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IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 08:22 PM Feb 2014

What was that sudden series of loud thuds outdoors this afternoon?

Why, the beautiful sound of snow sliding off my metal alpine roof in the bright sun, that's what.

Maybe in a few days I'll have running water again. I stink, people; I tell you, I stink to high heaven after 9 days w/o a proper tub bath. Doing all I can with baby wipes, but it's no complete or permanent solution. This afternoon I doused my hair with witch hazel and toweled it off. At least my scalp feels better. Tomorrow my regular weekly ride comes to take me shopping and on errands for 2 hours; I'll dress in as many layers of clean clothes as possible and hope I don't make people faint when I walk by.

What am I saying? Most people around here have been in the same fix, some for over 2 weeks instead of a measly 10 days. I bet a lot of them will smell even worse!

13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What was that sudden series of loud thuds outdoors this afternoon? (Original Post) IrishAyes Feb 2014 OP
Thanks for the guidance TexasTowelie Feb 2014 #1
I try to take care of my friends. IrishAyes Feb 2014 #3
Before you go out, you could douse yourself in whiskey, rum, or another aint_no_life_nowhere Feb 2014 #2
But that alcohol is meant for internal consumption. TexasTowelie Feb 2014 #4
I was without water for almost a week RebelOne Feb 2014 #5
Sorry to hear that. Hope all's well now. IrishAyes Feb 2014 #6
Yes, all is working now. RebelOne Feb 2014 #7
What I did when the snows fell and the running water seized. Chan790 Feb 2014 #8
Thanks. It does help to keep things in perspective. IrishAyes Feb 2014 #9
sponge bath anasv Feb 2014 #12
I actually do that daily, or something similar. IrishAyes Feb 2014 #13
If you haven't gone out yet, go to a drug store or section marzipanni Feb 2014 #10
Thanks, that's what I should've done. But when I did go out today, I was so anxious IrishAyes Feb 2014 #11

TexasTowelie

(111,300 posts)
1. Thanks for the guidance
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 09:00 PM
Feb 2014

to stay upwind.

I hope that life gets back to normal for you soon. Hang in there!

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
3. I try to take care of my friends.
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 09:05 PM
Feb 2014

Wonder if I should wear a sandwich board tomorrow warning people? I thought of spraying myself with chocolate scented Febreeze, or is that a little too much?

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
2. Before you go out, you could douse yourself in whiskey, rum, or another
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 09:03 PM
Feb 2014

alcoholic beverage if you have any. That would kill the bacteria and fungi that cause some of the smell.

RebelOne

(30,947 posts)
5. I was without water for almost a week
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 09:18 PM
Feb 2014

because I had 4 broken pipes within days of one another. I was doing all the right things such as letting the water drip from all my facuets. I live in a mobile home, so I had a heater going under the house to keep the pipes warm, but the cold was so intense that the pipes could not handle it. I was dragging buckets of water from my neighbor just to flush my toilet.

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
6. Sorry to hear that. Hope all's well now.
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 11:21 PM
Feb 2014

If you ever lose running water again, you might try the kitty litter version of a compost toilet. Easier on the back than hauling water, and what works for cats....

RebelOne

(30,947 posts)
7. Yes, all is working now.
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 05:29 PM
Feb 2014

Fortunately, my son was able to fix the pipes because the cost of a plumber would have been astronomical.

 

Chan790

(20,176 posts)
8. What I did when the snows fell and the running water seized.
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 05:53 PM
Feb 2014

I went outside and filled a stock-pot with snow. I took it inside and heated it to a nice 175' on the gas-range. Poured it in the bathtub. Went outside and filled the stock pot with snow. I took it inside and heated it to a nice 135' on the gas-range. Poured it in the bathtub. Went outside and filled the stock pot with snow. Took it inside and measured the temperature of the bath-water. Added handfuls of snow until the temperature reached a nice comfy 135'F.

Took a bath. Toweled off and put on my warmest jammies. When company came over and said "Oh, you had a bath! Can I use your bath?" I told them "No." because I wasn't putting pants on to fetch more snow.

Have fun tomorrow. Everybody stinks right now. You can revel in being stinky if everybody stinks more.

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
9. Thanks. It does help to keep things in perspective.
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 06:01 PM
Feb 2014

The reason I don't melt snow as you did is because I'm almost 68 and my bathtub is upstairs. Even if I could do all that, it would be dangerous carrying hot water up those steep stairs. They're so steep and narrow that it's the main reason other people didn't buy this house before me, and it was a real steal. So I don't complain about the stairs even though I can't lug bathwater up them either.

This morning before my ride came to take me on errands, I did the best I could with baby wipes and witch hazel poured on a washcloth. I'm thinking about trying to use a weak solution of rubbing alcohol to clean my scalp and hair next time if there is a next time.

Meanwhile I donated my heating pad to the intake pipes under the kitchen sink. Some day the water WILL return.

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
13. I actually do that daily, or something similar.
Wed Feb 19, 2014, 01:05 AM
Feb 2014

But it's nowhere near effective as a good hot soak. I know I'm being silly by fretting or pouting or whatever's going on. But I'm not a survivalist by nature although I know how. I'm a spoiled townie now. At this point I'd take that big tub over chocolate! I want my MTV!

marzipanni

(6,011 posts)
10. If you haven't gone out yet, go to a drug store or section
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 06:23 PM
Feb 2014

buy some "No Rinse body wash, shampoo, and incontinent cleanser". My hubby had surgery and got it in the hospital, but I'm pretty sure you can get similar stuff at a drug store.
You can melt snow just to bathwater temperature in two pans, spray or pour some of this stuff in the pan, close the curtains in the kitchen (or not ) and give yourself the old sponge bath with a wash cloth.

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
11. Thanks, that's what I should've done. But when I did go out today, I was so anxious
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 07:24 PM
Feb 2014

I forgot to buy those items! They will go into my permanent emergency supply cabinet next week, though. Since the trap (under the house) in the exit pipe for my washing machine in the laundry room freezes over for nearly a week every winter, even when the rest of the house is okay, I just plopped down $150 for a brand new Magic Chef portable washer to keep in the kitchen. This bump in the road town just got a surplus store! So most winters, I think, I'll be able to wash clothes almost anytime I'm damned good and ready. Unless the mains freeze again, and longtime residents claim they never did before. I don't mind doing all my own work, but it makes me cranky when I can't.

I love the Magic Chef brand anyway. They're the real manufacturers of several much costlier high-end brands - which are really just a Magic Chef under the hood.

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