Home Q & A
Screws won't tighten properly
Toolbox
By PETER HOTTON - Published: March 15, 2008
Q. I am replacing the brackets for a window shade, but the holes for the screws are too big so they won't hold. What can I fill the holes with so the screws will tighten properly?
SHADELESS, in Boston
A. Stuff the holes with kitchen matches, or any thin wood dowel. Or, fill the holes with an epoxy filler, either Bondo (made for auto bodies) or Minwax's epoxy wood filler. Both are very hard and will hold any screw driven into it. Be careful applying this stuff indoors. The fumes are hazardous, so work with lots of ventilation. If in doubt, don't do it.
Q. I have two Eljer low-flow toilets, same model, same hopper, both 13 years old. The one on the street-level floor flushes well. The one half a floor above it does not; it has good vortex but doesn't flush well enough. What's wrong and how can I fix the balky one?
ED HAGOPIAN, Woburn, Mass.
A. Check those little holes under the rim of the bowl. When these holes are open they provide a good sheeting, swirling action to the flush, improving it a great deal with the limited water it uses.
For some reason, these holes may be blocked. Open them with a bent clothes hanger. If the holes are blocked with minerals, you could add a pint of Zud or Lime-Away to the tank, then flush, to see if this will dissolve the minerals.
I don't think the location of the toilets has anything to do with the problem, unless, of course, there is a difference in the water used in each toilet.
That smelly washer
Here are a couple of dandies on what two homeowners did for their foul-smelling washing machines.
From Jan Drew, by e-mail: Our washer, an antediluvian GE, came with our house when we purchased it in 2003. It began to smell so much we actually noticed it in February 2007. Here's how we resolved it:
1. Pull the agitator and clean its underside. Ours was nasty and stinky. Lint and old detergent and dampness had caused a beautiful bloom of — uh — crud. It cleans up nicely with dish soap and hot water, then a brush-powered scrubbing.
2. If, like our GE, the top of the rotating tub is shielded by a fixed, flexible plastic skirt mounted to the cabinet, clean the underside of the skirt. Since you already have the agitator out, this will be easier than it would otherwise be.
3. If, like our GE, unfiltered water re-enters the tub (our removable filter sits atop the agitator), clean the outlet for the water. It will be awful. Same mixture, rag or paper towels for applying and rinsing.
And from Bill Burt of Jaffrey, N.H., also by e-mail: I was inspired to dig into a problem with our washing machine. It smelled. My wife has been patient while I made attempts at cleaning what I could get at without taking the machine apart.
Your suggestion that perhaps a sock was caught under the tub gave me the resolve to tackle the problem. With the help of my handy son, we took out the tub and found the source of the odor. Some months ago our sewer line backed up due to roots growing in the pipe about six feet from the foundation. It happened again a couple of weeks ago and this time I noticed that the wastewater had entered the washer by backing up through the drain hose.
The washer is in the basement, so it is at the lowest point of the system. I had run water and bleach through a couple of cycles to clean the system and figured I had done enough. The smell had preceded the latest sewer event. Well, don't you know that under the tub was a slime of Biblical proportion that was the color of creamy coffee.
It stunk, and water would not touch it. It came off the surface of the outer tub and the bottom of the inner tub with some elbow grease and paper towels and rags. We then hosed down every surface real well and flushed the drain hose and the hose that measures the water capacity as well. Slime gone, smell gone. I am going to install an air gap so that if the sewer ever backs up again the wastewater will not enter the drain hose. Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions.
Q. My hardwood floors are 10 to 15 years old, and appear in need of refurbishing. I don't want to resand and refinish. Is there a way to revarnish them to give them a new lease on life?
METICULOUS
A. Yes, there is. You can sand the floors lightly, with fine sandpaper, not enough to take off the finish but to roughen it, and reduce gloss. Wash with detergent and water, with as little water as practicable, to further dull the finish. Then apply two coats of oil-based polyurethane varnish. Thin coats. There is a kit on the market called Renewal, which contains all the materials to do exactly what I have described.
One thing about polyurethane varnish. There are two kinds: oil based and water based. They are both good, but they are incompatible; I believe you cannot put water based over oil based and vice versa. I found that out the hard way. So, for Meticulous, I think your 10- to 15-year-old finish is oil based, therefore adding oil based will work. But to be sure, try the varnish on a small area; if it tends to peel fairly quickly (overnight or a matter of days), then you have to use water-based polyurethane varnish.
Q. I was told that white is the best roof color to use because it holds solar heat. Would it be worth my while to put on a white roof? If white is not good, what is the best color?
ANNE BLESDELLE, Hull
A. No, it is the other way around. White reflects heat. Black and dark colors absorb it. White is best used in southern climes, where heat is intense and long. In northern climes, it is not necessary to use white (for reflection) because heat is short and less intense. So, a black roof is OK in northern climes as long as the attic is well ventilated and the floor is insulated.
The color of a roof is also aesthetic; it is a matter of taste. A black roof is always good (in this Handyman's opinion) in the North, because it tends to hold down a high building, fooling the eye, so to speak. It also makes a low house such as a ranch, hug the ground, again fooling the eye. Also, black roofs do not show mold and other dirt marks. Look around your neighborhood; you will see what I mean about black roofs, but also you may notice white or light-colored roofs that have black streaks, from mold growing on water that runs down the roof.
Q. Should I insulate the basement ceiling in my 1916 bungalow, especially under the kitchen where the floor is very cold? My husband says no because there is no radiator in the kitchen, and there is heat in the basement that goes through the kitchen floor.
TOO COLD
A. Warm up a little by insulating the basement ceiling; the entire ceiling, which will save heating fuel, as well as keep the kitchen floor warmer. Your husband's logic escapes me. The basement is not warm enough to benefit the kitchen, the temp would have to be in the 90s to do any good.
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