Yesterday morning we took Oscar to the vet. I had a load of dirty clothes in the washer that I had put in on Wednesday thinking I’d have time to get it on the line and dry before the rain started but realized I didn’t have that much time so I didn’t wash it. Yesterday was supposed to be sunny, though windy – perfect day for hanging out laundry so I started the washer before we left to take Oscar to the vet.
When we got in the car to leave the vet, I checked my phone for messages and had this from a neighbor.
My first thought was . . oh, no! I had clothes in the washer. I knew I had a few pairs of jeans, some of Vince’s yard working clothes, Oscar’s sheet from the crate . . that’s all I could remember.
I got home and checked the clothes and they looked fine so I guess the washer ran before the city started flushing the lines. I wish they would let us know before they do that!
Later in the day, Vince said “Grab your camera and come see the water!” They were apparently still doing some flushing but by the time I got out there, the water coming out of the hydrant was clear.
But, look at the water that first came out of that line!
I might have had a hard time drinking that water. It was rusty colored for sure.
It was a good day to get the clothes washed and on the line early!
Love having a clothesline and really wishing we had our own well . . but that’s not going to happen here.
Cindy F says
Wow! That’s a lot of rusty iron!! In my mind drinking water shouldn’t be rusty colored! I love your clothesline and need to think about putting one in our backyard. We have a small backyard and our neighbor has a huge tree that hangs in almost half of it. I think we have a space for it but there are so many other projects I hate to add another right now….lol.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Shade is a concern but if you have a lot of wind, and fairly low humidity, the wind will dry the clothes quickly. I definitely understand about more projects!
Sara Fridley says
I’m glad it didn’t ruin your laundry! The private well that our lawn sprinkler system is on is very rusty. It turns the sidewalks brown, and I have to periodically scrub the rust off the cream colored railings along our porch and steps. The rusty water is pretty normal around here for wells. Luckily our city water is good – and obviously well filtered.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I’m not sure what kind of filters the people here who have wells use but they drink the water. I don’t think I would drink the water I saw yesterday. Our water is good but terribly expensive when watering fruit trees and a garden.
Twyla says
For allergy sufferers it is not a good idea to hang clothes especially sheets on the line. Right now I can not hang out anything due to these oak trees and their yellow pollen covering everything. A month or so ago the cedar was trying to kill us. And like you I just love fresh smelling sheets from the clothesline.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
It’s the cedar pollen that causes me to take a break from hanging clothes but right now, there’s no cedar pollen.
Jean says
Love your clothes line. My yard is smaller so I have a large umbrella type that folds down when not in use. I love it. Hanging out clothes today. I’m blessed in that I have a handy hubby like yours.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I would gladly have the large umbrella type if I didn’t already have the poles. Whatever works! Vince told me this morning that he had a basket full of dirty clothes. I said “I only do laundry on sunny days!” He knows I would do it on a rainy day if it needed to be done but he has plenty of clothes and today is a rainy day.
Donna in KS says
Can you not have a well for watering yard and garden?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Cannot. We’re in a lead remediation zone.
Deb says
You might want to think about a filtration system for the house — then you’d know you have good water to drink. It would have been nice if the city told folks ahead of time so everyone could get some clean water stored before. We had a water system years ago in a prior house and it was wonderful. Love your clothes line! We’re waiting to have new concrete poured at the end of our back patio (that section was in awful shape, so tore it out), which will happen in a couple of weeks. We want to put up a long patio from one end to the other, with 3 small skylights in it so the house doesn’t feel dark. Between the posts we run heavy duty cording, and its the best place to hang up clothes as they aren’t in the sun (sun bleaching is bad as summers here are awful). I miss having line dried clothes, and once we have the ability again our utility bills are going to drop some more. Our costs are so low that it doesn’t make sense to put solar in at this house, but we still look for ways to save more money anyway.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I’ve been here a year and a half and we’ve never had a problem before. The fridge has a good filter for our drinking water. If the city would just let us know ahead of time so we wouldn’t run a load of laundry with rusty water, that would be nice.
Our winter utility bills in an all electric house run about $120 and I think that’s pretty low. So much of the winter, we have little sun or snow on the solar panels but having them means we pay nothing from about April til October. I doubt we would have put them in here but they were already here so we’re not complaining. Like you, every little bit helps save and we can build up credit for the winter months.
Good luck with your new patio – sounds very nice!