#2511 – A New Spin: Deep Cleaning Your Washing Machine | HGTV’s Clint Robertson | Garage Workspace

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[Theme Music] (0:01 – 0:20)
If your roots start to leak, or your floor’s really squeak, you’re living a money pit, money pit. If your basement needs a pump, or your place looks like a dump, you’re living a money pit, money pit. Pick up your telephone, fix up your home sweet home, by calling 888-MONEY-PIT.

[Jim] (0:22 – 0:26)
The Money Pit is presented by Centurion Tools. Now, here’s Leslie Segrete.

[Leslie Segrete] (0:27 – 1:43)
Welcome to The Money Pit, where we make good homes better. I’m Leslie Segrete. What are you guys working on?

Give us a call anytime at 888-MONEY-PIT. We love to hear about all of your projects. We want to know what you’ve got going on this time of year.

Even if you don’t want to ask us a question, just give us a call and say, you know what, this summer I want to take on a decking project. Or, my yard’s not the best, how can I make it better? Because we want to make sure that we’re helping you with what you’ve got going on at your money pit.

So give us a call, leave us a message, let us know how we can help. Coming up this hour, are you a do-it-yourselfer, but you need a better do-it-yourself workspace? Well, having the right dedicated work spot for what you love to create will help you achieve all of those DIY dreams.

We’ve got tips to create a productive and efficient garage workspace to handle projects big and small. Plus, joining us this hour for like a mini-catch-up is HGTV’s Boise Boys home improvement expert, Clint Robertson, is here to share how his love of construction and real estate have been the perfect recipe in creating a great home, and share a bit about his experience with President Trump during The Apprentice. Who knew?

Now I’m going to go back and kind of re-watch the whole thing. I just, I have to know. I didn’t know Clint was on this, so I want to see what’s going on.

 

[Jim] (1:43 – 1:43)
No doubt.

[Leslie Segrete] (1:44 – 2:16)
Also ahead, could germs actually be lurking in your laundry? Well, it may seem counterintuitive, but for the health, safety, and cleanliness of your family, it’s actually important to wash your washing machine.

So we’re going to tell you how to deep clean those machines. Yeah, that’s right, it’s one more thing you have to wash, but it’s worth it. Just ahead.

But first, our focus is you. So let us know what DIY project is on your to-do list to help us move it to your done list. Give us a call now at 888-MONEYPIT.

Jim, who’s first?

[Jim] (2:16 – 2:24)
Leslie, Tracy in Florida is on the line and has taken a chance with some crown molding. Tracy, are you doing this yourself? What’s going on there?

[Tracy in Florida] (2:24 – 2:43)
So I wanted to install crown molding. I am not handy at all, and I was looking into how to install it, and I saw that you could install the high-density styrofoam, like the poly, I forget what it’s called.

[Leslie Segrete] (2:43 – 2:45)
Oh yeah, you’re talking about that foam trim, right?

[Tracy in Florida] (2:46 – 2:54)
Yes, and it got good reviews, and it looks kind of like real, and it’s easier to install. I just don’t know if it’s a good thing to do.

[Leslie Segrete] (2:54 – 4:20)
Yeah, I think so. You know, crown molding, from a carpentry perspective, is kind of a super difficult carpentry job because you have to cut a compound miter to do that, and then you also have to cope it, which means you kind of make one piece of the molding, which is interesting because you kind of have to tilt the molding and kind of put it upside down. It’s a very complicated way.

It’s like a compound miter cut, and it’s awesome if you can use a compound miter saw or even a handsaw with a little box that’s helpful for it, but it is a bit confusing to kind of do the math in your head and visually see how it will come together, especially if this is a project you haven’t done before. So out of wood, it’s complicated for a beginning do-it-yourselfer, and that’s why these foam moldings have seen such a big boost to DIYers because they’re easy to install, they’re easy to cut, and you put them up with caulk. I mean, you’re using the caulk as an adhesive, really, to hold it in place, and you put a couple nails in it just to kind of tack it in place while it dries, and as long as you were planning on painting that molding anyway, the foam really makes great sense because once it’s painted and installed, you can’t tell that it’s not wood, so it’s definitely a do-it-yourself project.

If you wanted to have one where you saw the wood grain, then really traditional wood crown molding is pretty much the only way to go, but that’s definitely a DIY project. The foam, paint it white, it looks really sharp, and it’s something you can absolutely do yourself.

[Tracy in Florida] (4:20 – 4:22)
Oh, great. That’s what I need.

[Leslie Segrete] (4:22 – 4:58)
Yeah, just make sure, you know, you read the instructions, make sure you have the tools on hand. A simple miter box with a hand saw is really helpful to give you those clean cuts. It’s not very expensive when you buy a simple one.

The other thing you have to do is if there’s any mistakes here and there, you can just fill those gaps with the caulk as well, and it kind of hides all of those mistakes, and then once you paint it, no one’s ever going to know. Just use that latex caulk and make sure you have proper caulking trowel. You know what I’m talking about.

It’s your finger. You got five of them on each hand, so it’s definitely a great tool. You’ve already got that one.

 

[Tracy in Florida] (4:58 – 5:00)
Thank you so much.

[Leslie Segrete] (5:00 – 5:04)
All right. It’s going to look great.

Take care and good luck with that project, Tracy.

[Jim] (5:05 – 5:12)
Now we’ve got Cameron on the line who’s got some issues with some old windows, and Leslie and I know about very old houses, huh, Leslie?

[Leslie Segrete] (5:13 – 5:15)
Oh, yes, we do. What’s going on?

[Cameron] (5:15 – 5:46)
I’ve got a home that’s about 100 years old, and I have the type of windows that have the counterweights on the inside, the frame itself. When I’ve watched these videos on how to make that repair, I guess the side of the window is called the sash. There should be a screw or something that allows me to open up that wood so that I can see that counterweight.

My windows do not have that access. I don’t know how to gain access to the counterweight itself.

[Leslie Segrete] (5:46 – 7:25)
Well, first of all, it’s not uncommon to have this problem, and you’ve sort of got two options. If you want to restring that weight, which you can do, you have to take off the interior trim, the casing, which is between the sash and the wall. Once you do, you’re going to notice this sort of wide cavity, about three to four inches wide.

You physically detach that, and you’re going to see sort of an opening behind there. It may be in a younger window that the panel comes off easily, but generally when I fix this, you kind of take the casing off on the right and the left side. And this way you can get in, you can see where that weight is, and you can restring it up to those pulleys.

I mean, you want to use a window chain if you’re redoing it, not another rope, because the ropes are the things that break. The trick here, Cameron, is to get that trim off without damaging it so you’re not making a bigger mess in a second project. And what I would tell you to do is to do this very carefully and with gravity in mind so you don’t slip and cut yourself.

You want to take a utility knife and run it between the window and the seam of the wall, on the wall side, because this is where the trim is covering the edge of the sash. And if you can cut that sort of paint seam there, it will loosen it up and not, like, yank off any more of the drywall or chip any plaster, and it kind of helps you create less of a mess when you’re putting this all back together. If you’re not able to pull those nails out, but you can kind of pull it out an inch or an inch and a half, you can run a Sawzall sort of behind.

It’s like a hacksaw blade and cut the nails, which will give you that same effect of pulling that piece of wood off in a clean way. But you kind of just have to work very carefully in removing everything so that it goes back together carefully. Then just sort of patch anything that needs and repaint.

[Cameron] (7:26 – 7:33)
Well, I tell you, I wouldn’t take anything for it. It’s structurally sound, and I just don’t think they build them like that nowadays.

[Leslie Segrete] (7:34 – 7:36)
Yeah, we love old houses here at the Money Pit.

[Cameron] (7:36 – 7:44)
Well, thank you so much for calling me back, and I’ll get my tools out and see if I can’t pry that thing open and make the necessary repair.

[Leslie Segrete] (7:44 – 8:58)
All right. Good luck, Cameron. Let us know how it works out.

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. Give us a call, guys. Let us know how we can help you get those projects off your to-do list and put them on the to-done list.

And, you know, spring, I feel like it’s just so full of all kinds of projects to do around the house, inside, outside. And it’s the time of year now to get your lawn and garden in order so that it looks amazing all summer long. And this is kind of where we set the stage for everything to bloom and grow and look great.

So we have a really super prize to help you have the best backyard. Up for grabs, we have the Centurion 2-gallon lithium battery sprayer with USB charger and a metal wand. It’s super easy to use.

I mean, just effortless. One button, start, stop, right at the handle is going to keep that sprayer going. And the charge on that battery is going to give you 120 minutes of run time.

You can check it out at steinhome.com. Retails for about $89. But one lucky person is going to have a beautiful summer yard in no time.

Jim, let’s get back to the phones.

[Jim] (8:58 – 9:06)
We’re going to head down to North Carolina, assuming we were above North Carolina. And we’re going to talk to Bea. And what’s happening at your Money Pit, Bea?

[Bea] (9:07 – 9:42)
Well, I have this closet that is fairly long, maybe about six feet long. I rent a property of a tenant who had more clothes than anybody I’ve ever met. And it bored the rod, and it pulled the supporting boards from the wall.

And it’s hard to keep getting these contractors to do small jobs. How could I, myself, who is a novice at DIY projects, tackle this kind of a job?

[Leslie Segrete] (9:42 – 10:04)
All right, so I get it. They have a lot of clothes, and those suits do weigh quite a bit. But tell me, how was that closet rod supported in the first place?

I mean, you mentioned it pulled the boards out of the wall. And a lot of times we see boards that have holes drilled into the middle of them. And then that board itself is attached to the wall.

And that rod kind of sits inside that hole. I mean, is that what you’re looking at?

[Bea] (10:04 – 10:36)
There is on either end of the rod that is the situation. But then what we also have are these supporting racks, if you will, that are placed every so often through the length of the closet. So he literally not only did that wood rod bow, but those supporting racks that are then nailed to a board that is nailed into the drywall that literally pulled away from the wall.

Everything pulled from the wall.

[Leslie Segrete] (10:36 – 12:21)
All right, so here’s what you need to do. First of all, you’ve got to completely empty out the closet and take out the shelf, which was probably loose on top of all of that assembly that you’re describing. Now, what we’re going to call here is something called cleating, which is a series of wood strips that you attach directly to the drywall on the long wall, but also on the short walls.

And the first step is to make sure that these are solidly attached. Now, the cleating system is great. When I was doing home makeover shows, we would use cleats to attach, you know, custom-made headboards, upper cabinets, and it’s sort of two pieces of wood.

One wood is attached directly to the studs on the wall with a miter cut that angles toward the wall. And then the other piece is attached to, you know, the back of the cabinet or the back of the headboard with the miter cut going away from that. So when they sit on top of each other, they kind of lock in place.

And they use this in, like, hotels as well to make sure things don’t fall off the wall and people don’t get hurt. It’s definitely an awesome project, and it’s definitely sturdy because you want to make sure everything is solidly attached. Now, that’s how you’re going to put all of your brackets up, with this cleating system.

And, you know, sometimes you just have to make sure that you’re really going into the studs. The cleating system is going to give you a long, solid support where that shelf is going to go because, you know, you’ll get studs, you’ll get it into every stud, but you’ll have a full, solid support. And remember, those studs are going to be about 16 inches on center.

If you don’t have a stud finder, just do the little knocking, and that’ll kind of tell you what sounds hollow, what doesn’t. Although, I tell you, and Jim, tell me if I’m wrong, I always think it sounds hollow, so I don’t know. I definitely rely on a stud finder and, you know, driving a nail or two in just to confirm my suspicions of the stud’s location.

[Jim] (12:21 – 12:24)
And keep some toothpaste or some caulk handy.

[Leslie Segrete] (12:25 – 12:35)
I mean, it’s true. So it’s like I don’t really rely on the knocking system, but I’ve seen people do it, and Tom could do it well. He’d be like, click, click, oh, yes, stud.

Nope, not stud. And I’d be like…

[Jim] (12:35 – 12:37)
You only got to do it to hit the first one, hopefully.

[Leslie Segrete] (12:37 – 16:41)
True. And then hopefully the measurements. All right.

You always want to make sure, though, that you go with a drywall screw and make sure everything is really just supporting itself in the right way. And then that shelf can kind of lock into that cleat, and then you can attach the closet rod to the bottom of that shelf. But that shelf needs to go into the cleat and then have sort of corner brackets that support it again against the wall so it’s not leading forward.

It’s not a terribly difficult project, but you just have to make sure that everything is properly attached to the wall because you know now that the suits are heavy. And if it is not properly attached and right into those studs, there is no magic fastener on earth that’s going to hold the weight of that stuff up. So definitely just pay attention to where you’re putting those supports in, and it will definitely take the weight of all of those suits.

That’s great instruction. All right. I hope that helps you out, Bea.

Good luck with that project. Well, if you enjoy doing those DIY projects, having a dedicated space is essential for getting them done efficiently. But if you have a garage, that space can easily be transformed into a functional workshop without breaking the bank.

We’re going to share some tips here on how you can create a great garage workshop in just a weekend, including proper lighting, all for about $500. Now, the first step is to get a sturdy workbench with a solid top. Typically, we’re looking at about 24 inches deep, 38 inches high.

Depends on what you need for the projects you’re working on. Some are going to come with drawers, and even some will have an adjustable height top to sort of suit your comfort level. For instance, I prefer taller workbenches because I hate leaning over and getting the back aches.

But you can buy a ready-made bench for a couple of hundred dollars or build a simple one yourself in a day for about $100. And you want to make sure that whatever you’ve got on the floor in this work area, add a mat sort of in front of this bench because it’s going to give you a little extra cushioning and comfort. Because as a person who stands on concrete all day in the studio working on projects, my feet hurt, my back hurts.

But that cushioned mat definitely makes a huge difference. Now, next, let’s talk about lighting because bright lighting is going to be crucial for those work surfaces. You can do high-intensity LED shop lights.

They’re excellent for task lighting over that workbench. And these lights are many times brighter than the old fluorescent shop lights that they’re kind of styled after. You want to aim for 130 to 150 lumens per square foot of workspace when you are planning out your lightscape for the room.

Now, you also want to make sure that your workshop has sufficient electrical service with enough outlets and capacity for whatever power tools or tools in general that you are working with. You want to place those outlets near that workspace to avoid extension cords and tripping hazards. And you might want to consider upgrading to 20-amp circuits if you’ve got less than that in your garage space because that will give you better performance for all of the things that you want to power.

Now, storage is essential, and you want good solutions here. So plan what items you need and think about how you can display them, how you can store them nearby, what has to be behind a closed cabinet door. Modular storage systems are great because they offer flexibility in how you arrange the shelves.

They’ve got bins. They’ve got hooks. All the things that you need to kind of suit your specific needs for the projects that you are working on or the type of space you’re creating.

And a lot of garage storage systems are just available for convenience. So you might find something already put together that works perfectly well. For larger tools and supplies, you can just use those sturdy stackable plastic bins with lids.

You’re going to see what’s right in there. But I also always make a little label that just tells me. So in case I’m looking quickly or it’s a little dark, I can see exactly what’s inside.

And lastly, if you’re going to be using that workshop during winter, you do want to think about heating options for comfort. There are a lot of affordable electric heaters available to keep that workspace cozy during those chilly project days. We’ve got a guide for garage heating right available to you at moneypit.com.

Jim, who’s next on the phone?

[Jim] (16:42 – 16:47)
Leslie, we’ve got Gail in Virginia who is hot and cold and hot and cold. What’s going on there?

[Gail in Virginia] (16:47 – 16:57)
I have an oil furnace that provides my heat and my hot water. Constantly, constantly have to adjust the water temperature in my shower.

[Leslie Segrete] (16:58 – 17:00)
Now, is it too hot or too cold or what’s going on?

[Gail in Virginia] (17:00 – 17:07)
Too hot. I’ve tried turning the temperature down on the furnace, but then it affects my heat and I run out of hot water.

[Leslie Segrete] (17:07 – 17:21)
Now, all right, we know exactly what you’ve got going on here. You don’t actually have a furnace. You have a boiler and you have an indirect water heater.

Is there a tank like the tank is like a structure next to your boiler or is it all coming straight off the boiler?

[Gail in Virginia] (17:21 – 17:22)
Straight off the boiler.

[Leslie Segrete] (17:23 – 18:50)
All right, so what you want to look for the next time you have the system serviced, you should be able to have a fix for this. There’s a valve called a mixing valve. And the purpose of the mixing valve is to add cold water to that 160 or so degree water that comes right off the heating system.

Because you never want to have that full temperature going to your shower because you’re going to get burned. All of those tankless coils, I mean, that’s the system that you have, by the way. It’s called a tankless coil.

It’s built into the boiler. And those generally do have a mixing valve. And that mixing valve adds that cold water into it.

This way you have two basic ways to adjust the temperature. And as you’ve discovered, if you turn the temperature down for the water going through the boiler, your house isn’t going to heat quite so well because the radiators aren’t getting as hot. So they’re really two separate purposes.

You know, the water that you’re using domestically for the shower shouldn’t get any hotter than 110 and 120 degrees max. But for the heating system, you do need it to be higher. Excellent.

You just need to find that mixing valve, make sure you have the technician identify it, show you how to operate it, and set it correctly because you don’t want to keep messing around with this temperature difference. All right. Good luck with your project.

Thank you. Bye now. Well, we had so much fun when Clint Robertson of the Boise Boys visited us here last month at the Money Pit.

And we asked him back because I didn’t realize this. He was a finalist on The Apprentice. And you can find The Apprentice online right now so we can all revisit Clint’s season.

Clint, welcome back to the Money Pit.

[Clint Robertson] (18:51 – 18:54)
Yeah, we’re happy to be back. We had such a good time. We got to do it twice.

[Leslie Segrete] (18:54 – 19:05)
Seriously, twice is nice. So tell us, this is amazing. I used to love The Apprentice.

Feelings aside, everybody, about how you may or may not feel about the president. But was it amazing? Was it crazy?

Was he wild?

[Clint Robertson] (19:06 – 19:38)
The whole event was crazy. You wake up at 6 in the morning or actually you have to be on the streets by 6. You wake up like around 4 and you don’t get to sleep until midnight for about three months straight.

So they really get to the core of who you are. And it was just a phenomenal time. I loved every second of it.

And the good news is my episodes aired. They aired. They’ve never been seen since on network television or on broadcast television.

Prime video on Amazon is now releasing every season, one a week, on Amazon Prime. So keep your eyes peeled for season 7.

[Leslie Segrete] (19:38 – 19:41)
Don’t spoil it for me. Did you win? Don’t spoil it.

I can’t wait to see if you win.

[Clint Robertson] (19:42 – 19:44)
All right. Well, you shall be entertained.

[Leslie Segrete] (19:44 – 19:44)
Don’t tell me.

[Clint Robertson] (19:44 – 19:45)
I promise you.

[Leslie Segrete] (19:46 – 19:57)
All right. Thank you so much, Clint. We can’t wait to check out Building Boise streaming online.

And of course, The Apprentice as well on Amazon Prime. I can’t wait to see if you win or not. I’m so curious.

Thanks again so much for stopping by the Money Pit, Clint.

[Clint Robertson] (19:58 – 19:59)
Thank you very much. And we’ll talk soon.

[Jim] (20:00 – 20:16)
All right, Leslie. We’ve got Dewey looking to make some real estate income here. He has a three-unit property.

And well, two out of three ain’t bad. It isn’t what Meatloaf exactly meant, I don’t think. But one of them is not quite ready.

What is going on there, Dewey?

[Dewey] (20:16 – 21:23)
I bought a three-unit building where I live in one of the units. I think it was built in about 1905. And the basement unit has a really bad odor coming from one of the rooms.

Prior to moving in, the unit had some pretty bad backed-up sewage that flooded some of the unit. The room in question has carpet squares and kind of confirmed the smell is coming from the drywall. The room is sharing the exterior side of the house.

So my question is how to figure out if it’s from the flood, if there’s leaking from the foundation. And if we do replace the drywall, making sure that that was the cause of the smell. The other thing is the exterior.

There’s some type of black material that was used to seal the sidewalk to the building. And what’s the best way to seal that to make sure there’s not leaking rainwater coming in as well?

[Leslie Segrete] (21:23 – 25:15)
Well, it’s definitely great to have an investment unit. You know, having a building like that is so wonderful because it gives you a great return on investment. If you needed to live there, you could.

But the issue here is that you’ve got some underlying conditions from this flood that definitely had some sewage in it. And that could be a health hazard. So you want to make sure that you tear up any of the drywall that was connected to that.

And also if there was wiring, like if there was an outlet that was below that flood line, you’ve got to change the wiring. And you’re going to have to do a fair amount of demolition there. But you would have to do it whether or not there was sewage.

If there was water in the space, you would still have to change out the wiring. You would still have to remove that drywall. And it’s just worse because there was sewage in the mix.

And, you know, it’s also kind of gross. The benefit here, guys, is that you could work with a remediation company. And they’re really good at this.

This is exactly what they do. They deal with leaks. They deal with floods.

And not only do they get rid of anything that’s impacted, they treat those wall cavities with the appropriate types of cleaning products to kill anything that’s left behind. Because you don’t want to get biogas or have any bacteria living in there behind the wall. That could make you super sick.

I mean, it’s definitely going to be a lot healthier if you’re going to rent out that space to know that you’ve gone about the proper process of remediating any sort of issues from that sewage flood. But I do think you’re going to have a big mess here on your hands. The other thing is the carpet.

I mean, it’s a really bad idea in general to have carpet. I mean, everybody loves a cozy floor, especially in a basement. But it’s just a space that’s so prone to moisture.

There could be leaks. There could be flooding depending on the weather conditions. And even if your basement’s been bone dry, you could get a crazy storm and end up with water in the basement.

So you’re better off having a floor that’s water resistant, something that’s like a solid surface that’s meant to be used below grade. And then when you’re all set, get a really cute area rug just to kind of make it feel cozy. And you can clean those as needed.

Alright, now in terms of the sidewalk that’s outside, that’s probably an asphalt sealant that was used between the sidewalk and the house. I mean, just generally speaking, on the outside of your house, you want to make sure that the water is draining away from the foundation. And if that sidewalk slab happens to pitch toward the house, that’s a bad thing.

I mean, no matter what you seal it with, you’re not going to be able to stop the water from getting into that wall. So this would be a case where you would either have to tear out the concrete and replace it, or depending on how it’s built, sometimes you can lift that concrete one section at a time and actually just re-pitch it. Alright, there’s a big project here, but you can definitely get it all back in working order and get that rental back on its feet.

You know, spring really is the perfect time of year to get your lawn and garden in order so that it will look amazing all summer long. This is kind of set in the stage, you know, blooming, color, keeping that yard looking great. But how do you do that?

Well, I’ve got a great prize to help you get those projects done all around your yard this hour. Up for grabs, we have the Centurion 2-gallon lithium battery sprayer with USB charger and a metal wand. And it is totally effortless when you go to use it.

It is a one-button start-stop, it’s right at the handle, it keeps that sprayer going. And a full charge is going to give you about 120 minutes of run time. The 14-inch metal wand has a brass nozzle and it’s going to give you a precise spray for every task, whether you’re watering or fertilizing or even applying an herbicide.

You can check it out online at steinholm.com. Retails for $89.99. We’ve got a beautiful summer yard headed out to one lucky caller. So, Jim, who’s up on the phone?

[Jim] (25:15 – 25:19)
It looks like we’ve got Jerry in Dayton, Ohio. How can we help you out today, Jerry?

[Jerry in Ohio] (25:19 – 25:27)
Hi, thanks for taking my call. Love the show. I’m really interested in that Centurion garden sprayer.

[Leslie Segrete] (25:30 – 25:38)
By Jerry, do you mean Jim? Jim, is this you? Jim, do you want the sprayer?

[Jim] (25:38 – 25:40)
No, Leslie, I’m not allowed to win the sprayer.

[Leslie Segrete] (25:40 – 25:44)
Aw, Jim, I’m sorry. Let’s get a real winner on the line.

[Jim] (25:45 – 25:52)
All right, now we’re heading to Connecticut. Leslie, we’ve got Nicole who’s dealing with some noisy pipes. What’s going on, Nicole?

[Nicole in Connecticut] (25:52 – 26:09)
Every time we flush the toilet and use the shower or wash a load of laundry, there’s a well here, and we hear loud banging in the basement where the well, you know, water comes in.

[Leslie Segrete] (26:09 – 28:48)
All right, there’s two things here that I’m thinking could be causing this. The first one is pretty straightforward, and it’s called water hammer. And the water hammer occurs when plumbing pipes in the basement are kind of loose or not well-attached to the wood framing.

And, you know, the ceiling joists are a great example because when you open up a faucet or close a faucet or flush the toilet, that water movement through the pipes suddenly stops. But sometimes that force continues to shake the pipe, and if that pipe isn’t properly clamped to that joist, it’s going to kind of shake and rattle and hit that joist and cause what’s, you know, a water hammer sound. Hammer time!

Yeah, exactly. Please, hammer, don’t hurt them. And because you’ve got metal pipes, it kind of, like, makes that sound travel further, and it could make it sound louder, and you could definitely hear it all over the house.

We do get a lot of calls from folks because it makes them super miserable because if somebody goes to the bathroom, even if it’s not directly next to the dining room when you’re having a big family dinner, all of a sudden the pipes start making such a racket. So the water hammer is one possibility there. But also, you have a well.

So you might be hearing the well pump going on and off, and it shouldn’t go on and off every single time you run the water, if you have an expansion tank near it. So basically, the job of the expansion tank is it holds the water, and then it feeds off of the water from this tank when you’re drawing it, and it has to go down to a certain point before it refills with more water that gets served through the pipes. So what I would have to say is just do a test.

You know, have somebody else stand near the well and then run the faucets and turn them off and on and so on, and see if it’s the well going on every time the water is being drawn because that’s not supposed to happen, and that could be putting a ton of wear and tear on the pump for the well. It’s a lot of expense in terms of energy usage, and if you have the right type of tank in there, that could stop it from happening. If it’s not the case, then it’s most definitely going to be the water hammer, and you just fix that by securing the pipes to the underside of the floor joist structure.

There’s hangers for that. There’s pipe clamps. It kind of really depends on how they’re already installed and just, you know, reattach them and make it better.

There’s also something called a water hammer arrestor, which is like a shock absorber for the water, and it basically goes on the end of some of those water pipe lines and just takes the pressure off. So as it’s settling down, it doesn’t shake the pipe as much. Does that make sense?

[Nicole in Connecticut] (28:48 – 28:51)
Okay, wonderful. Thank you so much for all your help.

[Leslie Segrete] (28:51 – 28:54)
All right, well, good luck with that project, Nicole. Hopefully everything quiets down.

[Jim] (28:55 – 28:56)
Can’t touch this.

[Leslie Segrete] (28:57 – 30:38)
I’m here all week. Well, did you know that your washing machine might not be washing the germs out of your family’s clothing? You know, over the years, a washing machine can become contaminated with, this is gross, I’m going to say it, fecal bacteria, guys.

And that potentially leaves millions of germs behind in that laundry. Even worse, it could be possible that viruses will linger longer on clothing and that potentially could infect those that come in contact with them. So to kill any viruses or bacteria, first you want to wipe the washer door and all of the seals around the washer door, especially with a front load with a solution of 25% bleach and water.

Now, unless white streaks are your thing, just be careful not to spill that bleach or have it come in contact with your clothing and really wipe it away and rinse it away. Next, you want to run the washer without clothing in it using just hot water and a half a gallon of bleach. That bleach will sanitize the machine and all of the plumbing components, and that’s going to kill any virus or bacteria that’s been left behind.

Finally, you want to be sure to select the extra rinse option here. You have to make sure that all of that bleach is cleaned out before you run that next load. And if you don’t give it that extra rinse, it could kind of linger and then stain the clothing, which, you know, with bleach is not fixable.

So definitely a good idea to do this. I kind of do this twice a year in my house just because, kind of a spring and fall thing. But definitely add it at least once a year into your routine.

You will be thankful you did. Jim is on the line.

[Jim] (30:38 – 30:41)
Hi, Kelly, you’ve got the Money Pit. How can we help out?

[Kelly] (30:42 – 30:50)
How do you get rid of freeloading bugs, slugs, and unwanted rodents from your yard, your garage, your basement, and your home?

[Leslie Segrete] (30:50 – 32:11)
There’s a great article that’s going to walk you through all of the tips to kind of keep those rodents away on MoneyPit.com, but I think this is also a good case in terms of the insects, you know, for sort of a general pesticide treatment because where else do you begin with that kind of stuff? You know, what kind of infestation do you have going on? I think unless you know specifically what’s going on to treat those specific insects, you know, a rodent’s more like general management, whereas an insect is a very specific treatment for a very specific insect.

And a pesticide professional or somebody that really does this for a living, they’re going to know what they’re targeting, how they’re targeting the right treatments for it. So, you know, and don’t be afraid. You can go with these pesticide pros if you’ve got kids in the house and pets in the house.

There is a product for every type of installation, but definitely that’s where you start to get it under control. All right, I hope you get those guests out of your house quick. We’re looking to customize our content here to really fix some of the stuff that you are working on.

So don’t worry about it. Just shoot us a call and say, Hey, my top five projects this summer, X, Y, and Z. I want to build the deck.

I want to paint some rooms. Whatever it is that you have going on, we can lend a hand. Remember, you can also email us questions, and I’ve got one here.

Jim, who wrote in?

[Jim] (32:11 – 32:14)
Well, this is a writer-inner, to use a Leslie phrase.

[Leslie Segrete] (32:16 – 32:18)
I like that it’s made a comeback.

[Jim] (32:19 – 32:42)
Call back, call back. This is Jack, and he wrote in saying, My outside light post isn’t working as a light fixture, but the plug seems okay. I added some string lights, but then the breaker tripped.

I went back and re-snapped that breaker, but several days later, it happened again, and I’m just going to have to call an electrician, do you think? Or do you have something I might be able to check on my end prior to calling an electrician?

[Leslie Segrete] (32:43 – 33:59)
All right. Well, I do know that breakers are not supposed to be turned off like a light switch like that, but it’s definitely going off for a reason. You know, a circuit breaker exists to prevent that wiring from overheating and then catching on fire, and it’s matched to the size of the wire.

So if it’s a number 14 wire, it means it’s going to have a 15-amp breaker, and if that breaker keeps going off, it means that either that wire is being used to carry too much current, and that can happen if you’ve got, say, I don’t know, say you’ve got an air conditioner plugged in, and then you plug in the vacuum or the hair dryer, and then it pops. So you know you’re drawing too much service to go through that wire, and that is definitely causing it to pop. But it also can go off if you’re getting a short, and that can be dangerous, especially when you’re talking about some outside lighting.

So this is really way past the skill of the average homeowner. You should call in an electrician and kind of figure out what’s going on. And quite frankly, if this old light fixture is just kind of, you know, not up to date, you’re better off just getting a new one anyway, and it’s going to have a built-in ground fault as opposed to just adding that ground fault circuit interrupter to that circuit itself.

It might even be less expensive overall, but definitely unsafe with what you’re doing, and you need to get to the bottom of it. All right, when the lights are flickering, that’s a bad sign, you guys.

[Jim] (34:00 – 34:14)
Even a tiny water leak can cause a lot of damage over time. If you’ve got a spare half hour, you can easily check for leaks in and under all the sinks in your home. Leslie tells us how in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word.

Leslie?

[Leslie Segrete] (34:14 – 35:55)
All right, well, here is the best way that you can check for leaks in your sink. First of all, you want to turn each faucet on and run it full blast for a minute or two. Then with a bright flashlight, inspect the drain under that sink.

If no leak is spotted, close the stopper, let the sink fill up until it hits that overflow valve there. Do not walk away during this part, because some faucets can still fill a sink faster than that overflow can drain it, and then you’re going to end up with a big mess. Now, after that water has been running through that overflow for another minute or two, check the drain again under the sink.

If still no leak, your sink is good to go. You kind of do this sink to sink, check everything out. You also want to check your toilets for leaks.

You can pour a bit of food coloring into the toilet tank, wait 20 minutes, and then go back in and look at that bathroom and check to see if the bowl, if the water in there at all has become colored in any way. If that green or blue or whatever you put in that tank sort of leaks through, you have a leaky flush valve, and you can replace that super-duper-duper easy. It’s a definite do-it-yourself project.

It takes no time at all. You just have to turn off the water flow to that toilet. Super affordable.

Great way to make that toilet more efficient so you’re not just wasting all your money down the drain. All right, guys. You know, it’s been a busy hour here for the team at Money Pit, so thank you so much for joining us.

Coming up next week on the show, stone walls are synonymous with strength, but a poorly built wall can crumble in no time at all. We’re going to share some tips on building a stone wall that will stand the test of time. Thanks again, guys.

Remember, you can do it yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone.

[Theme Music] (35:56 – 36:10)
On the Money Pit Radio Show On the Money Pit Radio Show Pick up the telephone Fix up your home sweet home By calling 888-MONEY-PIT Whoo!

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