We had a water week – a week of water themed posts – in honour of World Water Day back in March but I’ve had a run of water-related questions recently so I thought we’d have another wet week. “Water Week 2: This time it’s personal damp.”

A couple of weeks ago, Tyler asked a question on a random old post:

What should I do with the water I use to wash of my paint brushes?

It’s a good question because it uses a surprisingly large amount of water to get paintbrushes clean – and even more if you’ve been using a roller for large scale decorating.

Can anything be done with the very, very watered down paint – particularly the first rinse which is really quite paint-y?

Do you have any tips for reducing the amount of water used to clean them? I try to squeeze out as much paint as possible before washing – old newspaper works well as a wrapping material but quickly gets soaked, plastic bags is less absorbent but you’ll be able to squeeze it for longer.

(Picture by basheertome)

So, the reason for this post and it being posted considerably later than usual is the same thing – we had a bonfire night party last night — great fun but it ended somewhat late for a school night. Prior to Wednesday, it had just been a couple of friends coming around to burn things then play Guitar Hero, then it suddenly became a whole bunch of people (including one six week old person) coming around for food and flames. I, unwisely, decided I’d be able to make two soups and two cakes in the hour-and-a-half I had between getting in from the office and people starting to arrive… Not recommended.

Anyway, alongside the soup, sausages and parkin, we cooked a load of jacket potatoes – both normal white potatoes and sweet potatoes – but not all of them were eaten: we’ve got a GIANT sweet potato left over and four medium size white potatoes.

When I’ve been in a similar situation in the past, I’ve tried reheating potatoes in the microwave but it had less than desirable results. Anyone got any techniques for a more successful reheating? Is the oven the answer?

What about other ways to use up the potatoes? If we didn’t already have two lots of leftover soup, I’d possibly use one or two in there. A mash-topped pie might work too. Any other suggestions?

• How can I reuse or recycle bonfire ashes?

Because she’s a keen fixer of things, I told Alice in Blogland about our new “Repair This” feature and she replied that she had something in need of mending, but didn’t know how to go about it:

It’s a pair of waterproof trousers which have taped seams. Basically I bent over in them and the seam split right down the middle, leaving the fabric intact but tearing the seam tape. Can I buy waterproofing seam tape from somewhere? What’s it called? And do I need to sew it in some sort of special way so that it ends up waterproof – if I do it wrong then I guess all my needle holes will let in water!

Any ideas?

We’ve had an email from Ben, asking what he can do with some old chipboard/particleboard furniture:

The shelves have sagged in the middle so I doubt anyone else would want it.

Most people probably wouldn’t want a saggy bookshelf as a feature in their living room but don’t write it off just yet — it might be fine for shelving in a store room or a garage, particularly if a baton or two can be fitted underneath the warped shelves for extra strength. Offer it on Freecycle/Freegle, describing the condition and see if there are any takers.

Aside from that or if some of the shelves are too far gone, it could possibly be stripped for parts – the uprights could be used for shelves elsewhere – just make sure to use plenty of support so they aren’t as likely to sag.

At the end of its life as furniture/shelving, chipboard can be composted but as it’s held together with synthetic resin, often including formaldehyde, organic gardeners might want to avoid adding it to compost piles destined for veg plots.

For the same reason, chipboard shouldn’t be used on a woodburner or, topically, a bonfire – the formaldehyde and other chemicals used in its production can release toxic gases on burning.

Any other suggestions on things that could be done with old chipboard shelving or bigger pieces of the same? Any more pointers on things not to do with it?

(Picture by Rotor DB)

A few weeks ago, I made passing reference to arm/wrist warmers but I thought I’d mention them again because it’s amazing what a difference they make.

There are hundreds of different knitting and crochet patterns for fingerless gloves – from the very simple (a square folded over with a thumb hole left in the seam) to ones with cabling-a-go-go and separate half fingers to provide more coverage – and they don’t take long to knit/crochet up — but what are the options for non-knitters/crocheters?

Last week, Leethal posted a how-to make them out of old socks and you can also make them from the sleeves of old jumpers/sweaters/long-sleeved tops.

Any other suggestions? Any advice on refashioning them out of existing clothes – what to look for/avoid in the starting items?

(Picture by deb roby)