Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
No need to ever purchase dish soap again
QUESTION: I have asthma and am trying to make household cleaners out of products that do not contain perfume. I recently made laundry detergent that seems to be very successful. I used washing soda, borax and soap granules, but left out essential oils. I also made dish detergent (not dishwasher detergent), with much less success. I found the ingredients were highly perfumed, causing pulmonary problems. These ingredients were: shredded Sunlight bar soap, Castile baby soap (not perfume free), Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and vinegar. I am looking for non-perfumed products to make dish detergent, but am not having any luck finding them in the retail stores. Can you help me with this problem? I also found the recipe I used did not create suds, and looking at a dishpan full of murky water is not pleasant. I did find Kirk's bar soap online but the cost is prohibitive. Donna (Hamiota, Man.)
ANSWER: No need to ever purchase dish soap again. This solution is not only easy, it is also very economical. Take slivers left over from your favourite scented or unscented soap bars (Sunlight laundry bar soap will not work) and let them sit overnight in a jar of water. Shake the contents and add a few tablespoons to your sink water. As the jar sits over the next few days and the contents thicken, add enough water to make the solution easy to pour. Lots of bubbles and great cleaning power!
QUESTION: A friend has a new dryer and it has a sticky substance inside the drum of the dryer. How should she proceed to remove this sticky substance? Sandy (Rudolf, Man.)
ANSWER: A very simple remedy is to dampen a dryer sheet and use it to wipe the inside of the drum. If you are opposed to dryer sheets, clean the drum with rubbing alcohol followed by soapy water. If the mess is extremely gooey, wipe with peanut butter, then clean with soapy water.
QUESTION: Help! I am making homemade perogies and as I boil them, they open. What am I doing wrong? Anthony
ANSWER: One of the most common culprits for perogy explosions is that the dough is stretched excessively after filling perogies. If the dough is forced to stretch beyond its limits, it will pop open when heated. Be careful not to overfill perogies, as overstuffed perogies will burst open when boiling. Only fill them as much as possible while still being able to seal edges easily, and take the time to seal edges well. Boil water and remove perogies as soon as they float to the surface (about 7 minutes).
Extra tip: To freeze perogies, flour them and lay them flat onto a cookie sheet with wax paper. Once frozen, drop them into sealable bags or freezable containers.
Honey, you gotta try this dip:
Serve up chicken strips or nuggets with this delightful dip. Into a sealable jar, combine: three-quarters of a cup of mayonnaise, three tablespoons of honey, two tablespoons of mustard, one-quarter teaspoon of dill (optional) and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Shake and serve.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a corporate presenter on the topic: Harness the Power of Words? Check out my website, Reena.ca.
Renovation & Design
Getting to the root of ice damming
Question:
We bought a house in May and were informed there had been an ice dam last winter, which caused some leaking inside the house. This corner now has peeling paint, and when we repaint, it soon peels again. What can we do to remedy this? Do we need to open the wall to make sure it is dry?
Bruno Klassen
Answer:
While it may be a little premature to be addressing this issue this early in the winter, there is a chance any ice dams that have already occurred could melt and leak inside during a mid-season thaw. Taking action now may prevent a recurrence and allow you to successfully paint, once the weather warms up.
Typical ice damming, normally at the eaves, is due to a combination of factors. The first one, which may be the most recognizable to most homeowners, is the amount of snow on the roof. The snow on the roof provides the raw material for this phenomenon. Ice dams are caused by melted snow, which runs down the roof underneath the snowpack and freezes at or near the eaves. If there is no snow on the roof, there is no likelihood of any ice damming. So the first thing to attempt in preventing this from occurring is to remove any excess snow from the roof. This may only be safely accomplished with a plastic shovel on a bungalow with a moderate to low pitch, but can also be attempted on other roofs from the ground with a proper roof rake, designed for this purpose. Removing excess snow will help minimize the size of the ice dam but will not get at the root causes.
Other variables in the creation of these winter nuisances are the pitch of the roof and the direction they face. Very low sloped roofs have a much higher rate of ice damming for a couple of reasons. The most obvious one is that flatter roofs will drain more poorly and will be subject to thicker snow accumulations. The other reason is low-slope roofs typically have less airspace between the top of any insulation and the underside of the roof deck. This makes them warmer and more difficult to properly ventilate. Very steep roofs are also more prone to ice damming, simply because they often have long valleys, with small eavestroughs at the bottom. These troughs and downspouts can become overwhelmed with melted snow. This water will then accumulate at the colder area at the bottom of the valley and can cause substantial icicles and dams. This is the style of roof that may benefit the most from frequent snow removal.
While the above factors may contribute to the size of the ice-damming problem, they are not the main issue to address. The main cause of ice damming is warm air and heat escaping the living space into poorly insulated and ventilated attics. This warm air can cause the temperature of the roof sheathing in the attic to rise above freezing, even on the coldest days. As this heat transfers through the sheathing and roofing, it may be enough to melt the underside of the snow accumulated on the roof. This will be exacerbated on very sunny days, where the heat from the sun will cause the snow to warm further, increasing the amount of melting. Once the sun sets and the temperature inside and outside the attic drops, this water will freeze, creating the ice dam. This may go on day after day until the weather warms up consistently enough to cause the ice itself to melt, often causing leakage inside the home.
Before attempting to repair any damaged paint in the corner of the room where the effects of the ice damming are seen, you must make an attempt to minimize the warm-air leakage that is causing the issue. This may include opening up the walls to see what damage has been done in the past, but the main area to address is the ceiling and attic above. Due to normal air movement in your home, the ceiling is the area where most warm air will leak through the building envelope. Preventing this is a combination of establishing a good air/vapour barrier and having sufficient thermal protection and adequate ventilation in the attic space above. There are methods of establishing both a high insulation level and a good air/vapour barrier, but accessing the area where the problem is occurring is the key to remediation.
Getting into the attic space above the area where the leakage from the ice dam is causing problems will help identify where the defects lie. Hiring a knowledgeable insulation contractor or a building-envelope specialist to inspect the home and attic should be the first step. They should be able to provide you with a solution, which may incorporate blowing in high-density polyurethane foam insulation, upgrading with more conventional cellulose fibre insulation, or other approaches to minimize warm air leakage into this area. Once you have implemented their recommendations, repairs to the damaged paint can take place. In some cases, it may be easier to access and fix the defects above the ceiling by partially removing it, which will allow removal of any damaged or wet materials that are preventing proper adhesion of your paint. Either way, you may have to partially remove the wall and ceiling coverings in the problematic corner to assess the extent of the damage before going further.
While it may seem like the peeling paint is a superficial issue in the corner of the room where the problem is showing up, the real culprits are above and outside this area. Improving the air sealing, insulation and ventilation in the attic should prevent further ice damming and leakage, allowing the wall to dry out or be properly repaired so a proper cosmetic fix can be done.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the past president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors -- Manitoba (cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
Renovation & Design
Coping with a major crayon catastrophe
QUESTION -- I washed a load of laundry yesterday and put it in the dryer. When the laundry came out of the dryer, you guessed it; my six-year-old had left a four-pack of crayons from a restaurant in the pocket of his jeans. There is now crayon on everything: jeans, yoga pants, sweatshirts, T-shirts and a winter coat. I have cleaned up the dryer using WD-40 and dish soap, but I am not having much luck with the clothing. In need of your advice, Carrie, Winnipeg
ANSWER -- Do you think you'll laugh about this someday? Since this is wax, treat it just like you would candle wax. Place the stained side down on a pad of paper towels: spray with WD-40. Let stand five minutes. Turn the fabric over and spray the other side. Work liquid detergent onto stains. Wash in hot water with laundry detergent and either colour-safe bleach, borax, Oxy Clean, washing soda or vinegar. Warning: Never spray WD-40 directly inside the dryer drum.
QUESTION -- We recently bought a new tablecloth while we were in southern France. I put a table protector under the tablecloth, one of those that are plastic on one side and soft material on the other. The two sides are sewn together in diamond shapes, similar to cloth placemats. We had to put an extra leaf in the table, which meant we had to remove the table protector, and to my horror, some parts of it stuck to the table as I was gently pulling it off. I had the plastic side towards the top and the soft side on the table. I now have a table I hope is not ruined. Can you give me some advice as to how I can remove the cloth that is stuck to the table? I used water first, which allowed me to remove some of it. I also used Murphy's Oil Soap plus Liquid Gold, neither of which helped. Was I wrong in placing the table protector with the plastic side facing up? Someone told me WD-40 is the answer, but I want to hear from you first. Thank you. Darlene, Winnipeg
ANSWER -- Be careful! Although WD-40 will do the trick, the varnish will most likely need reapplication. WD-40 has a great reputation for stripping paint and varnish, because it is a solvent. I would prefer if you begin by covering the area with a tea towel and using a warm iron or a hot hair dryer to heat the stuck-on table protector. Or use a product called Goo Gone, peanut butter or mayonnaise are also great options and won't strip the wood. Then use a plastic putty knife to gently scrape the plastic. When laying down a table protector, the felt side belongs on the bottom, the vinyl on the top.
QUESTION -- How can I get Silly Putty out of my blue jeans? Lori (Gladstone)
ANSWER -- Spray the area with WD-40 (or rubbing alcohol) and wipe the putty away. Next, apply dish soap and water onto the clothing. Blot and wash as usual.
Feedback from readers who care:
Dear Reena,
I just want to tell your readers that although WD-40 does have many uses for things around the house, bike chains are not one of them. In my experience, WD-40 will strip away the existing lubricant that you need for the drivetrain. To lubricate bike chains, please buy proper waterproof bike-chain lubricant. Pass it on, Marcus (bike store owner)
Dear Reena,
As a Christmas gift I received a brand-new set of glassware. Ridiculously fastened stickers were cemented onto each piece. I sprayed WD-40 onto every sticker and they all peeled off as easy as pie! Thanks, Morgan.
WD-40 tip of the week:
-- Snow can build up on your satellite dish and mess up your reception. Spray a coating of WD-40 on the dish, and the snow easily slides off.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a corporate presenter on the topic: Harness the Power of Words? Check out my website Reena.ca.
