Today’s Homeowner Radio Show Podcast | October 29, 2022

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Split image of White stair spindles with wood railing and treads and fabric blinds
This 7 days, listen to a tip for replacing stair spindles and master how to clean material blinds. (EricVega, Getty Photographs Signature/Adobe Inventory)


Hour 1

Learn a fix for squeaky flooring, additionally how to clean cloth blinds and whirlpool jets.

Repair for Squeaky Floors

Brown laminate floor with couch and end tables in background
If your flooring are squeaky, you will need to check out the joists beneath them to make positive there’s no space to build friction. (Eduardocruzphoto, Getty Photographs)

Ryan’s noisy floors in his Illinois home are turning into a difficulty for his spouse, who’s an RN who functions nights and sleeps through the working day.  

“Almost in all places you move it’s creaking and squeaking, and it carries all over the home,” he says.

He wants to know if there is a answer to repair the floors without eliminating them. The flooring are rather new floating luxury vinyl plank put in in excess of a entirely completed basement with a fall ceiling. 

The squeaking audio is a end result of friction, resources rubbing together. The secret is irrespective of whether the audio is coming from the flooring or the subfloor beneath. 

We suspect the squeaking is coming from the space in which the subfloor satisfies the flooring joists. Any time putting down a new flooring, often screw down the subfloor to avert this squeaking.

The great information is Ryan has access to the subfloor from below. 

To fix this, go into the basement and have another person walk on the floor previously mentioned so you can see the place the squeaking is coming from. Then, get a wood shim, smear some wood glue on it, and faucet it into the joint among the major of the joist and the underside of the plywood subfloor. 

Don’t travel the shim in because it will elevate the floor. Just faucet it in more than enough to fill the room so the plywood does not bounce up and down. 

Try this in one or two places to see if it is effective. You will know virtually instantly.


How to Clean Fabric Blinds

Fabric blinds insulate your windows, but they require special treatment to clear. (Adobe Stock)

Marjorie in Pennsylvania has quite a few customized-made material blinds in her residence that require cleaning. 

She asks, “Is there an quick, safe way to clear these blinds? They had been quite high-priced and I do not want to ruin them.” 

We know it is a discomfort to take them down, but the best way to clean them is to acquire them down and soak them in a bathtub. Use a mixture of warm water, oxygen bleach and Woolite. Oxygen bleach won’t bleach out the shade.

Evenly scrub them with a delicate bristle brush and hold them up to dry, preferably outside the house so the sunlight can assistance with the drying procedure. They’ll drain a great deal of h2o right before they are ultimately dry. 

If you can’t take them down, spray them with rug and upholstery cleaner. Spray it on, allow it dry, then vacuum the blinds. 


How to Cleanse Whirlpool Jets

closeup of water jet in whirlpool tub
Mold and mildew can develop up in Whirlpool jets on a shut-loop procedure. (amriphoto, Getty Visuals Signature)

Every single time Stephanie in Indiana turns on the jets in her Whirlpool tub, black stuff comes out. 

“I have attempted anything. I have experimented with vinegar, bleach, and blowing out the jets so they are vacant, but nothing is effective. What would you suggest?” she asks.

These Whirlpool jets are possibly on a shut-loop process, which means that they will not drain out totally when the tub is turned off. As a final result, the water stays in the loops in the line, and mildew will grow simply because it is dark and damp in there.

Consider this process to clean them:

  • Fill the tub with incredibly hot drinking water (the most popular you can potentially get) 2 inches higher than the best jet
  • Include a 50 percent-gallon of distilled white vinegar
  • Run the jets at the highest speed for 15-20 minutes. This circulates the vinegar drinking water as a result of the jets
  • Drain the tub, then refill it with chilly water (no vinegar)
  • Run the jets for a different 10-15 minutes

Based on how a great deal created-up mildew is in the jets, you may possibly have to have to repeat this approach two or three periods.

If this does not function, call the maker and see if they have a industrial products that they advocate. 



Hour 2

Listen to a never ever-right before-listened to Straightforward Option, a idea for replacing stair spindles and additional.


Straightforward Resolution for Catching Wood Chips

Split image of sawdust texture on dark background and upside down umbrella
When drilling huge holes, hang an umbrella upside down to capture the wood chips. (Marco Livolsi/photopal, Getty Visuals)

Trent in Vermont is operating a new electrical cable across his basement, a full length of just about 40 toes. That means drilling much more than two dozen 5/8-inch-diameter holes by means of the uncovered ground joists in the basement ceiling. 

“Do you fellas have a easy solution for catching all the wooden chips? If not, it’s going to be a authentic pain to clear up”

Of study course, you can use a fall cloth to catch the wooden chips, but you still operate the danger of these wooden chips spreading everywhere you go when transferring it throughout the 40-foot span. You can also have somebody follow you with the store vac as you drill. 

But what if you are doing the job on your own? Here’s Joe’s Easy Alternative: 

Dangle a little travel umbrella upside down from the joist that you are drilling into. Safe it to the joist with a cable staple, nail or screw, so it’s immediately down below wherever you’re drilling. 

The umbrella will catch the wooden chips as you are drilling, and you can very easily dump the chips the moment the umbrella is complete. 


Changing Stair Spindles

White stair spindles with wood railing and treads
If the dowel joints are limited and you use the proper inside glue, you really don’t have to use end nails to safe spindles.  (EricVega, Getty Illustrations or photos Signature)

Sal from New Jersey is updating the stairs in his household to get rid of the carpeted treads and dated spindles. 

“I’ve acquired new oak treads in location and the handrails are following. My dilemma is about the spindles. They are dowelled at the major and base so I think they should be glued, but do I require to reinforce that with end nails way too?” he asks.

Some men and women do Sal, but if the dowel joints are restricted and you use the proper inside glue, you should not have to. 

The advantage to making use of glue only is that there are no nail holes to fill so I would advise making use of Titebond Authentic Wood Glue. This stuff swiftly builds a bond stronger than the wooden itself. 

Squirt a little into the holes in the rail and treads, then use a small brush to spread some around on the dowel ends of each spindle. When you get 15 or 20 spindles glued into the handrail and the oak treads, the full rail technique will be tremendous solid and you won’t have to fill nail holes or contact up paint.


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Very simple Options

Wooden fascia boards can rot if rainwater drips driving the gutters. (3 Echoes Information Studio)

Help save Fascia Board — If the wooden fascia boards on your house are encountering blistered paint, h2o staining or rot, it is usually due to the fact rainwater running off the roof is dripping at the rear of the gutters.

Deal with this by slipping a 3/8-inch-thick by 3/4-inch-wide strip of PT wood, or superior however, a strip of composite or plastic lumber powering the existing metallic drip edge. That will kick out the drip edge and divert rainwater into the gutter, not down the experience of fascia. 

Wood cutting board with whole lemon and slices and knife
For the reason that lemons are acidic, they can eliminate microorganisms, mildew and germs. (Tina Hsu, corelens)

Clean and Disinfect Chopping Boards — Cut a lemon in 50 % crosswise, and sprinkle coarse Kosher salt onto the slicing board. Then, use the cut aspect of the lemon to scrub the salt into the slicing board.

Scrub for 2-3 minutes, incorporating a lot more salt, if required. Wipe the board cleanse and let it dry overnight.

If it is a wood cutting board, take care of it with foodstuff-quality mineral oil (not vegetable oil) or butcher-block oil manufactured especially for wood.

Observe: How to Thoroughly clean and Disinfect a Wooden Reducing Board


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