qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 5,210
the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #15 on: June 30, 2009, 11:51:31 AM » |
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Mazal tov!! I'm really pleased to see it's still possible for foreigners to get jobs here.
As for taps: an educated guess suggests that it's a way for hotels to save money on hot water -- since as you say it's silly to use the hot water tap and burn your fingers, one sticks to the cold water tap even though it's too cold.
It is possible to buy mixer taps here, install one in your own bathroom at least once you've bought a house/flat.
I have no objection to moaning about British habits, especially on this forum -- that's part of its purpose as far as I'm concerned!
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"I'm tired of being your love slave!"
"Does that mean I'm not going to get my coffee?"
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taltalim
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« Reply #16 on: June 30, 2009, 12:08:41 PM » |
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Ooops, looks like I've hit a sore spot with the tap problem. Sorry.
There will be no house-buying and thus probably no nice mixer tap for me since I am moving only for a fixed time postdoc position.
Thank you for your wishes and warnings!
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Curly girls are the surliest girls. |
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bacardiandlime
Ninja
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,144
That makes me more gangster than you
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« Reply #17 on: June 30, 2009, 12:17:10 PM » |
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There will be no house-buying and thus probably no nice mixer tap for me since I am moving only for a fixed time postdoc position.
I live in a rented property and all the sinks in the flat have mixer taps. It's not that unusual these days. I have no objection to moaning about British habits, especially on this forum -- that's part of its purpose as far as I'm concerned!
As long as you don't mind the British contingent moaning about the foreigners... |
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YOU ARE NASTY
Go jump in lake!
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science_expat
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« Reply #18 on: June 30, 2009, 04:36:15 PM » |
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Buy a "mixer" tap.
Congratuations and welcome!
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« Last Edit: June 30, 2009, 04:36:56 PM by science_expat »
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Professor of Something Scarily Scientific Sounding
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britmom
I'm a slightly less sleep deprived, but still cranky
Senior member
Posts: 725
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« Reply #19 on: June 30, 2009, 04:48:21 PM » |
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Apropos stupid but serious questions: Why do British sinks have two separate faucets? And how do you use them? Out of one runs pretty cold water and out of the other steaming hot water that will burn your fingers. Is the idea behind that to first burn your fingers and then use the cold water faucet to cool the burn blisters? I think I have to learn a lot...
I just don't understand the American obsession with mixer taps - is it laziness? You put the plug in the hole, and add hot/cold water to the desired temperature. Oh, and congratulations on the job! |
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thundering_m
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« Reply #20 on: June 30, 2009, 06:06:40 PM » |
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Apropos stupid but serious questions: Why do British sinks have two separate faucets? And how do you use them? Out of one runs pretty cold water and out of the other steaming hot water that will burn your fingers. Is the idea behind that to first burn your fingers and then use the cold water faucet to cool the burn blisters? I think I have to learn a lot...
I just don't understand the American obsession with mixer taps - is it laziness? You put the plug in the hole, and add hot/cold water to the desired temperature. Oh, and congratulations on the job! Second BritMom. However, Americans are accustomed to the shower/streaming effect of water, and are in fact often quite wasteful by leaving the tap running while they brush, scrub, etc. Also, not all are particularly careful about making sure the basin is clean, so they prefer it to come straight out of the tap. I'm just saying. |
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-TM
Thundering Marshmallow
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,564
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #21 on: July 01, 2009, 03:22:10 AM » |
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Have you ever seen a plug in a public sink? And just like a bath... filling a sink to wash your hands is much more water wasteful than running warm water from the tap.
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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secretweapon
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« Reply #22 on: July 01, 2009, 03:33:37 AM » |
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Congratulations! There will be no house-buying and thus probably no nice mixer tap for me since I am moving only for a fixed time postdoc position.
I live in a rented property and all the sinks in the flat have mixer taps. It's not that unusual these days. I have seen mixer taps mentioned in property ads - as a selling point. Property benefits from all mods cons, including mixer taps and Economy 7 electric heating. |
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If you want a cookie, bake a cookie.
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the_walrus
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« Reply #23 on: July 01, 2009, 03:49:45 AM » |
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Have you ever seen a plug in a public sink?
Yes, and I think that's pretty nasty. For the same reason I'm happy to use a shower at my gym, while I would never fill up a bathtub there (not that they have them, but you get the point), I can't imagine filling up the sink in a public toilet and washing my hands in it. Might as well wash them in the toilet itself. Probably the same level of infection, and then at least with the toilet I have a better degree of certainty of what I'm in for. |
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taltalim
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« Reply #24 on: July 01, 2009, 04:38:41 AM » |
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What have I done here? My apologies. I wasn't even aware that the can I opened with my question is full of worms.
Note to self: Igniting a cultural war is never a good way to introduce yourself.
FWIW, I am not an American. I come from a country with severe water shortage where children learn not to let the water running while soaping the hands/body before they are even tall enough to reach the sink or to take a shower on their own.
BritMom, thanks. Now I do at least understand how it works. How often do you fill the sink? Once with water you use the soap in, but then how often with clear water to 'rinse off' or dilute the residue of the soapy water that is on your hands? (I am curious and not snarky.)
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Curly girls are the surliest girls. |
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normative_
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« Reply #25 on: July 01, 2009, 04:45:46 AM » |
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Congrats! As for taps: an educated guess suggests that it's a way for hotels to save money on hot water -- since as you say it's silly to use the hot water tap and burn your fingers, one sticks to the cold water tap even though it's too cold. History of British regulations, perhaps useful in a pub quiz: For hygiene purposes, it was once required to have separate hot and cold taps, so that the hot water was guaranteed to help kill germs. The rules were changed because so many people scalded themselves. And perhaps because more people use soap. Until you get the single faucet, if you just need a little bit, open up both taps, scoop some cold water in your hands and add hot. |
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« Last Edit: July 01, 2009, 04:46:34 AM by normative_ »
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Fortune favors the bold. Excellent analysis by Normative. All hail Normie! Normative, that was superb. |
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qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 5,210
the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #26 on: July 01, 2009, 04:47:20 AM » |
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Don't blame yourself, taltalim -- there's no way you could have known. Just don't refer to this incident when going through passport control. BritMom, thanks. Now I do at least understand how it works. How often do you fill the sink? Once with water you use the soap in, but then how often with clear water to 'rinse off' or dilute the residue of the soapy water that is on your hands? (I am curious and not snarky.)
Who said anything about filling the sink more than once?? By the way, don't assume anything about flats having showers -- plenty of them have just a tub, with no provision for a shower curtain even if you do come up with a way to attach a plastic shower hose to the separate taps in the bath. |
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"I'm tired of being your love slave!"
"Does that mean I'm not going to get my coffee?"
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wegie
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« Reply #27 on: July 01, 2009, 04:57:55 AM » |
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BritMom, thanks. Now I do at least understand how it works. How often do you fill the sink? Once with water you use the soap in, but then how often with clear water to 'rinse off' or dilute the residue of the soapy water that is on your hands? (I am curious and not snarky.)
Fill sink to level you feel appropriate. Wet hands in sink. Use wet hands to lather up soap. Place soap back. Rinse hands in your sink of clean water. |
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qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 5,210
the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #28 on: July 01, 2009, 05:01:25 AM » |
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BritMom, thanks. Now I do at least understand how it works. How often do you fill the sink? Once with water you use the soap in, but then how often with clear water to 'rinse off' or dilute the residue of the soapy water that is on your hands? (I am curious and not snarky.)
Fill sink to level you feel appropriate. Wet hands in sink. Use wet hands to lather up soap. Place soap back. Rinse hands in your sink of clean water. The problem, of course, being that, while the water was clean when you put your hands into it, by the time you go to take them out of it the water is no longer as clean as it was. Hence you have removed your hands from slightly soapy/not-so-clean water. |
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"I'm tired of being your love slave!"
"Does that mean I'm not going to get my coffee?"
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wegie
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« Reply #29 on: July 01, 2009, 05:03:50 AM » |
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BritMom, thanks. Now I do at least understand how it works. How often do you fill the sink? Once with water you use the soap in, but then how often with clear water to 'rinse off' or dilute the residue of the soapy water that is on your hands? (I am curious and not snarky.)
Fill sink to level you feel appropriate. Wet hands in sink. Use wet hands to lather up soap. Place soap back. Rinse hands in your sink of clean water. The problem, of course, being that, while the water was clean when you put your hands into it, by the time you go to take them out of it the water is no longer as clean as it was. Hence you have removed your hands from slightly soapy/not-so-clean water. And that is why God created paper towels ;-) |
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