Nine Mile Run Watershed

I've been spending a lot of time learning about the Nine-Mile Run watershed recently. The watershed association has lots of information on this, but here's the short version:

1. There's a creek that runs through Pittsburgh called Nine Mile Run. Most is underground, but the above ground section runs through Frick Park.
2. Pittsburgh, being an old city, has a combined sewer system. That means storm water and sweage run through the same pipes.
3. A lot of the watershed (the area that goes into the creek) is paved. That means the water can't seep into the ground, so it accumulates. In the combined sewer system...
4. ...which overflows into Nine Mile Run creek. (On a rainy day, it smells like sewage for a reason. This type of sewage system was discontinued in the 1930's.)
   
5. Swissvale, Edgewood, and Wilkinsburg have separate sewage and storm systems. However, a lot of homes accidentally have their storm water connected to the sewage pipes. Guess where overflow goes when you have a small sewage pipe that's not meant to handle rainwater?
6. To make matters worse, the amount of paved area on the watershed means that the water picks up a lot of pollutants, all of which are dumped into this small area. Additionally, the sheer volume of water coming in erodes the entire creek. Normally, a lot of the water would have soaked into a permeable surface.
   

So, residents in the watershed are encouraged to contain as much water on their property as possible in order to prevent the systems from overflowing. They actually do dye tests in our borough to make sure you are containing your storm water. Many years ago, the people who owned our house had to retrofit their drainage system in order to comply.

Their solution was to put 3 feet of solid pvc in the ground and put the down spout in it.

Obviously, this fills up and overflows.

Back to our foundation.

Ooops.

So, we are spending the next week digging a 10 foot trench, laying down gravel and a perforated PVC pipe, and re-routing the water to the big sycamore tree. We're also putting in a 100 gallon rain barrel to capture the rainwater and use it in the garden during dry spells.

Rain barrels are available, with installation, from the watershed association.

Spring Cleaning!

I'll be honest, I never understood why it was "Spring" cleaning and not some other kind of cleaning. Why spring? Now I know. Spring is when the sun finally comes out, and you get to realize how much dirt accumulated on your house during the winter. There's trash in my backyard, leaves and mud is everywhere, and my windows are truly filthy.

So spring cleaning. :)

I've been reading about safe, non-toxic cleaners. We were using a cleaning company that uses only safe cleaners, but their prices went up, so I went with a traditional cleaning company and asked if they'd please use safe cleaners. They don't have any, so I am buying/making them.

So I bought a book called "Clean House, Clean Planet" that lists various recipes and commercial products, and they rate their effectiveness. Some tips I learned:

1) Bon Ami, the product my great-grandmother used to clean her stove, is still available, and is a safe cleaner.

2) The best home-made window cleaner is not vinegar and water, but club soda. Kid you not. I just put club soda in a spray bottle and added some blue food dye so I could tell what it was. Minimal streakage, too. For me, the true test of a window cleaner is how it cleans the aquariums, and they look great now.

3) Most wood furniture does not need furniture polish, since it's already finished. The recipe they provide for dusting is 2 t olive oil, 1/4 c white vinegar, 12 oz of water, and 20 drops of lemon oil to mask the vinegar. I also added a drop of yellow food dye. They have another recipe for furniture that actually needs oiling that has more oil and less of the other two. Like the above recipe, you can clean without gloves, and safe enough that you could drink some.

4) Put traps on the bathtub and sinks to catch hair. Most pipe clogs are from hair, and drain cleaner is extremely toxic and will ruin the pipes. Lowes has the mesh traps for a couple dollars for a set of 3.

Cleaning house this weekend, and cleaning outdoors next weekend!

Home Improvement Store

For those who have houses, I highly recommend Busy Beaver. It's a local chain of home improvement stores. Unlike Lowes and HD, they actually have customer service. Shock! It's not possible to walk to the back of the store without three people asking you if you need any assistance. Not only that, but the employees look like they enjoy working there.

They're smaller than the big chains, but they're willing to special order for some items. They've also been cheaper on a couple items, though usually the prices are about the same. Keep an eye out for their sales.

There's a store in Edgewood Towne Center for anyone in the East Boroughs. Otherwise, I think there's one in West Mifflin.