On the Wire - Treats, Not Tricks
Halloween trick-or-treaters are cute in their costumes, but the tricks they can leave behind are anything but. There’s nothing quite like waking up to find toilet paper cascading from your trees, eggs dripping down your windows, your jack-o-lantern smashed on your sidewalk, and your mailbox and garbage cans dented, dinged and deposited down the street, At The Money Pit, we have heard these and many more tales of woe. Of all the home improvement problems we solve on our radio show, Halloween cleanups rank as one of the more unpleasant chores of home ownership. But as unpleasant as it may be, it is important to clean up the mess quickly. Eggs can damage painted surfaces and wood siding, so tackle this first. Use a solution of ammonia and water to scrub doors, windows, trim work and siding. Ammonia will help neutralize the acid in the eggs.
Here are some tips to help speed clean-up from neighborhood goblins:
- Use a long-handled branch trimmer to pull paper down from your trees. Use the power spray setting on your hose to wash down the remnants, unless it is below freezing outdoors.
- Pumpkin, while terrific in pie, isn’t so good for your sidewalks, creating a slick, slippery mess. Clean up the large pieces, then hose off with a detergent such as Pine Sol.
- You may be able to hammer your garbage cans and mailbox back into shape, or this might be time to consider new ones. Plastic garbage cans on wheels are more durable and easier to manage. Plastic mailboxes resist denting. Or consider a brick housing for your mailbox.
You can also take a few precautionary steps to put pranksters out of business before the damage is done:
- Leave floodlights and interior lights on bright settings on Halloween to discourage mischief-makers. If it looks like you’re home, you’re less likely to be a target.
- Consider motion lights that light up when people get near the home. This can alert you when egg throwers are approaching your house, and help keep you safe all year long.
- Store garbage cans inside to prevent damage. Make sure cars, bikes and other objects are indoors, as well.
- Cover ground-level front windows and shutters with clear plastic sheeting. It won’t be pretty, but it will prevent eggs from getting on your windows and trim. Cover your door, too, if it is accessible. Just peel down plastic and throw away the next day.
- When the majority of trick-or-treaters are done, bring your jack-o-lantern inside to thwart late-night vandals.
- Dress a fashion dummy in Halloween costume and chain to your mailbox. If they can’t get to your mailbox conveniently, they can’t dent it with a baseball bat. Or, fill your mailbox with bricks. If they do hit it, the painful vibration will give them something to remember.
Finally, hold a Halloween party of your own, in your front yard. The costume and festivities will keep mischief-makers at bay.
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Ask Tom & Leslie - Leak Detection 101
This week’s question comes to us from John in New Hampton, Iowa: “Our shower upstairs is leaking down the wall to our basement. I've checked everywhere for leaks and it looks like it is in the plumbing somewhere between the shower and kitchen drain. I don't know what to do next except to start tearing the shower out and seeing if I can find the leak. What is your suggestion?”
John, shower leaks can be tricky to diagnose because there are many places that water can escape. So, before you grab the wrecking bar, let’s be absolutely sure we know where the leak is. To isolate a shower leak, we need to start at the drain and work up. Get a garden hose and run it directly into the shower drain. Be sure to aim the hose so the water goes right into the drain, not across the shower pan and definitely not on any of the shower walls so you can be confident you are testing only the drain pipes by themselves. Then run the hose and check for leaks. If you find one, the leak is in the plumbing and you’ll need to open the ceiling below to figure out where.
If the drains pass the hose test, then the next thing to check is the shower pan. Take a wash cloth and plug the shower drain. Then fill the shower pan up with as much water as it can hold without overflowing (usually 3-5 inches). Next, check the area below to see if it leaks. If it leaks with the pan, but not with the drain, you may need to replace the shower pan, which is a time consuming, messy and costly job.
Now, for some better news: if you have not been able to recreate the leak with either of the above tests, the leak is most likely due to voids in the grout joints or in the caulk seams, which are easy to fix. Very often, these leaks happen as water splashes off your body when taking a shower. It takes only the tiniest void for water to work behind the walls and leak down to the space below. Find that void and you will fix your leak, without the need to do any exploratory wall or ceiling surgery!
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Got A Question About Your Money Pit?
You can do-it-yourself but you don't have to do-it-alone. Getting in touch with us is as easy as 1 - 2 or 3!
- The toll-free studio hot line is 1-888-MONEY PIT. Find out when we broadcast in your area by checking out our website at www.moneypit.com. Each week we take dozens of calls, give great advice and offer callers a chance to win a terrific prize awarded to one random caller to every show.
- Call when it's convenient for you, 24 hours a day, same number: 1-888-MONEY PIT. A live person takes your call 24/7! So -- WHENEVER you have a home improvement question -- phone it in. Simply tell our phone screener your first name, and where you're calling from...and ask your question. We’ll get back to you with the answer – or even call you back during the show!
- Click here to email your question to us. We may read your email on the air and we also respond personally to many of the email questions we get.
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On the Air - Window Hazards
Are your windows and window treatments full of potentially deadly hazards that could injure or even cause the death of a pet or child? It’s never a bad idea to take a close look at safety issues in your house, especially around windows. On the next Money Pit radio show, we’ll tell you what to look for and how to make your windows safer. To find out where we broadcast in your area or to download our Podcast, visit www.moneypit.com.
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Dot Common Sense - Save Energy, Save Money
The average U.S. family spends $1,900 a year on energy bills. Now, you can get specific recommendations on how you can improve energy efficiency by up to 25%, which could add up to saving up to $475 a year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages Americans to improve their homes’ energy efficiency this winter by taking advantage of ENERGY STAR’s new online tool, ENERGY STAR Home Advisor.
To use the ENERGY STAR Home Advisor, you just have to provide your zip code, household heating and cooling method, and water heater type. In return, you will get customized money saving ideas that reduce energy, save money and help the environment. Now, people in California and people in New York can obtain heating and cooling tips specific to their region. Even people living in the same city can receive different cost-savings suggestions based on their individual energy consumption and practices.
Visit www.EnergyStar.gov/homeadvisor to start saving both energy AND money!
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Fun Fact - Dress Up Dos and Don'ts
From scary to Scooby, every Halloween costume should be a treat, not a safety hazard. Here are three quick “tricks” to make your child’s choice measure up. Whether homemade or store bought, your child’s costume should provide 3 things – adequate ventilation, vision allowance and range of motion. Dark costumes should only be worn in daylight, and it’s smart to set strict guidelines for territories and curfews.
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Short Cuts - Save Money on EVERYTHING for Your Home
Many of you have already heard about our new membership program we’ve launched in partnership with the American Homeowners Association. When you become a member (which you can try FREE for 30 days) you’ll get unlimited access to the most powerful comparison shopping service on earth. Find the best product, find the best price, then buy it with free shipping. Sound good? Here’s how it works.
The Froople shopping search engine scours the web sites of over 5000 participating merchants offering up millions of big brand products. It’s incredibly easy to compare specs to narrow your search and find EXACTLY the best product for your needs.
Once you’ve found the right drill (or table saw, or mountain bike, or….) you can quickly check the pricing, shipping times, and stock status at different online stores to find the best deal.
And you don’t need to worry about dealing with fly-by-night operators. No way. We have some of the biggest names in business participating. Everybody from Walmart to Amazon.com to Sears, Target, Dell, and more. Plus, every merchant has been rated by ordinary consumers just like you who’ve bought online and shared their experiences – good or bad. If an online store has glowing reports from hundreds of people they’ve done right by, chances are they’ll do right by you.
Now here’s the real kicker: FREE SHIPPING. All you have to do is download and print out the shipping rebate form from the membership website, send it in with a copy of your receipt, and we’ll cut you a check for up to $25 per transaction to refund your shipping. You can save up to $200 every year. Yup. It’s that easy.
The shopping service with free shipping would be reason enough to have a membership, but it’s just one of hundreds of time and money saving benefits and privileges that you get with this program. And we’ve just added 2 more reasons: Free tools. That’s right. – you’ll get two awesome electronic tools from Zircon just for trying the Money Pit/AHA Membership. The LaserBall 360 laser level and StudSensor i60 OneStep from Zircon sell for $50.00 in home improvement stores from coast to coast. For all the details on how you can claim them free, along with a free trial membership, just click here.
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Copyright 2007 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.
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