Around the house: No need to get heated over cooler that won’t cool – Colorado Springs Gazette

Dear Ken: I have a portable evaporative cooler, but it doesnt seem to do a good job in any room. Can you help? Pete

Answer: These small coolers do best when they have access to dry air from outside the room youre trying to cool. Its a little like the high school physics conundrum: What happens to the kitchen if you leave the refrigerator open? Of course, the kitchen gets warmer.

In your example, if you set a portable cooler in a room, it will increase the humidity to a certain level and thats it. So instead, position it on a window sill or at about table-top height in the doorway from a room with windows.

Dear Ken: Weve got an older fiberglass shower base thats worn out, hard to clean and stains easily. Can we paint it? Fran

Answer: Apply some Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (the low-odor type in the blue can). After an hour or so, scrub it off with a stiff brush. Rinse and repeat until its clean.

That might be enough. If not, one of my radio listeners recommends trying these two steps: Apply a couple of layers of KILZ or Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer; after that cures, coat the base with water-based, SPAR, urethane varnish. He says its lasted for months and is easy to clean.

Dear Ken: Ive got an old tar-and-gravel roof on my adobe-style house that was installed many years ago. Id like to have it looked at to see if its OK. Whom do you recommend? Jack

Answer: Flat (built-up) roofs can be problematic. They break down in harsh sunshine and usually start to leak when relatively young. Youll have to sort through roofing companies online.

Not all residential companies work with flat roofs, so you might end up with a commercial company. Id count on having to get a new roof.

The tar-and-gravel system has been replaced by a membrane-style roof. Its a thick, rubberized coating essentially one piece that lasts a long time and comes with a quality warranty. One type I recommend is called modified bitumen a variation of asphalt roofing but much thicker and tougher.

Dear Ken: Were putting an offer on a house with a plywood floor in the basement. Its in an expansive soil area, so we assume this is the reason for the unusual floor. What are the problems with this system? Brad

Answer: These wood floors suspended over dirt instead of resting on it, like concrete are a good engineering solution to overcome the effects of hot, expansive soil. We find that we can load up the perimeter foundation enough to hold it down, but concrete slabs are pushed around easily by the expansion of clay when it gets wet. Hence the suspended floor system.

The major pitfall remains water. Pay scrupulous attention to downspouts and drainage around the foundation.

The floor likely was built with some combination of treated lumber and steel. Even so, dampness under it must be kept to a minimum. Check to see if the builders installed plastic sheeting over the dirt underneath and some sort of mechanical ventilator to keep fresh air moving into the space under that floor system.

Dear Ken: Can I paint my steel siding? Its faded and dirty. Paul

Answer: Try power washing it. Your neighborhood rental center can loan you the unit and some detergent, which will dissolve the airborne dust, pollution and oxidation.

That might brighten it up enough that you wont need to paint. If not, youll have to apply a specialized metal primer before painting.

After that, regular exterior acrylic latex will be a fine topcoat.

Dear readers: There are two often-neglected areas of home maintenance that need attention periodically.

One is in the breaker box. Breakers do wear out. This week, I ran across a bad main breaker in a relatively new home it wouldnt reset from off to on without a lot of effort. Most breaker boxes have a 100 or 200 amp main breaker switch that controls all electricity entering the panel and the house. Once a year, it needs to be cycled, along with all the others in the box, to make sure theyre not sticky or weak from overheating.

The same is true for the pressure relief valve on the top of a water heater. When its needed, its got to be clean and free of rust and other crud that accumulate under it. Give it a gentle lift and hold it until the water escaping from it runs clear. Then let it snap back into position to restore its seal.

If it begins to leak afterward, its probably time to replace it.

Moon is a home inspector in the Pikes Peak region. His radio show airs at 4 p.m. Saturdays on KRDO, FM 105.5 and AM 1240. Visit aroundthehouse.com.

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Around the house: No need to get heated over cooler that won't cool - Colorado Springs Gazette