Do you have hard water? They can build up a LOT of minerals on the bottom of the tank. I once used a wire coat hanger to gently break up the sludge blocking the drain outlet in our 90 gallon electric hot water heater. I'm not sure that's recommended, but it did work.
Summerthyme
Oh, good! Tell Cary that if possible, it would be best to drain it yearly, getting as much of the sludge out as possible. It will otherwise eventually build up around the heating element enough that it can't heat the water, and it will eventually burn out. Glad you got it going.
Summerthyme
I just told him. He says that he knew that, but hasn't been too responsible in getting it done regularly. His own fault. He thanks you for your help, too.
The wife just mixes them in. She does account for a loss of water as they hydrate, but it is normally not much.To those of you that use dehydrated onions and peppers, how do you use them? I have bought a few cans with the thought of maybe making homemade mixes but never got around to it. We use a lot of fresh onions and fresh and frozen peppers but I’m not sure how to replace those with dehydrated or freeze dried. For instance how to use them in fried potatoes and onions, could it be done and have an acceptable dish? I think I understand on adding them to something like sauces or soups.
Do they still sell to non members? Its been about 4 years since I ordered the basic items.
Hope the FEDEX truck with your shipment was not the one that became airborne missel in the 100 vehicle pile up in Texas last week.My Walmart order got split into 3 shipments SMH. I got the oxi clean, the water filters *should* be here tomorrow but were supposed to be here yesterday, the rest of the items seem to be in limbo on a fedex truck in transit to Humbolt TN like it has been for days.
DH went to pick up a few things from the store yesterday and he said it was really slim pickings! He managed to get a 5 lb bag of red potatoes and a 2 lb bag of carrots and some bananas. He said what little choice of veggies there was, was not in good shape. I‘ve used pretty much all of the fresh veggies and down to a few stalks of celery, part of a head of cabbage other than the potato and carrots, so I hope they get restocked soon.
Something we found funny, when DH was checking out yesterday the girl checking him out commented on “that’s a really big bag of carrots, do you have a horse”? He told her “no, we eat them”! I wonder what she would have thought if she knew we usually buy at least one of the 5lb bags, two if we’re low at Sam’s or Costco.
I have bought from the local food center but have never used the online store. At the food center they never mentioned the church at all. Great people there too.Do they still sell to non members? Its been about 4 years since I ordered the basic items.
Big mistake and loss! I've been taking flour and cornmeal out of my freezers, and sealing them up in 5 gal buckets with O2 absorbers. I took a few more bags out of each, let them lay , still in the freezer bags, in the laundry room for a few days. When I went to seal them up today in the new buckets, 6 bags of flour had molded. Had to throw them away. As each bag thawed out, moisture must have built up inside. First time this has happened. I'm not doing anymore this way for fear that I might lose more. The rest will just stay in the freezer. I don't know of anything I could have done differently.
one of the dangers of screwing around with the freezer deal - adding a desiccant pack to any of your packings is never a bad idea - they don't advise a pack for sugar or salt because it supposedly will cause clumping/solidifying - it really makes no difference either way .....
if you add desiccant to a 02 absorber long term bucket pack - always separate as much as possible - the two combat and will effect the absorber ....
You could just open them up and leave open until they got to room temp. That should keep them dry. But if left open I suppose it could invite bugs to take up residence.All of the flour and cornmeal gets emptied into freezer storage bags, before they are put in the freezer. Are you saying that when I take these bags out, I need to open them, and put in an O2 absorber, close them back up while they thaw out? That would seem to draw out any moisture that might accumulate inside.
You could just open them up and leave open until they got to room temp. That should keep them dry. But if left open I suppose it could invite bugs to take up residence.
Do you freeze them to kill any bugs inside? If so maybe discontinue that practice. I used to freeze some a for couple days to kill bugs but I quit doing that many years ago.
I always freeze flour in the bags they come in from the store, then before storing I take it out and leave it on the counter for a few days turning it over a few times when I think about it to get rid of any moisture. Bread and all purpose flours get poured right into buckets after freezing. Self rising flour and cornmeal stay in the freezer until I need to fill my canister in the kitchen. Past experience showed me that self rising flour will go flat long term and since we don’t use it as much I only store a few bags in the freezer. Cornmeal tends to get a little rancid and also flat so I also store it in the freezer even though we use more of that than SR flour. So sorry for the loss, been there, done that.All of the flour and cornmeal gets emptied into freezer storage bags, before they are put in the freezer. Are you saying that when I take these bags out, I need to open them, and put in an O2 absorber, close them back up while they thaw out? That would seem to draw out any moisture that might accumulate inside.
I always freeze flour in the bags they come in from the store, then before storing I take it out and leave it on the counter for a few days turning it over a few times when I think about it to get rid of any moisture. Bread and all purpose flours get poured right into buckets after freezing. Self rising flour and cornmeal stay in the freezer until I need to fill my canister in the kitchen. Past experience showed me that self rising flour will go flat long term and since we don’t use it as much I only store a few bags in the freezer. Cornmeal tends to get a little rancid and also flat so I also store it in the freezer even though we use more of that than SR flour. So sorry for the loss, been there, done that.
When I first started prepping in a bigger way, I filled a 5 gallon bucket nearly full of cornmeal but by the time we got down to less than half, we noticed the cornbread wasn’t rising very well and had started smelling a bit off. So I decided after that we would keep the majority in the freezer to keep it fresher. And that’s why I also keep the self rising flour in the freezer along with baking soda, baking powder and cream of tarter to extend their shelf life. LOL, I hear you on the bugs, they freak me out too!I use way more cornmeal than self rising flour. It was strange that none of the cornmeal molded. Just the flour. I'm so paranoid of bugs that when I take a bag out of the freezer for use, I keep it in the fridge, until it's used up. I've never had any cornmeal or flour go flat as long as I keep it stored in the freezer. I always add baking soda to my cornbread and biscuits anyway when making them.
When I first started prepping in a bigger way, I filled a 5 gallon bucket nearly full of cornmeal but by the time we got down to less than half, we noticed the cornbread wasn’t rising very well and had started smelling a bit off. So I decided after that we would keep the majority in the freezer to keep it fresher. And that’s why I also keep the self rising flour in the freezer along with baking soda, baking powder and cream of tarter to extend their shelf life. LOL, I hear you on the bugs, they freak me out too!
Maybe it’s more of being in the south thing!? I know the pantry in the old house there was more of an issue with temp/humidity then what I have now.I cannot eat any wheat products but I make cornbread often. I keep a large supply on-hand. I never freeze it and it takes a couple years to pass through normal rotation. Occasionally some gets missed and the oldest I ever used was stored about 5 years with no issues.