Today’s Homeowner Radio
It was a rough start to a Wisconsin man’s summer vacation. Once he walked into his season cottage he was hit by a sewer gas smell. He installed a new septic system the previous year. Danny and Joe offer up some suggestions that could help make sure this problem doesn’t happen again next year.
Unfortunately, it’s not unusual to see erosion on landscaped ditches. It’s a big problem for a listener in Michigan. What she can use to fill the ditch.
Plus, Joe has a simple solution that will give more use out of your used orange juice cartons, especially the next time you’re about to light up the grill.
Listener Questions
Sewer Gas Smell Coming from a New Septic Tank
Loren in Wisconsin says, “In a seasonal cottage, we had to put in a new septic system last year. This year when we opened the cottage, it was filled with sewer gas. We have always drained the traps and toilet but never had a problem before. I suppose the traps could be filled with RV antifreeze, but it would likely evaporate over the winter, leading to the same problem. Do you have any suggestion for how to block the sewer gas?”
Repairing Joints on a Tiled Gunite Pool
Jack in Alabama says, “We have a 20-year old tiled/gunite pool, with a coped (“overhung”) tile top edge. The mortar is coming out of the joint under the edge of the coping tiles. I have tried to “push” repair mortar into the joint but over time it comes back out. Is a product I can use – perhaps in a “caulking gun” configuration – to refill and seal the joint?”
New Life for an Old Deck
Donna in Missouri says, “My deck is 20 years old and still holding up very strongly; however, the time has come to do some cleaning and staining. In the past, we have used a tinted stain/sealer and then the last time we had a thorough cleaning done by a company called Wood Renew which has now been a few years back. I have recently cleaned my deck with the Wet and Forget and am very impressed. I was just wondering when would be a good time to apply a tinted stain to the deck, or should I just leave it natural? I live in the south-central region of Missouri, so right now we are experiencing a lot of rain and humidity with temps in the 90s. By this fall, I would like to stain the deck. Any advice would be much appreciated.”
Margaret in Michigan says, “The best way to fill erosion on side of the ditch…about 3’ long by 2’ wide by 10” deep.”
Mystery Drip
Jim in Virginia says, “I live in a small town in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and I’m getting a condensation drip from a 2-ft section of gutter and it’s been going on for quite a long time. It occurs most nights in Summer. I wake up 4:30-5am and go out to retrieve my newspaper and a 3-ft circular section of my concrete sidewalk is saturated with water. This dripping continues until the sun comes up and by 9-10am dripping has stopped and the sidewalk starts to dry out. The roof is asphalt shingles.”
Simple Solutions
Recycled Charcoal Starter
Make a quick-start charcoal starter out of old milk or orange juice carton.
If vacuuming alone doesn’t remove pet hair from carpeting and upholstery, try these two tricks.
Best New Products
One of the most common bad energy habits is leaving the lights on all day. We all forget about flipping the off switch from time to time, but now thanks to the Philips Hue LED Smart Wireless Lighting Starter Kit you can flip the switch without even being in your house. So, forgetting to turn them off isn’t that big of a hassle.
