It is with a VERY heavy heart that I am posting. I can't believe I have been here almost 4 months. I am not feeling that it is time to leave but ...
gotta go and make some money so we can come back!!!
I recall a post (I believe last year), could not find it when I searched, that discussed some of the things nomads do when closing their casa's.
There were some ideas of how to reduce the risk of rodents, bugs etc. If I remember correctly, someone suggested veg. oil in the toilets to reduce
evaporation????bajajudy - 5-14-2007 at 12:47 PM
Another season has passed and we have not hooked up.
Lets make sure to remedy that situation next year!
Have a safe trip home
And see you next year....I mean itPaulina - 5-14-2007 at 12:54 PM
Marie-Rose,
One thing we do when we leave our place in Bahia is leave full buckets of water out. It helps to prevent the heat from sucking the moisture out of
our woodwork. We use 3 5 gal. buckets for one trailer. They are usually totally dried up by the time we return at roughly 3 mo. intervals. I also
stuff foil into the drain in the bathroom sink, over the drain in the shower and in the kitchen sick to help block the bugs from moving in. We spray
the door locks with W-D 40 and wrap the door knobs in foil.
When we leave our house in Ens. as well as turning off the water pump, we make sure the the water is turned off behind the toilets as well as under
the bathroom and kitchen sinks.
P<*)))><Marie-Rose - 5-14-2007 at 01:05 PM
Bajajudy
I would love to get acquainted... it seems that these 4 months have been a whirlwind! Still have a 2 day trip to the east cape to look forward to and
then pick up the esposo at the airport. He still has a couple more playing engagements before we head home on the 25th.
Paulina
Thank you. That's exactly what I was looking for. Why the foil on the door knobs?elizabeth - 5-14-2007 at 01:11 PM
You don't want to put oil in your toilets, or anywhere that will let it get to your septic system (assuming you have one). There is very little that
will destroy your leach fields better than oil.
If evaporation from toilets is significant, why not wrap the bowl in plastic wrap? Just remember you did that when you return!Iflyfish - 5-14-2007 at 01:16 PM
Avia Bien amigo.
IflyfishDENNIS - 5-14-2007 at 01:26 PM
I think Dern and Paulina wrap their doorknobs after lubricating them so they won't dry out.
Correct me if I'm wrong.Paulina - 5-14-2007 at 01:34 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I think Dern and Paulina wrap their doorknobs after lubricating them so they won't dry out.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Si, and it helps to fight corrosion. We wrap outdoor water spigots too.
Packing Up...
Cameron - 5-14-2007 at 01:59 PM
Depending on your windows and doors, it may be a good idea to place a rolled-up towel along your window sills and at the base of your doors before you
leave for the summer.
With most of the more "modern" windows this isn't usually a problem, but if you've got the handmade metal-framed windows/doors most common in BCS,
there's usually a small gap somewhere which will allow water to enter the house. Even with newer, custom made windows, the wind and air pressure
differential during a big storm will cause at least a little leaking.
With "normal" rainfall, you migh never have a problem, but if/when a Hurricane rolls in and the wind is blowing rain sideways at 80mph+, it will
usually cause some pretty substantial leakage. I've lived in two different homes in T.S. myself, and I had to clean up after Juliette (Bad!), then the
Marti/Nora/Olaf trifecta a couple of years later. In both cases, a couple of cheap towels strategically placed would have saved me hours of scrubbing
the mold & mud away.
Suerte!.. CameronMarie-Rose - 5-14-2007 at 02:06 PM
Fabulous,,, keep it coming!
So one of our bathrooms is an outdoors bath. In the summer it gets mucho sol... I believe that is why the inside of the toilet bowl is impossible to
clean...dried out. I thought for sure I read that someone suggested veg. oil??? Wish I could find the thread.bajabound2005 - 5-14-2007 at 03:37 PM
Someone did suggest veg oil; but yes, it's not good for the septic. You need something to prevent the evaporation that then allows that horrid septic
gas back into the house. Creates quite a stink! We did this in our friends' house last summer and it worked. But there must be something better
that won't harm the septic or leach field.vandenberg - 5-14-2007 at 04:00 PM
Somewhere the use of mineral oil sticks in my mind:?on't need much, just enough to make a film that keeps the air from getting to the
water.shari - 5-14-2007 at 04:03 PM
I never leave any water open anywhere because mice try to drink it and fall into buckets and REALLY stink. maybe leave some mice pellets out too. Hope
you swing by our way next visit! so sorry you have to leave...been there, done that...didn't like it! Kiss a maple for me!DENNIS - 5-14-2007 at 04:06 PM
That earlier thought of Saran Wrap makes a lot of sense but you should wrap the water closet as well. Septic systems are designed to vent back through
the house plumbing vents but, the system has to be full....traps et.al..Martyman - 5-14-2007 at 04:16 PM
Since we're saran wrapping the toilets let's short sheet the beds while we're at it.Paulina - 5-14-2007 at 04:20 PM
Shari,
We've never had a mouse problem down south. (knock on wood) Up here in the states, being next to a forest we have had a few of those buggers show up.
We don't use pellets because they will run away and die in some mysterious hide out and stink up the place. We use the sticky traps. They can't get
too far, unless it's a big rat, then they take the traps with them. I picture them trying to walk away with sticky snow shoes on their feet. They
can't hide with the sticky traps.
We had a neighbor in Morro Bay who had chickens, the rats would visit their back yard for the chicken feed, find the rat pellets, then come over to
our garage to die. We had to use the dog to sniff out the dead rats. We weren't the only ones with dead rats, so the neighbors got rid of their
chickens.
I have a friend who had a rattlesnake that lived under his bathroom sink. It would come out at night time. They used a giant sticky trap made just for
snakes to get him.
I guess one could put the sticky traps out next to the 5 gal. buckets of water if they had troubles with crawly things.
P <*)))><Halboo - 5-14-2007 at 05:10 PM
We leave buckets of water out for the dogs on my cousin's ranchito and to keep the mice etc. from drowning we just leave a sturdy stick in the the
bucket that's taller then the bucket's rim.
Simple. Marie-Rose - 5-14-2007 at 05:59 PM
Paulina... re: the pails of water in the trailer. I was led to believe that excess humidity was a problem here in TS??? Is it alot drier in Bahia?DENNIS - 5-14-2007 at 06:05 PM
Just take a rag, an old T-shirt, and stuff it into the toilet.
Jeezo.... I hope this is the biggest problem you have.bajabound2005 - 5-14-2007 at 07:39 PM
pretty much, D,that's the problem..BUT NOT IN OUR HOUSE! Because we are here all the time and can actually flush ours on ocassion!bajaguy - 5-14-2007 at 07:43 PM
I think I would use a light garlic-olive oil.....the gourmet touchDENNIS - 5-14-2007 at 07:57 PM
Extra virgen, of course. Not just plain virgin but, extra. Like most of my high school dates.bajaguy - 5-14-2007 at 08:02 PM
and a Merlot, from Chile I think.DENNIS - 5-14-2007 at 08:08 PM
Yeah .... That would've helped but, well, it was high school and so long ago.
Hey, Marie-Rose
frizkie - 5-15-2007 at 01:43 AM
Don't have too heavy a heart to leave cuz' the weather here has finally turned beautiful.
All is lush and green. And even after my six months in Baja Sur this year I actually felt the warmth and got the shorts back out today.
Lots of people walking down your "Malecon" at Dallas Road with short sleeves and legs (however white) hanging out.
We'll be waiting for you here with open arms.
Hugs Frizkie ... aka BarbaritaMarie-Rose - 5-15-2007 at 06:07 AM
Barbarita
Will keep that in mind!!
wrk(Mariann) and I are headed out east cape this am. Sure wish I knew where your piece of paradise is. Would stop and take a look as I think we will
duck into Santiago.
Can't believe we be there when you are not!Peloncito - 5-15-2007 at 11:04 PM
When I leave my house, I close the toilet valve, flush the tank and install a rubber drain cover over the toilet drain to keep the septic odor from
coming back in. I use "Bartender's Helper" to clean the bowl when needed. It is great stuff and cleans just about anything off the bowl. So, I guess I
do not worry about evaporation in the toilet. As far as the sinks go, just close the valves and the drain stopper. The "P" trap holds water to seal
off the odors as it is designed to do. The water in the trap seems to last the entire time I am gone.
As for the creepy crawly nastys, I just spray my house with the infamous non restricted fumigation chemicals available in Mexico and I come back to
dead bugs around the perimiter of the house who attempted a break-in.
When I come back, I turn on the water, fill the toilets, jump start the toilet with a can of live bacteria and things are good. I guess the old saying
applies for me. "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." So I will stick to my routine which has been working for the last several years.
:?
on't need much, just enough to make a film that keeps the air from getting to the
water.
!