Keeping Your Garden Fountain Tidy
Keeping Your Garden Fountain Tidy
Adequate care and regular maintenance are important to the longevity of water fountains. Leaves, twigs, and bugs often find their way into fountains, so it is essential to keep yours free from such debris. Another factor is that water that is exposed to sunlight is vulnerable to growing algae. Stir hydrogen peroxide, sea salt, or vinegar into the water to avoid this particular dilemma. There are those who choose to use bleach, but that is hazardous to any animals that might drink or bathe in the water - so should therefore be avoided. Every 3-4 months, garden fountains should undergo a serious cleaning. To start with you must remove the water. When you have done this, wash inside the water reservoir with a mild detergent. A good tip is to use a toothbrush if there are little hard-to-reach spots. Be sure to completely rinse the interior of the fountain to make sure all the soap is gone.
Calcium and fresh water organisms could get inside the pump, so you should disassemble it to get it truly clean. To make it less challenging, soak it in vinegar overnight before cleaning. Neither rain water nor mineral water contain ingredients that will build up inside the pump, so use either over tap water if possible.
One final recommendation for keeping your fountain in top working order is to check the water level every day and make sure it is full. If the water level falls below the pump’s intake level, it can damage the pump and cause it to burn out - something you do not want to happen!
Aqueducts: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems
Aqueducts: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems Previous to 273, when the 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in Rome, citizens who resided on hillsides had to go further down to get their water from natural sources. When aqueducts or springs weren’t easily accessible, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water pulled from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns.
From the beginning of the sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by using the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. The aqueduct’s channel was made attainable by pozzi, or manholes, that were situated along its length when it was first designed. Whilst these manholes were provided to make it less difficult to conserve the aqueduct, it was also possible to use containers to extract water from the channel, which was employed by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he obtained the property in 1543 to his death in 1552. He didn’t get a sufficient quantity of water from the cistern that he had manufactured on his property to gather rainwater. That is when he made a decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran directly below his residential property.