While I understand your desire to live in what is at times a lovely quiet 'burb on the edge of the city, what is it with the epidemic of power washing your driveways (and everything else in sight) already? That's drinking water you're wasting while you ruin your neighbour's alfresco dinner with the din of your over-sized novelty power washer. I get it: your over-manicured lawns and giant plastic houses don't exactly scream "I care about my ecological footprint," but it's a driveway! How clean does it need to be? I suppose if all of your other neighbours jumped off a cliff into a pool of drinking water run-off from that driveway, you'd feel an overwhelming suburbanite compulsion to follow? Lemmings. —Thirsty For Common Sense