Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Cleaning that dirty oven isn't so simple
QUESTION: My oven is three years old but looks as though it has been used every day non-stop for 10 years or more. It's a mess, and baking soda can't get it clean! The oven is self-cleaning, but even after I use the self-cleaning feature, the inside floor, inside window and window panes in between look dirty. Is it possible to take the glass apart and clean it? Sarah, Gillam, Man.
ANSWER: After using the self-cleaning feature on an oven, wipe the floor of the oven with vinegar and water to clean up any debris and white residue. To clean all oven windows, fill a spray bottle with two tablespoons of household ammonia, half a teaspoon of dish soap and two cups of water. Spray the windows and leave for 15 minutes. Scrub with an abrasive cloth.
I learned first-hand that taking oven window panes apart is quite easy; it's putting them back together that can be a pain. Two people will make this project a million times easier -- learned that the hard way.
While there are several different styles of ovens, you will need to remove the screws and possibly the hinges. Take photos with your camera as you disassemble so you don't end up putting the glass back in place upside down -- learned that the hard way. Dry the glass before reassembling the door; otherwise, when you put the glass in place, any standing cleaner will drip inside the pane and leave another drip marks. Learned that the hard way, too.
QUESTION: Can you please give me some tips on sharpening dull scissors? Thanks. Jayden, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Some people sharpen scissors by cutting through layers of aluminum foil, sandpaper or steel wool. However, for anyone who owns a rod-style knife sharpener, use cutting movements to cut through the rod several times. Your scissors will end up sharp enough to cut fabric. Another option: Hold one scissor blade on the outside of a glass drinking cup and the other scissor blade on the inside of the cup. Close the scissors as if you were trying to gently cut the lip of the glass. Repeat a few times.
QUESTION: I have a cigarette burn on my carpet. Is there an easy way to fix this without leaving a big space? Help please! Sol, Brandon, Man.
ANSWER: Since the carpet fibres have actually been singed away, you basically have two options: Either contact a professional carpet-care service or trim the entire cigarette-burnt parts away with small scissors. Using leftover carpet remnants, trim several pieces of fibre. Super-glue the fibres into the burnt area. Check the repaired area in a day and add more snipped pieces if needed.
QUESTION: With spring in the air, I am thinking about planting tomatoes, but I don't have a lot of space, and so I was thinking about growing them in pots. Any suggestions? Lorraine, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Great! Purchase a big pot and put a tomato cage inside the pot. Plant your tomato deeply in the soil and fertilize as desired. Fill a few plastic pop bottles with water, close the lids and put them around the tomato plant. Wrap the outside of the cage securely with plastic wrap from the bottom to the top, much like a greenhouse. These extra steps help keep your plant warm and growing well.
Smart tips of the week
-- For a smooth line when applying eyeliner, heat the liner for a few seconds with your hairdryer. Doing this softens the pencil and enables it to glide on with ease.
-- Less to carry: Instead of carrying bottles of condiments outside for a barbecue, fill each cup of a muffin tray with a different condiment, e.g., ketchup, mustard, sliced onions, cheese, relish, etc. Put a small spoon in each cup so guests can serve themselves.
I enjoy your questions and tips; keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a motivational speaker for an upcoming event? Check out my website: Reena.ca.
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Make winter adjustments to your garage-door opener
QUESTION: I am having a problem with the operation of my garage door during cold weather. This seems to only occur when it is -30 C or colder, without the windchill.
Mine is your average 16-foot-wide door with a Liftmaster Model 3800PC wall-mounted garage-door opener. The garage door always opens properly. But on very cold days it begins to close with the first panel coming down about one foot, then stops and reverses to the fully open position.
In order to get the door to close I have to pull on the emergency-release rope, pull the door closed manually and engage the emergency-release cable again. The door will then open properly but not close properly if it's fully opened.
The door and opener were installed in mid-2012 in a newly built house. The installation company has adjusted the door twice this winter to try and solve the problem. It works for awhile and then malfunctions.
The garage door is insulated, but the exterior walls and ceiling of the garage are not. There is some frost buildup on the inside of the garage door. Once the weather warms up, the door works properly. I'm unsure of what to do next to try to solve this problem.
Thanks, Doug Witt
ANSWER: While I suspect that the recent extreme cold has something to do with your problem, maladjustment of the opener or door is the overriding cause.
I think the reason your door-opener problem only occurs in sub-30C weather is due to contraction of the steel door, track or chain/belt of the opener. Many mechanical devices start to act funny when the weather reaches such extremes, usually because lubricants thicken and components shrink.
Many things expand and contract with changes in temperature, and certain metallic and plastic parts are the worst offenders. If tolerances are not built into the components to compensate for this cold-weather shrinkage, problems can occur.
First, the problem could be with the chain or belt drive that the opener uses to operate the "traveller" and move the door up and down. This type has considerable flexibility since the chain will normally have some sag that may only lessen in cold weather.
Other openers use a steel cable in place of the chain, which may have less resistance to contraction but still causes little problems in the cold.
Some higher-end or ultra-quiet openers have synthetic belts, which provide smoother and less-noisy operation. Unfortunately, these can have less tolerance to thermal expansion and contraction, affecting performance. If the composite belt becomes too short or too stiff in cold weather, it may jam and cause the opener to automatically stop.
The other two issues, which may be connected, involve components that may be out of adjustment. The door rollers, track and springs should be checked to ensure that the door is operating properly. This can be done by disengaging the opener and manually rolling the door up and down to ensure proper tension and smoothness of operation.
The other adjustment may be on the door closer itself. Most openers have a sensitivity adjustment to set the desired amount of resistance required to engage the safety back-up feature. If this is set at the minimum, which is ideal if there are small children in the home, the door may provide more resistance to the opener in cold weather, setting off the safety back-up prematurely. This can be changed by using the adjustment dials or knobs, often visible on the outside of the housing.
I'd start by adjusting the sensitivity yourself during cold weather, checking to make sure the door still reverses when you provide moderate resistance at the bottom third of the closing cycle.
If that doesn't fix the problem, and the door works well when the opener is disengaged, it may be the opener itself. If it has a belt that is not well suited to our sub-arctic winters, replacement with a chain-drive model may be your only option.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
