British plumbing

it leaves parts behind b/c the water is so low and has such little flush power

That's where the American-style toilet bowl with high water level scores heavily in reducing fouling of the sides.  There is considerable variation in the design of the flushing channels in British toilets though, and some work noticeably better than others when coupled with certain types of cistern.

Getting back to mixer taps:

Can someone explain how you are supposed to wash your face with separate hot and cold taps?

The way I washed my face in the US, with mixer taps is:

1.   lather my face with cleanser and water – to bring up all the dirt
2.   rinse thoroughly in the sink with running water, to get all the cleanser, dirt and dead skin cells off my face and down the drain

I have to rinse thoroughly because I have oily skin and if I don’t keep my pores clean, I get pimples.

Now that I have separate hot and cold taps, I do the same, except when I rinse, I alternate between splashing my face with hot and cold water, so I don’t burn myself or freeze myself.

British people, however, wash by putting the stopper in the sink and then filling up the sink with a mixture of hot and cold water so it gets to a comfortable temperature, then washing with the water that is already in the sink. I don’t understand how they are able to get their faces clean.  They would be rinsing their faces with dirty, soapy water.

I tried that once when I first moved here, and ended up with pimples all over my chin. 

What am I missing?

I wonder if this is related to the “not rinsing dishes” thing, except the British people I know do rinse their dishes, yet still wash their faces by filling up the sink with water.

I don’t understand how they are able to get their faces clean.  They would be rinsing their faces with dirty, soapy water.

Have you ever had a bath? Do you have two separate baths - one for soaping and one for rinsing?   

Chary, my husband can't handle bathing like us barbarians... and if I'm dirty, I shower first, then fill up the tub.  I miss our Japanese bathroom so much!  (You shouldn't use soap in them as you share the water.  You can get the whole room wet, though!)


For Sweetpeach, I think a pail for water would work, if there's enough space.

This thread is reminding me of a conversation I witnessed between a Greek friend and a British friend....went something like well, we've got much better plumbing in Greece....=

I'm slightly staggered by this; we used to go to Greece a lot, and the old plumbing was spectacularly bad (hole in the floor toilets, baskets for paper beside the toilet).  Agreed, new   plumbing was gradually being installed , but pipes used to be routed quite visibly all over the walls, and one couple we knew rented a villa where the toilet flushed extremely hot water, while the shower would only produce a trickle.  This kind of story used to be quite common and was just regarded by lovers of Greece as part of its charm.  We haven't been for a few years, but are going next week, so I may need to update this report.

I usually shower, and if I do bathe, I shower off afterwards.

Getting back to mixer taps:

Can someone explain how you are supposed to wash your face with separate hot and cold taps?

The way I washed my face in the US, with mixer taps is:

1.   lather my face with cleanser and water – to bring up all the dirt
2.   rinse thoroughly in the sink with running water, to get all the cleanser, dirt and dead skin cells off my face and down the drain

This is exactly how I wash my face.  Fortunately our bathroom has a mixer tap but at DH's mother's house she has the separate hot and cold.   I have to keep my hands under the cold water then quickly under the hot water so as not to get burned.  For me, I can't stand the thought of filling up the sink because of all the things people do in the sink.  Namely, all the saliva and spit and toothpaste.  That just grosses me out.

Sweetpeach,

I have the same problem. I wash my face the same as you with a mixer tap, but do the fill up the sink and wash in the UK. My face breaks out every time I visit DB and it's the cystic ones too, not just the smaller things I've gotten myself down to in the states.

I never thought of doing the cold water first then the hot, I started with the hot when I tried to go between the two. It would make sense to do the cold first though!

Probably isn't much of a better way.

I don't like taking baths either. I do better with those than the sink though. I just don't like the thought of cleaning myself with water that's been made dirty and also don't like sitting down in the tub it just feels dirty to me.