September 4, 2021
Dear Ken: I’ve been picking up apples on the lawn and driveway for what seems like half the summer. I’m tired of the mass. I hate to cut the branches off, because the tree is well-shaped and provides good shade. What can I do next season to avoid this? Mark
There are growth inhibiting chemicals—like Florel—that will kill the blossoms if sprayed on at the right time. It produces ethylene—a chemical that plants produce for themselves if they are under stress—and that gas will dry up the flowers that would ordinarily produce fruit.
Check with your landscape company to see if they will apply it—otherwise you can find concentrates at garden centers or online.
Dear Ken: I have stucco damage—about 4 tennis ball-sized areas—caused by woodpeckers. What do you recommend to repair the stucco? How do we get a good color match? Denise
Buy a pre-mixed or powdered material in the basic gray color. This is pretty easy to do yourself. Use a trowel to plug the hole at first. Then let that dry and crack a little for about a week. Use the same material for a second coat that you stipple with an old sponge or a rag. Why not use colored stucco in the first place? Because you’ll never get an exact dye-lot match to what you have now. The sun and weather will have faded it into a non-standard color.
So once it’s cured and well-dried, apply a masonry primer (2 coats) and then an elastomeric (rubberized) paint mixed at the paint store to match your existing hue.
Dear Ken: I have a weird toilet. It seems to flush by itself several times a day. Is this a serious problem? Do I have to live with it? Fran
It’s trying to tell you something: I’m leaking and I need attention. First, to confirm my diagnosis, add a little food coloring to the tank. Wait for that flushing sound, then take a look in the bowl. If some of the color has leaked in, you know the flapper valve has a pin hole and is letting water dribble into the bowl. The noise you hear is the valve working to restore the water level after it falls below a certain level.
The fix is easy. Replace the flapper with a new one, and while you’re in there, do the filler valve, too. I like the FluidMaster brand because it is very homeowner-friendly. They require virtually no tools or prior experience. You can buy both valves on a plastic shrink card for around $15.
One more thing. If your toilet is older—say 20 years or more—the leak can be in the porcelain on the underside of the flapper. Not to worry. Look for a replacement set with a metal valve seat and mastic you can squish in place over the hole.
Dear Ken: I live in an older home and found out that the cast iron tub was painted an egg shell color. Now the paint is peeling. What options do I have? Is there a way to remove the paint, or will I have to replace the tub? Randy
There are two ways to go here. You can install an acrylic liner in whatever color turns you on. They make an exact shape to fit your tub—no matter how old it is, they’ll have a mold for it. The cost? Maybe $2000 or so, but you’ll get a 20 year+ warranty. The other option is to etch and then spray on an epoxy or acrylic resin coating. Again, you can choose from an almost limitless rainbow of colors, so in either case, you could pick out a new toilet and sink to match, and you’ll have yourself a brand new bathroom. The coatings cost about 2/3 less than the liner, but you’ll have a much shorter warranty period—most are only 5 years. So, part of your calculation should include how long you expect to stay in the house.
Dear Ken: There is water coming from the center of the disposer and dripping under the sink. Do I need a new one? Jeff
Water leaks are funny. They can originate one place and then fool you by showing up someplace else. Grab a strong light and a roll of toilet paper before crawling underneath the sink. As you wipe them away and chase the drips upward, you may find that the origin is that drain collar that sits in the sink hole and holds the disposer in place. If that’s the case, remove the collar, clean it and re-bed it in some new plumber’s putty.
If, on the other hand, the drips are coming right through the exterior metal casing, you’re dealing with old age corrosion and rust—and so you’ll need to replace the entire unit.
Dear Ken: I put in one of those GFCI outlets in the bathroom, and now both outlets are dead. What did I do wrong? Karl
You may have it wired it backwards. There are two sets of screws on these outlets, labeled LINE and LOAD. This is a big deal; if you mix them up, either they won’t work at all, or you won’t have the ground fault protection you bargained for. You must connect the live wires from the panel to the LINE screws, and, of course the remaining wires to the LOAD side (downstream). It’s not always obvious which is which; if you can’t figure it out, it’s best to call an electrician.
