To think I’m being a complete CF and not want to ring into work again!

[MeteorGarden92]

So I recently dropped to PT hours to accommodate completing my qualification. Work are wonderful and supportive but I know it’s a stretch for them!

Yesterday I get a call at 7am from DP who has written off his car on the way to work. He’s ok but car is not! (Second accident in 3 months but neither his fault- he has a 2 hour commute on bad roads).

Obviously I rang in and swapped my day off!! They were fine about it.

This morning he’s taken my car to work and I’ve come down to an exploded dishwasher poring water down the front of my washing machine (and no doubt over the plugs at the bag which I CANNOT get into) I’m 26 and not the most stressful practical with electrics but pretty sure I can’t go out to work and leave the new water feature going!

Rang DP - no answer as he’s no doubt mid way through an operation right now. (Dr) so don’t expect a response from him in the next hour or two and even if he does respond he’s over an hours drive away!

Rang my mum- can’t come over.

Rang the plumbers who didn’t answer yet.

This is the second time the dishwasher has done this in a month! And our car was sick a few weeks ago and had to be rushed into the vets (again by me as couldn’t reach DP at work!

DP and I are getting married in 12 weeks and he would bend over backwards to help...if I could get hold of him, which I never can as obviously they don’t allow mobiles in operating theatres and he spends 50% plus of his working day there!

He’s on a 13 hour shift today- I just feel like it’s always falls to me, and it’s always going to be my career taking a huge hit! I’m sat here feeling terrible about having to ring work again and honestly could just cry!!

If you're in an older house the stopcock might be out in the garage. Just look for pipes then a thing on them that looks a bit like a cartoon flower head. It's usually painted a bright colour for visibility.

I'm sure there's a YouTube video on how to turn off your water. There's a YouTube video for everything. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you can't find the stopcock it could be outside next to your water meter (if you have one). Ours took a lot of hunting for one night not long after we moved it and turns out it's outside in the pavement!

No idea why it's not in the house

I mean I do get that works important but I’m a bit hesitant to lose a weeks worth of food and all the frozen items

Given how generous your work have been recently, I wouldn't be too impressed if I was your boss and I found out you'd prioritized food over doing your job.

Ffs.

I've already posted this but I will say it again.

The freezer will be fine. How do you think power companies can turn off power to the whole street for several hours whilst they do work? Don't open the fridge or freezer doors and everything will be fine. And also, almost all food can be refrozen if they have been partially defrosted. There's a list by the food agency people saying what's sage etc (as long as there are still ice crystals then I think everything is fine to freeze again).

Stop making excuses.

Also, send stuff to your mum's in cools nags. Ask your neighbours. This really isn't an issue.

You're not going to lose the food shop for having the FF off for a day. It should also be covered by your contents insurance, most will have cover for losing FF contents.

Once the immediate problem is sorted, I'd suggest spending the weekend familiarising yourself with your house & basics such as fusebox, stopcock, the drains, what your insurance covers, where all your appliance manuals are kept, meters, pressurising boiler, etc etc – it shouldn't and doesn't have to be this panic-inducing!

I’m gonna fiddle with the circuit breakers and see whether I can isolate the dishwasher/washing machine
you don't know how to turn the water and electricity and you can do that?

Your fridge freezer will be fine, try to find the mains, call another plumber, ask your neighbours, ask on social media - local people can be extremely helpful.

provided you don't open freezer it should be fine for 6-8 hours provided you turn water off you may get away with leaving electric on until plumber comes

Well then you'll need to decide whether it's worth pissing off your "wonderful and supportive" work because some of your shopping might not keep.

If you keep the doors closed it will keep cold for far longer than you think and you can ask your mum to pop round and save as much as she can when she's free.

Even if you rent you should know how to turn off the water tbh.

Do you have a fridge at work? What temperature does the medication need to be at? A fridge will stay cold for about 4 hours if unopened and a freezer will stay cold for a day (think how long it takes to defrost even when scraped and with the door open!)

I don't know if the medicine has to be in the fridge or if you could pop it in the freezer.

Whatever happens though you need to isolate it NOW (or more to the point half an hour or more aho when you noticed it.

The longer you leave water pouring near electrics the bigger the problem is going to be.

As others have said the fridge and freezer will be fine until after work if not opened. Arrange an emergency plumber for after work.

The food will be fine. Even more so as there’s lots of it. Sort it out and go to work.

You seem to want the solutions to come to you by magic, really... Turn the electrics off (you know, that magic box with many switches men often like to touch), then the water (under the sink).

Also you have my sympathies - I went through this when my washing machine detached itself from the wall and my DP was frantically wrestling a runaway machine while I attempted to locate the stopcock!

The electricity really doesn't need to be off for long, unless it's been properly flooded. Just enough for the plumber to get the dishwasher out of the way and your mum to do some drying up.

If it's a freestanding FF you can also use an extension cord to plug it in to a socket outside the kitchen if the kitchen is on its own circuit.

... and go to work.

Jesus people are arse holes on here sometimes.

If you can't find your stopcock, try asking a neighbour because they are sometimes in odd places. My in laws house has 2, one hidden under a grate at the end of the drive way!

Ps. Do you think protecting a week of food is more important than getting electrocuted???

(Sorry)

I do not think the op will go to work.

If he's in theatre, wouldn't he be a surgeon or consultant, not a doctor?

And if water is pissing out the front of your dishwasher, how will that affect your plugs at the back? They are usually raised up off floor level.

crimsonlake I’m with you on this.....

The OP said she doesn't need to leave until 9:20!

I don't understand why people are being so vicious on this thread.

Sorry, OP, but if you marry a doctor you will have to learn how to deal with household emergencies. At any time of day or night.

Please be careful, you really need to turn all the electrics off if water has got into them. If it's live and you are stood in a puddle you could get electrocuted. Or the poor dog could.

Can you not turn the dishwasher of with the start stop button? Surely that will stop it drawing water? If it's the connection at the back that's leaking you need to turn the water off at the stop cock, or at the back where the hoses connect to the dishwasher there should be little blue / or red lever that you turn to stop the water. Or a bit of pipe with what looks like a flat/slot head screw head on it. You turn that 90 degrees to stop the flow of water thru the pipe.

Turn the electric off before fiddling about back there though.