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.

January 30, 2012

            Dear Ken: My furnace is acting funny.  It comes on and heats normally most of the time, but sometimes the burner and the fan will come on and off at odd times.  What do you think is going on?  Fred

January 23, 2012

            Dear Readers:  You've probably noticed that this winter is shaping up, weather-wise, just like the super-dry one we had last year.  I hope you've been doing your winter watering.  Every three weeks or so, it's vital to give your lawn, young trees, bushes, and flowering perennials a good drink of water.  That's why, last fall, I recommended against blowing out the sprinkler system.  If you did, that's OK, but you'll have to drag hoses and sprinklers all over the yard.  Winter watering is vital to wet...

January 16, 2012

              Dear Ken: I have those old fake marble window sills in my 1970s house, and would like to find replacements.  Can you help?  Gary

I'm not sure why you would want to.  These manmade marble sills were popular in the days when energy was not as big a deal as it is today.  They conduct cold into the room, and so are not a good choice in our energy conscious world.  I would strongly urge you to replace them with painted wood window sills.  I think they are actually prettier anyway, and...

January 9, 2012

 

     Dear Ken:  We live out in the country, and we notice that the first place the snow melts is over the leach field.  We thought that putting a green house on that spot would be a good idea since it warmer than the rest of the yard.  Is that a good idea?       Mike

January 2, 2012

            Dear Ken:  I am beside myself.  I dust and clean the house one day and two days later the dust is back.  My furnace filters are new, I had the air ducts cleaned and now I don't know what else to do.  Why do you think all this dust is coming in this time of year?  Jay

December 26, 2011

     Dear Ken:  We have a bid to pump out our septic tank.  They want to remove the liquid, scour out the tank and then replace it.  What do you think?                         Julia S.

December 19, 2011

     Dear Readers:  This is a reprise of a column I wrote several years ago.  I hope it will remind you of Christmases past.

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     Allow me to reminisce a little.  This a story of my 7th Christmas---way back in the fifties.  If you remember those days, yousurely recall how little money most families had.  Many presents werehomemade, and toys weren't nearly as complex, high-tech and expensiveas they are now.  We probably would be considered poor by...

December 12, 2011

 

     Dear   readers:   You can now purchase a dual flush mechanism for your toilet.  It's only about $25.00 or so at the home center or hardware store, and when it's installed your toilet that will emulate a so- called European flush.  That is, one side of the button is pushed for liquids and the other side for solids; that way you only have to use the amount of water you need for the particular job you want to get done.   The small flush uses only about half the amount of water as the regular one.   They...

December 5, 2011

     Dear Readers:   This is the time of year when your sewer system is most likely to expose its vulnerabilities.  The extra load on the piping system from extra folks in the house--plus holiday entertaining--can cause plug-ups in a line that otherwise seems to be working OK.   There's still time to have a sewer company come in and check your lines with a TV camera, perhaps clean the roots out and also apply a foam system to retard future root growth.  If yours is an older house with vulnerable sewer lines--like cast iron or tile-- and if...

November 28, 2011

 

                Dear Readers:  You may have noticed that enterprising landscaping companies, in order to even out their cash flow and stay busy, are advertising their services to hang your holiday lights for you.  If you have any trepidation about hanging from a ladder, you should consider hiring one of these firms. Of course, make sure they have worker's compensation and liability insurance before you hire them.