What do you do...

[scheherazade_79]

When this happens to you?

Here's the scenario:

I'm staying at my sister's and had just retired for the night. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, then turned the door knob... and NOTHING happened. It's weird - there's no lock on the door, but the catch had just locked in place. I tried pushing it, I tried pulling it, I tried wiggling it around, but nothing would move. Suddenly the bathroom started to get really hot, and I had to hang my head out of the window for a few moments to get some air.

Everyone else was downstairs, and they couldn't hear my shouts and bangs. My sister's dog (called Olly) figured that something was wrong, but didn't quite have the sense to go downstairs and fetch someone for me.

It can only be described as a thoroughly horrible experience. I didn't have my phone with me and found myself running through all these worst case scenarios. I had plenty of water to last a while, and there was enough of a gap under the door to be passed a joint and possibly a wafer biscuit if I got hungry. But oh God! To be stuck in the bloody bathroom until either the fire brigade arrived or someone sawed through the catch!

For a couple of wild moments I even contemplated taking the shower curtain down and trying to abseil down the the front of the building, or at least swing out onto the extension roof and hop down from there.

What would you have done in this situation?

 

[Gringao]

I'm guessing it's like most bathrooms and the door opens into it.

Knock the pins out of the hinges with a nail file, scissors or other commonly-found item in bathrooms.

 

[scheherazade_79]

Thank you! I'll bear that in mind if it ever happens again!

 

[Liar]

I'd resort to violence. A door is just a piece of wood. Most of the time.

 

[lewdandlicentious]

I'd chill, and say hi to the ghost that was bothering me!!!

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

So how'd you get out?

 

[Guest]

I'd chill, and say hi to the ghost that was bothering me!!!

LOL! But you

 

[Guest]

When I was having my new carpets fitted in the house a couple of years ago, one of the poor bastard carpet fitters got trapped in my toilet. The lock on the door broke, he was panicking.

One of his mates got a really long pole and tied a screwdriver to it, then stood by the front door and passed him the screwdriver, via the pole, through the open loo window.

He then took the hinges off and escaped.

I laughed.

Oh, and made tea.

 

[lewdandlicentious]

When I was having my new carpets fitted in the house a couple of years ago, one of the poor bastard carpet fitters got trapped in my toilet. The lock on the door broke, he was panicking.

One of his mates got a really long pole and tied a screwdriver to it, then stood by the front door and passed him the screwdriver, via the pole, through the open loo window.

He then took the hinges off and escaped.

I laughed.

Oh, and made tea.

Yep, tea's good!!!!

As is yours!!!

 

[Guest]

Yep, tea's good!!!!

As is yours!!!

I aim to please.

Tea is ALWAYS good, especially then.

 

[scheherazade_79]

Thank you for all the responses and advice

I got out - after about half an hour in there. Olly eventually got so frustrated and confused that he started to bark, and that brought my sister out. I had a joint passed under the door to passify me, and while my brother-in-law was rooting around in his toolbox for a hacksaw, the door mysteriously clicked open on its own. Please don't mention anything about poltergeists and the like, because otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight. I'm trying to be logical about this - my sister'd had a bath in there before I went in. It was still steamy, and it's possible that the steam made the catch expand, and as it got cooler it shrunk and then clicked open. Is that possible?

 

[lewdandlicentious]

Anythings possible, but I believe someone or something wanted to play with you.

 

[oggbashan]

Happened in my vicinity three times.

Once I was inside the locked door on the third floor with several people. One of the most athletic of us climbed out the window, along an outside ledge, back in through another window and then opened the door with the spare key.

Another time I was outside. I was the fire marshal for the office floor. I had a phone call at lunchtime from a colleague who was locked in her office. Everyone else in her room had gone to lunch. She had waited a few minutes to finish a phone call and found the door locked when she wanted to leave. I went to the caretaker and got the spare key. It wouldn't work. It turned but didn't unlock the door. After quarter of an hour trying to pick the lock or use other keys my colleague was getting desperate. She was eight months pregnant. The door should have opened inwards towards her. I shoulder charged it. The lock didn't give. The doorframe and plaster came away from the brickwork and I landed on the floor on top of the door. She rushed out towards the Ladies toilet as I brushed myself down. I was nearly charged with criminal damage. My colleague and the caretaker saved me from a large bill for repairs to the building. My line manager told me not to do it again.

Three months later my line manager was locked in her office. Who did she call?

Og













PS. The third time I managed to pick the lock.

 

[Guest]

Anythings possible, but I believe someone or something wanted to play with you.

Stop teasing!

You are WICKED!!!




Scheh, yep the heat expanding the catch is definitely possible.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

First the Giant Turd That Wouldn't Die, and now the Bathroom Door of Death.

Maybe you should just look into having a collostomy and the hell with it.

---dr.M.

 

[Guest]

First the Giant Turd That Wouldn't Die, and now the Bathroom Door of Death.

Maybe you should just look into having a collostomy and the hell with it.

---dr.M.

*snicker*

I was gonna mention that, but daren't be the one to bring it up again. Glad you did instead.

 

[oggbashan]

Giant turds are adequately evacuated into garderobes which do not usually have doors to stick. If they do, an exit down the chute is always possible if you don't mind landing in a heap of shit.

Og

 

[scheherazade_79]

OK... now I can't sleep! Actually, as long as the "something" was female, I don't think I'd mind too much

Seriously though... why can't anyone leave me turd alone! It's history! Right now it's probably being turned into drinking water headed straight for your taps So take that!

 

[SeaCat]

Nah, that turd is going to come back to haunt all of us some day. Another Titanic in the making.

On another note. Being stuck inside the bathroom is definately better than being stuck outside it for many reasons. The first and most obviouse to those of us who have had to wait is, no waiting to use the Thunder Mug. The second is, as was mentioned before, the hinges are usually on the inside and the pins can be pulled. The third is that most doors are set so the knobs are easily taken apart from the inside. (Look at your door knobs.) If you have a screw driver or a nail file you can remove the knob, push the crank through, and release the latch with a finger. (Easier to do that it is to say, and much easier, but not as much fun as bringing a woman off with your fingers.)

Latches stick for any number of reasons. The most common does have to do with heat and humidity, but not in the way you think. It usually makes the door itself warp slightly. This makes it hard for the latch to disengage. (Did you have to pull on the door to make it stay closed?)

Poltergeists usually don't make the door stick closed. They usually either make the door pop open when your in the middle of a good grunt and groanm and there is a large number of people present outside the door. Or they slam the lid on your head when you're getting a drink.

Cat

 

[Weird Harold]

What would you have done in this situation?

Depends on which way the door opened.

If it opened in, I'd raid the medicine cabinet and/or for a nail file, cuticle scissors, or other implement suitable for jimmying the door -- i.e.reaching into the crack and moving the latch

If it opened out, a size ten foot with my weight behind it applied to the door near the latch is usually more than the latchplate of an interior door frame can handle.

As a last resort, a hollow core door isn't much of an obstacle for me which ever way it opens.

On a more practical level, I'm an anlytical type of person and a rasonably competent handy man, so I'd figure out exactly why the door wasn't opening and act accordingly. Often, just pushing the door closed tighter while trying to turn the knob will relieve the pressure enough to allow the door to be opened.

Some old and well-worn doorknobs respond well to an upward or downward pressure while you turn to provide additional grip to a stripped mechanism.

But some problems only respond positively to "judicious applcation of brute force" -- aka "Get a bigger hammer."

 

[SeaCat]

Some old and well-worn doorknobs respond well to an upward or downward pressure while you turn to provide additional grip to a stripped mechanism.

But some problems only respond positively to "judicious applcation of brute force" -- aka "Get a bigger hammer."

Dynamite!

Cat

 

[cheerful_deviant]

I live in a old house and several years ago the doorknob to the attic broke... while I was up there. The door opens out so removing the pins was not an option and no amount of pushing, pulling, bending, flexing or swearing at the handle did any good. Nobody was home nor were they going to be for many hours and I didn't fancy waiting up there all day because there is no heat up ther and it was winter.

So it fell to "Brute Force and Ignorance". The door didn't survive the attack.

 

[elsol]

*burp*

Bathroom and bedroom locks are 99% of the time cheaply made.

There's two possible solutions.

Lift the door up at the doorknob, press it against the hinges (towards the back frame), the push with your shoulder outward.

If the 'el cheapo' brand lock this will pop it out of place.

Secondly, my 'surprise the significant other' solution.

Kick the doorknob flat on the head and in the direction the door opens (hopefully outward).

This will warp everything without breaking it (hopefully) and the lock will pop again. All you have to do is push everything back in place most of the time.

The surprise the SO thing was because I did that once and she was like "You're such a fucking guy!"

Sincerely,
ElSol