Hosts: Tom Kraeutler & Leslie Segrete
(NOTE: Timestamps below correspond to the running time of the downloadable audio file of this show. Text represents a professional transcriptionist’s understanding of what was said. No guarantee of accuracy is expressed or implied. ‘Ph’ in parentheses indicates the phonetic or best guess of the actual spoken word.)
BEGIN HOUR 1 TEXT:
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TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us now with your home improvement question. Call us now with your do-it-yourself dilemma. The number is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Call us now if you think you’re going to spend too much money on your heating system this winter. I know that we are, right around our money pit. That’s why coming up this hour, we’re going to talk a lot about saving energy and money.
We’ve got some very easy tips that you can do today to cut down on those energy costs, like how about this: a way to reduce the cost of running your dishwasher by one-third. It’s quick, it’s easy and we’re going to have that info for you, coming up.
LESLIE: And also ahead, if you’ve got a heat pump at your home, it is absolutely crucial that you do not turn the heat up by hand. Why? Well, it could easily double your heating costs with just the wrong flick of your wrist. We’re going to tell you how to comfortably control the temperature in your own home without spending extra money.
TOM: And later this hour, are you having trouble waking up in the morning? You know, studies show that a lack of water pressure during your morning shower could be the reason.
LESLIE: Hey, were those studies done at the Kraeutler Institute of Advanced Plumbing Knowledge, by any chance? (chuckles)
TOM: Well, well, well, perhaps we confirmed the findings. (chuckles) We’re going to tell you how to get that powerful spray back without spending a dime.
LESLIE: And going on right now at MoneyPit.com, we have got your chance to win $5,000 that you could use towards your next home improvement project or perhaps that trip to Tahiti you’ve been dreaming about. (Tom chuckles) All you’ve got to do is play the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes.
TOM: All you need to do is answer a few easy true-or-false home improvement questions at MoneyPit.com. If you get them right, you’ll be qualified to enter to win the cash or one of over 200 other prizes.
Now, if you get online and you don’t know the answer, well, call us and we’ll tip you off. They’re pretty easy but if you need some help, call us right now with that or any other home improvement question at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974. Let’s get right to those phones.
Leslie, who’s first?
LESLIE: Laurie in New Jersey, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
LAURIE: Hi. Yes. We were weatherproofing our fence with some weatherproofing stain and it got on our vinyl siding …
TOM: Uh-oh.
LAURIE: … and we’re trying to figure out how to get it off.
TOM: Yeah. And you didn’t know that vinyl siding was as absorbent …
LESLIE: Yeah.
TOM: … as it apparently is.
LESLIE: And even if you can get it off the surface, is it already like sucked through to the center of it?
TOM: Yeah. Laurie, I think the first thing I would try is to use mineral spirits or a paint thinner on a rag and see very carefully if you can lift some of that paint; get it soft enough where it cleans off the siding. If that doesn’t work, you might want to go to a paint stripper and perhaps use one of the Peel Away products.
LESLIE: Yeah. And the Peel Away products are good because after you apply them, you sort of let them sit there. They dry; they do their best to, you know, saturate the paint or the stain and then you peel everything away once it’s dry. There’s a good website called PaintRemoval.com and they offer several Peel Away products and there are two that are specifically made for fiberglass: one is the Peel Away Smart Strip and the other is the Peel Away Marine Paint Removal, which is made specifically for fiberglass. So one of those two could really do the trick for you.
LAURIE: OK. We’ll definitely try it.
TOM: Be confident now.
LESLIE: Yeah. You’ve got to try it. (Laurie chuckles)
LAURIE: It’s just the whole neighborhood can pretty much see the …
TOM: Oh, boy.
LAURIE: … stain on our house.
TOM: And next time, be a little more careful with that stain you put on the fence.
LESLIE: And next time, masking.
LAURIE: Yeah, the sprayer just kind of went all over. (Leslie and Tom chuckle)
TOM: Alright. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now, we’re going to chat with Doc in Colorado Springs, who has got a wood paneling question. I’m going to do it, Doc. What’s up, Doc? (Tom chuckles)
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) I couldn’t resist, I know.
DOC: (chuckling) (overlapping voices) You know, I’ve never heard that before.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) I know.
TOM: (overlapping voices) I bet. (chuckles)
LESLIE: I’m sure. I’m sorry.
DOC: No, no, no. That’s OK. Hey, I bought a foreclosure and I’m living in it. It’s a fixer-upper and there were woodpeckers that have just decimated the siding. And as I’m starting to take it off, there’s not a lot of damage underneath but I see that the Tyvek or the vapor barrier …
TOM: OK.
DOC: … is a little degraded and – what I’m looking – I don’t really know. Can you piece that in? Because I’m not replacing all the pieces and I’ve never done the siding so I’m just trying to get some tips on these things.
TOM: Yeah, if it’s damaged, you definitely can piece in some sort of same material on top of it. If it is Tyvek, there’s a special tape that’s used to make the joints where the material comes together, so there’s no reason you can’t do that. You don’t have to completely put new moisture barrier on the entire outside of the house, Doc.
DOC: OK. And what about the paneling? These are the 4×8 sheets. The house is about 25-years-old.
TOM: Is it the sheathing or the siding?
DOC: Well, I call it – it looks like – I mean, it’s a 4×8 sheet.
TOM: OK. I think you’re talking about sheathing underneath. What’s the problem with that? Is it deteriorated?
DOC: The woodpeckers pecked holes in it so then the water has degraded it.
TOM: A minor issue. If you’re putting the vapor barrier back on top of that, you don’t have to worry about it. Those sheets can take a few holes and not affect the structural integrity. Just make sure you have a good water-tight seal. So put new vapor barrier over the top of things – over the top of the sheathing, side it and you’ll be good to go.
DOC: OK. Thanks a lot.
TOM: You’re welcome, Doc. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
You know, plywood can take quite a lot of damage, because it really is designed to stop the wall from shifting – from moving from one side to the other. So a few holes – not an issue.
LESLIE: You are listening to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Well, if you’ve looked at your calendar recently, it is officially autumn and if you don’t know where to start getting your house ready for the chilly winter just around the corner, we can help you do just that or any other home improvement problem you are facing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Pick up the phone and give us a call at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974. Up next, how’d you like to cut your dishwasher energy costs by a full third? We’re going to tell you exactly how to do that and stop getting soaked on those energy bills, next.
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ANNOUNCER: This portion of The Money Pit is brought to you by Ryobi, manufacturer of professional-feature power tools and accessories with an affordable price for the do-it-yourselfer. Ryobi Power Tools. Pro features. Affordable price. Available exclusively at The Home Depot. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better. Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete and you should give us a call right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT because we are giving away a Pittsburgh Paint prize package and you know the fall is the perfect time to tackle any painting projects. And in this prize pack, we’ve got two gallons of low VOC paint – great for indoor air quality – and a personal design consultation.
One caller that we talk to this hour is going to win that great prize. You’ve got to be in it to win it, though, so pick up the phone and dial 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
TOM: 888-666-3974.
OK. Here is a free and easy way to cut one-third of the cost to run your dishwasher. Now, most automatic dishwashers have a power dry or a heat option to speed up the drying process. It’s called different things on different units but you know what I’m talking about.
Now, if you’re not going to run another load of dishes immediately, turn that switch off; choose the air dry position instead. The dishes will still dry spotless and you’ll save about one-third of the cost of the energy, because when you leave that switch on, the electric coil comes on in the bottom of the dishwasher and that really drives up those costs.
Need some more money-saving tips? Pick up the phone and call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Samantha in New York is dealing with some chilly, uninsulated windows. Tell us about the problem.
SAMANTHA: I live in a home that’s about 100-years-old and it has the original windows in it and all my air – hot or cold – seems to leak out and in the wintertime it gets really cold. So I’d just like to know what I could use to better insulate my windows.
LESLIE: So my guess is they are single-pane glass.
SAMANTHA: Yes.
TOM: Do you want to replace them with replacement windows?
SAMANTHA: No. I’d like to keep the original windows because, like I said …
TOM: Alright.
SAMANTHA: … the house is over 100-years-old.
TOM: OK. Well, couple of things. In the chillier seasons, one of the things that you could do is actually caulk your windows shut. And the way you would do that is with a product called temporary caulk. There are a number of manufacturers that make it; one of them – one of the products is called Seal ‘N’ Peel.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. By DAP.
TOM: Is that the DAP product? Yeah.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: And I think Red Devil has one, too. And basically, the way temporary caulk works is it allows you to sort of caulk the windows shut the same way you might be putting normal caulk on it, but the key is that you can peel the stuff off in the springtime when it gets really warm and then use the window normally.
LESLIE: Yeah. But you’re probably also losing a lot of that heat and energy through the glass itself, because there’s no insulating factor to that single pane. Do you have storm windows?
SAMANTHA: No. They’re just the original; they’re really tall and they’re like four panes tall.
TOM: Yeah, that’s another issue. I mean if you don’t have storm windows, it’s always going to be super-cold and the only other thing you can do beyond that is try to weatherstrip it and also put on some heavy drapes. But single-pane glass is single-pane glass and there’s nothing that you’re going to do that’s going to make that any warmer, short of a major window project here.
LESLIE: Can you retrofit an existing window to have a track on the exterior for a storm window?
TOM: Yes. The storm window can mount to the exterior surface of that window and provide that level of draft-proofness.
SAMANTHA: Alrighty.
TOM: Alright? Now, if all else fails, wear a sweater. (Leslie chuckles)
SAMANTHA: (chuckling) Yeah, I’ve tried.
TOM: Samantha, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
SAMANTHA: Thank you.
LESLIE: Bill in California needs some help with a flooring situation. What can we do for you today?
BILL: Hi. I’m in a wheelchair – electric wheelchair – and I am constantly twisting and turning and going back and forth getting up to my desk and I’ve tried all types of different rugs and everything and I keep wearing them out. And I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong or what type can I put in there or what should I do?
TOM: Well, carpet is not your best choice for …
LESLIE: Especially one with a pile of sorts.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: You probably want something that’s like a super-tight nap …
TOM: Mm-hmm.
LESLIE: … rather than a pile, to get over more easily.
TOM: And even if you did have that, I think it’s really going to be – not stand up well to the punishment of that wheelchair. What we would recommend is a hard surface. I mean, if you use something like a laminate floor or an engineered hardwood with a very, very durable finish, I don’t think you’ll ever wear it out and it’ll be very, very easy to maneuver.
LESLIE: And smooth.
TOM: And there’s so many advances in that type of hard surface flooring, Bill, that it really can look quite attractive. I mean, you can get laminate floor that looks just like hardwood. If you want to have some carpets, just use some throw rugs – some area rugs that you can replace from time to time but I would not recommend wall-to-wall carpet.
BILL: That sounds like a good idea.
TOM: Bill, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now we’re going to head over to Delaware to chat with Theresa. What can we do for you today?
THERESA: I’ve got a wall of mirrors in my home and I was wondering what the best way was to remove them.
LESLIE: And are they like floor-to-ceiling, super-giant, glued on as impossibly glued as possible?
THERESA: Well, I’m not sure. They’re in pieces and there are these little – they look like little rosettes that may be holding them on and I’m kind of afraid to even attempt to remove them.
TOM: Mm-hmm. Well, it can be somewhat dangerous. We can give you one trick of the trade and that is that sometimes the professional mirror companies, what they’ll do is they’ll actually run a wire behind that and try to get the wire between the mirror and between the wall and pulling it down …
LESLIE: Just sort of slice the adhesive.
TOM: Yeah. And generally, what it does is strips the adhesive off the wall and almost always takes some of the paper of the drywall with it, so you have quite a bit of repair work to be done but it beats breaking the mirrors up. However, if you do this, you’ve got to be really careful; you’ve got to have safety glasses; you’ve got to have gloves because the mirror could break at any time.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And use like a clear contact paper or some sort of contact paper across the face of the mirror so that if it does break, it doesn’t go shattering everywhere; it sort of just breaks but sticks to the paper and sort of falls off in one piece if it does. But those rosettes that you describe in the corner, Theresa – those could really simply just be holding like a sheet mirror to the wall because that’s generally what those are used for. So look at those rosettes; see if there’s a screw in it; are they nailed in; if you removed it, does the mirror sort of back away from the wall. Start with the corner and see what happens before you get all crazy.
THERESA: Alright. Well, thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Roy in North Carolina, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
ROY: I’ve got what seems like a dust problem.
TOM: OK.
ROY: And I don’t know how I can tell whether it’s with a normal amount of dust or – I think it’s a whole lot more dust than one person would normally have. I put a new heating system in and I know the duct was supposedly sealed off. Is there any way I can measure the dust that I’m getting and determine if I’m getting maybe more than I should be getting normally?
TOM: Well, you can’t measure the dust but you could have a duct test done where you can actually measure the amount of loss through the duct system to determine if it’s leaking or not. What kind of a filter system do you have on it? Is it like a thin, fiberglass filter?
ROY: No. I’m using the white paper filter type.
TOM: How big is it? Is it …
ROY: It’s a 25x20x1.
TOM: By one? OK, that’s what we call a pebble stop, OK? (Leslie chuckles)
ROY: OK.
TOM: That’s not a good, efficient filter. What I would recommend is something called a whole-house electronic air cleaner. A whole-house air cleaner can take out dust particles almost the size of virus particles. It is just incredibly efficient compared to the thin, paper filters that you’re using right now.
Probably the best one – it was ranked tops by Consumer Reports for many, many years – is made by Aprilaire. Their website is April-A-I-R-E, Aprilaire.com. I think it’s called Model 5000. We have one of those in our house and I’m telling you, it made a huge difference.
ROY: Oh, OK. Great.
TOM: That’ll be much more effective. That’ll keep your house nice and clean.
ROY: Alright, great. Now, thanks for the information.
TOM: You’re welcome, Roy. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Yeah, when you use those thin, fiberglass filters they just don’t do the trick.
LESLIE: Irene in New Jersey is doing some power-cleaning. What can we do for you today?
IRENE: Hi. I wanted to know what you thought about having a roof power-washed. We’re going to be having the siding done and the contractor suggested we do the roof also and I guess I had never heard of that and don’t know if it’s really a good idea.
TOM: Well, what’s wrong with your roof that it needs to be washed?
IRENE: Well, it’s a light-colored roof and it’s got black streaking.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Well …
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) So you’re seeing mold on it.
TOM: It may not be mold; it’s probably moss. But what you should do is if you want to kind of clean up that area, you can use a mildicide or an algaecide and you could apply it to the roof and then you can gently brush it to try to get that clean. I don’t recommend you power-wash the whole roof because you’re going to blast off a lot of the minerals that are on top of that roof that protect it from the sun. So you could actually shorten the life of your roof by being over-aggressive with a pressure-washer.
LESLIE: But you can spot-treat the moss.
TOM: Correct.
IRENE: Oh, OK.
TOM: Yeah. Take a look in the home center. There’s a product called JOMAX – J-O-M-A-X – that works real well to clean moss off of siding and roofs.
IRENE: Oh, OK. So what about now? The house is OK, though? You think that’s a good idea …
TOM: What kind of siding do you have?
IRENE: It’s vinyl.
TOM: Not a problem. It’ll do a good job. Just don’t be too aggressive; otherwise, you’ll blast holes in that siding.
IRENE: OK. Great. Thanks so much.
TOM: You’re welcome, Irene. Good luck with that. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Now we’ve got Sonny in Florida, who’s dealing with some uninvited visitors to the home. What can we do for you?
SONNY: Man, I’ve got the sugar ants, Pharaoh ants and there are a few other names I want to call them. (Tom and Leslie laugh) I mean it’s just – I take that stuff that you buy at the store – the sugar stuff with whatever is in it …
TOM: Right.
SONNY: I mean they chew on it for a couple of days and they disappear and they show up somewhere else. And I mean, I’ve done it like three or four times.
TOM: This may be the time to stop being your own do-it-yourself pest control pro and hire a real one. You know, there are products out today for ants, Sonny, that are undetectable and what’s cool about these is that the ants – once these products are applied by a pro, the ants can march through them and not know that they’re exposing themselves to these chemicals and then they take them back to the nest and it wipes out the whole colony. It’s a far more effective way than the baits which require each ant to actually eat it to be eradicated.
SONNY: Yep.
TOM: And there’s a lot more of them than there are of us so you need to kind of get smart with it and having a pro come in and put down one of the undetectable pesticides is probably the best way to do this.
SONNY: Alright. I appreciate it.
TOM: Sonny, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Coming up next, is your home heated by a heat pump? If so, we’ve got a hot tip that will save you lots of cash, next.
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Rheem Water Heaters. For dependable, energy-efficient tank and tankless water heaters, you can trust Rheem. Learn more at SmarterHotWater.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: Making good homes better. Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: And Leslie, has this ever happened to you? You’ve gone to the lumber yard or to the home center, picked up some materials for your project, then tried to figure out how you’re going to squeeze all that plywood, drywall and 2×4’s into whatever you drove there in the first place. I mean it all …
LESLIE: Oh, yeah.
TOM: … doesn’t quite make it into the Ford Escort that well. (chuckles)
LESLIE: No, no, no, no. And I bought like a bigger SUV thinking, ‘Oh, this will fit all my lumber.’ Well, when I’m driving with an eight-footer and it’s right next to my head, I know I made a poor choice.
TOM: One time, I tried to slip some long 2×4’s into the cab of my pickup truck and then I had to hit the brakes suddenly and they slid forward and broke that little sliding window sort of behind your head. (Leslie groans) So we’ve all had those stories. We have got a solution. There’s a new product out from Lifetime. It’s a fold-up utility trailer. It can hold up to 1,000 pounds and can be easily hooked up to your car to tote your home improvement purchases away and then it folds up into half its size to be put away.
LESLIE: It’s fantastic.
TOM: So when you need it, it’s there and the best part – you could win it by playing the My Home, My Money Pit Home Improvement Game and Sweepstakes.
LESLIE: That’s right. We are celebrating our brand, spanking new book in a very huge way. We are giving away hundreds of prizes just like that with this promotion sponsored by Lifetime Products along with Rinnai, EasyWater and Monkey Hook. You get to have some fun while testing your home improvement knowledge and you could possibly win our grand prize of $5,000. All you’ve got to do is go to MoneyPit.com, play the game and enter right now.
TOM: And you might need that cash to heat your home this winter …
LESLIE: Yeah, seriously.
TOM: … because heating fuel prices are expected to skyrocket, so you’re going to want to look for some ways to pinch pennies. Here’s a tip that could help you do that. If you have a heat pump – you know, if you turn the heat up by hand, it’s a really bad idea because what it does is it triggers the heat pump’s backup electric heating system, which is very costly to run.
Instead, you want to use a clock setback thermostat but not any clock setback thermostat. It has to be rated for heat pumps, because what they do is they move the temperature up very, very slowly so they do not trigger that backup electric resistance heat which is super, super expensive to run. So buy a clock setback thermostat. Have it done automatically but make sure that that thermostat is rated for heat pumps and you will save money all winter long.
888-666-3974. Let’s see who else we can help today. Leslie, who’s next?
LESLIE: Time to talk decorating with Debbie in Texas. She needs some help with a fireplace. What can we do for you?
DEBBIE: My husband and I, we just recently purchased my childhood home. It’s in Neptune Beach, Florida and the fireplace in it is very ugly. It’s kind of an orangey-yellow brick …
LESLIE: OK.
DEBBIE: … and I was wondering, can you do – can you paint a faux finish over that brick? Someone was telling me that you can do it.
LESLIE: A faux finish as far as – what do you want it to look like?
DEBBIE: My original plan was to put a stone over it – to just have someone come in and do a stone over it but I’m trying – it needs so much work; it’s like a 45-year-old house and it needs a lot of work and I was trying to maybe save a little bit by doing – someone suggested, ‘Why don’t you just put a – do a faux finish?’
LESLIE: You can absolutely paint brick. I guarantee you, it’s not going to look exactly the same as, you know, a new brick or a different color brick would. And I always feel really bad about painting brick unless in a situation where you’ve got – the color is just awful.
There’s a product – I know you were talking about stone. There’s a veneer product from Owens Corning that they manufacture. They have one for the exterior and they have one for the interior and I believe the website is CulturedStone.com.
DEBBIE: Oh.
LESLIE: And if you look on their interior product, they have a stone veneer. It’s much thinner; it’s lighter weight. You can get it to look like river rock or …
DEBBIE: Oh.
LESLIE: … flagstone or the edge of flagstone and it really is a beautiful product. It’s not terribly expensive and I believe their interior one is a do-it-yourself product. Check them out before you make the decision to paint.
If you are going to paint, you want to make sure you use a paint that’s made for stone – for concrete. You want to use several tones of the color that you’re looking for. You want a dark tone, a light tone and a middle tone and you want to make sure that you mimic – you know, get a lot of pictures of the brick that you want it to look like – and mimic that as best you can.
Remember, anything that would be closer to you would be lighter in color and anything that would be further from you would be darker in color. So you want the edges to sort of show some wear and tear, so add some darker tones in there. Work with a couple of brushes; keep the paint as wet as possible. Even use some small, fine sponges in there to add some texture. But take your time and work on some practice pieces first.
DEBBIE: Great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate all your help.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Ben in Massachusetts has a leaky roof and is wondering about mildew. Tell us what happened. Is it still leaking? What’s going on?
BEN: Yes. Tom and Leslie, I have a little problem with a shed roof, OK?
TOM: OK.
BEN: I intend to get it repaired very shortly but the stain is coming through inside the house.
TOM: OK.
BEN: The ceiling is all stained. Now, how can I detect if I have any mildew or mold?
TOM: Well, the first thing is, Ben, is to get the leak fixed because if you don’t get the leak fixed, then you could definitely be growing some mildew or some decay in between the roof and the ceiling. But if you get the leak fixed and you dry it out, then all those decay organisms essentially stop deteriorating your wood.
BEN: Well, is there any way of telling if I do have mold without pulling the boards? (inaudible at 0:24:49.3)
TOM: I would worry more about getting it fixed so it doesn’t leak any more and not so much about what’s happening in the place that you can’t get to and can’t see.
BEN: OK. So basically, you can smell mold, correct?
TOM: Sometimes you can but if you dry it out, then the decay organisms can’t deteriorate your wood. In your case, I’d be more worried about the structure than anything else. You see, if wood gets 25 percent moist, then the decay organisms wake up and start to eat away at the wood and that’s how you get rotted roof rafters and rotted roof sheathing. So you’ve got to fix this leak so that stops happening.
BEN: Right. OK. Sounds great.
TOM: Alright, Ben. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit. Hey, when you jump in the shower in the morning, do you find that your shower that’s supposed to be super-fantastic and invigorating is just plagued by low water pressure? Well, we’ve got three – count them – three solutions to get your power-shower back on track, next.
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is being brought to you by Guardian Home Standby Generators, America’s choice in power outage protection. Learn more at GuardianGenerators.com. Now, here are Tom and Leslie.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Pick up that phone right now and call us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Not only will you get the answer to your home improvement question but you’ll be automatically entered into our random prize drawing. Up for grabs this hour, a $750 prize package from Pittsburgh Paints, including two gallons of low VOC paint and a personal design consultation. The number again is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. And remember, you must have a home improvement question to qualify.
LESLIE: Alright. Maybe you’re giving us a call about why your shower is just not as fun as it used to be in the morning. And if you find that you’ve lost that loving feeling when you step in the shower first thing because of a low water pressure situation, we’ve got a bunch of things that you can do.
First, consider replacing your shower head with one that’s WaterSense certified, which is basically the equivalent of Energy Star but for water. It’s going to give you great water pressure – all that you need and want without using excess water but you’re not ever going to miss it.
Second, try cleaning that shower head in a vinegar and water solution. And if you’ve got a hard water situation and that buildup is causing the decreased pressure, that is really going to clean your shower head and you’ll see it; it’ll just dissolve all of those mineral deposits and open up that water again.
TOM: And speaking of hard water, if you have hard water you really should consider a water softener for your home. You know, that hard water buildup can be damaging to the plumbing system and pretty inconvenient at the same time. There is a good, new technology that we’ve recently discovered called EasyWater that I like because it goes way beyond the traditional salt-based water softeners. It actually uses an electronic frequency to prevent mineral buildup in your plumbing system. Installation is also super-easy and quick and does not even require any plumbing work. You can learn more about that at EasyWater.com.
888-666-3974. Let’s get back to the phones.
LESLIE: Connie in Georgia needs some help with a refrigerator. What can we do for you?
CONNIE: Hey. We have a seven-year-old refrigerator, top freezer. When it was about six-years-old, it started leaking water in the floor and …
TOM: OK.
CONNIE: … we just kind of put a towel there, because it was still doing just fine. And then, it went along about six months or so and then it started dripping out the vent in the top of the refrigerator part …
TOM: OK.
CONNIE: … and so we said, ‘Well, we’re just going to put a pan under it.’ We put a pan under it and we caught it and it was still working just fine but now it’s dead. But the freezer is working great but the bottom is really hot and I’m just wondering, you know – I mean is it not that we could fix it ourselves? I mean is it that complicated that we couldn’t go find the parts and – what do you think it is?
TOM: Well, I’m not so sure about the warm issue. It sounds like there’s a problem with the compressor. The leakage issue that you’re describing is probably because there’s a drainage tube that comes off the self-defrosting side of the refrigerator; that’s how it gets rid of the water …
CONNIE: Oh.
TOM: .. during the defrost cycle. There’s a little tube or like a channel that sheds the water to a pan at the bottom of the refrigerator. And sometimes, that tube gets clogged and when it does, the water backs up and it can back up into the refrigerator or it can back up into the bottom of the motor area under the refrigerator and just sort of puddle on the floor. And if you can identify where that tube is and clean it, then that usually fixes the leak.
Now, that however may not be what’s going on here because you’re telling me that the refrigerator is actually dead. And if that’s the case, you know, this probably is not going to be worth fixing. But I want to send you to a website that might be able to help you dig into this a little bit further. It’s called RepairClinic.com.
CONNIE: OK.
TOM: And it’s a really good site. It’s been around for a lot of years. We’ve interviewed the guy that runs it, from time to time, and he’ll actually step you through the conditions and how these particular types of appliances – you can actually put in your model number, your part number and they’ll tell you how it actually breaks down.
CONNIE: OK.
TOM: And if it’s something that’s fixable, they can give you the – they’ll sell you the parts and tell you exactly how to do it.
CONNIE: OK. Well, I sure thank you so very much.
TOM: Well, you’re welcome and good luck with that project. Let us know how you make out.
CONNIE: OK.
LESLIE: Clyde’s calling in from La Porte, Indiana and he’s dealing with a carpet that’s got waves in it. Hoping your summer situation is carrying over into the fall, is that what’s going on?
CLYDE: Yes.
LESLIE: Tell us about the flooring.
CLYDE: We moved into our condo about three years ago and there were some small ruffles or ridges in the carpet and it seems to be getting worse. Now, the carpet was installed in ’03. I have the bills for it.
TOM: OK.
CLYDE: Could these ruffles or ridges be caused by poor installation or …
TOM: No. It’s wear and tear. The carpet is stretched and it has to be restretched and the carpet is five-years-old so that doesn’t surprise me in the least.
CLYDE: What can be done to remove those?
TOM: Well, you can have a carpet installer come in and they can restretch the carpet, which essentially will pull those ridges out of the carpet.
LESLIE: Right out of it.
TOM: Yep. It’ll stretch it right out. You’ll be amazed …
LESLIE: It makes it taut again.
TOM: … how much material will come off. I mean, they may end up cutting three to six inches …
LESLIE: Mm-hmm.
TOM: … off that carpet after they get it stretched.
LESLIE: And if you keep the carpet nice and tight, you reduce the wear and tear. So you’re going to, you know, lengthen its lifetime.
CLYDE: OK. Why, I thank you very much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: More great home improvement advice coming up on The Money Pit, including to insulate or not to insulate. That is the question and we will answer that, next.
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TOM: Making good homes better. Welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Call us right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. But if you’re too shy to pick up the phone, you can shoot us an e-mail by heading on over to MoneyPit.com and clicking on Ask Tom and Leslie or you could read the many, many posts on my blog at MoneyPit.AOL.com, from all of the folks that have been asking us questions that way – all available to you online and free.
LESLIE: Alright. We’re going to jump into our e-mail bag right now and I’ve got one here from Tom in Cranston, Rhode Island who writes: ‘I have a Cape that was renovated and double shed dormers were added to expand the upstairs living area. The house is insulated but while reroofing, I noticed that the space between the second floor and the ceiling from the first floor is not insulated. This is where the old roof is. Should this space be insulated or should it remain open for ventilation?
TOM: I think that Tom is talking about that sort of very small attic space that is in most Cape Cods that you access, usually from sort of a knee wall on the second floor.
LESLIE: Some sort of odd door, correct?
TOM: Yeah, generally speaking. And where should you insulate? Well, the floor of that space should be insulated and then the wall between the attic and the interior of the second floor of the Cape Cod should also be insulated.
Now, here’s a really good trick of the trade for dealing with Capes and this is especially even more important in the summer than the winter. If you have trouble air conditioning the second floor of your Cape …
LESLIE: Because it’s hotter than anything up there?
TOM: Right. Make sure that you block off the space between the floor joists as they go underneath that floor of the attic, so to speak – what you’re finishing. Because what happens is that hot hair in the crawlspace area sort of runs across under the floor and then heats that whole space up even worse. So not only do you have heat from the roof but you also get it under the floor. So if you block that off with some pieces of sort of foam insulation, that takes care of that as well. A little bit of a tricky space to insulate, Tom, but if you think about the difference between the exterior and the interior, where you want the ambient temperature and where you want the conditioned temperature, that’s where the insulation goes.
LESLIE: Alright. I hoped that helped you, Tom. We’ve got a next one here from Adam in Martinsville, Indiana who writes: ‘There are about three to five different layers of paint, sealer and coatings on my garage floor. I want to replace it with an epoxy coating. My problem is removing the layers is slow and laborious. I started with a paint stripper and a broom; made no progress so I borrowed a pressure-washer. It works but will only remove one layer at a time. Is there anything that will make it go faster? I’ve read about acid solutions used to prep floors for epoxy coatings but I can’t find anything that tells me what type of acid I need.’
TOM: Well, first of all, if you’re trying to take off all that paint …
LESLIE: Do you need to remove everything?
TOM: You know, you have a lot of work in front of you. I was going to say that there is an attachment for the pressure washer that has like a brush that rotates and really gives it a lot of scrub that can speed up this process. But if the paint is that hard to get off, Adam, then I think …
LESLIE: Then don’t.
TOM: … you could leave it there. Use the acid wash, which will etch that surface …
LESLIE: And …
TOM: … really nicely and make it stick.
LESLIE: And the acid wash is the one he’s talking about that comes in many of the epoxy coating kits, right?
TOM: That’s right. You don’t even have to buy it extra; many of these paints have the wash as part of it and it etches that surface and that’s all you need to do.
LESLIE: Yeah, Adam. Only get rid of what’s already chipping. Don’t make it harder for yourself.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for spending this hour with us. Before we go, we want to leave you with one number: $16,500. Leslie, do you know what that represents?
LESLIE: No.
TOM: The total value of all the prizes we’re giving away in the My Home, My Money Pit …
LESLIE: Excellent.
TOM: … Home Improvement Adventure Game and Sweepstakes online at MoneyPit.com. Head on over there; you could win five grand in cash and a whole lot of other great home improvement products, online right now at MoneyPit.com. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: I’m Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself …
LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.
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(Copyright 2008 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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