Johnny Andrews / MCT files
Baseboards can be repaired with wood putty. Fully replacing damaged sections is also a fairly easy job.
Question: My brand-new puppy chewed the baseboards in my bachelor pad. I don’t want to lose my damage deposit, what is the easiest solution?
— Troy
Answer: If the marks are shallow, you can repair them with wood putty, which is available at home hardware stores. For deeper marks, gently sand the areas and refinish.
Very deep marks require further repair: apply several coats of drywall compound if the scratches are severe. Sand between coats. Apply paint or Varathane depending on the material of the baseboards.
Question: I live with a bunch of guys who are absolute pigs. They leave bags of half eaten chips on the floor. They make toast and don’t wipe up crumbs. Well guess what? I now have the most disgusting problem; fleas! That’s right, fleas have infested my living room, I’m so embarrassed. Help!
— Morgan
Answer: I don’t know if this will make you feel any better but, in my opinion lice and bed bugs are worse than fleas.
Constant vacuuming and disposing of vacuum bags is the first and most important step. Vacuum your entire house, paying particular attention to corners, dark crevices, under furniture, under beds, pet beds, rugs and especially around skirting boards.
Put the nozzle attachment on your vacuum cleaner and thoroughly vacuum around all baseboards and edges of fixtures. The vibrations from vacuuming also stimulate the fleas to emerge from their cocoons, and thus they will be exposed to the insecticide that may be used.
You are likely to need an aggressive approach to get the fleas to flee. Vacate your home and have someone spray the home with flea insecticide containing Insect Growth Regulator. You may not like using insecticides and chemicals around your house, but a home remedy to kill fleas will not work.
Once you have broken the flea life cycle you will not need to spray on a regular basis, and you can hopefully put the insecticides away forever.
Question: How long can I keep store-bought eggs in the fridge before they are garbage?
— Brittany
Answer: Eggs, still in the shell, last quite a while. The general guideline is four to five weeks following package date. Refer to the "best before" date on the carton.
Question: Do you have a great recipe for me to jazz up my boring Sunday night meatloaf?
— Donna
Answer: Put half of the ground beef mixture in your loaf pan, layer pepperoni and cheddar cheese and then cover with remainder of meat mixture.
Bake as usual, but 15 minutes before meatloaf is done spread a half cup of your favourite pasta sauce on top and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove meatloaf from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Speaking of meatloaf; don’t toss out the bread crusts that your family won’t eat. Soak them in 2/3 cup of buttermilk for 10 minutes. Squeeze out excess milk and add to meatloaf before baking. Moist and yummy!
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.
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