Show Notes
- Cleaning Your Washing Machine: Laundry looking lackluster? Find out how to get cleaner clothes by cleaning your washing machine.
- Energy-Efficient Windows: Air conditioning is lost through drafty windows. Upgrade your windows to cut cooling costs.
- Home Security: Don’t make this common DIY mistake that puts your home at risk for break-ins.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Plus, answers to your home improvement questions about:
- Tree Roots: Tree roots are making it hard to mow. If Harris doesn’t want to remove the tree, he can create a mulch bed or an attractive bench around it.
- Smoke Odors: Lingering smoke odors were left behind by the former owner. Eve needs a good primer to seal all the walls and floors after cleaning everything.
- Wood Gutters: George can’t find replacement sections for his old wood gutters. We recommend a company that makes beautiful, maintenance-free wood-style fiberglass gutters.
- Cracked Cement Patio: Alicia is concerned about the cracked cement patio. She can clean out the old caulk and reseal it or install attractive pavers over the concrete.
- Basement Flooring: Justin wants ideas for a basement floor that has layers of paint. We suggest luxury vinyl planks that are waterproof, durable, inexpensive, and easy to install over the existing floor.
- Cleaning Cabinets: Wood cabinets above the stove hood are covered in residue. We advise Margie to use a grease remover or citrus cleaner.
- Painting Doors: Paint is peeling off Tom’s wood doors and baseboard. He needs to strip off the old paint and use an oil-based primer to get proper adhesion for a fresh coat.
Podcast Transcript
Read Transcript
| 0:00:33 | TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles. This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:00:39 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:00:40 | TOM: And we are here to help you take on the projects that you want to get done around your house. Or maybe you don’t want to do it yourself. Maybe you want to hire a pro to take on a project, whether your do it yourself or you’re a do it for me kind of person. We want to make sure you don’t become a do it to yourself or maybe some errors along the way. : So reach out to us with your questions. The number here is 1-888-MONEY-PIT. Or you can go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button. Coming up on today’s program, have you ever taken the clothes out of your washing machine only to notice that maybe they don’t look much cleaner than when you put them in there? Well, that sounds familiar. It may be time to actually clean your washing machine. We’re going to tell you how. And also ahead, summer isn’t a season. We often think about windows, but old drafty windows are still present and they do drive up your cooling costs the same as they do with the heating bills in the winter. We’re going to share tips on what you can be looking for of windows are on your project list. Plus, if you’re a do it yourself. Or did you know one simple mistake might be making your home a target for break ins? We’re going to have that answer. Plus, tips to make your home more secure. |
| 0:01:42 | LESLIE: But first, got a home improvement question and don’t know where to turn. Well, consider us your coach, your helper, or your home improvement therapist for all things remodeling, decor and fix up. |
| 0:01:51 | TOM: And you can also consider us your source for great tool giveaways, because today we’ve got the Waggoner Tighten Control Pro 17 to give away to one listener drawn at random for those who call or post their home improvement question, there’s an incredible paint sprayer worth 379 bucks going out to one caller drawing at random. Who has a question for us. The number is 888-MONEY-PIT. Or you can just go to moneypit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button. |
| 0:02:17 | LESLIE: Harrison, Kansas, you’ve got the Money Pit. What can we do for you today? |
| 0:02:20 | CALLER: Hey, I have some tree roots in my yard that are growing close to the surface and they’re exposed to where when I mow, I have to kind of mow over them or around them. Right. And just don’t know what to do. What would be the best way to get the yard back where it needs to be? And what do you guys think? |
| 0:02:40 | TOM: How much do you like that tree? |
| 0:02:43 | CALLER: You know, I’m not that committed to the tree and. |
| 0:02:45 | TOM: It’s like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube, You know, once it grows, you can’t really cut them back. They’re there for a purpose. And so you have to figure out a way to live with it or, you know, create a bed around it or mulch around it, or maybe, you know, have it be less lawn and more, you know, like a mulched bed or something of that nature. But, you know, even if you had soil over it, it’s still going to kind of keep continue to grow up and pop through it. So that’s just the nature of the beast when it comes to a big, healthy tree like that. Eventually, depending on the type of trail, eventually it’ll come out of the ground like that and start to impact your lawn. |
| 0:03:20 | CALLER: Put a bed around it. |
| 0:03:21 | TOM: And yeah, maybe, maybe a nice circular bench around the tree, you know, or something of that nature. |
| 0:03:27 | CALLER: Oh, that’s a good idea. |
| 0:03:28 | TOM: Yeah, you can find those. They’re basically are sold like so that they split in half and you can put them around the tree and depending on the diameter, the tree, you want to try to get one that’s, you know, that fits right. But it could be really an attractive feature. You got to roll with it, you know, figure out a way to make it look like it was always supposed to be there. You’re waiting all these years for those roots to pop up so that you could put it back. |
| 0:03:48 | CALLER: I wanted to do that. |
| 0:03:49 | TOM: Yeah, that’s right. Okay. Are you good? That’s the spirit. |
| 0:03:52 | CALLER: Sounds great. That’s a good idea. I like that. Thank you. |
| 0:03:55 | TOM: All right. Good luck. Thanks so much for calling us at 888 Money Pit. |
| 0:03:59 | LESLIE: Heading over to Delaware, where Eve is trying to get rid of a smoke smell. What’s going on? |
| 0:04:02 | CALLER: Right. We recently purchased a row home in Philadelphia and it has a third floor studio apartment where the previous occupant was a heavy smoker. And we’re trying to get rid of the smell from the cigarettes. We’ve tried removing the floor tiles, replacing the drop grid ceiling tiles and painting, but the odor is still pretty strong. So I’m wondering if you have any suggestions. |
| 0:04:23 | TOM: So above the drop ceiling, did you paint that surface as well? |
| 0:04:26 | CALLER: No, we didn’t. |
| 0:04:27 | TOM: What did you paint with? Did you use any kind of a primer? |
| 0:04:30 | CALLER: Going over paint. So we didn’t we just used a regular latex paint. |
| 0:04:34 | TOM: Right. So the best thing to do in a situation like this is to use a very good quality primer, either an outside primer or a solvent based primer, because it tends to seal in all of those wall and ceiling surfaces, including the odors that are underneath. The other issue, of course, is the floors. Now, you mentioned that there was there’s a tile floor there, so it was a hard surface floor. |
| 0:04:54 | CALLER: Yeah. Right now, we pulled up everything right down to the plywood and we were just going to put in a new flooring. So is there anything we should do before we do that? |
| 0:05:01 | TOM: Yeah I would also prime the plywood. Oh, okay. I’d seal everything and I would use a good, quality oil based primer. Like a kills for example. And I would prime the heck out of everything because that does a good job of sealing out those odors that in some just normal ventilation ought to do it. But I think if you don’t, prime those surfaces, you won’t be able to completely get rid of that odor. And then, of course, it goes without saying that you’ve disposed of furniture and curtains and things like that. |
| 0:05:28 | CALLER: Yes. The only other question is what about like kitchen cabinets? |
| 0:05:31 | TOM: You can’t do much with them. But what you can do is you can clean them with TSP, tri sodium phosphate. It’s like a powdery soap mix that you buy in the paint aisle and you can mix up a solution and clean those of these wooden cabinets or like laminate cabinets. But if it’s wooden, you may not use the TSP. You could use Murphy’s oil soap. Okay. But you’re going to have to clean them, right? |
| 0:05:50 | CALLER: Yep. Okay. Thank you very much. |
| 0:05:52 | TOM: You’re welcome. You’ve good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. And thankfully, fewer and fewer people are smoking today. So we’re getting fewer and fewer of those calls. But I tell you what, when you get a house, it’s like that. What a mess. |
| 0:06:04 | LESLIE: George in Connecticut has a question about a gutter. What can we do for you? |
| 0:06:08 | CALLER: I have a house that was built in 1952. It has wooden gutters on the front of the house, faces south from one edge in about six and a half to seven feet. The wooden gutter has been slowly deteriorating. Now I’ve gone all over Connecticut, basically to lumber yards and other places, looking for a section of gutter to splice it in. |
| 0:06:36 | TOM: Right? Yeah, that’s going to be very difficult. |
| 0:06:40 | CALLER: Yeah. Nobody has them. And what surprises me is when you talk to some of the younger people, I’m not obviously I’m not a young man. They never heard of wooden gutters. |
| 0:06:49 | TOM: Yeah, it doesn’t surprise me. Well, look, you’re in the right part of the country to find a replacement product. There’s actually a company called the Fiberglass Gutter Company, and they make wood styled gutters out of fiberglass. I know about them because they did a segment on this old house that we were familiar with back in, I think, 2014, 2015. So go check out fiberglass gutters, e-comm, and you will see that they, in fact, make gutters that look just like your wooden gutters that are fiberglass. Now, you talked about like splicing in a section. You’re not going to be able to splice this into an existing wooden gutter. You’re going to have to replace the entire piece. Now, if you can do this and maybe not have to replace all the wooden gutters, good luck. I mean, I don’t know what your house looks like, but you can’t put it in the middle and you’re going to have to make sure it connects properly. But they’re absolutely beautiful. I want you to do this. You’re not going to have to worry about any gutter maintenance again because they won’t rot. |
| 0:07:45 | CALLER: So the company I need to is fiberglass dot com. |
| 0:07:49 | TOM: No fiberglass gutters, dot com. Just search for fiberglass gutters and you will find these faux wood gutters. |
| 0:07:56 | CALLER: Okay. |
| 0:07:57 | TOM: Well, I think that’ll solve it. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:08:02 | LESLIE: Hey guys, if you’ve heard a helpful tip or two while listening to our show, please help us help even more home improvers by dropping us a five star review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:08:11 | TOM: That would be awesome. And you might even win a copy of our book My Home, My Money Pit, Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure. Just go to Money Pit Tor.com slash Review. Well, guys, you have a big painting project to take on this summer. Well, if so, we’ve got a serious paint sprayer to give away that will help you get it done. We’ve got the Titan Control Max 7000 paint sprayer by Wagner. It’s great for handyman and general contractors, inexperienced homeowners who want to tackle some big painting projects. So siding, fencing, stuff like that. It’s a high efficiency airless sprayer. It produces 55% less overspray and it goes on three times faster than a roller. It’s going to go out to one listener. Drawing at random is worth 379 bucks. So reach out to us with your questions Right now. To qualify, you must contact us with a home improvement question by calling 888-MONEY-PIT. That’s 888-666-3974. Or go to MoneyPit.com/ask and click the blue microphone button. |
| 0:09:07 | LESLIE: Alisha in North Carolina is on the line with the Money Pit has a question about patio and deck what’s going on? |
| 0:09:12 | CALLER: We had a like a patio cement slab in the back of our house. It runs the length of our house On half of that slab. It sits our deck. Okay, We live in a split level, so the deck goes up rather high. It has posts that sit on this cement slab patio and there’s a crack going down the middle of it. We bought the house about three years ago. We didn’t notice the crack. It was there, but we really didn’t notice it. And then I’d say about last year, who’s sitting down? Notice that the crack is now splitting open. You know, our backyard slopes down. It’s North Carolina. There’s lots of that red clay that’s most of what our ground is made up of. And it’s like they the ground is pulling away from that cement slab because of rain and flooding in our backyard, which unfortunately floods as well. So it’s making it worse. I don’t know whether the footings are what they really should be. We’ve had a couple of people come out and estimate the situation. I just don’t know what to do. |
| 0:10:22 | TOM: First of all, are you convinced, Alisha, that this crack is active, that it’s opening up, or is it just that you’re paying attention to it now every time you walk out in the backyard? So maybe you’re imagining it’s getting bigger now. |
| 0:10:33 | CALLER: It’s different looking than it was when we first bought it. |
| 0:10:35 | TOM: How big is the crack? |
| 0:10:36 | CALLER: It’s not huge. Not like it’s Yeah, no, it’s not like it’s three inches big now. It’s small. Still. It’s opening up. The caulking isn’t covering the crack anymore. So I’d say about quarter inch. |
| 0:10:48 | TOM: All right. It’s not bad. So it is a couple of things you can do here. First of all, you do need to clean out that old cork and reseal this one way or the other. Quick. Right. Has a product that’s made specifically for concrete slabs that you can use that will give you a textured finish and it dries in about an hour. So you do want to reseal it now in terms of, you know, not having to look at it, maybe doing something that would be a little more attractive, maybe slowing it down. I think you’re right. The reason it’s moving, if it isn’t that moving, is it’s exacerbated by water’s, you know, cement slabs don’t have footings. So there’s nothing holding it back from doing this. And I just wonder if this deck was properly built because it’s sitting on top of half of it. It really just shouldn’t be sitting on the four inch concrete slab. It should be sitting on the footing below it. Be that what it may. Another idea that you might want to consider is pave stone makes a paver brick that is about half the thickness of a full paver brick. It’s designed for taking a cement slab that maybe doesn’t look so hot and creating a beautiful paver patio with it. The way it works is you lay down the perimeter and then you sort of put your whole pattern in and then you take up the perimeter and you basically glue in the outside perimeter row and then that holds all the bricks inside of it. And then you have this typical paver stone and it looks fantastic. So that’s available from Pave Stone. |
| 0:12:13 | CALLER: You know, my big concern is, you know, five years down the line, if we want to put the house on the market kind of thing, and I didn’t want to I want to do something if it was if I was already seeing it, but I was already seeing an increase in the crack. Now, what would it look like? Five years? |
| 0:12:29 | TOM: A cement slab is not the structural part of your backyard or your patio. It’s just it’s basically there as a surface that you look with. And if you put the pavers over it and it goes from a quarter in streets of an inch, nobody’s ever going to see that pavers are just going to shift. Product is made by Pave Stone. It’s actually called Pave Stone Milano. That’s the brand. That’s the particular product. That is the thinner version of the full paved stone paver. Okay. And again, you know that right on top of that slab goes down really quick and it looks fantastic. |
| 0:12:57 | CALLER: Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate it. I love your show. |
| 0:13:00 | TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 88 Money Pit. |
| 0:13:05 | LESLIE: Well, have you ever taken a clean load of laundry out of your machine and found it to be less clean than you expected? Well, you might need to give your washing machine a little cleaning of its own. |
| 0:13:14 | TOM: Well, the problem is most likely months or even years of detergent and liquid fabric softener buildup. Then there’s also the grime endured from all those dirty clothes. And if you’ve got an agitator, you’ll want to check the underside of it. Or along the crisis in the rubber flange along the top of the washer basket. |
| 0:13:31 | LESLIE: Yeah. And you know what, guys? Cleaning it is not too difficult. Actually. Just had to do this in my own home. You want to remove the agitator? It’s pretty gross under there if you’re dealing with some issues and rinse off all the gunk before you replace it. And some of it doesn’t want to come off so easily because it’s been building up for a while. I use some white vinegar or some hot water. It definitely helps. And then go ahead and scrub all the rubber parts with a wet cloth and then go ahead and replace that agitator. |
| 0:13:56 | TOM: And next, when you’re all done, put it about a cup of bleach and run your washer for a full hot wash cycle with no clothes in it. That will sanitize anything you haven’t as yet reached. And if you want more ticks, visit Money Pit e-comm and search clean your dryer. To find out more on how to get that task done in your house. |
| 0:14:12 | LESLIE: Justin from Alexandria, Virginia, is on the line and he’s a repeat caller to the Money Pit. So what’s going on now? |
| 0:14:19 | TOM: Did we get it right last time, Justin? |
| 0:14:21 | CALLER: Yeah, The last track project turned out great. We abated all the asbestos. We put the flying down in the basement, and now it leads up to the laundry room, which leads to our new problem. |
| 0:14:31 | TOM: Okay, so next. |
| 0:14:34 | CALLER: So after that, asbestos is abated. There is no asbestos in our laundry room because they never put those old, you know, 1970s tiles down. But they did decide to paint it 25 times. So there’s a whole bunch of paint in this room, different layers of paint. It’s not loud or anything, but because it’s in the basement and it’s in the laundry room and it floated off and or whatever, you know, tripped everywhere, it looks terrible. And we’ve been trying to figure out something to do with the flooring in here to make it look nice. So, okay, one idea was to strip down all the paint and then try to do a new layer, maybe like an a poxy or something. Another idea was to put down another like a similar luxury vinyl plank so that it can it’s more bendy because there is in the center of the space the dream that is meant to capture any overflow that ever might occur from the catastrophic, catastrophic event from either sump pump or from the from the you know, it’s an old style laundry machine out where there’s no three inch. It’s like, you know, they just have a some pantyhose, at least to think that they call it a day. Yeah. |
| 0:15:46 | TOM: I think you’re on the right track. I think I think I’d go with you. Go with option B there, because I was thinking luxury vinyl plank when you said that, because it’s 100% waterproof now around this drain. I think what I would do there be luxury vinyl plank and float on top of the old floor. Right? And you could use some sort of a molding to trim the edge. What I would do where the drain is, is I would very carefully cut that drain, circle out, you know, cut that hole out, and I would caulk underneath that within adhesive sealant, something like total tech, maybe a super glue. I would seal around that drain. So that only so that that piece is held down tight around the drain. And I think from there you’ll just be good to go. I don’t think it’s worth you trying to strip off all that old paint. Leslie I think for a laundry room, luxury vinyl plank is a good choice. What do you think? |
| 0:16:33 | LESLIE: It’s definitely a great choice for a laundry room. It’s super durable. Should you have any issues with water or leaking situations that’s going to stand up very well And you’ve got so many choices so you can really make it look as stylish or designed or as simple as you want. |
| 0:16:47 | TOM: Yeah, and it’s inexpensive. So, you know, you could change it in a few years and it’s a it’ll be super easy to do. |
| 0:16:53 | CALLER: Truly. Yeah. We were thinking about doing the vinyl plank because I didn’t really want to deal with the stripping, especially since we’re going to have kids in the house in and, you know, just in general using the stripping stuff, even if you’re using like, like the Citra one or like smart strip or whatever those things are called, you know, they’re less toxic, but you probably don’t want that in an un ventilated space for too long, especially since you have like power washer. There’s something at the end to. |
| 0:17:19 | TOM: Get it out I don’t think is necessary just then. I think that’s a great option for you. All right. |
| 0:17:22 | CALLER: I’ll keep that in mind, though. |
| 0:17:23 | TOM: All right. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. And given that you’re at the literally on the ground floor of your next home brewing project and you’re expecting to fill the house up with kids, I think that you’ll be calling us time and time again as the years go on. |
| 0:17:38 | TOM: We’ll be glad to help. |
| 0:17:39 | CALLER: Yeah, I look forward to it. |
| 0:17:41 | LESLIE: Put us on speed dial. |
| 0:17:42 | CALLER: Will do. Thanks so much. |
| 0:17:44 | LESLIE: Well, windows, they’re a significant part of your home’s exterior, and they play an important role in keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter and comfortable all year round. And with the right windows, you can also improve your home’s esthetic as well as its value. |
| 0:17:58 | TOM: Joining us now with tips on how to improve your home with new windows is Jen Tuetken. Jen is the director of innovation and design for Pella. Welcome, Jen. |
| 0:18:07 | JEN TUETKEN: Hi. Thank you for having me. |
| 0:18:09 | TOM: Hey, you know, summer, I guess, isn’t really a season when we often think about windows, but I do because I know that old, drafty windows are still present and they can drive up our cooling costs in exactly the same way as they do with our heating costs in the winter. But you know this folks don’t feel that cold draft. |
| 0:18:25 | TOM: They don’t think about it. But I mean, it really shows up when it comes time to pay your energy bill. |
| 0:18:29 | JEN: So at Pella corporation, we offer a very large selection of windows and doors because we understand that windows and doors are a really big part of the market. And energy, to your point, is incredibly important, both in the summer and the winter, because, you know, old single pane windows certainly are drafty. And we definitely saw this, you know, during Covid when people were spending more time at home. It actually became more important. Right. And so we have heavily focused on making sure that we have windows that are energy efficient, especially Energy Star certified with the industry standards, to make sure that we are delivering stuff that absolutely is helping your energy bill and helping you stay comfortable. |
| 0:19:10 | LESLIE: As a homeowner. I think there’s sometimes can be some confusion or at least misunderstanding to what kind of innovations have taken place over the course of many years when it comes to windows and doors. So if you’re in a position where it’s time to replace some windows or some doors or whatever is going on at your own Money Pit, how do you sort of keep track of all of these innovations? |
| 0:19:32 | LESLIE: How do you know what’s best and what the right solution is for your home? |
| 0:19:36 | JEN: There’s really two ways to look at it. There’s form and function, right? So obviously, when you’re looking to replace your windows, you want to make sure that you are enhancing the beauty of your home, both from the interior and the exterior. But we always try to offer a large collection of windows that meet those different aesthetics, whether you’re traditional, transitional, contemporary and as well as within your architecture style. But on the function side, we are always looking at how do we improve the energy efficiency, how do we improve the thermal breaks within our products just to make sure that we are keeping it comfortable. And one of the unique innovations that we actually launched recently is the hidden screen. So when people are at home and they’re looking for more comfortable features both on that beauty and kind of the function side, we offer a hidden screen. And so if you own a double home window, when you open up the window, the screen appears. But when the windows closed, it actually disappears altogether. So that way, on the exterior of the home, you just see this really nice, beautiful window. But it adds that added functionality to allow fresh air in and also to help you stay more comfortable when you want to open the window that. |
| 0:20:49 | TOM: I think that’s something that I certainly I didn’t think about until I saw your hidden screen product. Because when you are looking at windows from the outside, we don’t think about the fact that we’re looking through the screen at the window and with the hidden screen, that is no longer an issue. The hidden screen disappears. You’re really looking at the window and it really brightens up the exterior. And that’s probably one of many reasons that you can recoup typically about 70% of the replacement costs of installing new windows when it comes time to sell your home. |
| 0:21:19 | JEN: Absolutely. Having that curb appeal is certainly that first impression. And the windows and doors make a really large impact on someone’s perception of quality. So when you are looking to resell your home, that is something that, you know, we do it because we just love beautiful windows and doors and we want to show them off. But it’s an added benefit for our homeowners who do choose power. |
| 0:21:40 | TOM: Yeah, I want to wrap up by talking a bit about Energy Star. You know, Energy Star. For those that are unaware, is a program of the Department of Energy that establishes energy efficient standards to which manufacturers have to comply in order to advertise the fact that their windows or doors in this case are Energy Star certified. What I know about Pella, and you may not know is not only do you make excellent Energy Star certified windows, you guys are actually part of the groups that are setting these standards. That’s going way above and beyond just meeting the standards set by the government. You’re actually helping to establish new standards, which I think is like super cool. |
| 0:22:17 | JEN: Yeah, absolutely. Our engineers and product experts certainly are part of groups like Energy Star, and it’s both for us to stay ahead of the curve, but it’s also to make sure that, you know, we are doing things above and beyond the standards. And I wish I could show you all our Tesla, because absolutely incredible the amount of heat and cold and just overall testing and performance requirements that we do. And we understand that this is a really long-term investment for someone. And so we want to make sure that their total lifetime and that experience with the power product is above and beyond what they might get somewhere else. |
| 0:22:53 | TOM: Jen Tuetken, director of innovation and design for Pella Corporation. Thanks so much, Jen, for stopping by the Money Pit and telling us all about Pella windows and all the work you guys do to put out windows that are energy efficient and have great value to our homes and just add all sorts of comfort not only in the winter, but all year long. Thanks again. |
| 0:23:12 | JEN: Thank you. Have a good day. |
| 0:23:15 | LESLIE: Well, what projects are you guys working on? This summer season is one of them a big oversize scale painting project that you’re like, Should I tackle this on my own? Well, yes, you should, because we have a great prize to give away this hour. We’ve got the Titan Control Mach 1700 paint sprayer by Wagner. Now, I love this because it’s great whether you’re a homeowner, a handyman, a contractor, whatever, you can tackle some pretty big serious painting projects with this super-efficient, airless technology. And I love that you can pull paint directly from other one gallon or a five gallon paint container, and it has a 30 foot hose. So you’re definitely tackling those big projects with the right amount of paint. You’re not getting a lot of overspray. It’s definitely an awesome tool to have if you’ve got a big painting project on the horizon, it’s worth 379 bucks. |
| 0:24:02 | TOM: And that paint sprayer from Wagner is going out to one listener drawing at random. So make that you call us with your home improvement question right now at 1-888-MONEY-PIT that’s 888-666-3974. Or go to moneypit.com/ask. |
| 0:24:18 | LESLIE: Marti in Ohio need some help cleaning some kitchen cabinets tell us about it. |
| 0:24:22 | CALLER: I have maple kitchen cabinets and about two hurt area it is very dirty from the fan and from cooking and there’s a lot to do on the cabinet and I was wondering what type of products I could use to take off the grit that is on the cabinets without damaging the maple cabinets. |
| 0:24:47 | LESLIE: So, Margie, the area that you describe over, you know, the cooking area above the hood, that’s generally a very greasy spot in the kitchen under the best of circumstances. So I think your first step is to try to just clean it with some sort of, you know, grease remover, like an orange cleaner or like I always call it goof off. But I don’t think that’s the right thing. |
| 0:25:07 | CALLER: Yeah, no, I think it is. |
| 0:25:08 | TOM: One of the products, you know, or a murphy’s oil. |
| 0:25:11 | LESLIE: So, yeah, I mean, something that has a citrus in it that’s going to help you break down all of that grease buildup would probably be your best place to start and see how you do. I mean, outside of that, if you’re going to start messing with the sheen or the finish of that specific cabinet on its own, you’re going to then have to work with the rest of the cabinets to sort of match up to that. So my first attempt would be really to scrub it, clean it, give it some good old elbow grease and see where you go. |
| 0:25:35 | TOM: You might want to take the doors off the hinges to do this work because it might be easier to work on them when they’re on a flat surface like that. Then you can go back and do the frame around the door after you’ve sort of perfected your cleaning on the door first and put it all back together. And if that works, you know, this might be a situation where you just keep going, right? Because even though the rest of the cabinets aren’t terribly dirty. |
| 0:25:53 | LESLIE: They’re more dirty than you think. I bet. |
| 0:25:55 | TOM: Yeah. You only know sometimes when you start cleaning it up, right? Because that’s when you see it get lifted off. You’re like, Oh, there’s a whole new color under that. |
| 0:26:02 | LESLIE: Did you know that the top two months residential break ins are July and August? Well, here’s a quick tip to help you avoid becoming a victim. There’s a common mistake that a lot of DIYers out there make and can make your home a lot more likely to be broken into. And it’s this you leave tools around. I mean, think about it. Tools, anything outside that a burglar can get their hands on. Think about it. A hammer or a screwdriver saw a ladder. All of these things are basically like handing that thief the key to your house. |
| 0:26:28 | TOM: Yeah, and after your DIY projects are done for the day, you need to make sure that those tools get back into the shed or the garage promptly. You might actually be surprised to learn how many break ins happen because of an easy opportunity, like maybe leaving a ladder like against the side of the house if you’re done. I mean, I’m even guilty of leaving my garage door open overnight because I’m so darn tired after a project that all my tools are in there. Oh, man, I was done. But luckily, you know, we got through it. But it can happen. You just got to remind yourself not to do it. |
| 0:26:56 | LESLIE: Don’t be a do it to yourselfer. |
| 0:26:58 | TOM: That’s right. |
| 0:26:59 | LESLIE: Yeah. We’ve got Tom from Florida on the line. Who needs help with a pocket door project? What’s going on? |
| 0:27:06 | CALLER: Yeah, I bought a house before they sold it. They must have had it repainted. And it was built in 1994. And the baseboards and the doors must have been oil based paint, because walls are fine, but the paint is peeling off the doors and the baseboard. But I’ve got a pocket door and I can get the paint off of it. But one of the wheels fell off. It holds. It floated on a rail and I don’t know, I just took the casing off to get that door out resort way that they left out. Or do I have to take the casing off to get the door out, but clean it up and repaint, put the wheel back on because once it’s closed, there’s enough there’s about an inch or inch and a half of it. It still isn’t exposed. You can’t really swing it out. |
| 0:27:49 | TOM: You can’t lift it up off the track either. Generally speaking. So, no, I think that you’re probably going to have to take off at least the jam on the side of the pocket, so to speak. So you have to pull the trim and the jam on that’s pocket. I’ll give you a trick of the trade to do that because you mentioned this was painted. What you want to do is take a utility knife and you want to cut the seam between the door and the trim and the wall and the trim, because sometimes the paint will act as an adhesive, almost like a glue. And when you start taking it apart, sort of pull different pieces of the frame or the wall with it. So just run a knife through it before you actually pull it off. Now, in terms of the fact that this is peeling paint, generally, when that happens, you’ve lost the adhesion here between the substrate, which is wood in your case and the paint itself. And nothing that you can do is going to repair of that short of pulling the rest of the paint off. So you’re going to have to strip that paint off and sand the area really good. And then what I want you to use is an oil based or solvent based primer on top of that, because that’s going to give you the best adhesion once again, that’s going to stick to the wood as best possible. And on top of that, you could use a water based semi-gloss finish. But if you get the primer right and you get all the old stuff off, you’ll be in good shape because you can’t put good paint over bad paint. And if paint’s peeling, you got to get rid of all that loose stuff before you proceed. Well, just find yourself in this exact same space in not too distant future. |
| 0:29:14 | CALLER: I wasn’t quite sure what was on there, but I guess I was told you should take alcohol and rub it on a cloth before if it comes off or throw water based paint, or if it’s oil infected or vice versa. |
| 0:29:27 | TOM: It’s probably not oil based because you know that house at that age, you wouldn’t really use oil based for that. I can almost guarantee you that in private. And that’s why it didn’t stick. You got a private. Can’t skip a step, Tom. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us. At 1-888-MONEY-PIT. |
| 0:29:42 | LESLIE: Jesse wrote into two Money Pit and says, We’ve noticed our house makes a noise like a very low sounding foghorn or a vibrating sound. Have you ever heard of anything like this? |
| 0:29:52 | TOM: Yes, I hear it rather frequently in my own kitchen. You know why? Because I’ve discovered it was perplexing to me for a while, too, when I found that this happens when the wind blows across the wall where I have my kitchen exhaust fan vented. And, you know, like when you take like a big bottle, like when you were a kid and you would blow across the top of the bottle and make that really low humming kind of vibrating sound, that’s exactly what it’s doing to my house. Yeah. And once I block that off, no more problems with the foghorn, because we don’t live that close to the beach. We ought to be hearing fireworks. But it’s kind of weird and a little freaky, too, because it can happen, you know, any time of the day or night sounds a little spooky. So that was my discovery. Just see, perhaps that’s going on in your house. It could be a kitchen exhaust fan, it could be a roof vent. Any place that’s open like that to the house, you might be hearing that vibration from the wind blowing over the opening. |
| 0:30:45 | LESLIE: Mother Nature is playing the jug bottle at your house. That’s. Let’s go. |
| 0:30:49 | CALLER: That’s right. |
| 0:30:50 | LESLIE: All right. Next up, Jacqueline wrote in saying, I had a crawlspace of my home sealed and a dehumidifier installed. Now, a few months later, the floors creak when walked on. What’s going on? |
| 0:31:00 | TOM: Sounds like it’s working. When you seal up a crawl space like that and you take all the moisture out of it. The lumber is going to dry out and certainly that can lead to some more creaking in the framework. Generally, creaking floors happen when the wood is dried out and we step on a board and the nail slides in and out of the beam below. Or sometimes the boards rub together when they dry out, a shrink is a little bit more movement, so it’s actually not a problem. It’s kind of an annoyance. But if you want to try to quiet it down, you could re secure those floorboards to the beams below. You can rename the plywood. You can use screws like long drywall style screws to secure it down. And if it’s hardwood floor, you can use trim screws, which are very, very thin screws. You’d have to pre drill in the pallet hall. And that will tighten that up in the area where the squeaks are the loudest. Make sure you’re connecting the floor to the Joyce below and you won’t hear those sounds again. |
| 0:31:54 | LESLIE: All right, Jacqueline, See you do one project now you got another. |
| 0:31:58 | TOM: Well, today we all want to be a bit greener and cleaner in our homes. You can actually, though, do both and maybe save some green as well by making your own nontoxic cleaners. Les is going to share the recipes to do just that in today’s edition of Leslie’s Last Word. |
| 0:32:13 | LESLIE: You know, before we actually had commercial products, we had to mix up our own cleaners. So here’s a few recipes for natural cleaning products that still work really well today. First of all, if you need a glass cleaner, fill a spray bottle with one quart of water and one tablespoon white vinegar, then use some type of ammonia product. So for a larger job like a floor or tiles, you can add a quarter cup white vinegar to a gallon of hot water. If you need an oven cleaner, you want to make a paste of baking soda and water and scrub the stains with steel wool. You’ve got a tougher stain. You can add some salt to the mix except for self-cleaning ovens. Now, if you need a toilet or a sink cleaner, you can mix a paste of either baking soda or borax with water and then throw in a squeeze of lemon juice and for chrome polishing use rubbing alcohol or white flour on a dry rag. I love the white flour on a dry rag trick. It really does a great job. You can get the complete list of ten easy recipes for natural cleaning products at Money Pit dot com. |
| 0:33:12 | TOM: This is the Money Pit Home Improvement show coming up next time on the program. If you’ve ever worked hard to create the perfect garden, you don’t want trampling feet, damaging all of your beauty worth. The solution is a gravel path and can really help you channel foot traffic in a way that’s friendly to your garden and it’s doesn’t cost very much to build it as well. We’ll give you the step by step and how to do this job on the very next edition of The Money Pit. I’m Tom Kraeutler. |
| 0:33:38 | LESLIE: And I’m Leslie Segrete. |
| 0:33:40 | TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself. |
| 0:33:41 | LESLIE: But you don’t have to do it alone. |
| (Note: The above referenced transcript is AI-Generated, Unedited and Unproofed and as such may not accurately reflect the recorded audio. Copyright 2023 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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