Automated Boost for Furnace
Q: Our 36-year-old home needs a new thermostat for the furnace. I like the advantages I’ve heard about programmable thermostats. Can they be used with any type of furnace, including old ones?
G.K.
Buena Park
A: Programmable thermostats are very handy, says Ron Albright of Albright Plumbing & Heating in Los Alamitos. They allow you to automatically have the furnace turn on before you go to bed or before you get home on a cold night.
Dependable, brand name programmable thermostats can be found for about $100. That’s about twice the cost of a regular thermostat, but you have to figure in the convenience factor. It’s much preferable to have the furnace turn itself on early in the morning than to have to get up and do it yourself, just as it is a relief to have the air conditioning running 10 minutes before you come home on a hot day.
When shopping for one, be sure to get the right kind for your heating system. Most forced-air systems need a 24-volt thermostat, while a system that uses wall and floor heaters needs a millivolt thermostat.
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Q: While painting my bedroom with a flat paint, I accidentally spattered my new flannel sheets with the roller and didn’t discover what happened until the next day when it dried. I tried running them through the wash, but the paint hasn’t come off. Any other ideas?
D. D.
Irvine
A: There’s a product available at most paint stores called “Goof Off” that’s designed to remove old latex paint blobs, says Charlie Kaczorowski of Tustin Paint Mart. Latex paint sets after a few days and after a few weeks, it’s nearly impossible to remove it from fabric.
If it’s a fairly recent accident, you can use a product like that or a solution of ammonia and alcohol to loosen and dissolve the blobs. Next time you paint, make sure you always use drop cloths in the room you’re working in. No matter how neat you think you’re going to be, there are always accidents or splatters you don’t see right away.
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Q: We have white ceramic tile on our backyard patio and in places where we’ve had wrought-iron furniture sit, there are rust stains that don’t seem to come off. We’ve tried scrubbing and that hasn’t worked, what else should we try?
S. B.
Seal Beach
A: Normally, ceramic tile is impervious to stains, so if the rust stains don’t seem to come off, the surface has been etched or scratched, possibly by the legs of the furniture, says Gloria Richey of Tile Importers in Anaheim.
You can try one of the many rust-removing products on the market as long as they don’t have acid, since that would etch the surface even more. If you find you can’t get the stains out, make sure the wrought-iron furniture is in good condition and perhaps use pads on the bottom of the legs to protect the tile from more damage.
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Q: I have a new stereo system in my den and I’d like to put stereo speakers for it upstairs in my bedroom. I know I’ll have to go through the walls to do this, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Any ideas?
K. I.
Costa Mesa
A: You’re right about going through the walls to send the speaker wire upstairs, but you might want to think twice before doing it yourself, says Mike McCoy of Current Supply in Westminster. While speaker wire is low voltage and is easy to work with, getting it in place upstairs means drilling through the wall and fishing it through to the bedroom.
Because of the way homes are constructed, getting the wire up through the floor/ceiling that separates the first and second floors can be tricky. A novice may not be aware of where pipes and conduits might be located behind the wall either.
You may want to check with a local electronics shop to get the names of some “low-voltage” contractors. These professionals work exclusively with low-voltage wiring, such as that used for telephones, stereos and alarm systems.
If you have a question about your home or garden, A Helping Hand will help you find the answer. Send questions to: John Morell, Home Design, The Times Orange County, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
