Hot Water

QUESTION: Is it possible to build an inexpensive solar water heater ourselves? We can't afford to spend thousands of dollars for a contractor-installed one, but we want to reduce our water heating costs. ANSWER: The simplest do-it-yourself solar water heating system is the passive breadbox design. It is extremely effective, and with you supplying the labor, it can be built over a weekend for less than $100 in materials, depending upon its size. In your mild climate, a breadbox solar water heater can be effective year-round.

There's no telling how many lobsters went into the pot last Saturday, the first day of open season, but at least one lobster diver did. According to Giordan Hernandez, manager of Dive N' Surf in Redondo Beach, one of the scuba divers participating in the store's annual "Lobster Mobster" contest got sucked into an intake pipe at the Southern California Edison plant in El Segundo, ended up in a small pond within the facility and "from there he just climbed right out," Hernandez said.

Question: In one corner where we have a bedroom window, we removed wood blinds in order to paint. A large piece of drywall inside the window frame came off with the blinds. The problem was traced to a leak in the roof, which has been fixed. What's the best way to repair the drywall? W.E. Huntington Beach * Answer: What's often used around windows is corner beading for rigidity and strength, says Frank Eckert of Arrow True Value Hardware in Orange.

You're getting ready to take a nice hot bath. You turn on the hot water, and it's lukewarm--or worse, cold. Do not despair. Here are some tips that can help you pinpoint the cause and make quick repairs, if necessary: Not Enough Hot Water * This is usually caused by using too much hot water at one time and not giving the heater enough time to reheat a new supply. The easiest solution is to space activities requiring hot water. * Also check the heater thermostat.

Q. We just bought a home with what the real estate agent described as "handmade Saltillo Mexican pavers." We were wondering how these should be cared for and how sturdy they are. M.E. Santa Ana A. These Mexican paver tiles are very strong and thick compared with common ceramic tile, says Gloria Richey of Tile Importers in Anaheim. About the only time they crack is when there's a crack in the home's foundation. They're best cleaned with hot water and a sponge mop.

For John G. Watson, his semi-autobiographical, one-person radio drama, "1965," is a painful but therapeutic attempt to come to grips with the traumas of his childhood and the turmoil that marked his life as a gay teen-ager during the beginnings of the hippie era. But for KPFK-FM (90.7), "1965" represents something more--a controversial program about a sexual issue that could get the station into more hot water with the Federal Communications Commission.

American Apparel's brand identity has always been closely linked to its provocative chief executive, Dov Charney. His unconventional, edgy persona helped fuel the Los Angeles clothing maker's swift rise up the retail ladder, turning what began as a gritty wholesale T-shirt operation into a hipster empire known for colorful cotton staples and overtly sexual advertisements, some photographed by Charney himself. But it has also repeatedly landed Charney in hot water, with former employees accusing the 42-year-old founder of crude remarks, a hostile work environment and a promiscuous lifestyle that includes having consensual sex with his employees, according to one of his former lawyers.

When you wear a skimpy hospital gown, it only feels as if it is shrinking. But now there are organic gowns that actually dissolve--after use. The innovative technology--also used for surgical drapes and other disposable supplies that hospitals consume voraciously--is expected to drastically reduce the amount of medical trash dumped in landfills. The paper-thin gowns, similar in texture to Handi Wipes, disintegrate when immersed in hot water.

When in England, you will soon be able to do as the Romans did. The new Thermae Bath Spa began taking reservations last week for treatments in late August in Bath, England. It will be the first time in 25 years that visitors to the elegant hilltop town, known for its Georgian architecture, will be able to soak in mineral waters from springs that the ancient Romans tapped centuries ago. Long patronized by royalty, the spas reached their heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries.

It was Samson mania at the Orange County Zoo on Tuesday, as hundreds of children and almost as many adults turned out to see Gov. Pete Wilson officially welcome the famous hot-tubbing black bear to his new home. They came from Monrovia and Pasadena, Los Angeles and Irvine, waving bear hats, carrying bear drawings, sporting bear T-shirts and even singing odes composed for Samson.