Water Problems

I got water problems. Chlorine, high levels, in the Albany city water. I have am extremely sensitive to chlorine. I can't sleep tonight, backed up, constipated, from not drinking enough. I don't want to buy bottled water, but I'm going to have to. If you let chlorinated water sit for 48 hours, the chlorine is supposed to disipate, but I always forget. The water tastes horrible full of chlorine. My hands have broken out in a rash from washing dishes in it. When I take showers, my skin starts itching. I don't know what to do, really.

The city told me the levels are higher in spring and summer due to people using more water, so you get the levels they treat with at the plant, since the water doesn't sit and the chlorine disipate some, between the time it's treated and the time it's used.

I have suspicion about the safety of Albany water anyhow. It comes from the Santiam, but it gets to Albany through miles and miles of open canals that traverse farmland. The only things left alive in farmland, after all the spraying and fertlizing, live in the strips of life along the slow moving canal, meaning the canal gets highly contaminated with bird and animal crap, namely duck and nutria crap.

Besides the crap and ammonia factor, there's the chemical factor. All those miles of farmland, land sprayed dead with pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and fertlizers. That shit gets into that canal carrying water to the city. I don't think they even test the water for all those chemicals used on the grass seed fields. So I doubt the safety of Albany water to begin with, because of the open canal. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but common sense tells me the water is full of chemicals, especially at certain times of year.

But they overly chlorinate due to the crap and algae factor, from all the animal and duck life in the canal and because it is shallow, warm and slow moving, in the summer. It's a yucky canal. I'll take pictures of it sometime and post them. If water is coming from a river to be city water, it should be piped, is my feeling.

Well anyhow, I'm upset about the high chlorination and don't know what to do about it, being as how I have the sensitivity thing to chlorine. So paying that huge water bill, just for basic service, close to $70 a month for water I can't drink or even wash dishes in, without health consequences, well that is irking.

Maybe I can catch rainwater to use to drink and shower. Is rainwater safe to drink or does that need treated to? I've used sun showers before, left water in a canvas bag hanging from a tree in the sun and then, with the attached hose and shower head, had a nice warm shower available. I've lived on the rugged side for lots of years, in my life and gotten by just fine. But the chlorine thing, that's something hard for me to deal with.

My brother and I discussed him selling or renting this place again and he says he will get on it by calling the realitor who sold him this house in the first place. He does want to offload it and I want out of here, so I'm hopeful he'll get some results. Where will I go? I don't know. I need to get out, however, before I'm too old to have that chance.

To market a house in this housing market, that's tough, however. This isn't a house suitable for a couple with kids, since it's small, with two small bedrooms up front, right on the street almost. The garage is out back. And the yard out back of the garage. But it would be great for a single adult, middle aged, or even an older couple or even for a couple whose kids are grown who want to down size. It would be ideal for a cat lover because of the contained cat yard, too.

It has a lot of kitchen counter space, but the appliances are old and worn out. My brother says he'll slap some carpet in it and replace the appliances if need be, to make it sellable. The closets in each bedroom are marginal, so no clothes freaks would be interested. But, I think they could be rather easily modified. I heard once closets, bathroom and kitchen sell a house. Besides location. I've been watching a show called "Flip This House" which is very interesting on how to take a junk house and with a couple weeks of work and not much money, turn it into a winner. The trick is not to spend so much you have no profit margin.

My brother just wants his money out of it, if that can be had, although it wasn't his money that bought it. It was money from my father's estate, there allegedly to provide me permanent stable housing somewhere I wanted to live. I wanted to live in Corvallis. The trouble was, when he bought it, the market was red hot and this was the only house on the market, in his price range, that was also empty. For the same price in Corvallis, there was nothing but one falling apart old rotten trailer up for sale.