Friday, June 26, 2009

Cleaner Water

I bought an under the sink water filter for the kitchen and Russell put that in yesterday. The water no long smells real strongly of chlorine, it smells fresh and clean. However we are not through with the filtering process. Our water is really bad here as I've mentioned before. Sometimes it's brown and always smells and tastes like chlorine. I wanted him to install a whole house filter which would go outside but he's afraid if he starts messing with the pipes they will break off because this is an older house. He's had this experience when he was fixing stuff for Shawn (ex-landlord) who he used to work for. So anyhow he wants to put another filter under the sink so it will be double filtered and then we will also use our Pur water filter that's on the faucet. Then our drinking water will be really clean. We have not been able to use our Pur because it gets filled up too quickly with sediment and the filters are expensive. But now they should last a lot longer. Then I did some research and found out you can get filters for the shower. What I found out is that it's not good to shower in chlorine, it can make the hair brittle and it is also breathed into the lungs as you shower. It also says it makes the hair really tangled because it gives you split ends as it dries out the hair. I've had that problem since I moved to Oklahoma and did not know why. The shower heads that filter really cost no more than a regular shower head and the replacement filters that go inside are very affordable. I think I'm going to buy a Culligan one but I still need to do more research. I think after all this is done I'll be happy with the water and can stop buying the bottled stuff which is really a pain. I gave up on refilling the bottles because the machine at Walmart did not work half the time and it was a pain lugging all that water. So, I've been paying almost $1 a gallon for water. Now I won't have to discard all that plastic either which is bad for the environment.
Neighbor Update
I went over my neighbors yesterday and gave her a piece of paper with my phone number in case she ever needs anything. I visited for about 45 minutes. I can see that she has no problem taking care of herself. Her house is very neat. She has about a million nic-nac type figures and they are all dusted which must be quite a feat! It was an enjoyable visit and she talked a lot about her past which she has very good memories of. But, she also told me that she'd worked the night before. Then she told me that she overslept (I think I woke her up) and did not get up until 3 pm when she was supposed to go to work at 2 pm. She told me she might not have a job any longer. Keep in mind, her co-worker told me that she has not worked in over a year because she has Alzheimer's. I asked her about family and she said she has two brothers in OK city and one in Norman. These places are about an hour away from here. So I'm thinking they must be aware of her memory problems.
One of the comments I received yesterday on my previous post mentioned that if my neighbor had to give up driving it would destroy her. I truly believe that. It would just kill her to be stuck in the house and not be able to go out. It's hard to know what to do in this situation. If you were to meet my neighbor on the street you'd think she was mentally competent. For now I'm just going to continue to visit since she said she loved having me there. That way I can see if she is getting worse and see if she needs anything.
Hot!
This heat is really getting to me. I don't think the AC at work has been working right because a couple of times I've felt sick from the heat there. Customers are complaining it's so hot in the store. There were people there yesterday cleaning the ducts so maybe that will help. You go outside and it's like a hot humid swamp. Have you ever gone in one of those big glass bird aviaries? That's what it feels like. It's way hotter than it was at last year at this time. I don't know why this heat is bothering me so much. I lived in SC for 4 years and before that in NM for over 10 years. NM heat is a lot drier and it did not bother me much. Plus it was always cool there at night. I don't think I've been drinking enough water in this heat because I woke up about 4 this morning with a really bad headache. Then I slept till 10 and after I had some drinks it finally went away. So this is a message to everyone....drink lots of liquids!
Cleaning
We went and cleaned an apartment last night. This one was not bad at all. But there was no electric or water there. So we had to go get the generator and put gas in it and used that so we could have electric to vacuum and have light in order to clean. We also hooked up the AC window unit to it so that helped a lot. Before we hooked up the AC I was only in the house for a couple of minutes and I was sweating like a pig! Anyhow, it only took a short time to get it clean. Sometimes I think why did I sign up for this job? Well it's not that bad really because it's only a couple times a month when people move out of the rental units.

All comments for the previous post have been replied to in the comment section of that post. I really need to try to keep up with this. :(

8 comments:

  1. Even with the cost of replacing filters you will probably save money since you'll no longer be buying bottled water. Plus, it's better for you to not have chemicals in the water. We're lucky here, our water is usually pretty clean (unless they're having issues with, or doing work on pipes nearby).

    I'm glad you managed to find a way to visit with your neighbour without making it seem like you're checking up on her. I'm also glad her family isn't very far away.

    I always make sure to drink a lot when it's hot. I'm either drinking something or eating an ice-lolly about 75% of the day if it's hot.

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  2. Sounds like you have a good handle on the water quality issue and on your neighbor. I know why she likes you. :)

    I bet if you and Russell had the job, the AC at the WalMart would be fixed already. I hope "cleaning the ducts" helps - sometimes the high humidity just overwhelms them though.

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  3. Thats sweet of you to visit your neighbor. I love listening to the elders stories, I could sit for hours and listen. Do you guys at Walmart get mad when we customers go to the 10 items or less with more than ten items. I do it all the time but not if I have over 15 items. Our walmart must have 30 registers and they usually only have about 6 open.

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  4. Tori: That's true, even with buying the filters we will be saving money because I've been spending a lot on bottled water. And not having so much plastic waste is a big plus.

    Intense Guy: It was actually a little cooler at the store yesterday. I think one of the reasons that it's been so hot is because of the high humidity.

    Dana: I love listening to those stories as well. The register I'm usually on is 10 items or less but I don't care how many items people have. But sometimes the customer behind them gets angry. But I don't like just standing there doing nothing while customers pass me by just because they have too many items. I like to keep busy.

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  5. You are a very remarkable person. Each time I read your blog I am so impressed by your compassion!

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  6. Thank you for your nice comment Pearlsandchocolate.

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  7. Sounds like you have come up with a better solution to having cleaner water. Even if it cost you the same (which it probably won't) you won't have to haul jugs of water all the time. :)

    That is so hard dealing with your neighbor. I have a dear friend who is dealing with a good friend going thru the same thing. And when you aren't family--there's not a lot you can do but try to be as available as you can. I'm glad you can stop in and check on her once in a while.

    That heat and humidity--can't stand it! That's what we get up here in Fargo--but not for long--hehe! I'd melt down there! :)

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  8. Rita: I think it will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

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