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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to ask dh not to leave the tap running?

57 replies

Atwaroverscrabble · 09/12/2011 19:49

Dh has this really irritating (and expensive) habit of leaving the tap running while he brushes his or dd's teeth, not just a trickle but a full on gush while he finds the toothbrush, and the toothpaste, add the latter to the former and then brushes... It takes ages!

Tonight i was in the bathroom with him and i simply said 'hon, could you please not leave the tap running like that?' to which he grumbled and moaned that he'd have to put it back on etc but he turned it off, put the toothpase on the brush and then turned it on again? This time he left it on fast again so i said 'are you just leaving it on just to wind me up?' and he got really angry and said he was fed up with being spoken to like that etc...

Aibu to have asked this? We are on a water meter and perpetually skint!

OP posts:
Pandemoniaa · 09/12/2011 19:51

He sounds like a bloody child! So no, YANBU.

whackamole · 09/12/2011 19:56

What a bloody idiot. Him, not you!

If he is that stupid he can't tell the bills will be higher because he is too thick to turn off the tap then he deserves to be spoken to like an idiot imo.

Original poster
Atwaroverscrabble · 09/12/2011 22:05

Thank you! Thats my thinking exactly! Now i just need to persuade dsd(16) that she doesnt need a shower AND a bath (both taking a min of 30 mins to 2 hours each time!)

OP posts:
NotJustForClassic · 09/12/2011 22:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Calabria · 09/12/2011 22:09

My husband does the same thing. Drives me nuts!

TickledOnion · 09/12/2011 22:18

YANBU. Tell him to put the plug in so he can see just how much water he is wasting.

squeakytoy · 09/12/2011 22:25
Blush

I am guilty of this, but in my defence, we are not on a water meter.

Kayano · 09/12/2011 22:26

Well I leave the tap running full when I brush and sort toothpaste etc and brush. I have an awful gag reflex and am pretty much Ill every morning so it's errrr to have the tap running than for me to see it and make myself even worse.

I'm constantly bad! Lol

SardineQueen · 09/12/2011 22:28

DH used to do this.
Now he doesn't (apart from occasionally).
His reaction was defensiveness - he knows you are right.

NotJustForClassic · 09/12/2011 22:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WhereYouLeftIt · 09/12/2011 22:36

Can I just ask, what is the purpose of leaving the tap running?

Alliwantisaroomsomewhere · 09/12/2011 22:41

My bloody DH does this, too, and it drives me stark raving mad. I thought it was because I grew up in South Africa where we regularly had water restrictions during times of drought. But it seems that sensible people elsewhere also get annoyed and irritated with the senseless waste.

PelvicFloorOfHighTensileTinsel · 09/12/2011 22:44

I'm not on a water meter and taps left running still drive me mad, DP does it without thinking. I can't stand the noise and the waste but he seems totally oblivious.

YAN(byabloodylongshot)BU

PigletJohn · 09/12/2011 22:44

I appreciate it annoys you if it is one of the things you don't do, but, expensive?

What do you think you pay for ten litres of water?

aviatrix · 09/12/2011 22:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PigletJohn · 09/12/2011 22:49

I was addressing the word "expensive."

We can talk about morality later if you want.

PigletJohn · 09/12/2011 23:01

About 1.7pence for ten litres of metered cold water.

blackeyedsanta · 09/12/2011 23:07

AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

no you are not bu drives me insane too and we are not even on a water meter. think it is a waaste of valuable resources from someone who claims to be environmentally friendly. does it with the hot tap as well which does cost me money.

ps can you tell it drives me insane!

lottiegb · 09/12/2011 23:08

For years I thought hotels always left a glass by the sink in case you wanted a drink of water in the night. It only dawned on me recently that this is for tooth-brushing - fill glass and moisten toothbrush, turn off tap, brush, rinse mouth from glass, rinse brush, done.

RumourOfAHurricane · 09/12/2011 23:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LoveInAColdClimate · 09/12/2011 23:11

Oh god, DH does this and it drives me insane. He also lets the shower run for AGES before he gets in. Grrrr.

PelvicFloorOfHighTensileTinsel · 09/12/2011 23:13

Did you know you shouldn't moisten your toothbrush before you brush? If you use it dry the fluoride is more concentrated, which is better for your teeth. Ideally you shouldn't rinse your mouth afterwards so the fluoride remains on your teeth for as long as possible.

When I was first told this I thought it would be rank but you do get used to it quite quickly.

So, in theory, it's just the toothbrush which needs rinsing after you've finished brushing.

PigletJohn · 09/12/2011 23:13

look on the bright side

running the washing machine probably uses 50 litres of water. There are some people who like to run it every day.

Spuddybean · 09/12/2011 23:18

OH MY GOD! i was going to post on this very subject. i have been with DP for over 2 years and he does this. Tap absolutely full on while he cleans his teeth.

So he uses his electric tothbrush, stands up wanders around the bathroom while the tap is full on. I have asked him, begged him and reasoned with him to stop. But he wont.

I even measured it while he did it with a pint glass. 4 pints of water just wasted. twice a day. then x by 30 x by 12 and told him how many pints of water were being wasted by him per year.

But he wont have it. he says it's not wasted as he is 'using' it to clean his teeth!!

I have tried using the water bill approach and the environment approach, but he still wont change.

he argues that seeing foamy toothpaste in the sink as it drops down makes him feel sick so he needs it to be washed away immediately. But he also leaves all the lights on in every room and refuses to recycle properly.

I get so cross and we argue about it all the time but i have no other avenue of persuasion.

i get so angry grrrrrr.

RachelHRD · 09/12/2011 23:19

See your point PigletJohn but at least running the washing machine serves a purpose - pointlessly running water whilst you are brushing your teeth doesn't and times that pointlessness by 2 or 3 each day per person and then by 365 days in the year and it all mounts up...