primalmommy@IVILLAGE.COM on mon 15 jan 01
If your studio has a roof, you can use a rain barrel for water. I got a food grade plastic 55 gallon drum for $10 at the pepsi cola bottling plant (they are all over, probably one near you.) Mine smelled like mountain dew (shudder) for the first month or so.
I bought a hose spigot and a few washers, carved a small hole near the bottom of the barrel, screwed the spigot into it, and then sealed around it with silicon caulk. It probably leaks a bit, but it's outside, up on some cinder blocks and the slow drip does no harm; makes the toads happy. I took the downspout off the gutter and put the rain barrel under the corner of the roof. There is maybe a six inch opening on top of the barrel, over which I stretched some screening and tied it with string to keep the leaves out. The small opening keeps cats and kids from falling in... major hazard with the old barrels.
I leave a big washtub under the spigot, toss tools in there to wash later; fill my throwing bowl, mix glazes, fill a basin for students to wash hands. If you live in a place with cold winter, empty and invert it before a hard freeze; I'm back to hauling water until spring. On the bright side, a teakettle on the pot-bellied stove warms the throwing water and keeps the humidity comfortable.
You'll be amazed how quickly a rain barrel fills; in the first few minutes of a shower it seems to be magically full, and never seems to run out. Nice for watering plants, too, or rinsing your hair... no flouride or chlorine. And it's free ;0)
Yours... Kelly in Ohio, where graphing the gram weight of 8 baby mice has become a homeschool science fair project...
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