Screening Possibilities for Slow Flow to Washer

Question: I have an 8-year-old Maytag washer that runs great except that it seems to fill with water very slowly. I’m wondering whether over time, sediment has built up to block the water outlets. Could this be the case?

N.Y.

La Mirada

Answer: “This is something that affects a lot of people, especially in areas that have more sediments in their water than normal,” says Tom Houlihan of Orange County Appliance Parts in Garden Grove. “There are inlet screens on the water valve, which is where the hose attaches to the machine. These frequently get plugged up; usually it’s the hot water side. Also, check the screen in the hose itself where it connects to the faucet, because that could also be contributing to the blockage.”

Q: I have a foot-long crack in the drywall ceiling in my house that looks as if a piece of drywall tape has come undone. Can I just glue it back up? What should I use?

W.G.

Yorba Linda

A: “If you really want to fix it permanently, you’ll have to remove the old piece and apply a new strip of fiberglass tape,” says Ken Perry of Thompson Building Materials in Orange. “Then you put a coat of drywall mud on it and sand and paint it when dry. Just gluing the old section back up isn’t going to hold up over time.”

Q: I’m going to be putting plastic molding around my kitchen, and I want to find out how I’m supposed to cut it evenly without leaving jagged edges?

M.S.

Mission Viejo

A: “In my experience, the best thing to cut it with is an X-Acto knife,” says Jamie O’Connor of World of Moulding in Santa Ana. “You can also try a tile knife with a very sharp edge. I’ve also seen people use a 100- or 80-tooth carbide-tipped blade on a chop saw, and they’ve achieved good results. The thing not to do is to use a crosscut saw, which would leave edges that are too rough.”

Q: We have a small sash-style kitchen window in our 48-year-old home that will not open, no matter what we’ve tried. I’ve even damaged the sill by wedging a crowbar underneath and trying to pry it open, but I’m afraid to use too much force since I may break it. Are there any other ideas of getting it to open?

A.L.

Santa Ana

A: “Trying to open an old window is often just too difficult,” says window installer Frank Gomez of Anaheim. “Oftentimes, we just destroy it and put in a new one. This usually happens because at some point, the window has been painted shut, and the old paint has effectively glued it down.

“Then the problem’s compounded when painters continue to coat the old paint. You might see a window painted shut with five or six coats of paint. I’ve seen customers who have removed all the paint down to the bare wood succeed in moving the window, but first I’d try taking a sharp knife and cutting around the window in areas it would need to be free to move.”

Q: I’ve got an old metal screen door that has a 1-inch diameter hole in the center. I’d hate to get a new screen just for that. How do I fix it?

R.E.

San Juan Capistrano

A: “If you’re not particular about the way it looks, it’s easy to repair,” says Steve Tepia of Garden Grove Screen Shop. “Just get a small piece of metal screen at the hardware store that matches the door, then cut a patch a little larger than the hole. Glue with a clear adhesive and patch it onto the opening.”