February 20, 2021
Dear readers: Got ice dams and icicles in your life? Usually these troubles are confined to the roof edges and gutters along the more northerly exposures. The cause of these buildups is always the same: constant melt/freeze/thaw cycles caused by an overly warm attic or the effects of the midday sun.
Ice dams can cause real damage if they get out of hand. The ice can actually creep up underneath the shingles and eventually let water leak into the house. What to do? A cold attic is a good thing. Warm attics tend to exacerbate the buildup from underneath. That’s why good ventilation and extra thick insulation are vital, since they slow down heat transfer from inside the house.
Icicles are also bad news. They weigh down the gutters, and can warp and twist them, or actually pull them off the house. Plus they are extremely dangerous. Anyone walking underneath when an icicle decides to let go can be badly injured. So when you break them off, use a tool with a long extension handle so you can get out of the way!
Use a snow rake with an extension handle to pull off as much snow as you can right after each storm.
Heat cable can also be a lifesaver. Lay the wire in a zigzag pattern along the bottom edge of the roof and inside the gutters. This stuff is a little pricey—about a dollar a running foot—but its benefits are worth it, and it can be left in place and plugged in year round.
Dear Ken: You said you like motion detectors so lights aren’t left on in the garage and other seldom used rooms. Don’t they use energy, too? Tony
Yes—but only the teeniest amount to run the solid state circuitry inside. I put one in my garage because I had left the two 150 watt bulbs burning all night. That wasted energy alone could power a motion detector for years! So, I still think they’re a good choice in certain rooms of your house. They are especially useful as outdoor security lights. I have two sets of floodlights and a coach lamp on the front porch triggered by motion sensing. Since they are on infrequently, I’m free to use higher wattage bulbs than I would choose if they were on all night.
Finally, there’s a compatibility issue here. If you’re going to use LED bulbs, make sure you get an LED-listed motion detector switch; otherwise you’ll have flickering and unpredictable ON-OFF cycles to deal with.
Dear Ken: I had a rust spot on the driveway, then used concrete cleaner, so the spot is now bigger than when I started. How can I get rid of it? Rick
The sun will eventually bleach it into oblivion, but for now, you could try CLR or some plain white vinegar scrubbed with a stiff-bristled broom. A stronger formulation would be an oxalic acid based product like Bar Keeper’s Friend cleanser or one of the many deck brightening chemicals. Look for them in the deck stain aisle at the hardware store, and verify that the acid is listed on the can as the main ingredient.
Dear Ken: I have a small hole to patch in a wallpapered powder room wall. Do I have to remove all the paper around it then patch the hole first? Tracy
If it’s a small hole, probably not. You can cut a matching piece off a spare roll, apply a little Elmer’s glue on the back and slide it into place. Once the glue is dry, wipe the area with a wet sponge. If the hole is more medium-sized, take a little acrylic spackling compound on the end of your finger, and smear it into the cavity first. When that dries, swipe a little sandpaper over the surface before you apply the paper. Even though you know there’s a defect in that spot, once the right colored patch is in place, no one else will ever notice it.
Dear Ken: I have a septic system with a cesspool, and I’ve always dumped in a sewer cleaning chemical , but now it looks like you don’t like that stuff. Art
Right. Enzymes or bacteria formulations you add to the system usually do more harm than good. They can over-process waste, giving it less time to settle as sludge; that can let solids into your cesspool, and interfere with percolation into the ground.
By the way, you probably need to plan on installing a regular percolating leach field soon, especially if you put the house on the market. Your pool is probably more or less “grandfathered”, but it will be an impediment to a future sale. At that time the county authorities will probably ask that it be replaced.
Your question reminds me to share some basic septic system rules:
- No harsh chemicals into the system, like solvents or paint.
- Use your disposal sparingly (but remember, you'll have to pump out the tank more often if you have one).
- Do not flush paper towels, cigarettes, diapers, gum, feminine products, personal wipes, and grease.
- Don't discharge output from your water softener into the system. Salt kills friendly bacteria in the tank.
- Keep trees, bushes, sheds and vehicles off the leach field.
- Also, keep surface water from downspouts well away.
- However, low-water-demanding prairie grasses are a good idea around and on the septic field because they encourage evaporation.
- Have the system checked and serviced regularly--at least every 4 years.
One more thing, but no less important: Make sure that you can actually see the septic tank lids. In many cases they are buried under a foot or so of soil. Why is this a big deal? When sewage gets processed, it produces hydrogen sulfide gas—that “rotten egg” smelling stuff from high school chemistry. When this gas combines with water vapor inside the tank, it produces sulfuric acid. And that can eat through a concrete tank in just a few years.
But when the tank lids are extended to ground level, there is just enough air leakage to set up cross currents and eliminate the harmful chemicals. But don’t worry, there won’t be much—if any—extra odor in the yard. Nonetheless you will have extended the life of the tank big time. The company that maintains your system can add a couple of plastic riser sleeves and lids relatively inexpensively so there is ground level access at all times.
