Fix it Fair
Came back from the city of Portland's "Fix it Fair" to-day with a bunch of brochures and ideas for our house, lot, mice and cats. Marisa endured it with me. She was initially enthusiastic but by the end was tired and did not feel engaged in the topics of water use and weatherizing as I was.
So, a few quick notes--
* city will pay for our house water system to bested for unsafe lead contamination. I signed up to do it. We'll get a kit, let the water sit in the house for a certain number of hours, take a sample, mail it in, then get results.
* before doing whites in the laundary, check that water is not dirty from a hot water tap.
* every year need to flush our hot water heater.
* the closest water tank to our house may not be the tank which supplies water to our house!
* a leak in our house or the pipe going to our house can be determined by turning off all faucets and making sure no showers, clothes washers, dishwashers or toilets are running...then look at the water meter. There is a window that has an equilateral triangle. If there is a leak, the triangle will be rotating!
* it is possible to buy the rod that turns the valve of the water meter. It is called a "water key."
* never put hoses in a pool of water. It can cause back flow and end up contaminating our own water supply and even the city supply.
* keep 2 weeks of emergency water on hand, out of sunlight, and replace every 6 months!
* The city has tier 1 water bill discounts for those on fixed incomes. Can cut the water bill in half!
* Do not boil hot tap water. Hot water is most prone to contaminants from lead, copper, rubber, iron and boiling it or using it for coffee or pasta can concentrate these contaminants for something injested. Best to use hot water only for bathing, showering and cleaning, not for food or beverage preparation.
* Strap your water heater.
* milky looking water is water with air. This is caused by cold water in the system warming up through the pipes. The cold water has more dissolved air, but when it warms, the air separarates but has no where to go, so fills the water with tiny bubbles. There is no health problem with this water, but if it is concerning just let the water sit for a few minutes to let the air escape.
* Jack: "Most problems are caused by solutions."
* Icicles forming off the side of the roof comes from heat escaping through the roof, melting the snow and then the water re-freezing on the side of the house. This is called "ice damming" and can cause roof damage and wood rot on the roof structure. To prevent, the best thing to do is prevent heat escaping by attic insulation.
* The very best windows are still just big holes in the house with insulation ratings of R4 at best (R1 for single paned glass). Better to concentrate on sealing holes around windows, sealing outlets, weatherstrip doors, plugging air leaks around pipes, insulating attics, insulating walls and floors.
* Before putting in insulation, make sure to fix water damaged areas first, then eliminate any source of moisture. Condensation will be prevented by insulation, preventing heated air from hitting cold surfaces.
* 2x10 ribs in the attic to hold in insulation is about right for R49 insulation there. 2x6 is ok, but might require a foam board on top of the 5.5 inches of insulation. An attic with just 2x4 ribs is insufficient for adequate insulation.
* An easy and helpful insulation project is for ducts.
- wet and seal any asbestos tape.
- tape all other duct seams.
- add and tape all other ducts.
* basement rim joists are around the perimeter of the basement above the foundation right under the floor. If you see cobwebs there, it is because spiders like areas of air movement...but this is what you don't want! Insulating the basement air from the rest of the house helps maintain better air quality and keeps the air warmer.
* heating systems heat the air, but uninsulated surfaces are not generally going to get warmer. So while the air may be warm enough, a room with a lot of uninsulated surfaces will be uncomforatble.
* In Portland the average water use per person per day is 35 gallons, more if there is outside watering.
* Sewer bills are computed based on water use with exception of outside watering, so the city computes this by looking at the winter water use to determine sewer bills. Gray water use is not considered in this, but the concept is fairly new. Even so, gray water may only account for 5 person of water use.
* toilet fill cycle diverters are used to equalize the water fill rate between tank and bowl. Ideally the tank and bowl should fill up at the same time, otherwise excess water will flow into the bowl and then get pre-maturely dumped down the drain before it actually used for flushing. To help equalize the flow, the diverter is plugged into the plastic hose that pours water into the bowl. You can divert 3/4 of the flow into the bowl, half of the flow into the bowl or just 1/4 of the flow into the bowl to get the two rates equalized.
* toilets account for a full quarter of the house water use! So replacing toilets with low-flow toilets pays back in a year. The city also provides a rebate for these toilets!
* low flow shower heads and faucet aerators will cut these 20% uses in half.
* washing dishes with dishwashers...and scraping dishes rather than rinsing them...is much more efficient than washing dishes by hand.
* our mouse problem is from house mice.
* the only way to deal with mice is to keep them from getting into the house...seal all holes with metal grid or steel wool...or foam.
Obviously, there is a lot more to do around our house!
So, a few quick notes--
* city will pay for our house water system to bested for unsafe lead contamination. I signed up to do it. We'll get a kit, let the water sit in the house for a certain number of hours, take a sample, mail it in, then get results.
* before doing whites in the laundary, check that water is not dirty from a hot water tap.
* every year need to flush our hot water heater.
* the closest water tank to our house may not be the tank which supplies water to our house!
* a leak in our house or the pipe going to our house can be determined by turning off all faucets and making sure no showers, clothes washers, dishwashers or toilets are running...then look at the water meter. There is a window that has an equilateral triangle. If there is a leak, the triangle will be rotating!
* it is possible to buy the rod that turns the valve of the water meter. It is called a "water key."
* never put hoses in a pool of water. It can cause back flow and end up contaminating our own water supply and even the city supply.
* keep 2 weeks of emergency water on hand, out of sunlight, and replace every 6 months!
* The city has tier 1 water bill discounts for those on fixed incomes. Can cut the water bill in half!
* Do not boil hot tap water. Hot water is most prone to contaminants from lead, copper, rubber, iron and boiling it or using it for coffee or pasta can concentrate these contaminants for something injested. Best to use hot water only for bathing, showering and cleaning, not for food or beverage preparation.
* Strap your water heater.
* milky looking water is water with air. This is caused by cold water in the system warming up through the pipes. The cold water has more dissolved air, but when it warms, the air separarates but has no where to go, so fills the water with tiny bubbles. There is no health problem with this water, but if it is concerning just let the water sit for a few minutes to let the air escape.
* Jack: "Most problems are caused by solutions."
* Icicles forming off the side of the roof comes from heat escaping through the roof, melting the snow and then the water re-freezing on the side of the house. This is called "ice damming" and can cause roof damage and wood rot on the roof structure. To prevent, the best thing to do is prevent heat escaping by attic insulation.
* The very best windows are still just big holes in the house with insulation ratings of R4 at best (R1 for single paned glass). Better to concentrate on sealing holes around windows, sealing outlets, weatherstrip doors, plugging air leaks around pipes, insulating attics, insulating walls and floors.
* Before putting in insulation, make sure to fix water damaged areas first, then eliminate any source of moisture. Condensation will be prevented by insulation, preventing heated air from hitting cold surfaces.
* 2x10 ribs in the attic to hold in insulation is about right for R49 insulation there. 2x6 is ok, but might require a foam board on top of the 5.5 inches of insulation. An attic with just 2x4 ribs is insufficient for adequate insulation.
* An easy and helpful insulation project is for ducts.
- wet and seal any asbestos tape.
- tape all other duct seams.
- add and tape all other ducts.
* basement rim joists are around the perimeter of the basement above the foundation right under the floor. If you see cobwebs there, it is because spiders like areas of air movement...but this is what you don't want! Insulating the basement air from the rest of the house helps maintain better air quality and keeps the air warmer.
* heating systems heat the air, but uninsulated surfaces are not generally going to get warmer. So while the air may be warm enough, a room with a lot of uninsulated surfaces will be uncomforatble.
* In Portland the average water use per person per day is 35 gallons, more if there is outside watering.
* Sewer bills are computed based on water use with exception of outside watering, so the city computes this by looking at the winter water use to determine sewer bills. Gray water use is not considered in this, but the concept is fairly new. Even so, gray water may only account for 5 person of water use.
* toilet fill cycle diverters are used to equalize the water fill rate between tank and bowl. Ideally the tank and bowl should fill up at the same time, otherwise excess water will flow into the bowl and then get pre-maturely dumped down the drain before it actually used for flushing. To help equalize the flow, the diverter is plugged into the plastic hose that pours water into the bowl. You can divert 3/4 of the flow into the bowl, half of the flow into the bowl or just 1/4 of the flow into the bowl to get the two rates equalized.
* toilets account for a full quarter of the house water use! So replacing toilets with low-flow toilets pays back in a year. The city also provides a rebate for these toilets!
* low flow shower heads and faucet aerators will cut these 20% uses in half.
* washing dishes with dishwashers...and scraping dishes rather than rinsing them...is much more efficient than washing dishes by hand.
* our mouse problem is from house mice.
* the only way to deal with mice is to keep them from getting into the house...seal all holes with metal grid or steel wool...or foam.
Obviously, there is a lot more to do around our house!