Afraid my nephew will flood the bathroom more info #36

[AuntyEm]

My 23 yo nephew can be pretty clueless (at least as a teenager and I don't think he's changed much.) He is coming with his parents to spend Thanksgiving and he is staying with us-his parents are staying at a hotel.   

Is it ok, when giving him a tour of the apartment to remind him to be sure the shower curtain is not hanging outside the shower lip when he is in there and to trick him into thinking we don't have a lot of hot water (it is central to the building) so he won't take super long showers?

The last time he visited my parents, he flooded their bathroom by not closing the shower door completely and the mess was pretty bad since he was in there a loooooong time.  My brother's house is a bit of a disaster with all of the things that have been broken and never fixed over the years.  We're on the 3rd floor and I'm scared of what could happen to the empty apartment below.

[Giggity]

Take the curtain down so he has to take a bath.

ETA: Or just tell him, "Dude, don't flood my bathroom. Ask for directions if you're unclear."

[TootsNYC]

I think you can tell him those things--though I might say, "this shower is tricky, the shower curtain blows out really easily, so you have to be careful that it stays inside so you don't flood the floor."

Presumably he learned something from the big mess at his grandparents'?

[NyaChan]

Take the curtain down so he has to take a bath.

Seems like even that might not work lol  He may just take a shower anyways or overfill the tub    I think it is perfectly fine to give him instructions on how to use the bathroom.  "Let me show you how our shower works.  You turn this knob until you get the right temperature, then you pull this down.  Now we have a small water heater in this building, so please try not to go over 15 minutes.  Oh, and this shower curtain tends to blow out, so make sure this plastic part sticks or else you'll find an inch of water on the floor when you get out"  All with a smile.

[MorgnsGrl]

I am amused by the thought of putting some sort of timer in the bathroom before he arrives. Show it to him during the tour, and say, "Now, we've discovered that the amount of hot water in the tank is enough for an 8 minute show, no more. When the hot water runs out, it goes from comfy to ice-cold in the space of a heartbeat -- trust me, you do NOT want to experience that yourself, so make sure you're out as soon as the timer goes off." Would you consider buying a new shower curtain with strong magnets, or attaching some strong magnets to the one you have now?

[AuntyEm]

Morgnsgirl--That is a great idea!  I'm going to do just that! Thanks!

[CrazyDaffodilLady]

Sounds like my brother.  Last time he was here, I didn't have bar soap in the shower;  rather than use the clearly labelled liquid soap, he used half a bottle of my $40 hypoallergenic face wash.  Then, instead of using the towels I'd set out, he used the terry cloth floor mats!

To avoid the shower curtain problem, I use an inside liner (available at the Dollar Store).  It has weights on the bottom and requires a bit of effort to move outside the tub.

[AuntyEm]

Love that he used the floor mats. Yes, that's where I keep the spare guest towels, spread out on the floor for easy access.

This bathroom doesn't have a tub--it's just a step in shower with a pretty shallow lip and is tiled in some kind of stone so I don't think magnets would work, unfortunately.  I could make him use my bathroom with the claw foot bathtub but it has no shower curtain and a sprayer attached to the faucet--a potential disaster too.

[sevenday]

Tell him point blank "Listen, you need to leave the shower curtain tucked in like this or water gets all over the floor. If you don't and it floods - YOU clean it up and YOU pay any bills for repair if it damages anything."  If he asks why you're telling him this, you can tell him two things: one, you've learned from experience with this particular shower (you can play it off as a "quirk") or  you can remind him of the previous incident at the parents' house.  You can also get the weighted inner liners.  They're not magnets, they're just weights so that the liner contacts the floor.  It helps prevent the accidental flooding if someone bumps the outer liner and it pops out of the shower.  I use them with my own shower (no tub, just a fiberglass "stall" and it works.

[kareng57]

Ah, yes.  When my teenage sons used to be taking 25+ minute showers, twice a day, Dh and I were threatening to install coin-showers - the kinds that you see in campgrounds...and I recently had to replace the floor in "the boys''" bathroom, even though one of them doesn't live here anymore.  The flooring guys said that the water damage was probably indeed likely due to the shower-curtain blow-out.  Okay, the house is 25 years old so the flooring would have likely have had to have been replaced soon anyway, but still.

I too would recommend "the shower curtain blows out easily, please secure it inside the tub" and hope for the best.  But it's true that I don't live in a multi-unit building.  Otherwise, maybe the weighted-magnets could be the best bet.

[Daffydilly]

Why wouldn't he stay with his parents at the hotel? It seems like its safer is he didn't stay at your home. The risks to the apartment may be costly.

[Redsoil]

Would it work to attach velcro to the curtain and shower lip?  It can be removed (use eucalyptus oil on any residue if needed, but shoudn't be a problem) after he goes.  Prior to attaching, it might help it stick better if you clean the area with metho or white vinegar.

I'd definitely tell him that showers have a time limit of 10 minutes, otherwise there is no hot water left for others.  Knock on the door or set a timer if you need to.  If he acts like a child (lack of thought or consequences), he gets treated like one.

[rashea]

I'm not sure you can say much other than reminding him to check that the curtain is in. I like the idea of the magnets. Might be worth putting down a super absorbent bath mat, if he can be trusted to hang it up. I think you can ask him to take reasonable length showers, especially if it's a shared bathroom. But I wouldn't lie. I'm picturing the timer going off, and him realizing that the water is still hot and getting upset.

Beyond that, it seems like you aren't keen on him staying with you at all. Is there a reason his parents are getting a hotel but he's staying with you?

[Sophia]

Tell him point blank "Listen, you need to leave the shower curtain tucked in like this or water gets all over the floor. If you don't and it floods - YOU clean it up and YOU pay any bills for repair if it damages anything." ...

He is 23 not 7, therefore I think this is the best plan.

If his parents had done the same a long time ago, he wouldn't be quite so clueless today.

[O'Dell]

Tell him point blank "Listen, you need to leave the shower curtain tucked in like this or water gets all over the floor. If you don't and it floods - YOU clean it up and YOU pay any bills for repair if it damages anything." ...

He is 23 not 7, therefore I think this is the best plan.

If his parents had done the same a long time ago, he wouldn't be quite so clueless today.

I like this as well. If he doesn't agree, then tell him he has to stay somewhere else.