A fountain ~ how lovely, but not in my bathroom

[K'Ehleyr]

So the hot tap in my bath had reduced to a dribble. Man said 'I'll fix it' ~ as they do. Disappeared into bathroom with 'important tools' after turning the water off in the airing cupboard. And lo the tap did work and hot water came forth and we were happy and clean... until today.

You know when you use something and it just doesn't seem right... Well today, a day after 'fixing', the hot tap came off in my hand and water spurted, majestically I must admit, out. Now being on your own in that situation you are in kind of a quandry. Quell the flow or go for the source. After a few futile 'helps', for whom I was appealing I have no idea, I decided to go for the magic tap in the cupboard. Putting a jug over the tap (I had a plan, it was a plastic jug and I thought it would catch the water upside down ) I ran to the cupboard and searched for the 'water turney offy tap'. Well I can tell you there are lots of taps in there! Assuming I had the right one because the whoosing sounds had ceased I returned to bathroom and fixed tap, after screwing in a lot of wrong directions (schoolgirl humour). Well kind of. It's stopped gushing but I still don't think I'll be having a bath until someone that knows what they're doing is available.

So it got me to thinking if something like that happens, do you know where the emergency turn off switches, taps etc are? And are they in easy reach? I've wrecked my airing cupboard because the water tap was behind lots of stuff and I panicked. Next I have to find the electicity doofah! Good plan!

 

[An Officer]

I had something similar happen in the kitchen a couple of years ago... the main cold water tap decided to come off in my hand... ice cold water spurting everywhere. Didn't have the faintest idea where the main off switch was, of course... luckily had an idea to ebb the overwhelming flow by tying off the top of the tap with a tea-towel... that managed to at least stop the spurting on the floor and all over the surrounding wood frames. Called an emergency plumber, and couple of guys were there within the hour. I was pretty impressed. I think they could hear the gushing in the background when I rang...

Come to think of it, I've had countless plumbing emergencies in my time. British plumbing is definitely the very worst in the developed world, no doubt about that. I am always impressed by the superior plumbing when I go overseas. People would think I have just landed from the amazon the way I admire it...

 

[Zulu Romeo]

My water mains always makes a knocking sound whenever the main taps are switched off - be it the kitchen sink, bathroom taps, toilet, even the washing machine. The noise is located to a cupboard in the kitchen next to my back door - coincidentally, the place where the mains supply tap is located. Personally, while it's been checked numerous times and sorted out, I actually prefer the reassuring "knock" whenever someone turns off a tap in my house.

It's the drainage plumbing that has caused me more problems than not, really. The worst was a blockage in my shower drain, which required tons of Cillit-BANG, work with a plunger, plus a weekend of disinfecting the place. The vinegary smell of disinfectant hurt my eyes for weeks.

 

[Mallory]

In the interest of my further understanding of the British, what is an "airing cupboard"?

As far as the OP goes, I've never lived anywhere here where there wasn't a main water cutoff (clearly labeled) and generally there's always been one for the kitchen sink in the cabinets underneath it.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't know jack about plumbing, so if something like this happened to me, I would probably be whacking random things with a wrench while my house flooded all around me.

 

[An Officer]

Mallory, in most British homes I've seen, there are always a half-dozen randomly scattered water levers, none of them marked. I didn't even know levers could or should be marked. How quaint. That would spoil the chase of hide and seek during an emergency.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

An Officer and Zee I concur wholeheartedly. British plumbing is useless. What you want to come out doesn't or does it too quickly and unbidden, what you want to go away lingers, and don't tell me about the flat above me installing a shower wrong so their water came out of my light fitting

Mallory, an airing cupboard usually contains the boiler and shelves and is used to store linens, clothes etc after they have been washed and dried. Why storing things in a musty cupboard is suppose to 'air' them I have absolutely no idea. But my Grandma used to do it so it must be right

 

[AstroSmurf]

^ Yep. Most states in the US have codes requiring a main shut off and secondaries for each tap under the cupboard they are installed in. This helps immensely in such emergencies.

But I can deal with taps blowing apart (having been raised by folks who build houses) but I have issue with toilets going all wonky. My OCD kicks in and I have to wash everything down in bleach just be able to walk barefoot through the bathroom again.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Mallory, in most British homes I've seen, there are always a half-dozen randomly scattered water levers, none of them marked. I didn't even know levers could or should be marked. How quaint. That would spoil the chase of hide and seek during an emergency.

I forgot to answer that bit. Exactly, there were loads of levers and taps none of them marked. I've probably turned something really important off

 

[Jadzia]

In the interest of my further understanding of the British, what is an "airing cupboard"?

Traditionally it is a small cupboard that houses the hot water tank. And since it is a cupboard, the atmosphere inside is warm and dry and ideal for storing linen or towels that might become fusty if stored somewhere with cooler or more humid air.

With the newer (far less reliable) combination systems, there isn't a hot water tank, so the cupboard isn't necessarily warm and dry, so then all you have is a musty cupboard that isn't an airing cupboard, and fusty linen and towels stored within it.

 

[Mallory]

Mallory, in most British homes I've seen, there are always a half-dozen randomly scattered water levers, none of them marked. I didn't even know levers could or should be marked. How quaint. That would spoil the chase of hide and seek during an emergency.

If I had to guess, I'd probably blame that on older housing stock. Most of America's single family homes were built to a standard building code following WWII. If you ever do figure out which lever actually shuts off the water, you can always hand label it by hanging one of those tags with a string loop on the end over it.

Mallory, an airing cupboard usually contains the boiler and shelves and is used to store linens, clothes etc after they have been washed and dried. Why storing things in a musty cupboard is suppose to 'air' them I have absolutely no idea. But my Grandma used to do it so it must be right

Thanks K'ehleyr. It does seem to be an odd custom, but then the old customs never seem to go away completely. Which is just fine, there's something to be said for tradition.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

^ Yep. Most states in the US have codes requiring a main shut off and secondaries for each tap under the cupboard they are installed in. This helps immensely in such emergencies.
...

But still it's quite panic inducing when you're on your own even if the bloody tap is labelled and you're not quite sure which way is off or on. I know which way it is but under pressure I forget ~ hell tell me someone who doesn't

 

[RoJoHen]

I keep my linens in the...



...wait for it...




...linen closet.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I keep my linens in the...



...wait for it...




...linen closet.

Perhaps it serves as an airing cupboard too?

 

[RoJoHen]

I keep my linens in the...



...wait for it...




...linen closet.

Perhaps it serves as an airing cupboard too?

It's just a closet at the end of the hallway. There is no boiler or water heater anywhere in site.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

^ that's just a posh name for 'airing cupboard' lol

 

[kimc]

I know where my water mains are but 'tis a scary place!

 

[An Officer]

Speaking of cupboards, I always have this argument with my continental friend... she says cupboard should not be used for anything apart from where you store your dishes, hence the "cup" at the beginning of the word... I think the term is much looser than that, I sometimes even use it to refer to where I keep my clothes... I very rarely use the word wardrobe. Anyone else have this debate?

Everyone knows British use of the English language is intentionally confusing anyway.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Speaking of cupboards, I always have this argument with my continental friend... she says cupboard should not be used for anything apart from where you store your dishes, hence the "cup" at the beginning of the word... I think the term is much looser than that, I sometimes even use it to refer to where I keep my clothes... I very rarely use the word wardrobe. Anyone else have this debate?

Ironically, regarding my drainage mishap event described above, I now keep my Cillit-BANG™ in a cupboard. Away from other cups.

Everyone knows British use of the English language is intentionally confusing anyway.

I keep dishes in a cupboard too, so does that make it a dishboard?

 

[RoJoHen]

Speaking of cupboards, I always have this argument with my continental friend... she says cupboard should not be used for anything apart from where you store your dishes, hence the "cup" at the beginning of the word... I think the term is much looser than that, I sometimes even use it to refer to where I keep my clothes... I very rarely use the word wardrobe. Anyone else have this debate?

Everyone knows British use of the English language is intentionally confusing anyway.

I honestly don't use the word "cupboard" at all, but if I did, I would only use it for dishes.

I have "cabinets" in my kitchen and bathroom, and I keep clothes in a "dresser."