# Oh, oh right, you're brushing your teeth...that's fine then. (Mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 9, 2006, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685 "2006-11-09T08:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/1 "2006-11-09T08:29:48Z")
Sat in my room, waiting to get into the bathroom at the moment, flatmate’s girlfriend’s currently in there. I can hear the tap running, and it’s been on for about ten-minutes, running at full flow. \*“Have you left the tap running, FM’s-GF…?” “No, it’s OK, I’m brushing my teeth…”\* Do some people just think there’s a limitless supply at the other end of clean water, so it doesn’t matter how much you throw down the drain? _They_ can be the ones to explain to the next generation why there’s no resources left. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/2 "2006-11-09T09:01:58Z")
I have taken the [toothbrushing pledge](http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed/campaign/?lang=_e). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/edb3f5/32.png) [@Freudian\_Push\_Up\_Bra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Push_Up_Bra)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/3 "2006-11-09T10:19:03Z")
I have to ask; who raised these people? Water conservation has been in act since before I was born - didn’t anyone ever say to them ‘water is a precious resource - be conservative about it’? It boggles the mind to think that people believe that all of their resources are endless! ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/4 "2006-11-09T10:27:28Z")
I always wondered about this. Do people really leave the tap on while brushing teeth? It just seemed so strange that anyone would do that ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/5 "2006-11-09T10:55:13Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Do people really leave the tap on while brushing teeth? [/QUOTE] My brother does, and no matter how many times I try to convince him that he should turn it off, since it’s just pouring down the drain and he’s not even using it for anything but background music, he refuses to listen. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/6 "2006-11-09T11:34:37Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] My brother does, and no matter how many times I try to convince him that he should turn it off, since it’s just pouring down the drain and he’s not even using it for anything but background music, he refuses to listen. [/QUOTE] Nah, he just can’t hear you with the water running. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/7 "2006-11-09T11:58:59Z")
She takes ten minutes to brush her teeth? I let the tap run while I’m brushing, but I only take about two minutes. The idea is to be vigorous, rinse, be vigorous again, and use one of those brushes that has bristles of different lengths. If I turned the water off, I would be turning it back on almost immediately for the rinse water. Unless I should collect a tumbler of rinse water before I start? Apparently it works, too. I had my teeth cleaned yesterday. At the start, I asked how long it would take, and they said about 40 minutes. Ended up being 25. He hardly had to do any work on the sides or upper front. Only problem area was the inside of the lower front, where I have a hard time getting a good angle. Anyway, I’m not thoroughly convinced that letting the tap run while you brush is going to drain the earth dry. Leaving it on indefinitely is dumb, though: perhaps that’s what she did? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/8 "2006-11-09T12:41:36Z")
Some people leave the tap running to conceal other sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/9 "2006-11-09T12:57:55Z")
I gotta ask: Is this the only issue between you and your flatmate’s girlfriend? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/10 "2006-11-09T13:46:52Z")
When I was a kid my parents taught me how to brush my teeth, and I learned that you turn on the water, wet the bristles so the toothpaste would stick, brush, then rinse. It never occurred to me to turn it off until I got married when I was 31. Of course, until I got a Sonicare about 5 years ago, I probably spent 30-40 seconds brushing my teeth, so the water wasn’t running anywhere near 10 minutes. Now, I’m a water nazi. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/11 "2006-11-09T13:53:46Z")
I shave and brush my teeth in the shower. Is that a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/12 "2006-11-09T14:19:21Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I always wondered about this. Do people really leave the tap on while brushing teeth? It just seemed so strange that anyone would do that [/QUOTE] I do it. I promise I’ll stop. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/13 "2006-11-09T15:01:02Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] When I was a kid my parents taught me how to brush my teeth, and I learned that you turn on the water, wet the bristles so the toothpaste would stick, brush, then rinse. It never occurred to me to turn it off until I got married when I was 31. [/QUOTE] There’s definitely no need to leave it running for nearly three decades. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/14 "2006-11-09T15:02:03Z")
[QUOTE=LouisB] I shave and brush my teeth in the shower. Is that a good thing? [/QUOTE] Teeth that require shaving are never a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/15 "2006-11-09T16:01:17Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] There’s definitely no need to leave it running for nearly three decades. [/QUOTE] It’s OK though, because I didn’t let it go down the drain. I’ve been saving it in Tupperware. I use it to make soup. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/16 "2006-11-09T16:04:41Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I always wondered about this. Do people really leave the tap on while brushing teeth? It just seemed so strange that anyone would do that [/QUOTE] Yeah, I do, and I don’t intend to stop. And frankly, it seems strange to me that anyone wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/17 "2006-11-09T16:14:05Z")
I leave it running because I usually shave after I brush. Our water takes a while to get hot so letting it run warms it up so I can shave with warm-hot water. I figure I’d run it to get hot anyway so it doesn’t really make any difference. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/18 "2006-11-09T16:16:06Z")
[QUOTE=pretend my name is witty] Do some people just think there’s a limitless supply at the other end of clean water, so it doesn’t matter how much you throw down the drain? _They_ can be the ones to explain to the next generation why there’s no resources left. [/QUOTE] Well, OK, running the tap while brushing your teeth isn’t the most efficient use of water, but once it goes down the drain, it’s not like it vanishes into a black hole. Maybe I’m wrong, but you’re in Glasgow? Isn’t that one of the wetter places on Earth? Admit it, you’re just pissed off because the girl friend spends too much time in the flat and she’s getting on your last nerve. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/19 "2006-11-09T16:21:00Z")
I live in an area where artesian wells flow constantly, and Lake Michigan is yards from my deck. Pardon me if I don’t jump on the “turn off the faucet to conserve water” movement when I’m at home. Especially after seeing all the water flowing constantly in Las Vegas and Palm Springs. Leaving it on for 10 minutes is a little silly, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685/20 "2006-11-09T16:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I always wondered about this. Do people really leave the tap on while brushing teeth? It just seemed so strange that anyone would do that [/QUOTE] Yeah, I do, and I don’t intend to stop. And frankly, it seems strange to me that anyone wouldn’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-oh-right-youre-brushing-your-teeth-thats-fine-then-mild/379685.md?page=2)