Multi-Tasking with Water

My airconditioner system has a reusable filter that you clean once a month and then pop back in the little slot until the next month. I like the reusable filter because I'm not expending the $$$ for new filters and its another item that is not going into a landfill. The con to it, is that it is definitely more time consuming to clean a filter, than to just pop a new one in and toss the old one in the trash. I wanted to say that remembering to clean it is a drawback too, but since you have to remember to change the disposable ones, I don't think it really counts!

This morning, as soon as I woke up, I realized that I haven't cleaned the filter since April! Whoops. Here we are in the middle of a massive heat wave, where the AC is working overtime and I forgot to do the most BASIC of maintenance to keep it working efficiently -- UGH. (I have no clue why this was my first thought upon waking up this morning -- but there you go).

One thing I hate about cleaning the filter is the loss of water --- our water bills are outrageous because they are tied to the sewer costs and.... never mind I've ranted about corruption and stuff before.... so anyway.... with the lack of rain, wise use of water is a MUST not to mention it helps keep my costs down. So my solution to the problem was this:

1. I put three large buckets side to side along the edge of one of my flower beds.

2. I held the filter resting on the buckets so that most of the water overflow would go into the buckets and the overspray and splatter would go into the garden.

3. I used the power wash mode on my hose attachment to clean the filter, as quickly and efficiently as possible only stopping to empty the buckets if they got full --- or at least full enough so that I knew I'd have trouble carrying them.

4. Emptied the full buckets gently and carefully onto my always thirsty garden.

5. Voila! A clean filter and a watered daylily bed using (most) of the same water!

The filter is now drying in the sunshine on the deck --- and will hopefully be completely dry before the temperatures approach the fifth level of hades today and I need to put it back into service!