I don't drink the water in the coach anyway. I've been too used to being on a well system all my life, meaning lovely sweet water with no metal or bleach taste to it. That meant sooner or later, I would have some hard water troubles in the rig. It happened just before I left. I turned on a faucet and hardly anything came out.
I thought maybe it was the pump and it needed to be replaced. Why in the world the thought came to me to clean the faucet screens, I have absolutely no idea, but clean them I did. I took every end off and even though they were plastic, I soaked them in CLR. It cleaned up a glass coffee pot for me once and now I swear by it.
Amazingly, they didn't melt and when I put the faucet ends back on, water poured out just like it should. How cool is that? I just saved myself hundreds of dollars. Next up is the toilet, which seems to have the same problem. That's going to be a little trickier since there is no room whatsoever to maneuver around and remove the water line, but remove it I must. Won't THIS be fun!
Have I thought of a water softener? Yes I have, but they require you keep lots of bags of salt around, not to mention being here often for maintenance. Next up ... the little cord that holds the fabric in my window awnings is coming out one end, meaning it's not holding the fabric on the other end. I've no idea how to fix that, but I'm hoping when Mr. and Mrs. Chance return, maybe Dan can help me out.
The last repair involves cleaning out the drain tube on my household refrigerator because all the water drains into the bottom of the freezer. I've no idea what will be involved with that one. Thank goodness there is a La Mesa RV close to fix it if I mess up.
Not to be outdone in the repair department, I brought one of my bicycles on this trip, only to find it making a terrible noise with two flat tires. I took it to the local doctor for a checkup. $130 later, it works like a charm if I pedal fast enough.
Yesterday morning while on the patio, I noticed Mr. Dove came to visit again (same picture from before), but this time they traded places. How cool is that? He's sitting the nest just like Mom. About 6:00, she came back and they traded again. I can't wait to see babies!!
While I haven't seen anything of my favorite critters, Mrs. Bobcat, Mr. Coyote or the deer, I did get a glimpse of a couple of bunnies while on the patio with an Awning Contractor. While he won't install anything for my RV, he will install awnings along the South side of the house that receives the most sun.
I had more questions about the desert than the awnings, since he's lived here for some time. The reason for all the nasty critters is because the rain fills up their dens and holes, forcing them topside to harass me. Apparently it's going to be like this until the end of September when the monsoons stop. That means I'm going to revamp my schedule and try to be gone at least July and August.
As we talked, a few more storm clouds came through and I was able to get another lightning picture. I just love these!! It's funny it doesn't go in a straight line. In no time he had written up a contract for more than I wanted to spend, but it really needs to be done. I also added gutters all around since there are a couple of spots where water hitting the window ledge has caused damage to the window sills.
In case you were wondering, my kid is doing just fine. That cushion setup on the couch has worked really well and Cooper uses it constantly. He's back to playing the ball game, although I don't throw it more than a couple feet any more. At night he sleeps in the foldup jail on the floor and hasn't complained one bit. Now if I can just get Jessie over being thunder-scared, I might get some sleep at night.
Today's early morning project is to cut away the edge of the lawn in a straight line (haha that's going to be a good trick) in order to park some concrete blocks along the edge to make it easier to mow the lawn. I get to rake out underneath the shrubs and cactus first ... hoping I don't run into any more creepy crawlies! I'm wearing my cowboy boots for this one!!
Wait ....... listen ........... coyotes are howling!!!
We have a water softener in our fifth wheel. It's installed in the basement so you don't have to lift it when you hook up to water. It uses I round box of table salt. Also the line on our refrigerator (propane/electric) gets gunked up but it is at the very end. A toothpick will remove it. Don't call a repairman until you look at it.
ReplyDeleteA water softener in the fifth wheel? I've only seen lots of filters hooked up in a row. Thank you for the fridge repair hint. I haven't opened up the outside hatch yet, but it's on my list.
DeleteThey do make no salt water softeners for your home and your RV
ReplyDeleteThere's also another unit on the market that does not tapped into the pipe but it is a coil that goes around the pipe they say they work fairly nice
As for the house you can get a separate standard filter but use a charcoal filter inside that will take away the chlorine and The crappy water taste
I have one at my house it works fine I change the filter about every 10 months
Even so you don't drink the water For the RV they have a canister filter you can screw into your rv hose Just before your RV inlet campers world or any RV supply store have tham
I actually do have a built-in filter on the rig, but it still doesn't remove enough "stuff" to make it taste good. I'll check into a water softener. It might be a good investment.
DeleteNancy, another thing you need to change is the hot water anode rod in the motorhome. Google 'RV hot water anode rod' and click on image to see one if you don't already know. Easy change out, you might have two in yours. A $10-15 cost...or $100 if you take it to a RV shop...or a pizza if you ask Dan to do it. :)
ReplyDeletePizza is MUCH cheaper! Thanks Dave ... I have no idea but I'll goggle it and find out.
DeleteLove that CLR too it does wonders around here. And in Plattsville where we lived for 20 + years the water is extremely hard as well.
ReplyDeleteWe looked at a water softener at The Arizona Market Place in Yuma last winter, and almost bought it, not salt needed. This winter for sure.
Curious about your pork loin?
The saga of the pork loin is up today!! I'm definitely looking into a water softener. Maybe I could get some kind of quick disconnect.
DeleteI think you should count yourself lucky. I’m sure the San Joaquin valley is full of smoke about now. Looks like wild fire are the new norm for the California summers.
ReplyDeleteJWM
That it is Jim .... the Detweiler fire isn't going out any time soon since it's in the canyon area of the Merced River. The valley has terrible smoke right now.
DeleteEven with the heat here, its better than smoky air. I don't think it's going out any time soon either, although it is 25% contained.
DeleteThat's really interesting about why the bugs are our and about. We bought a house next to a wash, makes me wonder what's happening in our absence. Sun shades or awnings or something will be in our future on the west side of the house.
ReplyDeleteSun shades sure makes a big difference Allison. You would think the rain water would soak right in, but amazingly, it doesn't I still see puddles around the river beds.
DeleteI throw faucet screens into a bowl of vinegar every now and then. Let them sit a bit then rinse. Done! Much safer than CLR.
ReplyDeleteVinegar .... that's right! I forgot all about that. Great idea for my home faucets also!!
DeleteHi Nancy, Dave is right about the the hot water heater. First, determine what kind of water heater you have. There are two manufactures of hot water heaters, Atwood and Suburban, Atwood has an aluminum tank, it doesn't need the anode rod, in saying that, I should also say there is a rod made for them, but seldom used. The suburban tank is a steel tank and should always have the rod. If you go to the outside of your rig to where the hot water heater is and open the access panel, you will see a manufactures label, usually on the right hand side, it will give the name of the manufacturer. The other way to tell is, an Atwood heater will have a plastic drain plug, the Suburban will have a steel drain plug. The anode rod is part of the drain plug. Hope this helps, email me if you have any questions, I think we gave you one of our cards with my email address, if not let me know and I will send it to you.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Bill I have no idea about that stuff. I do think I have a tankless system ... heat on demand ... but does it need maintenance too?
DeleteYou have a list of things to look after and I think you are doing a terrific job. You are very handy out of necessity and that is great.
ReplyDeleteI won't comment on the technical stuff but will say I'm very happy your kids are settling down and happy. :)
You are right Patsy ... it's out of necessity, because otherwise I would NEVER be handy!! LOL
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