Sediment Filters and Old Plumbing

I have a well update.  When I noted previously that I had sediment that was coming through despite a (nominal) one micron filter, I was wondering if I'd need to get even stronger filtration or a multistage filter system.  I started researching them online.

I think I just wasn't running the water enough after changing the filter.  I swapped out a couple of filters and finally let it run for a while as Benjamin Sahlstrom suggests.  The water may be a bit fouled at first after changing the filter, but it soon clears.  It seems that all is well, although there is definitely sediment getting through:

The red in the picture above is fine silt, which settles to the bottom of the toilet tank (several months' worth).  I have tested my filtered water and found that I have about 13 ppm of silica.  That's definitely higher than most public water systems would have, but not all--see, for example, the water quality report for Lenexa, KS: 10 ppm silica, range 2-17 ppm; recommended federal level 50 ppm or lower.  The main problem is that the silica will probably cause components in the dishwasher and washing machine to wear faster, and to some degree it may accumulate in the water heater--though the latter can be flushed.

Over time, the sediment does add up.  Below is what an Aquaboon one-micron wound string filter looked like after about 4 months (with a new one for comparison).

It looks worse than it actually is.  I was wondering if I had lost water pressure and so changed it; the new filter showed that it hadn't significantly impeded flow yet, even though it looked completely silted up when it was in the housing.  There was a fair amount of sediment in the bottom of the housing, but that doesn't really matter.

Even after the well was refurbished, water coming out of one of the outdoor taps--i.e., unfiltered--was dirty-looking. Much of that may have been attributable to some of the supply fixtures--galvanized steel and, for two outdoor hydrants, cast iron:

All of that is now replaced (with new galvanized in the case of the hydrants), and the water is looking much better.  There's still some cloudiness, but it is unfiltered, after all...

More on the Storage Life of Dehydrated Refried Beans

I noted a couple of years ago that I had some cans of dehydrated refried beans that were put up in February, 2009.  I am down to just one can left, but recently opened the next to last one.  It was fine.  If there has been any deterioration in quality, I can't detect it.  As I mentioned before and elsewhere, my house routinely hits 80 and higher in the summer (though usually not warmer than 83), so the storage conditions have definitely not been completely ideal.  Even so, they were okay.  Since I'm now about out, it's time for more.

The same things I noted previously still apply: they're a bit saltier than some brands of ready-to-use refried beans; also, I don't follow the process on the label above (1 1/2 cups of dry flakes with 1 cup of boiling water, stir and let sit for 10 minutes).  I make up smaller quantities for the microwave using an ad hoc amount of water, so I get inconsistent results.  Maybe the label directions would work better.  That notwithstanding, if they are a little too thin, letting them stand for a few minutes does thicken them up.  Continuing to heat them in a microwave does, too, but they start to crackle as they get heated further.

I generally use them for burritos, but even in a bowl eaten straight up they're fine.

Solid Surface Countertops

A few years ago I was doing some remodeling.  One of the things that needed replacing was the countertops.  The existing kitchen cabinets were taken out, and the base cabinet configuration was changing--even if it hadn't changed, the existing laminate counters were not in optimal shape.

The house I was living in at the time had plain white laminate counters in the kitchen, which actually worked pretty well.  In almost 20 years of use, they had very few scratches or other signs of wear.  However, I decided to go with a solid surface for the new ones.

Various places compare the myriad countertop options (marble, granite, engineered quartz, laminate, solid surface, concrete, tile, etc).  It looked like the solid surface ones would work well.  They're vulnerable to scratching--see below--but can also be repaired through sanding/buffing if there's an obvious scratch or other problem.  And they are a lot less heavy than granite or any other similar material.  They also aren't all that costly, although they can be depending on the design and where/when they are bought. Corian, Lotte (Staron), and LG (Hi-Macs) are three types.  Big-box stores like Lowes and Home Depot carry one or more of them, and they have periodic sales.

Scratches.  Solid surface countertops do scratch.  They're more susceptible to scratching than granite/quartz or laminate.  Mine, after a few months of use, do have scratches that are visible--but you have to look for them.

One thing I saw repeated frequently was the admonition to go with a lighter color, because scratches wouldn't show up as readily as with darker surfaces.  Some warned that darker colors would show lighter scratches and look bad in short order.  Some offer glossy finishes instead of matte.  These would also be more susceptible to revealing any scratching.  So, I ordered a bunch of 2"x2" samples and scratched them with a box cutter blade.  Scratches were easier to see in darker shades, so I went with a relatively light color (with some disappointment; some of the darker ones were very nice).

Below is a black countertop in an office building restroom--it was installed more than 10 years ago.  Scratches are evident, but it doesn't look too bad despite heavy daily traffic.

I think this is the Corian color Deep Anthracite; the Corian Web page notes, " May require additional maintenance."

Below is a closeup of my counter: LG Moon Haze.  The scratches--what ones there are--can't really be captured on camera at this point.

I have cool fluorescent-like LED lights in the kitchen; the surface looks less yellow than it does on the LG site--it's more off-white with crystals.  I like it (which is fortunate, because I'm stuck with it now).

Several months in, there are no evident problems with the installation. The picture above shows that the backsplash was not integral with the horizontal surface itself: it's just a separate piece that was caulked to the wall.  That was substantially less costly than doing a single casting.  Also, the edge is the basic one; additional options are available but they all cost more.  What I have looks fine to me.

Another Weed Flower

I've written about blooming weeds before, such as jewel weed.  Blackberry can be considered a weed, too; it is in bloom in late April / early May in north Georgia; it spreads aggressively; it also sometimes yields good fruit.

Another weed that both blooms and has the potential to spread is thistle.  There are a lot of varieties, and I'm not sure which one is in my back yard.  I have a couple of plants back there that seem to recur, although I cut them before they set seed.  Most thistles are annual or biennial, so I'm not sure why this happens every spring in the same place. One that is at least somewhat perennial and can spread by roots is Canadian thistle.

That notwithstanding, the blooms are large, pretty, and have a nice fragrance.  If they set seed, though, watch out. one plant can produce tens of thousands of seeds per year.

There are open fields not too far away that are heavily-infested and unattended, so they're getting worse with every passing year.

Here's another view of the plant that shows its form better; Canadian thistles have smooth upper stems, so that checks.   In the background of both shots you can see another non-native invasive that is truly worthless, privet.  I have a lot of it around and I'm going to try to cut a lot of it back this year.  While it does bloom, I don't really like those flowers at all.  Bizarrely, privet is still sold in nurseries...

Shown below is a stand of thistle near an Interstate on ramp.  Although the display may be reasonably attractive in the photo, if it isn't mowed soon a million seeds will be produced within a couple of months (possibly quite literally a million--or more).

While one or two plants can be nice, I'm fortunate I don't have more of it.

Update: Okay, so maybe it's not a good idea to have even one or two.  About three weeks after the above pictures were taken, the first flower had turned to seed, although new blooms were still opening.  I didn't get to it and bag it before some seeds escaped...but not many.  Alas.

More on Mountain Laurel

I noted a couple of years ago that I like mountain laurel, a native plant that dwells in part shade and likes slopes near water.  It's mountain laurel bloom time again: actually, it's getting toward the end.  The last Sunday in April may have been the peak for the Georgia piedmont, although in higher elevations they'll probably be blooming another couple of weeks.  Below are pictures of some white ones, although I also saw pink when I was in a park in late April.

Apparently it's not edible to many (if any) animals, including deer, but it (and rhododendron) is sometimes known as buck laurel, because deer will often hide in thickets of it: it keeps its leaves here in Georgia, and presumably does farther north, as well.

Other than providing some ornamentation, it may not do much.  However, sometimes nice flowers are enough.

More on Bread in a Cold House

Temps are now rising, so the troubles I was having getting dough to rise are a thing of the past--at least until November.  I have done a few more trials of both methods discussed in the previous post.  There is one issue with the short finishing cycle in the oven at 100 degrees:  there'll be a lot of very large gas pockets in the dough. Shown below is a standard 50/50 loaf.

This isn't by itself a problem (though it poses certain challenges for peanut butter sandwiches; the peanut butter leaks out through the holes that go completely through a slice of bread).  A lot of white breads look like this.   However, there's a marked contrast between the loaf above and the one I referenced when discussing soft wheat for bread baking:

Here there are a few larger holes, but the crumb looks a lot more uniform.  In my baking this last winter, I saw this more often with the shorter cycle.  When I left it in for the whole rising time I got what was more like a summer-risen loaf: uniform crumb with unimpressive oven spring.   I'll do more work on this next fall.  For now, temps in the house have risen to the mid-70s, so the dough rises well enough on its own.

Getting a Rise out of Dough in a Cold House

I've mentioned previously that I have issues with getting my sourdough to rise in the winter, when the house is cooler.  This winter two things have changed: 1) the house is a little cooler than previously and 2) I have a new oven that no longer lets me keep the light on for an extended period of time :-(.

In the previous post, I noted that the light could heat the oven up to about 75, which was great for the sourdough starter to do its thing.  My new oven (alluded to in the other post) has a bread proof setting, but the traceable thermometer revealed that it heats the interior up to 100-110.  That seemed like too much of a good thing, but I have gotten reasonably good results sticking the hours-old but little-risen dough into the oven for 3-4 hours at those temps, then baking.  I didn't think it'd work to leave the dough in there all day or longer: during the summer, when the house is around 80, it can go wild in a few hours, leading to over-risen dough and under-risen bread.

As you might expect, I eventually forgot about the dough--I had the sourdough starter in the oven on proof so it could get good and bubbling after being fed--then I put the dough in and forgot to turn the oven off.  So it got about 6-8 hours at 100+.

It definitely rose a lot but didn't overflow or anything.  It made a pretty good loaf (apologies for the sideways picture; for some reason I can't get that one to rotate).

I'm still working through the issues--a subsequent loaf definitely showed signs of overly-aggressive rise (see below).

 Even with that, for now this seems to be working okay, though I'm sticking to the practice of letting it  s l o w l y   ferment at room temperature overnight, then sticking it in the oven for the final rise.