The last round of toilet paper that I bought was from Costco. Not because it was cheaper or because one package lasts 6 months, but because it was septic friendly. Septic Friendly. Exactly what I needed. It did last six months, and it was affordable, and while I can't tell how friendly it has been to our septic system (which I feel I should name for how much attention I pay to it), I haven't seen signs of complaining. Septic Friendly, perhaps, but also scratchy. Scratchy, prone to separation and each roll impossible to start for all the glue holding down that first piece. But I am still new enough to the whole country living thing that I feel obliged to sacrifice comfort for the greater good of septic health and the brand apparently is very environmentally friendly so there you have it. Scratchy toilet paper.But after a rush on visitors, the stockpile dwindled and so suddenly it was time to buy toilet paper today. Off I went to my local Fortinos, local enough that it is a pretty rural Fortinos. If anyone is going to carry Septic Friendly toilet paper, you would think that this store would be it. Wrong. Oh there's the "green" version (referring only to recycled materials) but nothing with Septic Friendly. But then I see a line of Royale, bolding proclaiming that it is dye and fragrance free, biodegradeable and PLUMBING FRIENDLY. Dye and fragrance free - great. Biodegradeable - great (although isn't all toilet paper biodegradeable??), but plumbing friendly? What does that mean?? And to top it off, it is 3-ply. The luxurious softness. Can a 3-ply toilet paper possibly be Septic Friendly as well as PLUMBING FRIENDLY?? Of course I had to buy it. I had to buy it not because it was 3-ply (I'm still pretty suspicious that anything 3-ply is going to cheer up the little people in the septic tank) but because compared to just plain old 'green' (100% post-consumer recycled materials) the whole dye free fragrance free biodegradeable plumbing friendly thing begged me to give it a test.So, here's to comparative shopping. It is remarkably soft, it really is. And because it is soft but more importantly sturdy, it seems like it goes a lot further. It flushes perfectly well down our low-flow toilet (with the super low-flow adaptor on the gasket), which is another good sign. I hope that the 'biodegradeable' part is true and quick - I hope their definition of biodegradeable isn't "within 10 years" or something. Did I mention how soft it is?This first roll has sort of been like having a shower in the city... the luxury of not considering the impact of every action. But then I realize that even still I'm pretty in the habit of contemplating everything, and so no matter how soft or plumbing friendly the 3-ply is, I can't forget the impact it might have on the whole ecosystem that is our septic system (Steve? Bruce? Al?).So I think I'm going to compromise. Tomorrow I'll hit Costco and pick up the oversized box of Septic Friendly toilet paper. Then I'll alternate it it with the decadent Royale rolls.... kind of like splurging on ice cream or tequila. But if I were ever to find out that 3-ply is just as 'septic friendly' as anything else, then there will be no turning back.I would really like to figure out what "plumbing friendly" means, though.
I don't mind winter. I'm not much of a winter sports type of gal, but I've got lots of long underwear and fleecey layers, so I'm pretty good in the snow. But I have to say that I'm facing this winter with a mixed bag of anticipation and enthusiasm. I'm a bit behind in my list of winter preparation tasks... work was busy and then my mother-in-law came to visit for the week. So there are a lot of boxes to check off in the "get ready for winter list". The gravelling of the driveways and inner yard needs to be done, and we wanted to widen the entrance to the driveway off the road - trucks have a hard time turning in. I did manage to get a bit of weatherstripping and caulking done, but now the front door doesn't close to well. I haven't figured out when to turn on the electrical heating wire around the drainpipe from the sump pumps / laundry (and since I don't use hot water for laundry, I expect that freezing will be a problem). But today it snowed, and it was pretty exciting. Winter is much prettier in the country than in the city. And thankfully the house feels toasty at 67 degrees! I got a good look at what it will take to plow the drive, and contemplated how much calcium chloride I will need to combat ice. I think I'm going to order in a big pile of sand, just in case. When I drove into town tonight, I went extra slow (cursing myself that the snow tires were scheduled for the weekend, a bit late!) and discovered that the back way into town is quite a bit more slippery than the main road.So far, though, I don't feel too much like a city slicker (although the neighbours might laugh when the gravel goes down over a few inches of snow... but at least the ground will be frozen and the bobcat won't sink the way the truck has been sinking with all the rain).I think that with one more week of hard work, we'll be ready for the snow, and then it will be a real pleasure to look over the snowcovered fields out back, sitting in front of the fire, glad to have bought the plow attachment after all.
It's been a while since I've posted - winter is coming and there has been so much to do before the snow flies. We're trying to bed down the homestead, and the to-do list is pretty long.But over the past few weeks The Culligan Man installed a new water softener and a reverse osmosis system. They are FANTASTIC. The water softener is great because it's finally doing its job without leaving mounds of salt everywhere (on dishes, the shower curtain, the counters). Less salt means hopefully the septic tank is catching a break, too.The reverse osmosis system is what I'm most excited about. The model we got fits under our sink, tucked into a corner. It is comprised of 2 cylindars with filters in them (which each last about a year) and one that has the RO membrane in it (which they expect to last 5-10 years). The tank which stores the processed water sits beside it. The whole thing is tapped into the existing plumbing, and operates on air pressure. NO ELECTRICITY REQUIRED which is one of my favourite points. And while people had said that RO water wastes a lot of water as there is a portion of the incoming water which is rejected (and thus flushed down the drain), apparently this system has a 1:1.3 ratio, so very little is being rejected. The water tastes great, and I find I'm drinking a lot more - plus, we aren't buying it from the supermarket, so I don't feel that I have to ration it. I water the plants with it, too - they hated the softened water, and give it to the animals, who seem to like it (the dog drinks a couple of bowlfuls a day). I feel like one big weight has been lifted - we have safe, drinkable water and are also hopefully on the way to improved septic health. It's also exciting to drink water that is far more yummy than city water ever was. Yeah Culligan Man!
