HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[chinatyke]

..I have decided that it is now time for a new mixer tap on the kitchen sink!

A mixer tap? Didn't you disconnect the hot water?

He only took the handle off the hot tap!

[Stanley]

Quite right China. I have to look ahead, I shall die soon and there is no reason to make things difficult for anyone who follows me. All they will have to do is put the knob back on the tap. Come to think, I have got so used to cold water now that I could leave it on, I have broken the habit of wasting gas warming the system up every time I wash my hands. (By the way, washing your hands and face in cold water is very good for skin tone, you aren't stripping the essential oils out of it..... That will do for today's tip.)

[chinatyke]

I always smile when I'm reminded of you removing your hot tap handle, it's the sort of quirky thing old people do and I don't regard you as being in that category.

[Stanley]

If you look at the saving on the gas bill you soon decide it's not eccentricity but sound common sense..... using the kettle if you have to have hot water is more expensive but not if you consider the amount of waste there is using the boiler. Another aspect is that you actually make decisions about whether hot water is really necessary and don't just automatically go for it.

[plaques]

Stanley wrote: ↑09 Mar 2018, 06:14
..I have decided that it is now time for a new mixer tap on the kitchen sink!
[/quote] Having just suffered a spate or possibly a flood of dripping taps there is one fault with modern quarter turn taps that's not obvious until they drip. By design they all contain a ceramic cartridge that controls the water flow. Actually two of them, one hot, one cold. What' s the problem? There are 'hundreds' of different cartridge types and unless your dead lucky yours will be out of date when its worn out. At around £30 a pair plus all the trouble and time of locating one its probably cheaper to replace the whole unit.

[Stanley]

That had occurred to me P and I shall try to get replacement cartridges/washers included in the job!
It used to be so simple, I have an old tin full of different types of washers and it has served me well.....

[Tizer]

I've got an old tin full of jubilee clips...just in case I need one. They're probably all derived from the cars I had early in life and my dad's cars before me. They were an essential item to be kept in the car boot in the bad old days.

[Stanley]

My shed is full of containers like that and I can't imagine how people can get through life without them!
That is a good tip for the day, always salvage useful bits when something finally gives up the ghost, you never know when they will be needed.
There is a well known variant of Sod's Law which states that the day after you chuck something away, the occasion arises where it would have been useful.

[Tizer]

We had something delivered a few months ago on a small wood pallet and it was held on with fibre-reinforced plastic strapping. I kept the strapping rolled up in a tin. Recently, while decorating, we needed to tie up a fabric blind to keep it out of the way. It was tight against the wall and we couldn't put string down behind it but the strapping could be pushed down easily and then tied around the blind. An ideal solution! It's also very strong.

[Stanley]

The spring steel variety can be very useful in the shed as well. It pays at times to emulate Edward de Bono and do a bit of lateral thinking.......

[Stanley]

A small tip this morning and I can't believe it has taken me over 80 years to recognise it. I make my coffee the old fashioned way using ground coffee in an old enamel brew can. It's only recently I have realised that if you give the coffee a 'long drop' (rather like pouring flat beer out of a jug) the flow cuts through the grounds and there is no delay waiting for it to percolate though the strainer. I know, it's pathetic but there you are.... I must be a slow learner!

[PanBiker]

It's a lot easier with a cafeteria.

[Stanley]

But eventually the glass containers break, that's why I started using the old enamelled brew can. I shan't break that!

[Stanley]

A stitch in time saves nine! I related elsewhere that my friend Ian Capstick insulated the condensate pipe from my boiler which froze in the recent hard weather and forced me to do a temporary fix by drilling a hole in the pipe in the bathroom and letting it drip into a bucket. With the wind chill we are expecting -13C today and so the odds are that the pipe would have frozen again. Thanks to Ian this is most unlikely now as the pipe is well insulated and has a waterproof aluminium outer cover which is better than the original which served me well. It was my fault it froze because I knew the insulting had fallen off but omitted to do something about it. That's right, I ignored my own advice. Serves me right......

[Stanley]

The pipe didn't freeze so Ian must have done a good job....
The CH boiler is firing hard but maintaining a warm house. Thank God for that! This is not the time to worry about consumption or the fact the market will be ripping us off on the spot price because we have failed to maintain the storage facilities!

[Stanley]

We used to have a saying..... if something got better or a problem was solved the word was "Don't clap hands yet!", in other words, don't count your blessings too quickly. Give things time to settle in before you start celebrating and even then don't go overboard. I suppose this is a Northern trait, we have been disappointed so many times in the past we have learned caution. I feel that way this morning about the visible improvement in the weather and the good forecast. It is still cold! Winter hasn't gone away yet and there is plenty of time for another cold spell. So enjoy the respite but don't start putting the bedding plants out yet!

[Stanley]

Having said that everything is so much easier when the weather is less extreme.

[Stanley]

When I had my walk this morning I noted that black ice was forming on the roads. I am so glad that I don't have to run a car these days! So today's tip is that as soon as you can do without, ditch the car, they are a liability! What you spend on keeping it on the road will pay for a lot of taxis and rail journeys!

[Tripps]

So today's tip is that as soon as you can do without, ditch the car,

Nonsense, ignore him - I've had a new (ish) one for a couple of months now, and it's a total joy. The independence and freedom to go anywhere I choose at any time is wonderful. The quality of the modern car is amazing (literally). For example - It has three different driving modes Eco, Normal and Sport - it's like having three different cars, DAB radio, bluetooth hands free telephone, automatic climate control within the car,heated seats if required, keyless entry, all round cameras for parking etc etc, and it does 57 miles per gallon.

I can now fit my personalised plates which I've had retained for a couple of years.

"When I am old I shall wear purple. . ." or "You are old father William the young man said. . "

I'll stop when it's wise to - but for now - absolutely no chance.

[Stanley]

And of course that is your prerogative David but the key phrase in that post is "but for now".

[chinatyke]

I am so glad that I don't have to run a car these days! So today's tip is that as soon as you can do without, ditch the car, they are a liability! What you spend on keeping it on the road will pay for a lot of taxis and rail journeys!

I agree, most people could take a taxi and save money, but I also agree with Tripps "The independence and freedom to go anywhere I choose at any time is wonderful." I don't miss having a car, but I found it a pleasure a couple of years ago to drive from California to New Mexico in a new car using the scenic roads instead of the Interstate highway. I also agree that cars are "amazing" nowadays, I got 28 mpg(US gallon?) from a 4.5L Jeep.

[Tizer]

Roll on driverless cars then we can have the freedom and not have to worry about cars getting too complicated to use. Unfortunately it might take a while to get them safe enough, especially after the recent death of a pedestrian caused by a driverless vehicle.

[chinatyke]

Roll on driverless cars then we can have the freedom and not have to worry about cars getting too complicated to use. Unfortunately it might take a while to get them safe enough, especially after the recent death of a pedestrian caused by a driverless vehicle.

It would frighten me to be behind the wheel and not in control, I hate even using cruise control. It doesn't worry me the slightest if someone else is driving and I'm not in charge, or if I'm in unmanned trains at airports, or in a plane on autopilot.

[Tizer]

Once driverless cars are fully developed they'll be safer than human-driven ones, but I have to stress `fully developed'. That could be a long way off and there's fashion these days for launching under-developed products and services (an approach pioneered by Microsoft!).

[Stanley]

I agree with China, give me a flawed human being any day! I'd like to see a computer deal with a difficult calving on a cattle wagon..... Today's tip, relying on your brain and hands is good. If you want to keep it use it!
Why do I keep thinking of the earth inhabitants in later aeons in HG Wells' The Time Traveller....