#2446 – Rest Easy: How to Detox Your Mattress | Picking Paint Colors | Refinishing Hardwood Floors

Show Notes

Today, get advice on selecting the perfect paint colors, when to call in the pros for hardwood floor refinishing, and how to detox your mattress for a healthier sleep. Plus, we’re here to answer home improvement questions with helpful tips to help you tackle your projects like a pro!

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Podcast Transcript

Mattress Care: Get tips on detoxing your mattress to avoid sleeping on a bed of bacteria.
Paint Colors: Color your world by picking the right paint color for every project.
Hardwood Floors: Know when to step aside and let a professional refinish your hardwood floors.

Ask Your Home Improvement Question

Do you have a home improvement or decor question? Call the show 24/7 at 888-MONEY-PIT (888-666-3974) or post your question here.

Podcast Transcript

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00:00:32	TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
00:00:38	TOM: And we are here to help you take on the projects that you want to get done around your house. It’s starting to get cooler out, winter’s on the way, fall is almost here. So time to start thinking about your heating systems, your insulation, and anything that you want to do to extend life outdoors. Maybe you want to talk about putting in a patio heater or a fire pit. All great reasons to reach out to us with your questions. You do that by calling us at 1-888-Money-Pit or just go to moneypit.com slash ask and click the blue microphone button. You can record your question. You can record it twice. You can get it just right. And then you can send it over to us. For the quickest possible response. That number, again, is 1-888-Money-Pit or moneypit.com slash ask. Coming up on today’s show, painting is the easiest and least expensive way to completely change the look of a room. But unfortunately, many DIYers really struggle when it comes to selecting the best color for their project. So we’re going to share some simple tips to help you nail down the perfect color for your project every time.
00:01:44	LESLIE: And hardwood floors are one of the most desirable floors around for both the living room and the living room. So we’re going to share some simple tips to help you nail down the perfect color for your project. durability and the value that they add to your home. But the finishes do wear and they need to be replaced. A big project that might be best left to a pro. We’re going to have tips on how to best get
00:01:59	TOM: that project done. And every night, are you laying your head down on a bed of bacteria? Well, you could be. We’re going to have tips to help you detox your mattress and keep it clean and you
00:02:10	LESLIE: healthy. But first, we need to know what you need to know and how can we help you with all of those projects. Perhaps you’re kind of stuck and don’t know where to start. So we’re going to share some tips to help you start on something that you’ve been thinking about tackling. Or maybe you’re just too shy to pick up the phone and give us a call. Well, send us an email, shoot us a text, whatever it is. We want to lend you a hand. So tell us all about your projects so we can help you get that done.
00:02:31	TOM: Let’s get started. That number again is 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Leslie, who’s first?
00:02:40	LESLIE: Hi, Fred. Welcome to the Money Pit. How can we help you today?
00:02:42	CALLER: I have a standard toilet. The house was built in 29, so it’s, what, 80 years old. It’s the type where the tank hangs on the wall and then you have an L and then you have, I guess, what do you call it, the bowl. And it started to leak. And so, you know, the old metal was pretty corroded and everything. So we took everything out. We took the tank off the wall. I say we, the plumber, who I’ve been using for many years, cleaned everything up. I went to the hardware store that handles these kind of fittings. And we just cannot get this thing to
00:03:16	TOM: work. It leaks. Where does it leak? Does it leak at the, where at the base of the tank where the
00:03:21	CALLER: pipe connects? In both, yeah. Well, one time we did it, it leaked at the bottom of the tank. The
00:03:26	TOM: other time it leaked when it went into the bowl. What kind of a washer are you using? What kind
00:03:30	CALLER: of a gasket or seal are you using in those two places? Well, I don’t know the technical names of them. You know, the guy at the, they look like the same stuff we took off. You know, I’m
00:03:41	TOM: a musician. I don’t, I’m not helpful in these things. Well, this shouldn’t be that hard to accomplish. And it sounds like whatever they’re using in that gasket space right there is not working. And look, if all else fails, you can simply use silicone here. You could apply the silicone in, as you put this together, you could, you seal all of those joints with silicone, let it dry. Try not to touch it until it dries. And then you can take a razor blade and cut off the
00:04:07	CALLER: excess nice and neat and essentially make your own gasket. Yeah. The plumber mentioned something. He said, the only thing is if that thing fails and I’m not home, I’m going to have a house full of
00:04:15	TOM: water. That’s true. But the thing is it, if it, once it works, it usually works, you know, continuously. It’s not, it doesn’t usually fail. If you get it right, it’s not going to fail. Okay.
00:04:26	CALLER: So in other words, unless I can see some chips or damage on the porcelain or something like that,
00:04:32	TOM: which I don’t see, it should work. But I would take it apart and I would seal with silicone each connection as it goes together so that you end up with a good compression of silicone around that. That’s the solution. Okay. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:04:48	LESLIE: Mary in Illinois is on the line with a painting question. How can we help you today?
00:04:52	CALLER: I want to paint a fireplace. It’s brick. And just want to know if there’s a, if you can do that, first of all, if there’s a certain kind of paint you need to use.
00:05:02	LESLIE: Has it been painted before or is it natural brick?
00:05:05	CALLER: No, it’s a natural brick, original brick.
00:05:09	TOM: Well, you certainly can paint it. But I would like to know if you can paint it. I would think very carefully before you do this, because once you paint, you have to repaint eventually. And fireplaces tend to get very dirty and very smoky and they’re hard to keep clean. If it’s just the color that you don’t like, there may be some ways to sort of decorate around that color. But I would really hesitate to tell you to paint it. We get a lot of calls from folks that are not happy with painted fireplaces. They want to know how to do the exact opposite, which is get the paint off. And once you paint, it’s just really hard to do that.
00:05:38	CALLER: Okay. I was kind of worried about whether it would peel or… Or when you say you just have to keep repainting because of…
00:05:46	LESLIE: Well, paint over time is going to crack and dry out and it will get so dirty just from the exhaust and the use of the fireplace that you’ll get sort of that haze around the upper portion of it, regardless of what type of screen you have. Now, the other thing to keep in mind is that since this will be its first time being painted, the brick is so porous that you’re going to put a lot of time into priming because it’s just going to absorb. It’s going to absorb all of that primer. And you want to get a good quality primer. You want to make sure that you brush in the grout lines, roll on the surfaces of the brick, brush again. So it’s a lot of steps. It can be done. But as Tom said, if you want to take that paint off, it’s now a chemical stripper. And because that brick is so porous, it’s going to have sucked in all of that color. And so it’ll never get back to that original brick look again. It’ll have that sort of hue of whatever color it was.
00:06:37	CALLER: Okay. Okay. Great. Well, thank you for your help. I appreciate it.
00:06:40	TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:06:44	LESLIE: Heading over to Connecticut where we’ve got Steve on the line. Steve, what are you working on at your money pit?
00:06:48	CALLER: I have a bluestone front stoop that measures 10 feet by 5 feet, made up of various size rectangular slabs. The grout in between the slabs is crumbling and needs to be replaced. It’s 14 years old. The gaps between the bluestone slabs are between a quarter and one inch wide. So looking for some guidance with removing the grout without damaging the slabs, a recommended grout replacement, and how to apply the grout. Do I need to mask the slabs, use a piping bag, a grout float? How would I remove excess grout from the bluestone, etc.? Also, the mason who installed the stoop said to use muriatic acid to clean the slabs. Wondering if you recommend this method, or is there a safer alternative?
00:07:26	TOM: Hey Steve, well that’s quite a project you’ve got underway there. So as to your first question, how do you remove the existing grout that’s between the pieces of flagstone, you’re going to have to chisel those out with a cold chisel. And you want to try to get as much of it out as you can, and you want to try to keep it square to the slates. You don’t want to taper it down because it won’t hold when you go to put new stuff in. So you want to basically try to pull it all out. Once you get most of it out, use like a shop vac to actually vacuum out any loose pieces because that will weaken the mortar that you will put in next. Now in terms of the mortar, the type I would recommend is known as Type M, as in money pit, Type M. And that’s because that is one of the strongest mortars. I think it’s rated at about 2500 PSI. So that’s the mortar that you want to use. How do you apply it? Well, I would apply it with a piping bag, which is, Leslie, is that what they call the same mortar? The same bags you use to decorate cakes, piping bags.
00:08:27	LESLIE: Yeah, it’s like a sturdy bag that you fill up with icing, frosting, whatever. And then you put a tip in the end so that it either makes a shape or just puts it in a tube shape.
00:08:35	TOM: You can do a bunch of stuff with it. Right. So now you guys got the visual. But the piping bag here for mortar has got a big old hole at the end of it so you can squeeze the mortar out and press it into the groove. And then you’re going to use a trowel, a joint trowel, to press it down further. And sometimes you have to wait a little while for it to settle and start to dry. Sometimes I’ll take the back end of the trowel, the handle, and tap on it to push it down more. When it’s going through that process and after it’s settled down, the last thing you want to do is to dry brush it. So you take like a stiff paintbrush and you brush over the surface and that gives it a little bit of texture. And lastly, you asked about muriatic acid. So that’s not something you use willy-nilly, so to speak. It’s good for cleaning the slate if you happen to get excessive amounts of mortar on it. But it’s not something that you would use as a maintenance product. It’s really just to solve that problem. And if the stains have been on there for a long time, even then, it may not pull it out. It is a difficult product to use. You have to be very careful with it. It’s very corrosive. So you’ll need hand protection, eye protection, long sleeves, you know, all the normal protective pieces of clothing and gear that you would use when you’re handling caustic materials like that. But if you need it, you need it. You just don’t want to use too much of it. All right, so good luck with that project. It’s going to take up a couple of weekends, so take your time and do it right.
00:09:52	LESLIE: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show. Holy moly, you guys, it is September. I can’t believe it. Kids are back at school. We’re starting to feel a chill in the air. So whatever it is that you’ve got going on in these shorter days, cooler days, project ideas swirling around in your mind, let us help you tackle all of those fall home improvement projects. Hey, you want to support our podcast and help us grow? Well, go ahead and leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. And we’ll be forever grateful. Plus, you’ll be helping other homeowners discover our show. Just go to MoneyPit.com slash review. Heading out to Washington where we’ve got Lindsey on the line. Lindsey, you’ve got a question about siding. Welcome.
00:10:34	CALLER: I’m going about taking off our old growth yellow cedar shake on the siding of our house. And we’re taking it off, cleaning it. It’s in great shape. And we want to reinstall it. But we’re looking to replace it. We want to replace the house wrap paper that was on it behind. It just seems like it was some sort of roofing paper. And we’re wondering if there’s a better product to install behind the cedar shakes when we put them back on.
00:11:05	LESLIE: So, I mean, it seems like you want to take off the siding. I mean, Tom, is that really even necessary?
00:11:10	TOM: You know, I would never have thought of that. And I don’t think it’s necessary. If your goal here is simply to clean the cedar shakes, there’s much easier ways to do that than removing them. That’s going to be a big job. And I think it’s a job that you’re going to regret. Because even though they may look good from where you’re standing, you’re going to end up cracking a bunch of them. And you’re going to have all those extra holes in them when you put them back together. So, I don’t feel like it’s totally necessary for you to do that. What you could do is clean them with a good cleaner like Jomax, J-O-M-A-X, which is a product that you mix with bleach. Let it sit there for a while. And you hose it off. It does a really good job of cleaning mold, mildew, lichen, algae. Off of wood surfaces. Now, the paper that you mentioned is probably tar paper. I think you’re right. Underneath the cedar. That’s pretty typical based on, you know, the age of the house. I presume yours is older since the cedar shakes have already started to turn. And I don’t really feel like also, again, that it’s necessary that you replace that. If you do end up taking the cedar off, what I would replace it with is something called Tyvek. Which is a vapor permeable underlayment for the house. In other words, it breathes. And if the shakes are removed, there is another type of underlayment you can put under it. It’s called cedar breather. Now, this is about a quarter inch thick. And what it does is it keeps the cedar just about a quarter inch off of what will be the Tyvek. It allows air to get behind it. And then they can therefore dry much more easily. And because they can do that, they’ll be much less likely to develop any of that surface growth going forward. So, good luck with that project. Well, painting is the easiest way to change the house. It’s the easiest way to change the look of a room. But it’s still something a lot of us shy away from. And the reason is too much of a good thing. The colors available in the paint aisle of the local home center, hardware store, paint store, you name it. I mean, look, they can make your head spin. So, Leslie, any suggestions on how to deal with that? I know that when I go into the paint store, first of all, the lighting is always bad. It doesn’t look anything like the lighting in my house. And I’m trying to make a decision based on a little chip that is like, I don’t know, maybe an inch and a half square. And it really is difficult because it always looks different once you get it home.
00:13:22	LESLIE: Oh, yeah. And I mean, you’re right. It’s so small. It’s very difficult to kind of get a sense of what it’s going to look like on a big wall. I mean, taking sample chips when I was a kid was like my favorite crafting supply. I would go to the home center with my dad.
00:13:34	TOM: Why am I not surprised?
00:13:36	LESLIE: pick up every color under the sun and then I would like cut out shapes and glue them together and make fun things. But it’s so awesome because there are so many colors. And there’s so much inspiration out there. To find a color that’s going to work for your space. But it’s hard to kind of choose the right one. So let’s keep these things in mind. First of all, think about color trends. You know, every year, paint manufacturers and design groups name a color of the year. For 2024, Sherman Williams went with Upward, which they describe as a breezy, blissful blue. Benjamin Moore named Blue Nova. And both are softer blue neutrals. And Bayer actually named one this year that’s a red. It’s called Rumors. So it’s there. They’re kind of all over the place between different manufacturers. But it does give you a hint of what the trends are for that season. So take that with a grain of salt because, you know, you could love it or not.
00:14:24	TOM: So how much of choosing the color of the year is the naming, right? Rumor. Right. I mean, you say rumor. I have no idea what color that is.
00:14:31	LESLIE: Well, you know, I didn’t either until I saw it. It’s important to kind of think about what color is important to you and what is it bringing to the space. So it’s kind of interesting. You want to kind of think about a color scheme. And think about two different colors. Two colors that are going to work together. And you can go with opposite colors on a color wheel. They’re called complementary colors. You do see them on opposite sides from one another on that artist color wheel. For example, red and green might sound Christmassy. But think about it. If you paint your kitchen a sage green and your cabinets are a dark cherry which has a reddish hue, you’re using complementary colors without even thinking about it. So that’s a great way to do it. Another option is to use different hues of the same color. And you can also consider a neutral. That can be like a gray, a black, a white, a brown. And then pair that with a bright pop of color. So there’s lots of ways to bring in these two sort of color palettes to a space.
00:15:23	TOM: So what if you want to use it sort of strategically like maybe to highlight certain features or downplay others or make your room look bigger or make it look more cozy? How do we do that?
00:15:35	LESLIE: Yeah, I think it’s important to kind of use color effectively to transform that space. And you can do it by looking at the architectural features in the room. Think about molding, mantles. I put built-in bookcases in there, arched doorways, wainscoting, window trim, doors. All of this kind of offer an opportunity to add another layer of interest to those colored walls. Now, one nice technique is to paint a door and a window trim a darker or lighter shade of that same color that’s on the walls. And you can even play with the finish here. You can make that a semi-gloss or a high-gloss version of that wall color. And it’s really great because it kind of ties everything together. But also makes them stand out in a way even though they are the same tone. So there’s a lot of different things you can do. And you also want to try to use color in an unexpected way. For example, traditionally, wainscoting is white or off-white. But why not paint it a dark color to kind of anchor that room? I do love a shade of black on wainscoting and trim. It’s gorgeous.
00:16:31	TOM: Now, if you find a color that you really love, say you have a cushion or a drape or really anything at all, you can also use technology to nail that color. You can bring it to the home center and let the tech color match it. Paint mixing machines these days have the ability to sort of scan a desired color off of anything you bring to them and calculate the exact mix of components needed to make a perfect match. I had some fun with this once for a TV show I was doing. And I brought in a cantaloupe. I said, I want it to be this color. He’s looking at the outside. And I said, no, this color. I took a big knife and cut it in half. And the funny thing was they mixed up the perfect shade of color. And we put them side by side and they matched. That’s awesome. So it doesn’t matter what you want to match.
00:17:14	LESLIE: You know, the other interesting thing is if you see something, say there’s a logo for a company you like or something in an ad campaign, you can look up the Pantone number for that color. And a lot of the paint centers can make a formula out of the Pantone color numbers. So there’s so many ways if you have a color you love to get that as a paint.
00:17:32	TOM: That’s awesome.
00:17:33	LESLIE: Thanks so much for joining us on this September weekend. We are so close to fall. And I love it. It’s such a great time of year, all the colors and the scents. And it’s just leading up to all of the fun holiday decorating. That’s right. I’m looking forward to putting out that big skeleton. Come on, October 1st. So let us know what you are working on so we can lend a hand. All right. Now we’ve got a super awesome caller right now. We’ve got Paul on the line who gets to introduce us on PRO every Saturday night. Welcome. How can we help you?
00:18:03	CALLER: Oh, thanks, guys. Well, I’m trying to replace the heating system in my house. I’m going to a four-slot water system. And what I need to find out is how to determine how many feet of baseboard needs to go in each room. I’ve got fine line 30 from a house actually that came down and need to apportion it correctly in the house.
00:18:25	TOM: So calculating heat loss is as much as considering how the house is built as it is about how many BTUs you want to put out. You know, when you do a heat loss calculation, you measure the glass, you measure the insulation, obviously the square footage. All that goes into a program that determines how much heat you actually need to be comfortable in that house. When you get down to how am I going to proportion that throughout the rooms, all the major radiator manufacturers have calculators. Like SlantFin is, of course, one of the oldest and the best systems out there. And they have an app that is designed to help you calculate heat loss. And determine how many feet you need for each side of the house. So I think you’re going to need a lot of information about how the house is put together. And then you’ll be able to go to one of these apps and figure it out. There’s also heat loss calculator apps by themselves. But you really need to determine how many BTUs you need to provide in heat. And the only way you’ll do that is by calculating not only these lengths, but how well your house contains the heat, right? So if you have good modern insulation and tight thermal pane windows, you’re going to need less heat than if you didn’t have those things. Does that make sense?
00:19:38	CALLER: And the house was built in 1944. I bought it in 98. I did insulate it and replace the windows. So it’s better than it was, although it’s probably not perfect.
00:19:47	TOM: And insulation needs change over the years, too. So the first thing I would measure is insulation thickness. Because in Rhode Island, you’re going to definitely want like 15 to 20 inches of insulation. And it’s rare that you have that.
00:19:59	CALLER: No, the cavities aren’t that deep. So I’m sure I don’t.
00:20:04	TOM: So what you want to do then is you want to insulate on top of the cavities. Put another layer of insulation, unfaced fiberglass. You can lay it perpendicular to the floor joists on top of it. Of course, you need to give up storage to do that. But if you do have a need for storage, then what I would do is I would sort of carve out an area near the opening or near the stair and put some storage there. Make that just one, you know, one layer thick of insulation up at the top of the joists. And then beyond that, you can double it. But they’ll make a big difference if you do.
00:20:29	CALLER: All right. Good ideas. One thing, you mentioned slant fin. I believe the baseboard that I have is there, fine line 30. Is that on their website, the calculator?
00:20:38	TOM: It is. Slantfin.com is their website. Just Google slant fin heat loss calculator and you’ll find it.
00:20:43	CALLER: Perfect. Thank you. Thanks an awful lot.
00:20:45	TOM: All right, Paul. Good luck. And thanks for checking in. You’ve been introducing us there on WPIRR. And your role is on air talent for many, many years. And I’m glad we’re able to help you with the project.
00:20:54	CALLER: Thanks. You take care. Bye-bye.
00:20:57	LESLIE: Well, hardwood floors are a real benefit to any home. They add beauty. They add durability and value when it comes time to sell that house. But they do need to be refinished from time to time. And that is a project that you might want to consider hiring a pro to accomplish. We’ve got some tips on how to best get that project done.
00:21:15	TOM: Yeah. So first, how do you know if your floors really need to be replaced or at least refinished? Well, there’s a simple test you can do. You actually can give, this can actually give you some indication of how badly the floor finishes. So go to a high-traffic area where the finish takes the most abuse and pour a tablespoon of water on the floor. If the water beads up, the floor is properly sealed. But if it takes a few minutes to seep in and only darkens the floor, then that finish is worn. It probably should be refinished soon. And if the water soaks right in and leaves a dark spot, it’s definitely ready for refinishing.
00:21:47	LESLIE: Now, if you do have to refinish your floor, it is a pretty big job. And while you might be tempted to do it yourself, it’s probably not a project that you’re going to want to do yourself. Now, the process starts with removing of the old finish on that floor. And that’s one area that we constantly see well-meaning DIYers get themselves into a jam. Now, a pro is going to use a floor sander for this part of the project. And even if you were to rent one, it takes a lot of practice to get the skills to use it correctly. And if you do slip up, that means that you could be staring at a deep, ugly gouge for all of the days that you’ve got that floor in that home and you’re in it. And believe me, it can make a big divot.
00:22:26	TOM: It really can. So, refinishing the floor after it’s sanded is a big job, and that’s one that has to be done right. So, if you’re re-staining the floor, the color you see in the store is rarely, I mean, underline it, rarely the color you’re going to see when you apply it to the floor. Because the age of the floor combined with all that old finish means absorption rates vary. Now, a pro is going to know how to apply the stain, how to sort of work it to keep everything looking nice and even. Plus, the finishes that pros apply are often much tougher. Than what you might find in a home center or a paint store. They dry quickly and get you back into your newly refinished rooms as quickly as possible. So, refinishing your floor is potentially a DIY project. As long as you follow these steps, take your time, and don’t mind moving a lot of heavy furniture in and out of that space. The last time I did this, Leslie, the office in the house looked like it was right from an episode of Hoarders. Because we had to put all the living room and the dining room furniture in here. To be able to get that floor exposed and ready for refinishing. So, it is a big and potentially back stressing project.
00:23:34	LESLIE: We’ve got Rebecca from Kansas on the line. What can we do for you today?
00:23:37	CALLER: We have a room that has the old wood paneling in it with the grooves and such. But would really like to not remove it. But is there some way we can get the drywall look without putting up drywall? With putting on mud by hand? Or splattering it and kind of doing a knock down? Or would it stick? Or what do we need to do?
00:24:03	LESLIE: Well, I feel like whatever you put on top of it. Whether you fill it with mud. Or you use something to make the grooves go away. And then try to smooth out the surface. You’re going to get so much movement from the walls. Just in general. Not that your house is moving. But, you know, it does. And it gets a lot of movement just from people walking by. That none of that’s going to stick in there. And it’s going to end up falling off and looking weird. And you’re going to have to do it again. So, my suggestion is either embrace the paneling look as far as the grooves. And paint it to give it a different effect. Or put like a half inch drywall over it.
00:24:40	CALLER: If you painted it, would you have to put some kind of a primer so it will stick? Or would you need to do a light sand on it?
00:24:47	LESLIE: Yes and yes. You want to make sure that the surface is clean. Right. Obviously. So, if there’s anything, you know, sticky or gross on it, you want to give it a good cleaning. You can use something like TSP, which is Trisodium Phosphate. And that’s like a good wall prep product. Or you can give it a light sanding. But if you give it a nice, if there’s a sheen to it, you may want to give it a light sanding. But not necessarily. And then I would use a really good heavy duty primer. Something perhaps like a bin or a Zinsser. Something that’s, you know, hardcore that’s going to stick to anything. And then let that dry. And once that’s done, you can go ahead and put a latex top coat on it.
00:25:24	CALLER: Okay. If we elected to do the half-inch drywall, we’d just treat it like a normal drywall. Tape it, put the mud on and sand it and paint it. Absolutely.
00:25:34	LESLIE: The only thing to consider is that any electrical outlets, your boxes, things like that, are going to have to be pulled out a little bit.
00:25:40	CALLER: Oh, we’re going to have to bring them out. Yeah.
00:25:42	LESLIE: Trim as well. Okay.
00:25:44	CALLER: Very good. Thank you.
00:25:46	TOM: Well, for all the time we spend on them, most of us give our mattresses little bit of a spill to no TLC, which means a shortened lifespan and even potentially the risk of illness.
00:25:56	LESLIE: Yeah, that’s right. If you don’t take steps to keep your mattress clean, you could be sleeping on a bed of bacteria. You want to keep those germs away by investing in a mattress cover. Not only is a cover going to protect your mattress from dust and dust mites, but it will also ward off bacteria.
00:26:11	TOM: Now, if something spills on your mattress, don’t soak it. Instead, spray on a solution of mild dish soap and water and scrub it with a soft brush. Blot it with a dry towel and then let it air dry the rest of the way.
00:26:23	LESLIE: Now, every three months, you want to alternate between rotating and flipping your mattress. If you’re going on vacation, let your mattress do the same. Strip your bed before you leave town and give your mattress a nice dose of sanitizing, fresh air and sunlight.
00:26:36	TOM: Now, one thing you don’t want to do is use dry cleaning agents on your mattress. The chemicals in these spot removers can be super harmful to the fabric and the underlying materials, not to mention not exactly that pleasant for you to be around.
00:26:48	LESLIE: Yeah, guys. Bottom line, don’t underestimate how these little sort of mattress maintenance tips can really change how you sleep, it can change how you feel, it can cut down on your allergens, all kinds of things just by flipping that mattress around and maybe giving it a vacuum once in a while. You can do it. Jim in Oregon is on the line with a driveway question. How can we help you today?
00:27:07	CALLER: It’s a brand new home. I lived in it less than about three months. A strange odor started coming through in the master bedroom that can’t be detected. We had plumbers come in, they checked the sewage system, they did a smoke test on it, couldn’t find that. We just don’t know what the problem is. It’s really an odd odor.
00:27:27	TOM: How would you describe the odor?
00:27:28	CALLER: It’s a cross between garbage and sewage smell.
00:27:34	TOM: Has anyone ever suggested biogas as the source of this?
00:27:38	CALLER: No one ever suggested that.
00:27:40	TOM: All right. So this is, I’m speculating here, right? And I realize that they’ve done all these tests and so on. But sometimes you get bacteria that deteriorates in the traps of sinks and toilets. And it can release a biogas which has an absolutely terrible, terrible smell. One way to deal with that is to get a concentrated, like an oxygenated bleach solution mixed up and like OxiClean or something like that. And then take a bottle brush and try to get that solution into the drain. Make sure you’re really scrubbing all the nooks and crannies of that drain and let it sit there for a bit. And if there’s any bacteria that’s forming there that could be contributing to this odor, that will eliminate it. So that’s one idea. The second potential cause for this is simply a dead rodent. We’ve seen in the past where the rodents get into the spaces, you know, in and under or in the wall or something like that. And then they decompose and you get that kind of odor. So I don’t have a lot of solutions for you on that. But I would try the biogas solution first. And make sure you also get the overflow of the bathroom sink, that overflow channel, by letting the water run up. It’ll block the drain until it hits the overflow. Because if you have any of that bacteria in the overflow channel, that can contribute to it as well. Okay.
00:29:10	CALLER: Did you ever find this in a new home before? Yeah.
00:29:12	TOM: I mean, it can happen pretty quickly.
00:29:13	CALLER: Oh, really?
00:29:15	TOM: Even though it’s a new home, it’s been under construction for some period of time. And so, you know, it could have preexisted. Well, definitely give it all a try. Give it a shot. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
00:29:25	LESLIE: Garrison from Rhode Island wrote in to Team Money Pit and says, I have an oceanfront home. My porch rail is made of wood and isn’t holding up well. Should I replace it with wood or a railing made of another material? The floor is concrete. Yeah. No wonder. You’re like right in the wettest, mistiest, windiest area. Like real wood is not going to hold up so well.
00:29:47	TOM: Yeah, exactly. It was never a good choice for that location considering the humidity and the moisture. So I think we would recommend synthetic material for your next railing. There are a lot of synthetic choices out there now. A lot of different patterns, a lot of different cuts. Look at AZEC. Look at TimberTech, Fiberon, Fipon. You know, those are all available. And they simply stand up to the weather and they just don’t rot because they’re not organic. You know, wood being organic, the enemy is moisture. It’s absorbent. It soaks that moisture in and then it gets under the paint and the finish and lifts it off. A synthetic railing makes much more sense in your part of the world. So good luck with that project.
00:30:26	LESLIE: All right. Now, Ronnie writes, I just bought an old house and I don’t know where to start. The roof, the gutters are inside. He says, I’d like to start with the roof and eliminate some water intrusion. My wife and I cannot agree, but the house is about 110 years old and it needs a lot of work. So where do we start? Yeah.
00:30:43	TOM: So I think that you’re on the right path by tackling the roof and the gutter work first. There’s no sense really on working on any other areas of the house until the home is really protected from water damage. Because, of course, you’re going to risk those leaks getting worse. And if you did work inside of it, it’s going to ruin the work that you did. So it also suggests change. Check in all the windows and door flashing as well as on the roof to make sure it’s moving water away from the house. And speaking of moving water away, the way it moves away from the house is just as important. The downspouts need to be extended like 10 feet from the home. Now, because it’s potentially a tripping hazard and it can be unsightly, you can also bury them underground by converting them from aluminum downspout to PVC pipe and then running that out to daylight, so to speak, somewhere. Just keep that water away from the house and it’s really going to make the building more stable as a result. And once the house is dry and protected, I would suggest moving on to windows and doors to help with energy efficiency. This is also going to give you a controlled environment while you’re tackling the rest of your indoor projects. So bottom line, you’ve got to seal it up from the outside first before you tackle all the fun stuff inside. We all want to get to the decor immediately, right? But sometimes you’ve got to be patient. Yeah.
00:32:05	LESLIE: But you can’t. Like, you can’t do all the pretty fun stuff if everything’s just going to get wet or messy or fall apart. So you really have to secure the envelope, make sure that house is tight and ready for you to be in it. And then don’t also rush to get all that decor stuff done right away because your style could change in the process of doing so. The way you use the house is going to kind of dictate a lot of what you put in there and the flow of things. So kind of live in it a minute. I mean, really, this is the time for you to be tackling all of these things. Things that are going to tighten up the home. Do it now so you’re not doing it down the road and causing more problems.
00:32:40	TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Hey, guys, thank you so much for spending this part of this beautiful day with us. We hope we’ve inspired you to pick up some tools and get on with some projects. If you need help, remember, we’re available 24-7 at 1-888-Money-Pit or post your question anytime at MoneyPit.com slash ask. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
00:33:05	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. Remember, you can do it yourself. 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.)