Q: We are looking for a handyman to clean our dryer went. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
A: They sell this dryer vent cleaning kit at Fred Meyers for around $20 bucks. Works pretty well for me. Its has a vacuum attachment that I attached to my shop vac and it worked great
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Air Duct Cleaning
Q: Does anyone have recommendations on air duct cleaning services? We also have an unpleasant urine-like smell coming from one of the floor vents. Any suggestions as to how to deal with that?
A: They’re expensive. I just called them today for a duct cleaning (for October) so I know they do them. $3xx+ for 13 ducts (additional ducts are extra) but it sounds like they clean them the right way (as opposed to basically doing nothing and charging you for it).
A: That actually sounds too inexpensive for that many ducts done the right way, unless they know all the access holes have already been cut during a previous cleaning. Even then it’s a bit low as this is not a quick service, easily 4hrs (our 10-vent took 6hrs for one worker because it was the first proper cleaning it had ever had, and there were no pre-existing access holes).
A: They told me roughly 6 hours for this.
A: “Access holes” ? Man, that’s pretty thorough, more thorough than I want. (Access holes sounds a bit unsightly).
What Duct Cleaning company does depends on the design of your system, mine was difficult for them. Basically they drag a huge vacuum into the house and connect it to one of the vents most central to the system. The then go around and block off all of the other vents in the house. They then figure out the path from the central point to the most outward vent, and start with that vent: unblock it, stick a hose in there with compressed air, and blow dust / debris towards the vacuum. If the system is undamaged, this provides them with quite enough suction to clean out a lot of stuff (they were pulling cat food out of my ducts, and my system has a hole.) Once they get to the next vent, they re-block the last vent, unblock the new vent, and continue. Eventually they’ve pushed everything to the center of the system where their vacuum captures it.
This is pretty much “good enough” for dust and apparently cat food.
A: Sounds similar to what I had done, but:
The huge vacuum is a MONSTER truck outside with a flexible duct around 1’ in diameter that they run through your house to the central furnace and hook up to the intake of the furnace.
The compressed air hose has a spider attachment that flails around scraping all the dust/mold/etc out of the ducting
The access holes (1” circles) were needed to do a really thorough job at areas that had T intersections.
A: They’re expensive. I just called them today for a duct cleaning (for October) so I know they do them. $3xx+ for 13 ducts (additional ducts are extra) but it sounds like they clean them the right way (as opposed to basically doing nothing and charging you for it).
A: That actually sounds too inexpensive for that many ducts done the right way, unless they know all the access holes have already been cut during a previous cleaning. Even then it’s a bit low as this is not a quick service, easily 4hrs (our 10-vent took 6hrs for one worker because it was the first proper cleaning it had ever had, and there were no pre-existing access holes).
A: They told me roughly 6 hours for this.
A: “Access holes” ? Man, that’s pretty thorough, more thorough than I want. (Access holes sounds a bit unsightly).
What Duct Cleaning company does depends on the design of your system, mine was difficult for them. Basically they drag a huge vacuum into the house and connect it to one of the vents most central to the system. The then go around and block off all of the other vents in the house. They then figure out the path from the central point to the most outward vent, and start with that vent: unblock it, stick a hose in there with compressed air, and blow dust / debris towards the vacuum. If the system is undamaged, this provides them with quite enough suction to clean out a lot of stuff (they were pulling cat food out of my ducts, and my system has a hole.) Once they get to the next vent, they re-block the last vent, unblock the new vent, and continue. Eventually they’ve pushed everything to the center of the system where their vacuum captures it.
This is pretty much “good enough” for dust and apparently cat food.
A: Sounds similar to what I had done, but:
The huge vacuum is a MONSTER truck outside with a flexible duct around 1’ in diameter that they run through your house to the central furnace and hook up to the intake of the furnace.
The compressed air hose has a spider attachment that flails around scraping all the dust/mold/etc out of the ducting
The access holes (1” circles) were needed to do a really thorough job at areas that had T intersections.
Moss on roof
Q: Aside from aesthetics, what is the harm of having moss growing on my roof?
A: It reduces the lifespan of your roof.
A: It’s really easy to take care of. They sell moss-killing stuff at hardware and gardening stores. Just mix it with some water (there will be instructions for how much on the thing you buy), put it in a watering can, get up on the roof, and pour it all over the roof. A couple days later, get up on the roof with a big push broom and sweep off all the dead stuff. This should keep the moss from growing back for a couple years.
A: You can also spread some Tide with bleach (powder) right before it’s expected to rain (Costco sells big boxes). The rain will spread it out and the bleach will kill the moss within a week.
A: Just be aware if you have composite shingles that pressure washing can damage your roof and can include causing your roof to leak immediately. Most contractors believe you lose 3-5 years of life from your roof from pressure washing. If you use bleach (you don’t need Tide), make sure you don’t use more than a 1% bleach solution as this can damage your roof. If the moss is dead you can sweep it off, if not you can put zinc strips at the top of the roof and with the rain it will eventually kill off the moss. The main point is you want to keep the granules on your roof
A: Zinc strips work perfect and I’ve used them for 15 years…replace every 5 or so.
A: It reduces the lifespan of your roof.
A: It’s really easy to take care of. They sell moss-killing stuff at hardware and gardening stores. Just mix it with some water (there will be instructions for how much on the thing you buy), put it in a watering can, get up on the roof, and pour it all over the roof. A couple days later, get up on the roof with a big push broom and sweep off all the dead stuff. This should keep the moss from growing back for a couple years.
A: You can also spread some Tide with bleach (powder) right before it’s expected to rain (Costco sells big boxes). The rain will spread it out and the bleach will kill the moss within a week.
A: Just be aware if you have composite shingles that pressure washing can damage your roof and can include causing your roof to leak immediately. Most contractors believe you lose 3-5 years of life from your roof from pressure washing. If you use bleach (you don’t need Tide), make sure you don’t use more than a 1% bleach solution as this can damage your roof. If the moss is dead you can sweep it off, if not you can put zinc strips at the top of the roof and with the rain it will eventually kill off the moss. The main point is you want to keep the granules on your roof
A: Zinc strips work perfect and I’ve used them for 15 years…replace every 5 or so.
Hardwood floor cleaning
Q: I am trying to clean my hardwood and heard that not to use just plain water and soap. Do you have any reco for a good hardwood cleaning kit? Possibly like a spray so I can just spray and mop? Thanks!
A: Very light solution of water and vinegar. Mop with a very squeezed rag.
Clean as soon as possible stains/drops. The issue with hardwood is not the nature of the drop, but how long it stays on it. Even milk can be very damaging if left there for too long.
Those are the tips I got from the contractor who installed my hardwood, and so far so good.
Q: How many % water and % vinegar?
A: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/floor-care-101?lnc=14083a7d172ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=dl_subsections_home_housekeeping#
Martha recommends 4:1 water:vinegar.
A: Even less, maybe 6:1. Vinegar is acid after all, the finish might suffer a bit.
A: Very light solution of water and vinegar. Mop with a very squeezed rag.
Clean as soon as possible stains/drops. The issue with hardwood is not the nature of the drop, but how long it stays on it. Even milk can be very damaging if left there for too long.
Those are the tips I got from the contractor who installed my hardwood, and so far so good.
Q: How many % water and % vinegar?
A: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/floor-care-101?lnc=14083a7d172ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=dl_subsections_home_housekeeping#
Martha recommends 4:1 water:vinegar.
A: Even less, maybe 6:1. Vinegar is acid after all, the finish might suffer a bit.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)