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Does he have access to a bathroom that doesn't have a shower/tub in it? If so, lock the one with the shower, put an Out of Order sign on it, tell him the plumber's coming "soon".
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Reply to Geaton777
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Geaton777 Oct 10, 2025
Oops, he's in a facility...
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Maybe it's me, but what is the facility your husband is in doing about this? Why is he being allowed to get into any sort of shower area without supervision?
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Reply to notgoodenough
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JoAnn29 Oct 10, 2025
My Moms shower was in her room. This is probably a private facility not Longterm care.
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The facility should be able to put a lock on the faucet, like what would be used for toddler child-proofing. Then you or a staff member can unlock it and supervise his showers, on a reasonable schedule. Having a wet floor is a slip-and-fall risk for which they could be liable, if your husband gets injured because they knew about the problem and didn't correct it.
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Reply to MG8522
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Not sure why the staff isn’t monitoring to prevent this?
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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BurntCaregiver Oct 10, 2025
Like most memory care facilities and other LTC, they don't want to hire enough CNA staff to do all of the work and care, but also baby-sit.
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This is for the facility staff to problem solve. Ask them what they intend to do about it. Surely he's not the first dementia resident to do this.
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Reply to Geaton777
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This is now the problem of the MC. Surely they aren't bringing it to YOU??? In MC patients typically are monitored during showertime.

I must tell you that the plugging up of the plumbing is a constant, and quite typical in memory cares.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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The obvious question here is why isn't your husband being monitored while he is in the shower, especially being in memory care? Like already said, this is a memory care issue not a husband issue. Let them figure it out.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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Sounds like he's soiling himself and feels the need to clean up? He's going to have to learn to wait for them to change him. This is the facilities problem, they should have him in adult pull ups and close the bathroom off. Or find a way to turn off the shower but that seems unlikely. Maybe putting a huge yard size plastic garage can in the shower as to block the use of it? Place weights in the bottom half so he can't move it,use the top half for dirty laundry.
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Lovemom1941 Oct 15, 2025
Julia, with dementia, they cannot “learn to wait”. It just isn’t possible. They wake up in a new world every day, if not every few minutes.
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Not your circus, not your monkeys. You're paying big money for him to be cared for there, and the facility should be discussing this with you and telling you what THEY are doing to solve the problem. Just be glad that it's not your home plumbing he's doing this to.
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Reply to Fawnby
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You're paying big bucks for him to be there, so the MC needs to find a solution. If your husband is a guy who showers daily, then he showers daily. If he can still do this for himself, then great. After his daily shower the staff has to start watching him better. If his room has its own shower, they can put a lock on it. If it's a communal showering facility, that place should be locked like a gas-station bathroom with the key kept at the nurse's station and it should have to be asked for.

Don't let the memory care bring this problem to you though because it isn't your problem. It's their job.
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Reply to BurntCaregiver
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I 100% agree this is a problem for the MC to solve but there are shower timers that turn the water off after a set number of minutes, such as this: https://showersavingtimer.com/
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Reply to Suzy23
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TryingInTN Oct 10, 2025
Thank you. The timer is the best solution given on this page. Because he is in assisted living memory care, there are restrictions. I will ask about a timer. He has his own room with private bath. And yes in a perfect world there would be enough staff to keep this from happening. But in a perfect world, this kind of care wouldn’t be necessary. Right? He is unique in that he can still shower himself but forgets to turn off water. And I’m just trying to be proactive and help staff with a situation that they haven’t encountered before. He will leave a towel in his shower floor with water running. Doesn’t take long to cause water to overflow.
So again, thank you for your suggestion instead of just saying MC should handle
it.
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Is the MC complaining to you about this? Expecting you to solve this? Neither makes sense. It sounds like he should not have access (or limited access) to the shower. Please explain more.
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Reply to ShirleyDot
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They can put timers on the shower controller.
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Reply to brandee
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If your husband is in a Memory Care facility, then the staff needs to work on that issue. That is not your fault.
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Reply to Onlychild2024
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I don’t understand. Doesn’t sound like he’s In Memory Care. More like Assisted Living, where they’re not monitored so closely. Maybe he needs Memory Care.
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Reply to Harrylcnm
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Your husband’s dangerous situation should be addressed to the facility director unless the staff resolves the problem.
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Reply to Patathome01
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The staff at the memory care facility should be working to resolve this issue. He may need to move to a different level of care, where he has more supervision.
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Reply to CaringWifeAZ
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TryingInTN: Pose your concerns to the licensed social worker.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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If it is assisted living, you might want to have him moved to memory care.
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Reply to JustAnon
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LakeErie Oct 21, 2025
She said he is in memory care in the first line.
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