Yesterday the large water tank was lowered carefully into the huge hole by the fence and settled on it's bed of just delivered concrete. As the concrete started to slowly set the tank had to be weighed down by half filling it with water. It really is the only way to do it, as it settled down in the hole bedding itself into the concrete it sat on, even more fresh concrete could be poured around it.
After having the outdoor tap with the hosepipe attached running from 9,30am until 4pm, it was just about full enough. As it's a storage tank that hold 8,000 litres of water I'm glad our water meter is situated out on the main road so I couldn't go and watch as those precious pennies ticked over.
The most infuriating thing was that for the entire time the water poured from the tap to the tank the rain was torrential, if only we had had a giant funnel to stick in the top hole and catch some of it.
Oh well, it will be usable water once the electric pump is attached and we can actually get at it.
While the water flowed outside the house, inside I kept myself busy sorting through the food cupboards, making a pile of food to take to the food bank and some that just had to go in the bin as it was out of date. While they were empty I gave them all a good clean with my homemade cleaner.
I got the recipe from Elaine at Mortgage Free in Three.
I decided to write the ingredients on the bottle so it's handy for when I need to make up the next batch. It works a treat and the vinegary smell soon vanishes, leaving everything squeaky clean and lovely and fresh.
It's simply:
2 fl oz Washing Up Liquid
4 fl oz bottled Lemon Juice
8 fl oz White Vinegar
and
10fl oz Water
Just mix together in a jug and then pour into a spray bottle.
So much healthier to use around the house than buying a bottle of commercial stuff that's full of nasty chemicals and artificial whiffs.
Sue xx
I wonder if the water company will think you have had a leak!
ReplyDeleteNaaaa .... they'll just be rubbing their hands together in glee.
DeleteWhen we did have a leak the bill they sent us was for over £2,000 worth of water.... YIKES!!
We had only been here a few months so we had a little hissy fit when we opened it. They were very good and came pretty sharpish to trace the leak, it was in the pipe under our front grass, so they dug it all up and fixed it and reinstated the grass.
We were amazed when we got a letter to say there was no charge for the work even though it was on our property and that the bill would be wiped out. Then a few weeks later we got another letter asking us to sign a form that would rescind an ancient document signed by one of the first owners of our house years and years ago that said if they allowed a main water pipe to be sunk into the hillside behind the house ALL future works on water pipes would be free of charge. Amazing. We could have refused .... but we were good and signed. :-)
I'll be making some of this cleaning solution just as soon as I can find an empty(ish) spray bottle! Yet another great tip.
ReplyDeleteWe can't use a lot of chemicals for health reasons. A friend has asthma and had a terrible attack after using a chemical oven cleaner so has stopped using all the chemical cleaners she used to use. She now uses washing up liquid to clean the bath, shower etc and is very pleased with the results. I use bicarb and vinegar for the oven. Torrential rain here in Scotland. Just got back in with the dogs so good timing!
ReplyDeleteWe are on a well system..running a hose for thta length of time would give me a heart attack!
ReplyDeleteJane x
I would have been lying down in a darkened room if I hadn't been busy scraping mud off the dogs!!
Deleteour water is part of our monthly maintenance fee. Will say though we do try and conserve water whenever we can, as like Jane we have been on well water also.
ReplyDeleteOur water is included at a flat rate with our council tax in Scotland. We lived in England for 10 years and always had a water meter. It made us very aware of how much water we used, so even though we can use as much as we want now for a flat rate, we don't waste any.
DeleteThere was more than enough rain yesterday wasn't there! Love the idea for the cleaner I shall try that when the new kitchen is fitted. x
ReplyDeleteWe had no rain yesterday at all - funny how, for such a small island, we have such a huge variation in weather!! The cleaning liquid sounds brilliant - will definitely give that recipe a go. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the 'recipe' for the household cleaner, Sue, that looks great. I shall give it a go !
ReplyDeleteNo rain again on the Essex coast despite being forecast. The rain butts are almost empty again and the hose has been out quite a bit over the last 6 weeks. Dreading my water bill this month. All your pllanning and preparation will pay off in the future.
ReplyDeleteSo glad we have our own water supply and no meter! I would have had to lie down in a darkened room if we had had your work done and had to pay for the water.
ReplyDeleteI will note the cleaning fluid mix. I make my own cider vinegar and use that to wipe down surfaces, and 1tblspn. of that, 1 tblspn lemon juice and one cup of water pro rata is what I use for cleaning the pesticide sprays from bought fruit (which can't be peeled). Damage limitation.
Thank you for the recipe, I have everything to make it, to try!
ReplyDeleteOur water is charged by the gallon, then they triple that to charge for sewer, whether or not it goes into the system. That fill up of yours would cost us dear here.
I enjoy your sharing!
How expensive is it to make compared to shop bought?
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think of the cost as I had all the things in the cupboard, and always do have. So in a way for me to make up it was free.
DeleteUsing such small amounts of things, the largest amount being the white vinegar, which I have in to use in place of fabric conditioner all the time and even that is only 50p a bottle, I would say it works out cheaper in the long run than the commercial, chemical laden products. If you were to buy a spray bottle containing this sort of mixture you would no doubt pay a premium for the 'unadulterated naturalness' of it so I'm guessing it would be a lot dearer than the special offer £1 sprays in Aldi or such like.