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Neighbor saw my rain barrels and gave me a lecture
She told me my downspout was feeding the barrels wrong. Said I was just collecting dirty roof water and making mosquitoes. I had the screens but no first flush diverter. Picked up a cheap one at the hardware store for $15. Now the water actually stays clear. Anyone else get schooled by a random neighbor?
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the_hayden9d ago
Buddy of mine got the same unsolicited lecture from his HOA guy.
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That line about the napkin diagram got me good. I had a similar thing happen with my neighbor who's a retired plumber. He caught me hooking up a hose to my barrel and just shook his head slowly, like I'd personally offended his entire profession. He didn't draw a diagram, but he did walk me through the whole setup step by step while I nodded along pretending I wasn't completely lost. Two years later and my rain barrels actually work without getting slimy, so I guess I owe him a six-pack or something. Funny how you start off annoyed and end up grateful for the free expertise.
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Laughed out loud when my retired engineer neighbor did the exact same thing to me. He even drew me a diagram on a napkin showing how the first flush diverter works with the math behind the pipe volume. Now I've got a $15 part and a weird respect for the guy who won't let me water my tomatoes wrong.
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