Anne painted her bathroom with latex paint and then started to get mould and mildew where she never had any before. She is wondering what she did wrong?
Mould is caused by the prolonged presence of condensation. Condensation is caused by a combination of high humidity and low temperatures. If yo...
Almost all of us own at least two outdoor plastic lawn chairs, more properly called resin chairs, if not a whole dining set. Most of us watch them get dirtier and dirtier every year, until we finally scrap them for something cleaner. Sitting out in the weather tends to somehow grind them int...
It's all about maintenance and one of our viewers had half of a very interesting story.
Burnice writes: "I had a wonderful morning, the heating unit went out of my dryer! Why does everything seem to fall apart this time of year!??? The guy that fixes things went in to the dryer and pulled out t...
Wendy wants to clean years of nicotine off of her walls and repaint.
GENERAL GRIME
First, the best cleaner for any paint preparation is TSP, Tri-Sodium-Phosphate. There are now some more environmentally friendly "TSP Substitutes" available on the market as well. If no stain is left, use any ...
Yes it happens -- but Why?
Two viewers have strange problems with their electrical outlets. One has had bright green oily ooze coming out of an electrical outlet on and off for the last two years. Changing the outlet didn't stop it. Another has green deposits at the outlet every time she uses he...
How do you remove the special hose bib valve that is on the bottom of the hot water tank?
First I should answer the question as to whether it will fall out if it is unscrewed too far. The answer is NO. After 4 turns to open it, it will just spin around without moving further out while the "O" ri...
One of our viewers suggested using a hair dryer to soften the glue on labels that you find on appliances and other products. It actually works -- just be careful not to scorch the product or peel any paint. Vegetable oil will soak labels off without any risk of damage to the surface below, but ...
"How can I paint my concrete floor when there's white powder on it?"
White powder is salt deposits called efflorescence that is there because high quantities of moisture are migrating through the floor. You need to solve the water problem first or no paint will stick. So find out why there is wa...
(See non-toxic cleaners in the last paragraph, and Do Rust Cleaners Work?)
RUST ON RUGS
There has always been one basic chemical available for getting rust off about anything and that was Oxalic Acid. That was the active ingredient in the old petroleum jelly that we used to clean the rust off o...
Oscillating Tools