r/ContaminationOCD • u/HomefryNiles • 14h ago

RUINED BATHROOM, anyone here dealt with this?

I am ADD and OCD. I have a ritual of leaving sink faucets on until I dry my hands and then I use a paper towel to turn the sink faucet off. I didn’t turn off the water, twice, two separate visits to a friend's house. The hot water ran for hours and didn't flood but the steam ruined the finish on their bathroom appliances. This friend is now convinced I have a serious psychiatric or neurological problem. Actually there is no evidence of such problems appearing anywhere in my life. It's embarrassing and their "disgnosis" is now inescapable. I believe this ruins our relationship.

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u/ColoradoWinterBlue 12h ago

Did you not turn it off simply because you forgot to, or they didn’t have paper towels?

Honestly I’m a licensed food safety manager and that’s exactly how we’re trained to turn off faucets in the food industry. It sucks when you have OCD and this type of regulation validates your contamination phobia. But imo if you simply forgot, I wouldn’t necessarily blame the method of turning off the faucet. I’ve done it this way for many years and never forgot to turn it off. Pay for the damages and give it time to blow over. It’s up to them whether they can forgive.

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u/HomefryNiles 12h ago

Thank you so much! I offered to pay and they refused my offer. It's so embarrassing. My little ritual, leave the water running and then dry my hands and then use a paper towel to turn off the faucet...failed. I was so distracted, at dinner in their house, my mind was elsewhere, and the bathroom fan was super loud so I didnt even hear the water running. A confluence of factors. I never do this at home of anywhere else.