Do you leave the tap on when you brush your teeth?

It was a great cartoon, it's what stopped me too!

No I never leave the tap on.

I know it's bad, but I do leave the tap running as I keep rinsing my brush under it. I have this thing about the toothbrush and paste becoming warm. ?

I'm another one who leaves the tap on. Not full wack just a bit more than a trickle really. I think i do it so it washes any dropped toothpaste down the sink.

No - I turn it off. I've also managed to successfully persuade H to turn it off too!

I don't turn the tap on until after I've brushed my teeth to rinse my mouth out.

My H brushes his with the tap on!

I was told by my dentist as a child to rinse your mouth out thoroughly as flouride can leave you with discoloured patches on your teeth if you don't, as a child I had a couple and I vividly remember him saying to my mum I must have been eating the toothpaste!

I don't know if that's right though ?.

Nikki xx

Okay, I've asked H about the hot water situation and he says although it's 'okay' because it's drawing from fresh water, it's not officially potable because it has passed through a filter and the heat exchange. He says he personally wouldn't drink it / use it by mouth.

same here, I can still see it in my mind now

I can't remember. I think I switch it on to wet the brush, then off again to brush, then on again to rinse the excess foam off the brush, then off again etc.

I turn it off.

I didn't used to though. When the South East went through all the use less water and they started to give all sorts of water saving tips this was one of them.

I'm another who did as a child, as thats how i was taught, and a childhood programme stopped me

not anything as cool as sesame street though. it was the cosby show. ?

I agree, I was just giving reasons why you could consider it not 100% as safe as cold kitchen tap water. I don't have cold water storage but would also still never drink water from the cold water tap in my bathroom as i'd have to flush it for ages to be sure i'd get fresh water.

Not sure who this was in reply to but as my post above says H says it is more that hot water on a combi has to pass through filters and heating devices that are designed to heat water, not to keep it to a drinkable level. It is possible that bacteria could build up in these areas He says that it's one of those things that if you do drink it, it's not likely to really cause a problem but that as a plumber he would never say that hot water from the tap is potable for those reasons.

On the other hand we drink cold water from the bathroom tap all the time.