#2349 – Step Up Your Patio Game with Step Stone | Adding Insulation | Dishwashers Lower Water Bills

Show Notes

Paver Patio Projects: New step stone options add style to paver patio projects.
Adding Insulation: Insulation tips to keep your home warm and your energy costs down.
Water-Saving Dishwashers: Learn how your dishwasher saves water, time, and money.

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Show Notes
Podcast Transcript

Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:

Old Vinyl Windows: Natalie’s vinyl windows won’t stay open anymore. Unless she can find parts for the broken springs, it may be time to replace the windows.
Wood Fence Posts: Should Sam treat his cedar fence posts? The best way to prevent the wood from rotting is to add stone around the fence post base to allow drainage.
Soundproofing Walls: To muffle the sound from the neighbors next door, Donna gets tips on adding a second layer of noise-resistant drywall and sealing any openings.
Removing Paint from Brick: Arthur is worried about stripping paint from old brick. He can test the product he’s using in an inconspicuous area to be sure it won’t damage the brick surface.
Fruit Flies: Lorna thinks the fruit flies in her kitchen are coming from the garbage disposal. We suggest putting tape over the drain to see if they stick underneath, then using bleach to pour down the drain.
Crawlspace Moisture: Hezakaiah has a moisture problem coming from his crawlspace. We tell him how to lay down a vapor barrier and improve his outside drainage.
Siding Nail Rust: Will the galvanized nails stop rusting the siding if Laura paints over them? Unfortunately, she should really use stainless steel nails instead and the rust is hard to cover up.
Refinishing a Deck: Jim needs to refinish a wood deck that wasn’t maintained. We recommend gentle pressure washing and using a paint sprayer to apply a solid stain.
Wood Countertops: Anne likes the look of wood countertops around her under-mount sink, but it’s not the best material to use and there are better low-maintenance options.

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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0:00:30	TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
0:00:36	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
0:00:37	TOM: On a beautiful fall day, we hope that it’s nice in your part of the country that you were inspired to take on some projects. While the weather is so pleasant. We call this the Goldilocks season because it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. We are here to help you get those jobs done. You can reach out with your questions, whether you’re starting a project, whether you’re stuck in the middle of the project, or whether you’re planning a project. We would love to hear what you’re working on. A couple of ways to get in touch with us. Go to Money Pit e-commerce, ask, click the blue microphone button and record your question for the fastest possible response. Or you can use the old fashioned phone and call us at 1-888-Money-Pit. That’s 888-666-3974. Coming up on today’s show, if you felt the chill of high heating bills last winter, the best way to lower costs and warm things up is by adding extra insulation right now. We’re going to share the best place to add that insulation and the very common insulation mistake that so many home improvers make and can absolutely ruin your energy efficiency.
0:01:35	LESLIE: And also ahead, building a paver patio is a project that most year wires can handle in a single weekend. But pavers don’t have to be the size of bricks. Today, more and more homeowners are opting for a larger format paver called Step stones. We’re going to walk you through that process just ahead.
0:01:51	TOM: And did you know that using a dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand uses almost 40% less water and save you $40 in energy costs? Leslie, I think a lot of folks don’t believe it. They think it’s completely the opposite. They think a dishwasher uses so much more water than doing it by hand, but it’s just not the case. So we’re going to share some tips on that and more ways to cut your cleaning costs.
0:02:12	LESLIE: But first, to what project are you dreaming about tackling? We’ve got a great fall season ahead of us. Lots of time to tackle a bunch of projects before that really cold weather sets in. So if you are dreaming about it, let us help you get that project done.
0:02:25	TOM: The number here is 1-888-Money-Pit 18 86663974 Or go to moneypit.com/ask. Let’s get to it.
0:02:34	LESLIE: Natalie in Wisconsin is on the line and is having some issues with old windows. Tell us about the problem. Hi. I have vinyl windows which.
0:02:41	CALLER: Served us.
0:02:42	LESLIE: Very well. But now that they’re older and I want to raise.
0:02:46	CALLER: Them up or five or six inches, they won’t stay.
0:02:50	LESLIE: There, so I have to brace them up or else they’ll fall down.
0:02:53	CALLER: And they are.
0:02:54	LESLIE: Quite heavy. Do you have any recommendations?
0:02:56	TOM: So the window jams have springs in them and the springs have obviously broken down. And the problem with vinyl windows is unless it’s a name brand, though, you can easily find parts, is that it’s really almost impossible to get those fixed. Okay. And so I’m not going to have a really good solution for you here, Natalie. If it was an old wood window, we could talk about ways to deal with that, because it’s a vinyl window. It’s already an upgraded window. And if the internal parts are breaking down, it’s difficult to find repair parts for that.
0:03:29	LESLIE: Okay. Yes, I have been trying and I. I didn’t have any.
0:03:33	CALLER: Any luck so far?
0:03:34	TOM: Well, I mean, I would search online from the manufacturer and see if there were a pair of parts available. But short of that, it might be time to start thinking about new windows.
0:03:41	CALLER: Okay. Thank you so much.
0:03:42	TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:03:46	LESLIE: Sam in Idaho, you’ve got the Money Pit. What can we do for you today?
0:03:49	CALLER: I have a Lifesaver fan thing someone gave me. I’m on a planet that’s ten or 12 years old. Never been in the ground. I’m just curious if you would recommend trading the post.
0:04:01	TOM: Well, you can treat the post if you want to put like a wood life on it and make sure you get into the end grain. It’ll help a little bit, but I mean, the best way to stop that post from Rotting is more about the installation. And what I would recommend is this. I would use a post hole digger to dig at the hole just slightly wider than the post itself. I would put about four inches of gray, gravel stone in the bottom of the hole, set the post on top of that stone and then use the rest of the stone to fill around the post and tampered down. Now you can use a tamping iron. If you don’t have a tamping iron, you can use the butt end of a two by four to do the same thing, but do not concrete those posts into the ground because the concrete will hold a lot of water against the post that will cause rapid deterioration if you just put the stone in and it’ll be really, really strong and it’ll drain well. So that’s the best way to preserve it.
0:04:50	CALLER: Okay, guys, thank you.
0:04:51	TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:04:54	LESLIE: Donna in Arkansas is on the line. Has a noise issue. How noisy is that place?
0:04:59	CALLER: Well, I don’t know. It’s my son and his roommate live in a duplex and the common wall between their living rooms.
0:05:08	LESLIE: They can hear the neighbors.
0:05:09	CALLER: And I’m sure the neighbors can hear them. They were just wondering what they could do on that wall to block some of the noise.
0:05:17	TOM: What they would need to do requires a pretty significant addition to the existing wall. What they would do is they would have to put a second layer of drywall all over the existing layer. And there’s two options here. You can use a noise resistant drywall. There’s a couple of different brands of this out there, and basically it has some sound deadening built into it. Or you can use a product called Green Glue, which is sort of like a gelatin, like adhesive. And you would apply that to the old wall and then you would put new drywall over that. And that creates a noise barrier. And you also have to be very careful around the outlets and any openings in the wall, and they have to be sealed properly. And even after you do all of that, you will still probably get some sound through that wall. Unfortunately, soundproofing is not is harder to do after the fact than it is to do when you’re building it from scratch. So not always the answer exactly that you want to hear, But that’s really what it takes to try to soundproof the rooms in this situation.
0:06:15	CALLER: All right. Well, we sure appreciate you taking our call.
0:06:19	LESLIE: Hey, Money Pit listeners, if we’ve saved you some time, money or hassles with your projects, you would totally make our day by leaving us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. Just go to Money Pit scum slash review. All right. We’ve got Arthur in Tennessee on the line. He’s dealing with a painting problem. What happened?
0:06:36	CALLER: Not much. I’m working on a building in old downtown Johnson City, built in 1890 and has a strip, some brick strip, part of the brick that was done in the 1950s and had good success. But this is older brick, and I’m not even sure I think it was made on site and it’s solid and everything, but I wondered what kind of modern options were out there for getting paint off of rag.
0:07:06	TOM: What did you use to get the paint off of the 1950s? Brick.
0:07:09	CALLER: I used the product called Peel Away and it worked great.
0:07:13	TOM: Okay. And did you try the same product on the on the older brick?
0:07:17	CALLER: I’m afraid to use it because it’s got a rougher finish.
0:07:21	TOM: Well, that means you’re going to have more binding of the paint to the surface. But what I would do is I would try it in an area that was perhaps a bit less conspicuous, you know, like not at eye level, maybe down towards the bottom or if there’s any other area that you really don’t care as much about if you had good success with that particular product. I don’t see any reason not to continue with it, at least to see what happens. Is this a product that is environmentally friendly or do you find that it’s pretty caustic?
0:07:49	CALLER: It says it’s biodegradable and a water based product. But, you know, you do wear gloves and wear long sleeves. But it it’s amazing and how it works. I just I’ve had people come by and say, well, why aren’t you using sandblasting or dry ice? And I didn’t know if that is an option or.
0:08:11	TOM: Well, here’s what here’s why. You definitely can’t use sandblasting because those old bricks will be damaged by that process. And you know, it’s costly as well. So I would tell you, if the product that you’re using is working well, I see no reason not to keep working with that. And I’m not really familiar with dry ice, but I can’t imagine that that’s very easy to use. It certainly is radical to make, actually.
0:08:35	CALLER: You know. Well, yeah, paying very well.
0:08:38	TOM: Yeah, I agree. I’d stick with what you’re working on if you got concerns about it. I would definitely try an inconspicuous area, whether that’s the back of the building or the bottom of the building, you know, some place that you don’t care about as much. We always get that advice when you’re using a product like this and then just go on from there.
0:08:55	CALLER: Okay. Hey, I really appreciate it. And I love you guys. Show.
0:08:58	TOM: Well, thanks. Good luck with that project. And congratulations. It sounds like it’s going to be a really beautiful building when you’re done.
0:09:05	LESLIE: Morning in Rhode Island is dealing with some flaws at home. Tell us what’s going on.
0:09:09	CALLER: Fruit flies. They seem to be invading the kitchen. And I’m thinking they’re heading for the garbage disposal area. But I’m not really sure.
0:09:19	LESLIE: I mean, are they coming up out of the garbage disposal? No, they don’t.
0:09:22	CALLER: Seem to be.
0:09:23	LESLIE: I mean, generally, if you think they’re coming to the sink or from the sink, sometimes people will actually put some tape over that drain and just seal that off to see if they are coming from there. In this way, if they’re getting stuck on the underside, you know, they’re coming up from the drain. And then that would be a different approach.
0:09:38	TOM: They could do that during the day. So when you when you go out for the day, just cover the drain temporarily with the tape and keep an eye on it. And you could do as you could if that’s the case and you could put some plants and bleach down the drain or maybe some OxiClean or something like that and then cover the top of it, that tends to really sort of gas and these that are sort of laying in there.
0:09:59	CALLER: Oh, okay. So straight bleach or mixed with water or.
0:10:03	TOM: No, you could just put some straight bleach down there or you could use OxiClean the powder.
0:10:07	CALLER: Okay. All right. Yeah. Great. Well, thank you.
0:10:11	TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:10:15	LESLIE: Well, with temperatures dropping, now is the best time to think about adding insulation to help lower those heating costs and improve your comfort. But if the thought of working in a dusty, cramped space while avoiding stepping right through the ceiling below just doesn’t appeal to you, you’re going to be glad to know that this can be a good project to hand off to a qualified contractor and be done for a relatively low cost.
0:10:37	TOM: We’ve got tips for using all sorts of insulation in today’s Home Solution Tip presented by Angie. Now, first off, you really need to think about what kind of insulation you’d like to invest in. Now, installation pros can help guide you because some of this is dependent upon how your home is built. But there are really just three common types now spray foam insulation, seals, leaks and gaps inside existing walls and really is the perfect solution for those who are looking for a relatively inexpensive way to fix a larger problem while increasing their homes. R-Value. Now we use this on our home and the results were really nothing short of amazing. The way it works is that an insulation pro will mix the foam and then spray it onto the rafters or the ceiling joists where it expands to insulate and seal at the same time.
0:11:25	LESLIE: Now, blown in insulation, this is another option that’s been popular for a lot of years in homes all over the U.S.. It’s usually made from cellulose, but it could also be made of fiberglass and it has a higher than average R-value. And it all depends on how deep you’re blowing the insulation in. And the way it works is that there’s a mechanical blower attached to a supply of cellulose and then the pro essentially points where they want that insulation to go and then they fill the cavity.
0:11:52	TOM: Now lastly, fiberglass bats are among the most inexpensive ways to insulate your home, especially in an already open space like an attic. The important part about installing fiberglass bats, though, is to pay close attention to how they’re installed for attics. It’s important to use unphased fiberglass bats. You lay them perpendicular to the floor joists and be sure that the attic has enough ventilation to make sure it doesn’t become damp and wet, which can make the insulation very ineffective. And if you want to avoid a real critical mistake, don’t put that vapor barrier in upside down. If you put that vapor barrier in facing up, it’s going to trap a lot of moisture in that insulation and it will render it completely useless. Very common mistake that I used to see done all the time in the many years I spent as a home inspector.
0:12:37	LESLIE: And that’s today’s home Solution. Tip presented by Angie. Andrew, makes it easy to compare quotes from multiple local pros so you can find the best price for your project. Download the ANGI app today. Has a guy in Maryland. You’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help you today?
0:12:53	CALLER: I have a crawlspace. It’s about four foot high and I had always have this moisture problem inside the house. I mean, if the house fogs up the windows fucked up real bad, and after doing some research, I don’t know, I was assuming that it was my closet space within it. So I went on board the vapor barrier to put underneath there. But I came up with this problem or I don’t know how to secure it to the wall or how far up the wall I should put it, because I don’t really want to punch any more holes in that wall.
0:13:27	TOM: Here’s the thing. There’s a lot of reasons that you may have high humidity in the house. What I would suggest you do is to get a very thick, this clean vapor barrier, lay it edge to edge in the crawl space and let it overlap about four feet. I wouldn’t worry so much about sealing it against the wall. It’ll make it a little bit better. But I think we can probably do an amazing job just by itself. But you don’t want to stop there. You want to address the reason that the crawl space is so damp and that’s outside. Typically what happens is if the grade around the yard, especially right near the house, the first 4 to 6 feet is flat. You have a lot of water that will soak into that soil and work its way into the crawl space. The other thing is, if your gutters are clogged or if your downspouts are not extended away from the walls, typically downspouts will drop about a foot or two away from a foundation wall. And that’s kind of silly because the water just does a U-turn and runs right back on to the house. But if you were extend those downspouts, make sure the gutters are nice and clean and recreate the soil at the perimeter so that it slips away. All those things will reduce the amount of moisture that gets in the crawl space and hence up into the house because the vapor will move up through the floor structure and get into the rest of the house. And then in the House you could address ventilation in the attic by adding a ridge vent and a soft vent, and that will kind of help flush it out. And essentially you’ll have a system that will move that moisture right through. But I wouldn’t get you hung up on how to attach that plastic to the walls. I would just lay it down as best you can with as few seems as possible and then improve the grading and the drainage of the foundation perimeter. And I think you’ll see a big difference just with those couple of things.
0:15:08	CALLER: Oh, that sounds like a better idea than I had. And I was just trying to rack my brain, figuring out how to steer it to the wall. And after a while I should go. But I mean, I think I try what you said now and see if that works.
0:15:21	TOM: I’ll give you one other trick, and that is that if it turns out you still have a lot of humidity in the in the crawl space, there is a type of vent fan that’s designed to work in a crawl space that actually fits in the space of a typical crawl space event. And you can get these fans and have them hooked up to a humid estate, which is humidity sensing switch. And then when the humidity gets high in the crawl space, the fan comes on and helps pull in some dry air from the outside. Oh, I would do that after you do everything else we’re talking about. But that’s just one of the a tip that you might be able to use. Okay.
0:15:53	CALLER: The only specific place you can get the humidity stayed on that vent fan from well the.
0:15:57	TOM: Vent fans, you can find them online and they come with the amount of stats where you can order it. Okay. It’s kind of like it’s kind of like the same kind of switch you might have for an Attic fan, which I don’t recommend, by the way, but that’s humidity based instead of temperature based.
0:16:10	CALLER: Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you.
0:16:12	TOM: Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:16:16	LESLIE: More in Connecticut’s on the line and need some help with the project. What are you working on?
0:16:20	CALLER: I was listening to your program on Saturday. Okay. And you were referring to galvanized nails rusting with siding? Yes. I have a similar problem. If I poly everything the nail and hang over it. Would that work or would it shift?
0:16:38	TOM: It will still rust through if you don’t have the right kinds of nails. See, if you’re if you’re talking about cedar siding, what you should have used or the cart you should have used was a stainless steel nail. Those nails obviously won’t rust if they’re standard galvanized nails. You do tend to get sort of a bleed through it. Now, if you refinished the siding and you state it or paint it, then you know, then you prime it first, by the way, then you probably will do a pretty good job of stopping most of them from coming through. But the problem generally happens when you want to stain it as you want. Enjoy the grain of the wood, then it’s really hard to cover it up.
0:17:13	CALLER: Thank you very much.
0:17:15	TOM: You’re welcome. What less, of course, you go with rust color stain, right? Leslie.
0:17:19	LESLIE: You could do that.
0:17:20	CALLER: Oh, okay. That’s sounds.
0:17:21	TOM: Good. Can’t beat them. Join them.
0:17:23	CALLER: Exactly. Good luck.
0:17:25	TOM: Laura. Well, building a paver patio is a project that most DIYers can handle in a single weekend. But pavers don’t have to be the size of bricks today. In fact, more and more homeowners are opting for a large format paver that’s called a step stone.
0:17:40	LESLIE: Yeah. Now these are 24 by 24. They come in a lot of colors and in some ways can be even easier to build than a traditional paver patio. With us to talk about that is Ted Woods from Pave Stone. Ted, these wider format styles are becoming super popular. I mean, we see trends toward larger format tile, for example, inside the home, and now we’re seeing more and more people going with those large format, concrete stepping stones for patios, driveways, walkways. What are you guys seeing?
0:18:07	CALLER: Well, what we’re seeing we’ve seen a lot of these coming out in commercial areas, seen in gathering areas, parks, restaurants, wineries. And once people see that there, then they kind of gravitate to, hey, I want that in my home. I really like that style. So we’re starting to see more and more of these items in retail locations so the homeowners can go and get these easily. But that 24 inch, that large format has really been popular over the last year and gaining popularity. We see people do so many different things with it. You can, you know, lay them down and cover a big area fairly quickly and you don’t have to do quite as much prep work, you know, as like for the smaller pavers, you can it’s a little easier to get a large area laid down for these. And also, you can get a little more creative. We’ve got a couple of different designs in that 24 by 24 inch paver and stepping stone one is just a smooth with a beautiful blended color. Our plants make some great earthy tones as well as the gray and granite kind of blends that are very popular right now. And then we also make some of those large ones with the little embossed lines on them. So when you lay them down, you get some great contemporary linear looks to it. So it’s really fun to see what people come up with. Some will space it apart, but grass in between them or gravel just to give it a different look. Or some people may do just a simple project like putting their trash can, you know, parking in next to that your garage. You can throw down a couple these in your project so that our.
0:19:26	LESLIE: Our, our love all these options of design and this large format of 24 inch square because it kind of helps you extend your interior design style out of doors, you really can connect those dots from inside to outside.
0:19:37	TOM: Yeah. You know what surprises me about these large blocks too, is and even the large tile is you would think that they don’t work in small areas, but they actually make smaller patios look much bigger the same way they make small bathrooms look huge when you have these large format tiles. So it’s a really interesting sort of contradictory result. Most people wouldn’t think that these large blocks are going to make a small area look large, but they do, and they’re very elegant.
0:20:02	CALLER: Yeah, I agree. It’s less than I mean, the smaller ones give you a lot more lines. The you’re eye catch in these big ones, it’s just wide open, you know, pieces of the concrete and it’s usually in a nice blended color. So it just looks fantastic when you’re looking at it.
0:20:14	TOM: So let’s talk about the installation. It would seem to me that these are going to be a bit easier to install than a regular paver brick. First of all, there’s fewer of them and secondly, a little more tolerant to maybe some prep mistakes. Maybe you don’t quite get the base as solid as you would like to get it. And it seems to me they’re going to be more tolerant and stay flatter and more stable over the years.
0:20:33	CALLER: The smaller pavers, there’s a little more emphasis put on that base material and getting that in there and compacted down with these. You still want to do that and get it, you know, as smooth as possible leveled out. You don’t want these tipping or having some point where you could have weight on there that might crack it down the road. But yeah, generally as rural, you see people not having to go as deep with that base material on these. And then as you lay them down, you know, you can, you know, buddy system usually on the 24 inch squares laying those down and you can make pretty good times by them up against one another and going.
0:21:03	LESLIE: Now Ted, when you’re installing, is there anything specific we have to do? Is there a frame or anything I have to use first to kind of keep my pattern and everything sort of inset and stable?
0:21:12	CALLER: Yeah, A common mistake is that people think, man, these pavers are so big that they’re not going to move, but you’ll be amazed that they will slide out over time. So people need to use some sort of age restraint. There’s plastic versions, aluminum irons you can buy them at. Stores are usually in a six foot piece that you just you hide. They’re almost here and they catch the bottom half of the of the paper that you’re using along the edges. And that tax sit down with like a landscape spikes along there. But then those get covered back up with the earth or the grass right there. But they hold that whole project together. So it’s kind of one area you do want to make sure and take the time and do that when you’re finishing it up.
0:21:46	TOM: Ted Woods from Page Stone, thank you so much for stopping by The Money Pit, filling us in on the new large format paper blocks. I can’t wait to get some projects lined up here where I can test those out. Thanks again, Ted.
0:21:58	CALLER: Thanks for having me.
0:22:00	LESLIE: You’ve got the Money Pit, and we are sharing a ton of advice for fun projects this fall season from decorating and decor on the inside, even on the outside, getting all those Halloween decorations and autumn looks up and running to all kinds of projects inside. Whatever it is you are working on, guys, we are here to help you create your best home ever. So follow us on your favorite podcast app at Money Pets.com slash podcast.
0:22:24	TOM: That’s Money Pit dot com slash podcast.
0:22:27	LESLIE: Got Jim from Illinois on the line. We need some help with a deck project. What’s going on?
0:22:32	CALLER: Yeah, I’ve got an older deck. It’s at least ten years old and I haven’t taken care of it like I should. And so it’s starting to wear and obviously it’s pretty dirty. So my question is. Power wash it only and then and then use some type of a treatment or what do you recommend?
0:22:50	TOM: So is the deck structurally okay? Is it just sort of like cracked and checked from exposure to the sun? What’s its condition now?
0:22:57	CALLER: Structurally, it’s really good. And I’ve actually replaced a few of the deck boards in the past. But, you know, when it rains, water kind of pans on it. And again, it’s not so draining like it should. So I definitely need some kind of treatment. I believe.
0:23:13	TOM: So what you could do is, first of all, you can you can go ahead and pressure, wash it, but gently. Okay. Just to make sure you’re getting any surface dirt sort of out of that. And there’s some deck wash products that make it a little bit easier to do this. You kind of scrub it down with the brush a little bit first and then you rinse it off. You don’t want to go too aggressive, though, especially with an older deck, because you’re going to wear away more of that water than you want you then you want to let it dry really, really well, like a couple of days in the sun at least. Maybe like do it one weekend and the next week and plan on doing your staining. And then in terms of finish, you have some options there. But I would recommend considering the Age doing a solid color stain because there’s a lot of pigment and soak in really, really well. It will be you’ll still see the green and the boards and such, but the stain really will work its way in terrifically and really protect it for, you know, the next 3 to 5 years. If you take your time and do it right, it’s really going to last and you will find that it’s a lot easier to put stain on a deck if you spray it. Now, you can purchase a very inexpensive paint sprayer these days. I mean, they started around 50, $75. They’ll get one of those Wagner Control Pro models or rent one. But you’ll find that it’s hugely easier when you do it with a sprayer because a deck is like so tricky to get into all the nooks and crannies.
0:24:28	CALLER: Yeah, I agree completely. Yeah. Especially where there’s cracking. I mean, the paint can get down there better if it can be sprayed. And I believe.
0:24:36	TOM: Yeah, you’ll save a lot of time too. And a lot of backache.
0:24:39	CALLER: Yeah. All right. Well, I need that. I appreciate it.
0:24:41	TOM: Okay, Jim, good luck with that project.
0:24:43	CALLER: Thank you.
0:24:45	LESLIE: Well, the U.S. Department of Energy reports that dishwashers are the least used home appliance. It’s my favorite appliance, I’m gonna say. I can’t imagine that people don’t use them. Of the 90 million U.S. households with a dishwasher or nearly 20%, that’s 17 million. Households say they never use it over the course of a year, not even Thanksgiving, not ever. Come on, guys.
0:25:11	TOM: Yeah, that’s a very costly mistake, because cleaning a load of dishes in a dishwasher uses 37% less water than washing by hand, saving the average household nearly 5000 gallons of water per year. Even if you do use a dishwasher instead of hand washing, you can also cut your annual energy costs by more than 40 bucks. And that’s all according to Energy Star.
0:25:33	LESLIE: Now, you can actually save even more when you use the dishwasher if you do the following scrape your dishes instead of rinsing them before you load them into the dishwasher. Pre rinsing your dishes actually uses up to 20 gallons of water. So again, just stick it right in the dishwasher. Just make sure you scrape all the junk off.
0:25:50	TOM: That’s what it’s designed to do.
0:25:51	LESLIE: So seriously, that’s what it does. Only run the dishwasher when there’s a full load and you shorter washing cycles for those lightly soiled dishes, there’s a lot of options on that machine. You can pick and choose the type of wash that you give those dishes and use a rinsing agent and the air dry setting rather than that heated drying cycle unless you’re in a rush. But definitely that air drying plus the rinsing agent, it’s great and it works just as well as the dryer.
0:26:17	TOM: Absolutely. Now, if your dishwasher is an older one or if it needs a repair and you going to purchase a new one. Make sure it’s Energy Star, certified. Energy Star dishwashers use less energy and less water than standard models. And this way you can use them with confidence, including the 17 million of you that have one but don’t use it. If it’s Energy Star. Go ahead. You can use it. It’s fine. We say so.
0:26:40	LESLIE: Anne is doing some work in the kitchen and looking to add an underground sink. But the counter is would tell us about this project.
0:26:47	CALLER: Well, I was more looking for your opinion of whether I should use a wood countertop for an under mount sink. I know they’ve got some pretty good hardwood countertops that may or may not be, but I’m looking for the long haul where we’re at an age where we’re going to be retiring within the next few years, and I don’t want to have to replace something.
0:27:18	TOM: Well first of all, you’re talking about a wood kitchen countertop here or a bathroom…
0:27:23	CALLER: Yeah. Both, actually.
0:27:24	TOM: But yeah, well, I mean, if you’re looking for a low maintenance countertop, you should not be looking at wood. It’s going to be a huge amount of work to take care of under mounted sink or not. It’s a lot of work. You know, you can. You’re going to seal it and you’re going to varnish it. And I don’t know if you want to have an area for chopping wood. That’s a whole nother set of circumstances in terms of how you treat that, because the finish has to be nontoxic. But it is a lot of work. So if you look at for maintenance free, I would definitely not suggest that. Leslie, what do you think are probably the easiest to care for countertops these days?
0:27:57	LESLIE: I mean, I love a natural stone countertop, but are they the easiest to take care of? Not so much. I mean, the composite stones out there, there’s a couple of different brands that you can see. There’s Quartz, there’s caught sight. They’re beautiful, they’re durable, they’re easy to maintain, and they come in a variety of price points as well. I think when you go with a solid surface like that, it’s much better for an underground sink as far as maintenance and durability. And then if you go with a courtside product, there’s so many different, you know, colors, tone, sort of textures to choose from that you’ll be able to find something in your price point in a look that you like.
0:28:34	CALLER: I’m just going to push the crumbs into the sink right here.
0:28:38	TOM: Yeah, well, you can have it under a countertop, and that’s fine. It’s just that, you know, I think you call this because you want to know if that was a good installation. But then when you mentioned you’re trying to look for something that’s made in this free, I’m telling you, Wood is not what does a ton of work take care of?
0:28:50	CALLER: So pretty, though.
0:28:51	TOM: It is pretty.
0:28:52	CALLER: Especially creamy white cabinets.
0:28:54	TOM: Yeah, well, listen, you can have some beautiful wood cabinets, but the countertop. I would definitely not go with wood.
0:28:59	CALLER: Okay.
0:29:00	TOM: Good luck Anne. Thanks for calling us at 888-Money-Pit.
0:29:02	CALLER: Thank you very much.
0:29:05	LESLIE: Carol wrote into the Money Pit saying, I’ve tried many things to keep mold from forming on my bathroom painted walls like an exhaust fan, dehumidifiers, etc. but I just can’t keep it free of mold. Is there something that I can use to cover the walls that I can wipe off easily? It’s a small bathroom and I don’t really want to tile the walls and have to deal with cleaning the grout.
0:29:24	TOM: Not so Carol. Sounds like she’s looking for a totally maintenance free bathroom. I mean, they said that existed, didn’t it?
0:29:30	LESLIE: It’s like in The Jetsons. Do you remember that you were in the room when the whole thing would spray itself down, like fold up into a wallet?
0:29:37	TOM: Oh, wouldn’t that be nice? Now, most people will use the bathroom, turn on the exhaust fan, leave the bathroom and turn off the fan, turn off the lights and so on. The trick is that you need to leave it running for at least ten or 15 minutes after you leave that room. That’s what really will move all of that moisture out and let the walls start to dry and therefore not form mold. The other way to do that is instead of a timer, you can use an existing that has a humidistat built into it. As you mentioned, this basically humidity sensing switch does exactly the same thing. But one way or the other, you’ve got to extend the time that you’re running that exhaust fan. Now, as far as covering the walls, there are certainly tub enclosures available in a wide variety of pricing. Leslie, what’s your take on this? I mean, I’ve seen them made from plastic all the way up to Korean. You know, they can cost a couple hundred bucks or a couple of thousand bucks.
0:30:24	LESLIE: I mean, they can and some of them really look fantastic. And I love the fact that you’re completely changing the look of the space in a short amount of time. You do lose like a little bit of space in that area. But they can be great. They can be easy to clean. And they definitely you know, you’ll find something in a variety of price points. It’s definitely a good solution. Short of tiling, everything.
0:30:45	TOM: With record interest rates, many potential first time homeowners are choosing to rent rather than buying. If you’re getting ready to rent an apartment, there are many things to consider outside of just those four walls. Lastly, tells you what you need to know to make the best choice in where you live in this edition of Leslie’s Last Word.
0:31:02	LESLIE: Yeah, you know, moving is really a big step, especially if it’s your first time doing so. So choosing the best rental is key, but you have to make sure that you’re thinking about the commute and the neighborhood. They’re both equally important. I remember when I got my first apartment when I was like 22 years old, my grandpa was like, drive by it at the night, drive by it in the day, see what it’s like. Make sure you’re comfortable in that spot. So you’ve got to think about a lot of things. But first of all, let’s talk about driving distance. It could be the best apartment ever, but if it’s like a half an hour or more of a commute to your school or your job or whatever it is, that drive or however you’re getting to and from is going to get old quick. So distance doesn’t have to be the deciding factor in the choosing of your apartment. But it does matter. So make sure you’re considering that because it means time spent on the road every day, money spent on gas or some sort of public transportation. And that could potentially strain your budget even further. Also, what are the traffic patterns look like around the neighborhood that you’re considering? If you’ve got a car, is there reasonable parking places? If you don’t have a car, what’s that access to the public transportation? How long is it going to take you to get to work, whether you’re using that public transportation or getting yourself there on your own and also, don’t forget to think about the local shops, the grocery stores, the restaurants, the bars, the social activities, all of that stuff. Really examine that neighborhood. It’s going to tell you a lot about the atmosphere and whether or not it’s a place where you really want to live. There’s so much to consider and you’re not always going to get it right, but you can try your hardest to do so. If you want some more tips, check out the eight things you need to know before getting your first apartment on Money Pit dot com.
0:32:38	TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. Coming up next time on the program. If you’re a big drinker of bottled water, you may have noticed that the price never seems to go down. If you’re ready for a healthy alternative to the cost in all the waste. Here is your tips on whole house water filters that both save money and deliver great tasting water. On the next edition of the Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler.
0:33:01	LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete.
0:33:02	TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself.
0:33:04	LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone.

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