Jeff Sullivan

I'm not sure about the routing, but everything else is probably doable with the free version of https://www.hubspot.com/

One element to consider is why those wetlands are wet and whether the activity of others (humans, beavers, etc.) are likely to change your property faster than you can react. For example, my parents have lived on a swamp for five decades. If the nearby railroad hasn't been clearing its culverts properly, the water is ten feet from the foundation. If they have (or if we go out ourselves and do it), the high water mark is forty to fifty feet from the house. Luckily, there's never been a large rain event that's coincided with a blocked culvert situation, but I can sure see how it could happen and my dad has redundant backups in pumps and energy to deal with it.

If you follow that drain, ideally you'll come across a cleanout somewhere before it gets buried and becomes inaccessible. From there, you should be able to snake in both directions and see if you can hit the clog from there. If you have any fixtures lower in the house (like a basement laundry sink) and that doesn't back-fill with water while waiting for the kitchen to drain, it means the clog is somewhere between the sink and where that lower fixture joins the main drain.

Are you trying to filter the drain water to be used in a grey water system, or filter out contaminants from the incoming water, or something else? A little more detail would probably get you a better, more useful answer.

Patrick Edwards wrote:

Lorinne Anderson wrote:Truthfully, the machine is ridiculously expensive for what it is; a stand that holds a carbonation bottle and a place to screw on an also very expensive bottle. BUT it is the only option out there for simple home carbonation.

We have had ours about 4 yrs now, not a lick of trouble and works well. I just HATE anything that uses proprietary stuff; being locked in to purchasing from a sole supplier...

I have a feeling that someone on this site could macguyver one out of an old paintball gun or something but I don't think it will be me. I am with you on the proprietary stuff. That and built in obsolescence are two of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to the marketplace. I'm still considering one though. hahahaha.

Maybe some celebrity will make a tiktok video about it or something and they'll become popular enough for other companies to get interested and it'll drive the price down for a while.

In the meantime, homemade carbonation infuser thingie may become a new homework subject.  

Not sure about the paintball gun, but you can put together your own system with some common parts. Requires being a bit more handy than hacking one of the countertop systems.

https://www.rootsimple.com/2014/02/how-to-force-carbonate-at-home/

Lorinne Anderson wrote:Truthfully, the machine is ridiculously expensive for what it is; a stand that holds a carbonation bottle and a place to screw on an also very expensive bottle. BUT it is the only option out there for simple home carbonation.

We have had ours about 4 yrs now, not a lick of trouble and works well. I just HATE anything that uses proprietary stuff; being locked in to purchasing from a sole supplier...

There are actually a number of ways to hook in a regular CO2 tank to the various home carbonation systems. You're still using the proprietary bottles for your water, but no more silly little CO2 tanks. Here's one decent tutorial:

https://www.frugalwoods.com/2014/08/11/how-to-cheap-homemade-seltzer-with-a-modified-sodastream/

Bonzie Durmus wrote:I have 5k saved. What would you do with it?

Nothing. I'd keep it in an FDIC-protected savings account and let it sit. Use it for unexpected expenses instead of accumulating debt (e.g. car repairs, medical bills, etc.), then build it back up.

As long as we've been able to, we've kept 6 months of living expenses in cash, not worrying about lost investment opportunities, just in case something goes wrong.

I agree with Travis, gutters are the bane of my existence. In our current place, there are conservation restrictions that require us to have gutters to redirect roof water into a dry well. They're constantly coming loose, getting clogged, etc.

My parents have never had gutters. There is a nice 3-foot wide layer of rocks and gravel around the base of the house where the water runs off, and some downpour-tolerant plantings to soak it up. When I was a kid, there was no gravel and it was just a water-made trench in the lawn about 6 inches out from the foundation.

I found fixing stuff to be an easier pathway than new creations. 2/3 of my kids will fix loose handles and drawer pulls, unclog sinks and toilets, patch drywall holes, and even caulk seams. I keep all the standard fix-it stuff easy to reach and will just point out things that need to be repaired. Still waiting on people to start noticing the problems themselves, but I'll take what help I can get.

We use stainless steel for sheets and Pyrex or cast iron Dutch ovens for anything that needs better containment. It's really easy to find old Pyrex in "antique" shops if you don't mind mismatched patterns.