Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Carey, James

  If your bubble isn’t caused by moisture rising from below, repairs are simple:

  Plan A: Use a large sewing needle to perforate small bubbles (1 inch or so in diameter) at their center. Make sure you go all the way through — you’re making the hole to allow trapped air to escape. Then get out the old iron, towel, and books. Lay the towel over the area and use the iron (not too hot!) to soften and flatten the vinyl. Place heavy books over the area to ensure good re-adhesion. (See Figure 12-1.)

  Figure 12-1: Removing air bubbles from a vinyl floor.

  Plan B: If Plan A doesn’t work, you have to get a little glue into the bubble. To do this, you need a glue syringe. Insert the tip of the syringe into the hole you made with the needle, and squirt a couple of drops of adhesive (no more than that!) into the bubble. Place a piece of wax paper on the repair and stack the books on top. Why the wax paper? Because you don’t want to accidentally glue a book to the floor!

  Mildew and mold below the surface of the vinyl

  If black, brown, or purple stains are visible just below the surface of the vinyl, the only way to remove the stains is to remove the vinyl. These stains are mildew and fungus that are being fed by moisture from the crawlspace, basement, or concrete slab or from water leaking beneath the vinyl from a source above it (shower, tub, sink, and so on).

  If you have moisture under your floor covering, you have to find the source and stop it. Check out Chapter 4 for information on how to solve a moisture problem in your crawlspace or basement and how to seal concrete. Check the various plumbing chapters in Part III on how to deal with pipe leaks.

  After you solve your moisture problem, you can then deal with the stained vinyl. If the damage is widespread, you unfortunately need to rip up the vinyl (and underlayment if the vinyl is on a wood floor). Underlayment is a layer of plywood or particleboard that is used atop wood floors as a smoothing layer on which the vinyl is laid). On concrete floors, the vinyl is glued directly to the concrete.

  To rip up the vinyl on a concrete floor: Remove the baseboard from the perimeter of the room so that you can grip the edge of the vinyl. Pull the vinyl up by hand. This should be relatively easy because the vinyl will separate from its paper backing.

  Most of the paper backing will remain stuck to the floor. Remove what’s left by wetting the paper with warm water in a sprayer. Then scrape; we use a reciprocating saw with a scraper blade.

  To rip up the vinyl on a wood floor: The vinyl is glued to the underlayment, and the underlayment is stapled to the floor. Your best bet is to remove both layers at the same time. To do that, use a circular saw with the blade depth set at about 1/2 inch to cut the floor into 2-foot squares — like a checkerboard. (A 1/2-inch blade depth is enough depth to cut through the vinyl and the underlayment without damaging the substrate.) Pry up the squares using a flat pry bar.

  Relaying a vinyl sheet floor covering (and underlayment if required) are tasks best performed by a flooring professional. Floor preparation, the amount and type of adhesive, and pattern cutting and placement are all key tasks that are not for the weak of heart.

  Laminate love

  Laminate has been one of the most popular finishes for kitchen counters for nearly half a century. Now, plastic laminate is one of the hottest products to hit the flooring market in decades. Harder than vinyl, it has the ability to match virtually any wood flooring or even ceramic tile pattern with uncanny accuracy. The reason? The floor pattern is essentially a photograph — but it’s coated with a protective layer that provides years of virtually maintenance-free use, provided that you’re not too rough on it.

  It’s like having your kitchen counters under foot — although laminate flooring has a harder finish, it can still scratch and dent.

  Maintenance is simple. The first thing to keep in mind with laminate (and many other types of flooring) is to avoid abrasives, including abrasive cleaners. It also means keeping your floor clean from dirt, one of Mother Nature’s most natural abrasives. Door mats, gliders under chairs, and frequent vacuuming are the easiest ways to avoid wear and tear. Next, damp-mop the floor with clean water. As you mop, keep changing the water to avoid re-depositing dirt on the floor. Never use wax cleaners, polishes, or abrasives like steel wool or scouring powder.

  You can fix scratches and dents using specially designed repair sticks or fillers prepared by the flooring manufacturers. If you need such a fix, contact the manufacturer to find out what’s available. If you can’t locate an exact match, keep in mind that you can often mix two colors for a perfect blend. Just choose one that’s slightly lighter and one that’s slightly darker than the color of the spot you’re trying to match.

  If you’ve got a really big boo-boo that’s ruined an entire piece, it can be successfully cut out and replaced. This procedure, however, takes practice and is best left to a trained installer.

  Ceramic tile a go-go

  Got ceramic tile on the floor? Need to know how to care for it? Turn to Chapter 13 and read about caring for tile countertops. Everything we describe there works well for the floor, too. If you want to install a new tile floor, you need a different book; try Home Improvement For Dummies, by Gene and Katie Hamilton (Wiley Publishing).

  If you want your ceramic tile floor to stay looking good, never, ever use an abrasive cleanser on it. It literally sands off the finish on the tiles. Check the labels of the products you use — you’ll be surprised by how many contain abrasives.

  Wild things: Bamboo

  Bamboo has become popular because it’s renewable and inexpensive, and it lasts a long time. To keep bamboo in good condition, do the following:

  Make sure the floor remains free of dirt and dust by using a broom, dry mop, or a soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner.

  When cleaning, avoid excessive water — use a slightly dampened mop.

  Never use abrasive cleansers or scouring pads on your bamboo. Just about any nonabrasive hardwood cleaner is suitable for use on a bamboo floor.

  Always read the instructions by the flooring manufacturer for best results, because some cleaners may void your warranty.

  Engineered hardwood

  Engineered hardwood has a very thin surface and must be meticulously maintained to ensure lasting quality. Engineered floors can be touch-sanded and varnished, but they can’t be deep-sanded. To keep engineered hardwood floors in good condition make sure to remove dirt and dust daily with a broom, dry mop, or soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner.

  When cleaning any wood flooring, avoid excessive water. Use a slightly dampened mop and never use abrasive cleansers or scouring pads on a hardwood floor (engineered or not). Most engineered flooring manufacturers offer an approved cleaner. Never use a cleaner on an engineered floor that has not been approved by the manufacturer.

  Keeping natural hardwood good

  Properly finished wood floors are, without a doubt, the easiest of all floor surfaces to keep clean and looking good.

  Keep grit off the floor. Use walk-off mats at all exterior doors to help prevent dirt, grit, and sand from getting on your wood. Laying down throw rugs or small sections of carpet just inside the entrances is a good idea.

  In addition, we recommend the following for maintaining your wood floors:

  Vacuum frequently to keep abrasive dirt to a minimum.

  In kitchens, use area rugs at high-spill locations and at work stations such as the stove, sink, and refrigerator.

  Avoid ultraviolet light damage to finishes by installing window tinting or draping large windows.

  Put fabric glides on the legs of your furniture to prevent scratching and scuffing when the furniture is moved.

  Wipe up spills immediately and then wipe dry.

  Clean using a not-very-damp mop and an oil soap solution, and then immediately wipe the floor dry.

  If a floor is waxed, occasional buffing helps renew the shine and remove scuffmarks that may appear in the wax coating. If the shine can’t be renewed in heavily used lanes, occasionally r
e-waxing these areas may be necessary. You may be able to go a year or longer between waxings if you’ve properly cared for your floor.

  For more information on how to care for or repair your wood floor, contact the National Wood Flooring Association at 800-422-4556 or 636-519-9663, or go to www.nwfa.org.

  Keeping carpet clean

  Carpet-cleaning professionals tell us that the most effective method of keeping carpeting clean — and making it last a long time — is to vacuum it regularly. In fact, they recommend vacuuming three or more times per week, and daily in high-traffic areas.

  They also point out that the quality of your vacuum makes a difference. An upright vac does the best job of removing deep-down dirt. But a big canister vac with a beater-bar head is good, too. Whichever you prefer, the motor must be powerful enough to create enough suction to remove the dirt, sand, and debris that is ground into the carpet. If the vac has a beater bar, its brushes should be free of lint, fuzz, and threads. The suction port and hose should be checked regularly for suction-robbing blockages, and the bag should be changed frequently to ease the flow of air through the vac.

  Why all this emphasis on vacuuming? Because soil is your carpet’s biggest enemy. Carpets wear out because foot traffic grinds embedded dirt into the carpet fiber. And vacuuming is the best way to reduce the dirt that works its way into the carpet.

  Aside from regular vacuuming, the best way to keep your carpet clean and reduce wear is to place welcome mats outside every exterior door, and rugs on the inside to catch any leftover grit before it gets farther into the house. Finally, it really pays to have everyone remove their shoes when they come into the house.

  But what do you do when little Nina spills some sticky red juice in the living room? Give her a big hug, tell her that you love her, and then spot-clean!

  Spot cleaning

  Most of today’s carpets are made with a factory-applied stain guard. So usually, a small amount of water and a drop of vinegar or club soda will get out a stain. Use a clean, white, dry cloth. Don’t scrub — blot.

  The most common mistakes people make when they try to spot-clean are over-scrubbing and using too much water. Scrubbing destroys carpet fibers. Excess water gets below the carpet into the pad, which leads to mildew and a funky smell.

  Over time, especially after numerous carpet cleanings, the factory-applied stain guard provides little stain protection. Although a host of stain repellants are on the market, your best bet is to have an after-market stain guard installed by a professional carpet-cleaning and -dying company.

  If this simple quick fix doesn’t work, there are a million carpet-cleaning products you can use. Just be sure to follow the directions on the label to the letter.

  Carpet cleaning

  Sooner or later, your carpet will need to be cleaned. Some people like to do the job themselves, while others would rather leave the job to a professional. The pros use a variety of methods, including dry powder, foam, and steam (hot-water extraction). Most do-it-yourself carpet-cleaning machines use the hot-water extraction method: A hot-water-and-detergent solution is sucked out of a reservoir, sprayed on the carpet, and immediately extracted with a powerful vacuum. The machines aren’t difficult to use — they’re just loud.

  Here are a few tips that will help you be a carpet-cleaning success:

  Before you head off to the hardware store to rent a machine, you need to know what your carpet is made of in order to select the right cleaning solution.

  Before you start, test the solution on an out-of-the-way spot to make sure it won’t leave a stain of its own or bleach the color out.

  Read the instructions on the machine and on the detergent. Follow them exactly. This is no time to freelance.

  Don’t make the mistake of using too much water or too much detergent. Excess water creates mildew, and excess detergent stays in the carpet and attracts dirt like a magnet.

  Open the windows (or turn on the air conditioning) and use a powerful fan to help speed the drying process. The quicker you get the moisture out of the carpet, the better. If you can find one, rent a carpet-drying fan from a local tool-rental company; these fans are much more powerful than the most powerful fan found around the average home.

  Professional carpet cleaning costs less than you think. In fact, the cost of renting a machine and buying carpet-cleaning solution may not be much less. Make a few phone calls before you decide to do the job yourself. One more thing: The truck-mounted extraction machines that the pros use are way more powerful than any machine you can rent, so they get more dirt out and leave less moisture in.

  De-stinking smelly carpet

  Time, home life (especially cooking), and pets can make carpets stinky. You may not notice anymore, but anyone who comes into the house probably does. If your carpet has picked up a funky smell, you can try a commercial carpet deodorizer or you can go to the pantry and arm yourself with a box of baking soda. Sprinkle it into the carpet, leave it for a few hours, and then vacuum it up.

  For less money and a little extra work, you can try sprinkling grated potato (yes, potato!) all over the carpet in question. Let it stand for several hours and then vacuum.

  If neither of these methods works, stop trying to avoid the inevitable and call a carpet-cleaning company.

  Interior Doors

  As the soil around your home gains or loses moisture, it expands or contracts and the house above moves with it. When the house moves, the door frames and doors shift — sometimes moderately and sometimes excessively. This cycle of movement occurs every winter and every spring, making door repair an ongoing maintenance issue. Besides shifting, interior doors contain several components that can fail.

  Common door-maintenance tasks

  Whether it’s a swinging door, a bypass, or a bifold, doors or their components eventually begin to wear or shift. When this happens they rattle, won’t close, and/or won’t latch or won’t open. It makes no difference whether the door is solid or hollow, wood, fiberglass, or metal; the typical repairs are usually treated in exactly the same way.

  If your exterior doors are giving you problems, head back to Chapter 6.

  Adjusting a sticking door

  The most common door problem is sticking — when the door grabs the frame, making it hard to open or close. Sticking is caused by seasonal house movement or house settlement. If the amount of grab is slight, the easiest solution is to sand the door. Hand-sanding or machine-sanding will do the trick. Be careful, though: Too much sanding can prove to be a problem. If the original problem was caused by seasonal shift and the door moves the opposite way during the next season, you may find the resultant gap to be an eyesore.

  If the grab is extreme, your best bet is to call in a repair contractor to adjust the door and frame.

  Repairing a door that closes by itself

  Doors that close by themselves (ghost closing — probably Casper) can be repaired easily. Here’s how:

  1. Remove one hinge pin (any one you like).

  2. Take the removed hinge pin out to the sidewalk and lay it on the concrete.

  3. Tap it once with a hammer to bend it slightly (10 or 15 degrees); see Figure 12-2.

  Figure 12-2: Reforming a door hinge.

  4. Put the hinge pin back in the hinge.

  The door that once had a mind of its own will never be a problem again.

  Repairing a loose hinge

  Doors are heavy, and hinges are small. After years of use, hinge screws can loosen. You know what happens: You have to lift on the knob to get the door to close. Here’s why: The screw strips the wood and becomes loose in its hole — and that’s when the hinge starts to flop around. You can elect to use a longer screw to make this repair or you can do as we do and fix the stripped screw hole. The repair can be made with toothpicks — it’s easy:

  1. Find the loose screws and remove them.

  2. Use a few toothpicks dipped in wood glue to fill the stripped screw holes in the door or frame. Push as many of the glued toothpi
cks into the hole as possible and tap them into the hole with a small hammer — gently now.