CasaSugar

Do You Have a Lake or Pond on Your Property?

CasaSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:15:38 -0700

At my vacation house growing up, we had two ponds on our property. In the Summer, we'd row our old rowboat around them, play with the frogs and salamanders that lived there, and practice our fishing skills. In the Winter, the ponds were prime spots for ice skating. And of course, they gave the scenery a face lift.

Open House: Do You Think About Your Water Footprint?

CasaSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:00:31 -0700

I learned in a recent post in The New York Times' environmental blog, Green Inc., that a Finnish food company is the first to begin reporting how much water was used to make its product on a label of the package. We've seen carbon footprints reported for sometime now, but this is just the beginning of reporting water-use footprints. Consumers are becoming discriminating in new ways about the environmental impact of the things they buy. Of course, water isn't only used for producing food items. Water is used to dye the textiles on your bed and upholstery, along with a slew of other production processes. And, of course, it's used to wash your dishes and your clothing. When you shop, do you think about the water that has gone into producing a certain product? Do you think about the water use that will be required after you've purchased something? Or the sustainability of a certain water source? Do you use low-flow shower heads and toilets? Tell me by chiming in below!
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How-To: Curb Water Use When It Counts

CasaSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:00:55 -0700

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted the alarming imminence of drastic water cuts for the Bay Area, due to record drought we've had this Winter. Low levels of rainfall and snowpack could impose mandatory cutbacks for many homeowners in the area and could cause many small farms to go out of business. So, if you live in the area, it's certainly in your best interest to cut back on water use. But regardless of where our homes are on the map, we should all be doing whatever we can to conserve water, which is a limited element in the world. Check out this slideshow for a few tips on curtailing your water use.
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Casa Verde: Don't Flush It Away

CasaSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:30:21 -0700

If you haven't been able to invest in a low-flow toilet, try this easy tip for saving water in your existing toilet. Simply fill a two-liter soda bottle with water, screw the lid on, and place it in your toilet tank. Keep it away from the flapper valve. The two-liter bottle will offset - you guessed it - two liters of water with every flush.

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How-To: Insulate Your Water Heater

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:00:01 -0800

Even though we've already wrapped up (har har) House Warming month, I thought I'd show you how to insulate your water heater. After all, Winter's still ahead of us, as are those expensive heating bills. This project improves your hot water efficiency by keeping water in the pipes warmer, delivering hotter water when you run the hot faucet. This way, you're effectively wasting less water since the tap isn't running tepid water when you want hot water.

It's a really easy task, and you'll be able to find the supplies needed at your local hardware store. Make sure to read the manual that goes with your water heater, though, because some manufacturers preclude insulating their heaters. You should also be particularly cautious if you have a gas heater, as it could cause a fire. To learn the steps, read more.

Supplies:

Water heater insulation kit
Measuring tape
Utility knife

Here are the steps, from Realtor.com:

To install the top piece, cut across the top insulation piece wherever necessary to make it fit using the utility knife.
Then, tape the piece in place, making sure not to block the draft diverter if you have a gas heater.
To insulate the sides, wrap them with the larger insulation blanket and secure it with tape to the water heater. Secure the seams with tape as well.
Now, cut holes to reveal the water heater's controls and the drains. And, if you have a gas heater, make sure the blanket is clear of the air intake and burner area also. Fini!

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Casa Quickie: Keeping Bees Away From Your Pool

CasaSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:00:02 -0700

It's hard to enjoy your endless Summer if bee stings come hand in hand with taking a dip in your pool. But bees have many uses for water, including drinking and using as material to build hives. So, unless there's another source of water nearby, you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll be making a poolside visit. According to the USDA, bees will forage any open water source, so the only way to detract them is by making the water unpalatable. You can do so by filling a spray bottle with a mix of 1/4 cup of dish soap or vinegar and a quart of water, and spraying bees that are at your pool. This will eliminate bees as they forage on water, and prevent others in the colony from learning about your pool's location.
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Before and After: A Floating Home

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:00:01 -0700

Architect Vladimir Plotkin recently showcased his design for a floating residence at Archstoyanie, an architecture festival in the small village of Nicola-Lenivets, located in Kaluga, Russia. Plotkin explained that the raft and house portions are meant to be separate, with the raft platform used for sunbathing, barbecuing, and socializing during the day. After the resident has had her fill of fun, she can then retreat to the elevated house portion of the structure to rest and sleep off the fun and sun. Here's what the floating home looked like in a computer rendering:

To see it in real life, read more.

And here it is floating down the river at the festival. Would you want to make a Summer escape on this raft?

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How-To: Save Water in Your Garden and Yard

CasaSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:30:48 -0700

Did you know that in the Summer, outdoor water use at homes increases from 10-50 percent? This can lead to water shortages in some areas of the United States, as well as a big increase in your monthly water bill. Don't despair though, there are many easy ways to cut your water use.

Don't water your soil in your garden or lawn until it's dry. You can test for dryness by digging your finger beneath the soil surface. If the soil is dry at one-and-a-half inches deep, it's time to water.
You can reduce water needs for your lawn by raising the lawnmower's blade level so grass is cut at two to three inches or higher. Longer grass needs less water, since it shades the plants' roots, which in turn encourage deeper growth.
Water early in the morning, when your lawn or garden will retain the most water.

To hear the rest, read more.

For garden plants that need both lots of sun and lots of water, clump these plants together in a growing area, so you can water them all at once.
Better yet, use a low-water-use plant. There are a lot of plants that don't require a lot of water, and xeriscaping, which uses plants like succulents or cacti, is an even smarter low-water-use bet.
Mulching plants will help reduce water needs. Flowers, trees, and shrubs should be mulched with pine bark mulch. Vegetables can be mulched with black-and-white newspaper, salt marsh hay, or landscape fabric.
Use a drip irrigation system or soaker hose in gardens that need the most water. These types of irrigation systems can save 30-70 percent of the water that is used by overhead sprinkler systems.
Use rainbarrels around your house to collect rain water from downspouts. This water can then be saved and used throughout the Summer for your garden-watering needs.
If you water by hand, don't water foliage, but water at the base of the plants, where the plants will absorb the most water.
For any potted plants, make sure that they have a saucer under their container to catch extra water.

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Casa Verde: Bring Back the Drinking Fountain

CasaSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:45:48 -0700

Have you noticed that water fountains are few and far between, at least in the United States? I feel as if when I was a little kid, they were a lot more accessible in public places. My library even had one, which is more than I can say for my neighborhood library now. What's ironic about this fact is that the first water fountains were installed in Berkeley, where I live!

Luther Haws, a part-time plumber and sanitary inspector for the city of Berkeley, was inspired to invent the drinking fountain in 1906, when he noticed school children drinking out of the same tin cup. This germ swapping seemed to him to pose a potential health hazard. So, Haws set to work building the first modern drinking fountain out of spare plumbing parts, the ball from a brass bedstead, and a self-closing rabbit ear valve.

Now that everyone's starting to realize that plastic water bottles are terrible for the environment, I propose a return to the use of water fountains. They're sanitary, convenient, and in the case of many (including this one), occasionally beautiful works of art. Not only will it cut down on plastic use, it'll also help to do something equally important: foster a sense of community in your neighborhood or city.

How-To: 10 Easy Ways to Save Water at Home

CasaSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:00:34 -0700

While I love to keep Summer style chic and easy, I also like to try to keep it eco-minded as well. The water rationing in the San Francisco Bay Area has encouraged me to redouble my water conservation efforts, and I've been striving to find ways to further cut down on my water use. I have a suspicion that many of you are also trying to minimize your water use as well - after all, it's both an economically and environmentally smart idea. Since my goal is to always make your lives easier, I've found ways to save water that don't involve intensive planning, gizmos, or installations that will also save money on your water bill every month.

Check for hidden water leaks at your house. Just recently, I realized that the piping for my home's deck spigot was leaky. I cut off the water supply to the deck spigot, moved more of my deck plants down to the patio, and now water the plants by hand. To get an accurate check of your water use, read the house water use before and after two hours, when no water is being used. If the meter does not show the same reading, there is a leak.
Your toilet may have a leak, too. To check, drop some food coloring into the back of your toilet (the toilet tank). If the color begins to appear in the bowl within half an hour, and you have not flushed then there's a leak. No worries though - in most cases this is a cheap and easy repair.
Transform your toilet into an economical, no-installation, low-flow toilet by placing plastic bottles in your tank. Take one or two individual-sized plastic bottles, put some sand in them to weigh them down, fill the bottles with water, and then put them in your toilet tank. You can save over 10 gallons of water a day with this simple method.

Want to know the rest? Then read more.

Take shorter showers. Try to limit your showers to five minutes or less. A shower timer might help.
When you brush your teeth, turn the water off, don't let it run down the drain! This seems obvious, but I know plenty of people who practice this bad habit (including one I'm marrying, though he's been cured of that habit by now).
When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing. If your sink has a double basin, fill one basin with dishsoap and water, and the other with rinse water. Then dip your dishes in the rinse water instead of using the faucet.
Use the proper amount of water for the job. If you're boiling water for pasta, only use the amount needed; don't fill the pot all the way up with water, which can be a waste of water and energy.
Conserve water left over from boiling and steaming vegetables and pasta. You can use this water, once it cools, to water your houseplants and garden plants. In fact, the extra nutrients will actually improve your plants' health.
Only run your dishwasher on full loads. In almost all cases, modern dishwashers do not require dishes to be prerinsed.
Only run your clotheswasher on full loads.

Have more suggestions? Leave them in the comments!