Filter Works for Those Without Money to Burn

Question: I’ve got to replace my furnace filter and have been told that I should use a permanent filter and wouldn’t have to buy a new one each year. Are they better?

B.C.

Newport Beach

Answer: “The initial cost of a reusable filter is about double that of a throwaway, but over time you will see a savings,” says Rod Albright of Albright Plumbing & Heating Supplies in Los Alamitos. “They’re made out of a straw-like material, and you just periodically remove it, hose it down, let it dry and put it back up again. If you take care of it, it can last as long as the furnace.”

Q: We have a plexiglass skylight in our kitchen that’s about 8 years old and we love the light from it, but unfortunately it has a lot of scratches. Is there anything we can do to make it look like new again?

N.W.

Huntington Beach

A: “It’s going to depend on what kind of scratches you have,” says John Ahn of Brother’s Glass in Garden Grove. “If there are hairline scratches, you may be able to get them out, but if they’re deeper, you’re probably not going to have much luck. There’s a plastic cleaner you can get that you rub on the plexiglass, and it takes out minor scratches. However, on deeper ones it has no effect.”

Q: I’m planning on doing some work on our dining room, and one of the things I’d like to add is shoe or toe molding that will butt against the floor and the molding already in place. I’ve heard two different ways to install it; some people say it should be nailed to the molding, while others say I should nail it to the floor. Who’s right?

T.T.

Anaheim

A: “You should nail it to the baseboard molding,” says Jamie O’Conner of World of Moulding in Santa Ana. “You can nail it to the floor, but in most cases, you won’t have an angle where you can nail it to the floor. It also makes it easier if you’re going to put in a new floor or carpeting. If you had plaster walls and you didn’t have baseboard molding, then you probably would nail it to the floor, since you’d be covering up the gaps between the wall and the floor.”

Q: Our old cement laundry tub has developed two cracks along the sides that leak when the tub is filled. What can we use to fill them?

R.C.

Santa Ana

A: “Your best luck is going to be with a heavy-duty patch, such as J.B. Weld,” says Larry Hohenstein of Amco Building & Plumbing Supply in Costa Mesa. “It’s mixed and applied to the cracks from the inside, and then you should let it dry for at least 24 hours. You can then sand it down so that the patch is flush with the rest of the tub.”

Q: Our two boys share a bedroom. With their roughhousing on the beds, the headboards have been knocked into the walls, and some of the nail heads have popped out of the drywall. How can I make the nails stay in without damaging the drywall?

S.C.

Laguna Niguel

A: “First of all you have to keep the bed from hitting the wall,” says Jim Gorman of Rancho Lumber in Westminster. “You can put a chunk of 2x4 in front of the leg of each bed to keep the bed from being pushed into the wall. As for the nails, you can remove them and replace them with drywall screws, which will hold the drywall firmly to the stud. Use a drywall patch over the screw holes and paint over it.”

Q: I want to know about painting a ceiling. A friend said our non-acoustic ceilings should be started on from the middle, as opposed to the sides in order for it to dry properly without streaks. Is there any truth to that?

W.H.

Westminster

A: “No, just start at one side and proceed to the other,” says Jay Lee of Sinclair Paint in Laguna Hills. “When you have an acoustic ceiling, drying can be a problem since they’re so absorbent. But you shouldn’t have a problem if you’re patient and careful about rolling out an even amount of paint.”