Weekly Columns

Both current and archived weekly newspaper columns. The date of the column and a teaser of the column appears below. Click on the date to see the entire column.

August 1, 2020

     Dear Readers: How’s your lawn making out these days? Here in the Springs we are under the Water Wise rules that allow irrigating only three days a week. For most bluegrass or fescue lawns, that should be enough to get through the season, providing we make some common sense adjustments to our lawn care regimen.

July 25, 2020

     Dear Readers: Have you had your air conditioning serviced yet this season? This can be an every-other-year procedure at your house. Why? Our cooling season is so short here that our A/C systems aren’t especially overworked. (Your furnace, however, is another story. If it goes bad, it can let dangerous fumes into your house, so it needs an annual check, clean and service). Incidentally, some HVAC companies will give you a special price—usually less than $100—if they can service both systems in one trip....

July 18, 2020

     Here's an anthology of home-grown cleaning remedies and recommended commercial products we've discussed over the years on the radio show. If you've any to add, please let me know.

 

July 11, 2020

    Dear readers:  Let's take a moment to discuss that electric circuit breaker box of yours. Pretty boring, you say? Well, let's see.

     It's the control and distribution center for virtually all the energy usage in your home, and so it deserves a little attention.

July 4, 2020

     Dear Ken: I have an old patio, and I need to give it a facelift. Should I patch it? Re-pour or replace it? Pete

     Most of these attached concrete patios end up settling, cracking or both. They're ugly and in many cases, let water drain toward the house. It's quite expensive to tear out and replace them since the old---and the new---concrete are heavy and difficult to get through the backyard around landscaping and fences. And so-called cosmetic coatings usually...

June 27, 2020

     Dear Ken: The floor under our kitchen sink cabinet has gotten wet, and now it sags.  Is there an easy way to fix it? Pam

     It's probably made from particleboard, which doesn't do very well with moisture. To avoid the mess of a tear-out, you can leave the old wood in place and glue down some AC plywood--at least 3/8-inch thick (AC is finished nicely on one side). Finally, purchase a scrap of linoleum at a tile store, cut it to fit, and then loose lay it on...

June 20, 2020

     Let's take a look at the care and feeding of your garbage disposal so it stays sweet and purrs contentedly. I’ll assume you have the most common and universal features on yours. By the way, disposals have all the charm of a lawn mower when they're worked on, so be sure to unplug it before you begin!

June 13, 2020

DRAINAGE REVISITED:

     I know many of you have followed my recommendation to run your downspouts into that black, flex pipe--and then buried it to get it out of the way. But sometimes the terminations of those extension pipes get lost or forgotten, so here’s a reminder to expose them to make sure they stay wide open, and so are readily available to handle those sudden rushes of monsoon water we get around here.

June 6, 2020

     Dear readers: This may seem like an odd time of year to analyze insulation, but I'd like you to consider the warm-weather benefits of upgrading both it and the attic ventilation at your place.

May 30, 2020

     Dear Ken: A plumber said I could install a hot water return loop to get hot water quicker in the master bathroom. What do you think? Jim

     Many new home builders install an extra line to the farthest sinks and run it into the bottom of the hot water tank. The heated water then flows continuously around the loop by conven­tion (hot water rises, cold falls). That way, you’ll have almost instant hot water first thing in the morning. Since plumbing is very labor...