The Housegleaners: A DIY Freestyle Fixerupper Remodel Blog Focused On Salvage, Reuse, and Upcycling

Is this necessary or even effective? Does pumping away 9,000 gallons of stormwater per hour make a difference, or is it instantly replaced via a hydrologic mechanism we don't understand? Are we bailing a boat with a hole in it? It's really hard to tell. We're just starting to get to learn the dynamics of this property. Sarah tested the soil and it drains OK--not great, but not terrible. And in normal times its absorption rate keeps up with the rain. But after a few days of persistent and increasing precip, the ground gets saturated, then add 4 more inches in 48 hours and a shallow pond manifests in our backyard. It's kind of pretty! Better to have too much pure fresh water than not enough. Even after the rain ceases, surface water from the surrounding hills will continue to trickle in, so part of the impetus to use the pump is to get ahead of this latency effect. But does it help? I ran it from 8am-5pm while it rained steadily all day. At times the standing water level ...

What's the difference between a tool and a machine? A tool is reliably compliant whereas a machine is just waiting to turn on you. We're in the middle of some weather, yard prone to flooding, bought trash pump to keep ahead of the rain. Before the deluge, yard already saturated with this week's steady pour. And more is coming. Will Trashy the trash pump help, or will more water instantly well up to replace what gets pumped out? Running a gas engine to alter the natural order feels perverse and I hope we can evolve a more natural, passive drainage solution. But this is damage control mode to keep water away from the house, so I sold my soul to The Machines. And it didn't stop there! Laundry crisis imminent, hooking up washer and dryer was a priority. I knew the electrical outlets worked, but was the drainpipe still connected? Would the leaky old faucet valves fail? Laundry vent combust? Will the Whirlpools we got free off craigslist even work? Listen for yourself: Actual...