Show Notes
Today, get advice on summertime safety and comfort, including how to beat the summer heat with no-cost to low-cost tips to stay cool, protecting your home from summer roof damage with a DIY roof inspection, and guarding against home burglaries while you’re away on summer vacation. Plus, we’ve got more answers to home improvement questions so you can get your projects done right!
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Home Security: Lock down peace of mind with these steps to secure your home against break-ins.
- Cooling Tips: Get low-cost and no-cost tips for keeping your home cool and comfortable.
- Roof Inspection: Stop leaks before they happen with a DIY roof inspection.
Top Questions & Answers
- Cleaning Brick: Gail wants to clean mortar off her exterior brick. We explain how to carefully use a wire brush or a drill attachment without damaging the brick.
- Deck Stain: The stain is wearing off on John’s deck planks and rails. He gets tips for prepping the surface and using a solid color deck stain that will last longer.
- Cleaning with Pets: Is there a solution for pet hair that gets all over? David needs to brush his dog often to remove the undercoat of hair and look for a powerful vacuum.
- Popcorn Ceiling: How can you clean a popcorn ceiling? You can’t, but Margaret finds out how to carefully remove the popcorn ceiling and paint it over.
- Bathroom Venting: Butch’s bathroom fan vents directly into the attic. We explain how to vent it outside through the siding or up through the roof.
- Chimney Repair: Lisa’s two chimneys were repaired and repointed, but should they be sealed, too? It’s probably not necessary if there are no leaks.
- Water Seepage: Water is coming into the garage from an uphill property. Butch gets advice on installing a curtain drain to divert the water.
- HVAC Leak: Leah has to keep boosting the Freon that leaks from her A/C unit. If she can’t find the source of the leak, she’ll need to consider replacing the system.
Ask Your Home Improvement Question
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 00:00:53 | TOM: For the days ahead, give us a call. We’d love to hear what’s going on. What are you working on? What are you updating? What are you improving? Are you working inside? Are you working outside? Tell us your home improvement story. We’d love to hear it. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit, 888-666-3974. You can also go online to moneypit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button whether you’re on your iPhone, your Android, or your laptop. You can go there and actually ask your question. Right then and there. And that message will come right to us and we’ll get you in line for an answer. And that’s really the fastest way to get answers to your questions. So reach out to us any way you prefer. We’d love to hear from you. Coming up on today’s show, we’re going to talk about staying cool in the summer. It’s not always easy to do. But whether your home has a complete central air conditioning system or just a window fan, we’ve got low cost to no cost tips to help you stay comfortable. |
| 00:01:48 | LESLIE: And summer is a season when roofs can really get dried out. And if they do, they’re going to form cracks. And you know what that means. A leak is not going to be far behind. That’s why now is the perfect time for a roof inspection. We’re going to explain how you can do your own. And of course, then head off any leak trouble. |
| 00:02:05 | TOM: Plus, July and August are the top months for home burglaries. We’re going to share tips specifically for do-it-yourselfers to protect your home from break-ins. |
| 00:02:14 | LESLIE: But first, we want to know what you want to know. It’s our job, our mission to educate, inspire, and help you build confidence on all the things you do. All of those projects that you want to get done. |
| 00:02:25 | TOM: But your job is to help yourself first by reaching to us with your questions. The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit or just go to moneypit.com slash ask. Let’s get to it. |
| 00:02:35 | LESLIE: Heading out to Idaho, Gail’s got an issue with some stains on some brick. What’s going on over there? |
| 00:02:41 | CALLER: I have a question about removing mortar splash stains from exterior brick and whether I could damage it by using maybe a metal brush and drill. So I don’t have to scrub so hard. With a regular brush. |
| 00:02:56 | TOM: Now anytime you get a stain on brick, it’s really difficult get it off because brick is so absorbative. Now with this mortar splash that’s gotten on there. I think what I would do first. Because brick’s also a bit soft. www.audio.com www.audio.com |
| 00:04:11 | CALLER: www.audio.com |
| 00:04:41 | TOM: www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com |
| 00:06:23 | LESLIE: www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com www.audio.com |
| 00:06:42 | CALLER: Audio is a production of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, a Washington, D.C.-based Do you guys have any secret recipes that I can utilize to help me solve this problem? |
| 00:07:18 | TOM: I don’t think I have a good solution for shedding dogs. |
| 00:07:21 | LESLIE: I mean, the only issue outside of vacuuming is, are you brushing your dog? They make certain brushes that help you get to the undercoat so that you’ll remove the hair before the dog actually has a chance to shed it. So if you’re actually on top of the brushing, that might cut down on the shedding. |
| 00:07:38 | CALLER: I, you know, fortunately she has, she’s a makeshift lab interior, so she’s got very short hair. But to your point, Leslie, I haven’t done that. I just assumed that, you know, that it would take care of itself, but apparently it hasn’t. |
| 00:07:53 | LESLIE: Well, it is. It’s taking care of itself. It’s just not in a way that you like. It’s a special brush that allows you to get to the undercoats. And certain times of year, a dog is going to shed more than other times of year. They get like that second layer of fur in the winter months. So it’s, you know, maybe you don’t have to brush every day. Okay. But I would start with that and see if you can make any progress that way. |
| 00:08:12 | TOM: And also, if the only way you can get this dog hair up is with a shop vac, you might want to think about getting a better vacuum. I’ll share with you that I know both Leslie and I have the same vacuum because she recommended it to me. And that’s a Miele. |
| 00:08:23 | LESLIE: It’s amazing. |
| 00:08:24 | TOM: It really works well. It’s very light, but super powerful. And it does a great job picking up the dog hair around our house. I’ll tell you that. |
| 00:08:30 | CALLER: Well, that’s wonderful. Thank you. I should have thought about that, but I just assumed. Anyway, thank you so very much. |
| 00:08:35 | TOM: You’re welcome, Dave. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. |
| 00:08:39 | CALLER: Margaret, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today? Yes. I’d like to know what I can do about my popcorn ceilings. They’re getting dirty. They’re 20 years old. |
| 00:08:49 | LESLIE: Well, there’s a couple of solutions. Do you like them and want to keep them, or you just want them to not look so dingy? |
| 00:08:54 | CALLER: I would not rather. I would not like to keep them no more. |
| 00:08:58 | LESLIE: All right. Well, generally with popcorn ceiling, if it’s truly a popcorn ceiling and not like a texturized stucco, what you can do to remove it is you’re going to have to get a new one. You can get one of those garden sprayers or those light-duty paint sprayers, put water in it, and you spray the ceiling to sort of saturate the popcorn, and then you take a wide spackle blade, as wide as one you can find, and you sort of gently start peeling away at the popcorn ceiling, at the popcorn texture, I should say, from the ceiling. That generally does a pretty good job because if you’ve ever tried to paint it, if you don’t have the right roller, when it gets wet, it starts to peel away from the ceiling. So, by getting it wet, you’re being able to remove it. You just want to make sure with your blade or your scraper that you’re not digging into the drywall below it because, keep in mind, whatever’s left underneath there is what you’re going to paint and then see. Okay. |
| 00:09:49 | CALLER: How do I go about cleaning if I decide to just go ahead and keep this? |
| 00:09:54 | LESLIE: Well, you wouldn’t clean it. You would paint over it. |
| 00:09:56 | CALLER: Oh, no. No. Yeah. |
| 00:09:57 | TOM: There’s actually a special roller for that. It’s like a slitted roller. It’s a very thick roller that’s got slits in it. It’s designed to… It’s designed to squeeze the paint into that popcorn area and that’s exactly what I would do with it. I would paint it. It’s going to look a lot better than cleaning it. You just can’t clean that stuff. There’s nothing cleanable about a popcorn ceiling. You got to paint over it. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-PitT. Well, whether your home has a complete central air conditioning system or perhaps just a window fan, staying cool doesn’t have to cost a bunch of money. So, we put together some low-cost to no-cost tips to help you stay comfortable. Yeah. |
| 00:10:33 | LESLIE: First of all, let’s talk about inefficient windows. Now, roughly 40% of the unwanted heat that builds up in your home comes through your windows. You can update those with double-paned glass windows with low E glass. Now, that E stands for emissivity and that’s what stands between you and lots of heat-producing ultraviolet radiation that drives up those cooling bills. |
| 00:10:54 | TOM: Next, avoid humidity. Right? You probably heard it a million times. It’s not the heat. It’s the humidity. But did you know that there’s actually something you can do about it? You can do it. If you consider installing a whole-home dehumidifier. Now, this removes the proper amount of moisture from your home and as a result, it keeps you comfortable while preserving your home. These things can take out 90 pints of water a day. So it does really a huge job in terms of reducing that humidity and making you feel a lot more comfortable. |
| 00:11:21 | LESLIE: Now, let’s also talk about your landscaping. If you carefully position some shade trees, that can definitely help you stay cool during the summer and save you up to 25% of your household’s energy consumption for both heat, heating, and cooling. Now, on average, a well-designed landscape is going to provide enough energy savings to return your initial investment on that landscaping in less than eight years. |
| 00:11:43 | TOM: Now, along with landscaping, let’s talk about grading. Just like the landscaping issues, if your house is not grading properly, you’re definitely going to be uncomfortable because homes stay cooler in the summer if the outside drainage conditions are maintained. Poor drainage can lead to higher moisture levels inside the house, which are uncomfortable and also unhealthy. |
| 00:12:02 | LESLIE: Now, here’s an example. There are some free things you can do. Besides those low-cost tips, there really are some things that you can do that don’t cost anything. You can work at night, not seriously you, but think about the things in your home that produce heat, the dryer, the dishwasher, that kind of things. Do those things in the night when it’s already cooler outside. If you’ve got storm windows, close them. I mean, truly, they do make a difference in sort of filtering out what can get through your windows. So if you have central AC or in a room where you’re running window units, definitely close the storm windows. |
| 00:12:34 | TOM: And lastly, let’s talk about ceiling fans. Now, most ceiling fans are reversible. You really want to take advantage of that. The ceiling fan direction in summer should be counterclockwise. This creates a downdraft, which creates a direct cooling breeze. Now, in winter, the fan needs to be clockwise, and that creates an updraft and circulates warm air around the room. Now, if you’re looking for that switch to do that, it’s usually a little switch, sort of like a sliding switch on the side of the monitor. So find it and switch it so it should be counterclockwise in summer and clockwise in the winter. |
| 00:13:10 | LESLIE: Butch in Texas is on the line right now with the Money Pit and has a question about bathroom venting. What’s going on? |
| 00:13:15 | CALLER: I listen to you guys every week, and you solve a lot of my problems that I had with my Money Pit, just listening. |
| 00:13:24 | CALLER: Well, we’re glad we could help you out. What’s going on with this bathroom? |
| 00:13:28 | CALLER: I am getting ready to put the home on the market, and I had a home inspector come out and he noted that the bathroom off the kitchen fits directly into the attic. Okay. |
| 00:13:43 | TOM: So are we talking about the plumbing vent pipe, or are we talking about the bathroom fan? |
| 00:13:49 | CALLER: The bathroom fan. Okay. And he said that that needed to go directly to the outside if I were able to run… Okay. … some flex pipe like you would put on a dryer and vent it out directly to the wind turbine, or do I need to have someone come out and cut a hole in the roof and vent it that way? |
| 00:14:18 | TOM: So first of all, that wind turbine that you’re describing is not a very good attic vent. They’re famously ineffective. They look great because they spin, they make noise, but they don’t really do a great job venting the attic. So I certainly wouldn’t just position… Okay. … an exhaust duct near that. The best way to vent this would be to go to the nearest exterior wall. So if this is like a traditional gable roof, you can use that triangle-shaped sort of end wall of the roof structure and then have it vented out right through the siding. There is a piece of venting material that’s designed to go in the wall and not leak. There’s also a vent that’s designed for a roof, so you can either have one put in the roof or have one put in the side wall. Okay. And that’s really the best way to do that. The other thing that you can possibly do, and some people do this, although I’m not a big fan of it, if you happen to have large soffit vents, you could take that duct and run it over towards the soffit, just sort of point it down towards the vent. But the problem is that if you get a lot of moisture and humidity, especially in the winter, you’re going to get a lot of condensation on the wood right above it, and that can cause rot. So the best option is to take it right out through the side wall or through the roof. But as to the idea of just sort of leaving it dangling near that triangle or something, if you have a turbine vent, I don’t think that’s going to work very well. |
| 00:15:36 | CALLER: Okay. I looked at my local home improvement store, and they had some of the flex venting units, but it said that they were not made to run more than like 30 feet maximum. |
| 00:15:51 | TOM: Well, how many feet do you have to go? I mean, that’s pretty far. |
| 00:15:54 | CALLER: Well, unfortunately, to take it to the end gable on the roof where, you know, there’s how they traditionally, at each end of the roof, there’s… |
| 00:16:08 | TOM: A vent. Yeah. There’s a vent. Right. |
| 00:16:10 | CALLER: That’s about 40 feet away. |
| 00:16:12 | TOM: Both ways? So your house is 80 feet long? |
| 00:16:15 | CALLER: It’s off the kitchen, so it’s about 40 feet from… |
| 00:16:19 | TOM: Well, look, then I don’t think that’s a good option. I think you should go up through the roof. All right. And have a roof vent put in to exhaust the dryer duct. They make them. It’s a certain configuration of vent. And then what I would use is metal flex duct. Or you could use solid duct too. You know, you don’t have to use flex duct. And I guess if you did want to go out to that gable, you could use solid duct too. Now, you can buy that. It actually is sold flat in sections that are about six feet long, and then it rolls and locks together and becomes a round duct. And you can connect those, several of those together and have a long straight run of metal duct. Okay. |
| 00:16:55 | CALLER: So that would vent the bathroom. Correct. Okay. Super. |
| 00:17:00 | TOM: That’s the worst thing a home inspector found. By the way, good idea having that house inspected before you put it on the roof. You don’t want to put it on the market because this way, you know what you have to deal with the four buyers involved. So good idea doing that. And if this is the worst problem they found, I think your house is in pretty good shape. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Thank you both so much. |
| 00:17:19 | LESLIE: Lisa from Delaware is on the line with a chimney question. Lisa, what can we do for you today? I have two chimneys. |
| 00:17:24 | CALLER: One is a brick chimney and the other one was a stucco chimney. I recently had them both repaired. The brick chimney needed to be repointed. And above the brick chimney, underneath the stainless steel cap, I guess, I don’t know if it’s cement or mortar, but that was all cracked. And in the winter, the ice would form between the cracks. So anyway, I had that repaired. The other chimney that was stucco had a hairline crack in it. And they suggested restuccoing the chimney and stippling it, which is like a popcorn ceiling type of an effect. So all that was done. Now, they told me, wait about six months and then I should have it sealed to protect it. Now, it’s $75 a chimney to get it sealed. |
| 00:18:17 | TOM: So what they’re talking about is a masonry sealer. And you probably don’t need this. It’s not like you need it to protect it. Usually, you put sealers on if you’re concerned about leaks. But if you are going to put a sealer on it, they’re silicone-based. And you have to make sure that you use one that’s vapor permeable. Some of the older sealers don’t do that. Some of the older sealer products out there are not vapor permeable. And that means that moisture gets in, it gets trapped under the surface of the concrete, and then it’ll freeze and spall or crack. And that could actually accelerate the deterioration of the chimney itself. So if you use a good quality silicone sealer that’s vapor permeable, it can slow the absorption of moisture into the chimney. But I’m just not sure you need it. The kinds of things that you’re talking about doing, except for the total restuccoing of the chimney, I don’t know if I would have gone that far. Just to repair a crack. But the other things that you’re talking about are all entirely expected. Having to repoint some mortar, having to repair a cracked chimney cap, a concrete cap around the chimney. Those are all normal. I don’t necessarily think that putting a sealer on it is going to have that much of a major effect of slowing down any further deterioration. I think it’s just sort of wear and tear. Okay. |
| 00:19:28 | CALLER: And so if it’s not vapor permeable, it could even harm it. |
| 00:19:31 | TOM: That’s correct. Exactly right, Lisa. |
| 00:19:33 | CALLER: So I should ask the mason then if it’s, you know, but he could tell me anything. He could say, yeah, it is. |
| 00:19:39 | TOM: Well, it’s very easy. Find out what product he’s using and go look up the product online and read about it. But you’re saying really it’s probably not worth it. I don’t know that it’s totally necessary. Unless the chimneys are leaking, I probably wouldn’t do it. Okay. Thank you very much. All right. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit. Well, summer’s a season when roofs can get really dried out, and if they form cracks, leaks will not be far behind. That’s why now is the perfect time for a roof inspection. We’re going to share how to do just that in today’s roof review tip presented by Roof Maxx. |
| 00:20:13 | LESLIE: Well, the average roof leak does take up to two years to show up inside your home as a stain. I mean, that’s a long time for water damage to be happening. If you use a pro to inspect your roof once a year, that really is the best way to spot problems early. However, there are plenty of things that you can do yourself to identify signs of roof leaks. |
| 00:20:33 | TOM: So start inside by checking the ceilings on upper floors for any stains or other signs of leaks. You also want to pay special attention to the leaks above bathrooms and kitchens. Here’s why. The plumbing vents pass through the roof above these rooms, and they often break down, causing leaks. There’s a rubber gasket around a plumbing vent, and that will break down. So when it happens, you should replace the gasket. And also, check for leaks above fireplaces. Another spot where loose flashing can allow damage. |
| 00:21:02 | LESLIE: Now, next, you want to head outside and examine your roof from the ground. You can use binoculars or even a camera that has a zoom lens. And you want to look for loose or missing shingles, as well as loose flashing around your chimney, pipes, even where the walls and roofing kind of come together. All these valleys and areas where these two sections meet. Now, if you spot any problem areas, it’s a lot easier to get those minor problems fixed now before they become those major leaks later. |
| 00:21:30 | TOM: And that’s today’s roof review tip. Thanks for watching. Presented by Roof Maxx. A Roof Maxx treatment restores flexibility and waterproofing protection of aging asphalt shingle roofs, extending its life by as much as 15 years. Roof Maxx treatments come with a five-year flexibility guarantee and is purchased through a nationwide network of factory-trained and certified dealers who also apply the treatment. And right now, they’re offering a free tune-up that’s completed prior to applying the treatment. They’ll fix nail pops, loose flashing, seal cracks, seal-exposed nails. It’s an 850-day warranty. It’s a $159 value. So to learn more and find a dealer near you, go to Roof Maxxx.com. That’s Roof, M-A-X-X, dot com. |
| 00:22:10 | LESLIE: Now we’re heading to Arkansas with Butch on the line. What is going on at your money pit? |
| 00:22:15 | CALLER: Hi, guys. Yeah, I’ve got some water that’s coming into my garage and we bought this house about four years ago. |
| 00:22:23 | TOM: And this wasn’t a planned water feature, huh? No, no, unfortunately not. |
| 00:22:28 | CALLER: In fact, I did two things wrong. I added a parking pad. I added a parking pad to the double-wide driveway and ruined the sprinkler system in the process, but that’s not where the water’s coming from. But I think it’s my uphill neighbors, you know, flows down and I think the water is coming down from some of that and then a little bit of it’s getting into the garage. And I’m not sure with all that now parking area, I don’t know that I can divert it, but I didn’t know if they made something like a weather strip for the garage floor door that you could glue down just to keep it from coming in. |
| 00:23:12 | TOM: Yeah. |
| 00:23:12 | CALLER: It’s not a lot, but yeah. Right. |
| 00:23:14 | TOM: Yeah, I mean, there are those products. There are kind of like saddles for the garage floor and for the bottom of the door, but they’re not made to hold back much water. If you’ve got a steady stream that’s coming downhill or running down the driveway, the only way to really permanently deal with that. Yeah. Is to put in a driveway drain or a curtain drain. Basically, it’s sort of like a narrow trough that gets cut into the driveway all across the front apron of the garage and the idea is that the water falls into that, collects and then runs out the end. You pitch them and you can hook up drains to them depending on how the yard is basically set up. But you’ve got to move the water from in front of the garage to behind it so it doesn’t go through the garage on its way to dissipation, if that makes sense. |
| 00:24:01 | CALLER: Yeah, and the problem is it’s coming down almost parallel to the garage door, but obviously a little bit, you know, and in a heavy rain, we’ll get a three or four foot puddle in the middle of the garage. |
| 00:24:15 | TOM: Yeah, that’s not good. Well, here’s what you want to do is put in a drain across the front of the garage and also if it’s coming sort of pointing towards the side, you could put a curtain drain in there. There’s a material for embedding in the soil called Easy Drain, which is kind of like a drain with aggregate sort of built into it. It’s got like a foam, kind of looks like styrofoam peanuts that stick to the pipe and it’s surrounded by a filter cloth. Yeah. Right. So you drop it in place after you build your trench and then that fills up and runs the water away. And then for the area right in front of that garage, again, that you would have to actually put an apron in for a curtain drain right in front of that apron, which is a different type of drainage sort of assembly. You’ll have to order it and then you drop it in place there and you’ll probably could have them both tied together so the water runs through one pipe. Right. And then discharge it wherever you can. Right. So depending on how your yard is set up there, get it, you know, get it down past where it’s back into the car, into the garage and then let it out to daylight there. Excellent. Well, thank you. Yeah, you’re welcome, Butch. Thanks for listening and good luck with that project. Sure. Bye now. |
| 00:25:16 | LESLIE: Leah from California is on the line with a question about an AC Freon leak. What’s going on, Leah? |
| 00:25:22 | CALLER: My dad has a home and he had paid a gentleman to replace his air conditioner slash heating unit. So he has the one unit outside and then there’s the unit on the inside that has like the heating coil, I believe it is. Basically, the unit’s been leaking Freon for the last three to four years and the guy came and rejacked it up two times and it’s the R22 so it’s a bad time. We keep getting mixed information regarding how dangerous that Freon leak is and if it’s something that you need to be concerned with as far as having his ducting cleaned out or if just getting the machine repaired itself will be sufficient. |
| 00:25:59 | TOM: So this sounds like a split ductless system where you have a compressor outside and you have like an air handler mounted on the wall inside. I can tell you, Leah, that both Leslie and I have split ductless systems in our home. We think the technology is really good. It’s really solid. Unfortunately, in your case or in your dad’s case, it sounds like this refrigerant leak, the Freon leak, has not been actually identified. So we know it exists because you lose Freon. But we don’t know why it exists or where it exists. And so the focus really should be here on finding that spot and testing the whole system for that leak because if we can identify where it’s leaking, then you can fix it. The solution is not to just keep putting more in it. And yes, it is an antiquated refrigerant and it is changing now. I’m sure that continued exposure to it’s not a good thing, although it’s probably a fairly small amount. And in most cases, this stuff will. Yeah. It will evaporate out very slowly over time. So I don’t think it’s a huge exposure, but certainly any exposure is not good. And I think if you can focus on identifying the source of the leak and not just keep putting more in, then I think you get a chance of getting it fixed. The fact that it’s using Freon over a more modern refrigerant is not a problem. Most older systems do. And yeah, we are changing over to better refrigerants now, but it’s not a reason in and of itself to replace the entire system. If you can’t identify the source of the leak, then you got to make a decision as to whether or not you do want to replace it because I don’t see any other sort of half measure that you could take. I hope that makes sense. Thanks so much for giving us a call at The Money Pit. |
| 00:27:41 | LESLIE: Well, did you know that the top two months for residential break-ins are July and August? Now here’s a common mistake that many DIYers make, and it can actually make your home a lot more likely to be broken into. And it’s this. They leave the tools around. Right outside. I mean, think about it. You put a tool outside, you leave it there, and a burglar’s like, ooh, look at this. I can use this to get right in. Hammers, screwdrivers, saws. Heck, you leave a ladder outside and you’ve got a window open on the second story and you’re away for the weekend and somebody’s like, ooh, right away, I can get right into your house. |
| 00:28:18 | TOM: It’s like handing them the keys, right? Seriously. Listen, guys. After your projects are done for the day, make sure the tools get back into the shed. Make sure they’re in the garage promptly and that those buildings are also locked down. You’ll be surprised to learn how many break-ins happen just because of an easy opportunity. So don’t give them one. Don’t leave that ladder leaning against the house saying, come to my house, break through my windows, steal me, steal me. Just a really bad idea. Take it down, put it away. Even if you’re going to use it the next day, it’s not worth taking a chance. |
| 00:28:48 | LESLIE: Mike wrote in saying, I’m having a hard time installing a dryer vent tube, the inlet outlet won’t line up. And I end up squishing that vent tube up against the wall and I know this is restricting airflow. There’s got to be a better way. What products, methods can you recommend? |
| 00:29:03 | TOM: Well, you’re right, Mike. Getting the dryer vent connection right is much more important than most people know and for several reasons. First off, it’s important for safety because dirty dryer ducts are a leading cause of house fires. Plus, the longer the dryer has to work to vent that moisture, the more energy it burns up in the process, not to mention all that increased wear and tear on the clothes as they tumble around. So it sounds like you’ve tried the very straightforward approach of snaking the vent behind the machine. But the key here is, as you’ve learned, you’ve got to do this without crushing the vent. Every time you have a 90 degree turn, that is the same resistance as 20 additional feet of duct run. So here’s a couple of ideas. You can reroute the dryer exhaust duct inside your house to another exterior wall. So you want to make that as short a run as possible. You can also modify the dryer because sometimes you can bring the dryer duct out the other side. And you should also replace the flex duct with solid ducting. There is solid ducting out there for every possible configuration, including that very tight space between the dryer and the wall. If you get that venting right, clothes are going to dry quick and the dryer will be safe as a result. |
| 00:30:09 | LESLIE: Yeah, Mike. Do it right. Do it once. |
| 00:30:11 | TOM: Well, after a couple of months of heavy grilling, your gas grill might be ready for an extreme makeover of its own. Leslie shares tips for a mid-season grill cleaning in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. Leslie, take it away. Yeah. |
| 00:30:24 | LESLIE: You know, that same char-broiling grill action that flavors those ribs and chicken and steaks and all those yummy burgers throughout the whole summer can really start to cause problems if you don’t take a minute and do a thorough grill cleaning every once in a while. So here’s what you got to do. First of all, you want to soak the grids in hot, soapy water because soaking them will definitely break up all of that baked on, caked on yuck. And then clean them with a nylon scrubbing pad. If the grills are really encrusted, you can use an oven. You don’t want to do that. You want to use an oven cleaner in a well-ventilated area and then rinse clean. Next, you want to remove the lava rock or the ceramic briquettes and clean them with a wire brush and replace any that are deteriorated. Then go ahead and remove the burner. Brush it clean. Check carefully for cracks. Look for split seams. Any holes. If you find any, you want to replace that burner immediately. And the last step here is to check all of the rubber gas hoses for cracks and replace any that show even the slightest sign of wear and tear. And once that grill cleaning is complete, you’re ready to put everything back together. Check all the gas connections for leaks. To safely do this, you want to mix a solution of 50% liquid dishwashing soap and water and kind of brush that solution on all of the gas connections. And then see if you notice any bubbling. If there are there, that means that connection is leaking and you should fix it before you fire up that grill. It’s a lot of work. I’m serious. If you don’t stay on top of this and you’ve got a really big cleaning, it can be a while. But if you want to fix it before you fire up that grill, it’s a lot of work. But the benefits of it are fantastic, and it’s going to make that grill last a lot longer. |
| 00:31:57 | TOM: You know, Leslie, we have a grill, not a particularly fancy grill, but we like it. And I’ve actually replaced the guts on that twice. New burners, new hoses, the works. There are sites online that sell these for every possible manufacturer of grills out there. And it was great because now I had fresh new burners. I had fresh new grates. Everything I needed was new, new, new. There’s no reason to buy a new grill. We’ve been able to keep using the one that we have. So when you start coming up with a new grill, you’re ready to go. Start cleaning these things. If you find cracks, take that burner out. Just replace it. It’s easy to do. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Coming up next time on the program, summer marks the riskiest time of year for pool drownings, which is actually the leading cause of death to young children. So we’re going to share the best way to back up parental supervision and keep kids safe. It’s a pool safety approach called layers of protection, and we’ll share the details for the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 00:32:52 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 00:32:53 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 00:32:55 | LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone. |
| (Note: The above referenced transcript is AI-Generated, Unedited and Unproofed and as such may not accurately reflect the recorded audio. Copyright 2024 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.) |
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