04-09T11:39:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/14 "2009-04-09T12:21:27Z")
Didn’t you have a beer in the fridge? ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/15 "2009-04-09T12:51:10Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/16 "2009-04-09T13:06:16Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/17 "2009-04-09T13:50:27Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/18 "2009-04-09T16:24:00Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/19 "2009-04-09T16:43:14Z")
> [@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](http://xkcd.com/231/). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339/20 "2009-04-09T16:53:15Z")
Bwhahahaha! That’s a great cartoon! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gaah-they-turned-off-the-water-while-i-was-brushing-my-teeth/492339.md?page=2)