Thursday, April 26, 2012

How to make a watering can for free


A while ago when I was browsing through Pinterest, I came across an image showing an ingenious way to make a watering can of sorts from a regular bottle with a plastic lid.

This idea intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. Plus I figured that I could then finally retire my teapot from as my current watering can of choice. (Yes, I know…)

Here's how I did it:






Step One

Gather together the following items:
  • a bottle with plastic lid (I liked the green color of plastic San Pellegrino bottles)
  • a candle
  • matches or a lighter
  • a metal pin or sewing needle.
Tip: If you use a needle, make sure it is long enough so that when you heat it up your finger will not burn. If you use a pin, make sure it has a glass head! Many pins use plastic for the head which may melt and burn your fingers or cause a mess. A safety pin or paperclip would probably work in a pinch.

Tip: The size of your holes will depend on the gauge of your needle or pin, which will in turn determine how fast the water flows out.




Step Two

Light the candle and heat the pin/needle in the flame for about 5 seconds. Depending on what type of pin/needle you are using, you may need more or less time than this.




Step Three

Stick the hot pin/needle into the top of the plastic cap. If the metal is hot enough, it will glide in like butter and come out easily.


Tip: Try to keep the pin/needle as upright as possible while sticking it into the cap. If you insert it at an angle, the water will come out at an angle! I suppose the more adventurous of you could use this fact to make a watering bottle with a small head that waters a rather large area by having the holes on the outer edge of the cap tilt outwards.




Step Four

Repeat steps two and three.
From the inside my cap looked like this after I was finished:


Depending on your pin/needle, you may need to go back and make some holes larger. Just heat the pin/needle up again, stick it in the hole, and wiggle it around.


I made the mistake of rubbing it with some sandpaper afterwards to get rid of the bumps and that ugly expiration date. The result was a smooth cap with unsightly scratches and a blackish tint. I also had to reopen some of the holes that got closed or clogged up.




Step Five

This is the obvious step. Fill the bottle with water, screw on the cap, and water your thirsty plants!

Tip: Again, if the flow of water is too slow or restricted, try enlarging the holes. You may need to squeeze the bottle slightly for water to come out. I like this feature, since it gives me control!


Hope some of you will find this tutorial useful. What a great way to reuse an everyday item, wouldn't you agree?

Hausfrau

4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks. It's been fun using my little creation to water both my indoor plants and the more delicate plants outside in the garden.

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  2. Liebe Hausfrau,
    ich bin gerade ueber diesen blog gestolpert und ich habe eine voellig andere Frage: Ist Euer PC-keyboard aus Deutschland oder wie kommen die Umlaute auf die Seite???
    Vielleicht erreich ich ja noch Erleuchtung in meinen alten Tagen...
    LG, nic

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    Replies
    1. Hallo, nic! Habe gerade Deinen Blog angeschaut und war überrascht zu sehen, dass die Umlaute bei dir gar nicht erscheinen. Also, eigentlich besitze ich zwei verschiedene Tastaturen. Obwohl eins aus Deutschland kommt und die entsprechende Umlaute hat, mit dem anderen kann ich auch ä, ö, und ü tippen, nur muss ich vorher die richtige Tastenkombination drücken.

      In deinem Fall würde ich empfehlen durch eine Internetrecherche diese Tastenkombination für dein System festzustellen (z.B. diese englischsprachige Seite beschreibt die Prozess für PC und für Mac)
      oder diese nützliche Webseite zu benutzen: copypastecharacter.com. Viel Glück!
      -Hausfrau

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The Hausfrau eagerly awaits your thoughts.