Make your old table like new again

A good tablecloth is a must-have for those family get-togethers, especially if your table looks bad. If you've ever wanted to work on that finish and get rid of those assorted water-rings, burn marks, scratches and other boo-boos, try one, or all, of these quick fixes.

Scratches probably are the most common damage we are asked about. Sometimes, just a little furniture polish might hide a scratch. If the scratch has removed some of the stain from the table surface, there are some touch-up stain pens that work pretty well. You can combine two or more to get a closer match on some less-common colors.

For deeper scratches or gouges, there are some filler sticks that have stain mixed with them. These are spread into the gouge and leveled off. If you can't find one to match, most are stainable so you can add some stain, or a combination of stains, to match the rest of the surface.

A couple of things usually can get a white ring out of a piece of furniture. Sometimes just using a hair dryer set on warm rather than hot, blowing on the stain for a while, will erase it. Another way to treat these stains is with mayonnaise or petroleum jelly. Coat the stain and give the oil plenty of time to soak in. Then remove the excess and polish the surface.

Other stains can sometimes be removed by rubbing them with a paste made of baking soda and lemon oil. You can use steel wool as an option for this, but lubricate it with a little lemon oil.

Once you get the table looking good again, consider applying a coat of polyurethane to protect it. If you don't already have coasters for glasses and trivets to place under hot dishes, you can buy them just about anywhere for not a lot of money. Also, don't forget to use place mats or a tablecloth as needed. But after all that hard work, show off that great finish when you are not using it. Presumably, that is why you bought the table in the first place!

PVC pipe

PVC pipe is great for lots of projects besides plumbing. I always save the scraps to use for repairs and crafts. You can even make a different kind of "C" clamp with these. The larger diameter pieces work best. Cut a slice of a 4-inch pipe that is about 1 inch wide. Then cut through the ring. Remove a slice about one-quarter inch wide, and you should end up with a "C"-shaped piece of pipe. The pipe can be spread apart and clamped onto things that need to be clamped together. Cut a wider slice out for clamping larger items. These simple clamps work great.

Lubricate locks

I've never found anything that works better for lubricating locks that graphite. You can buy it at just about any hardware store. But if you run out or don't have any when you need it, you can make your own. Just rub a pencil's lead over the edge of your key, and the graphite left behind will lubricate the lock when you put the key into it. It's pretty simple to do, and we all have pencils lying around, right?

Super hints

• You shouldn't throw away old batteries with your regular garbage. Instead, you can take them to a battery store or your home improvement center. Keep an empty wet-wipe container in a central location and just pop the used batteries into the top of the dispenser, and when it's full, take the whole thing in for recycling.

• Teens will be more willing to help with household chores if they are quick and easy to do. The toilet wands with detachable cleaners work well, as do detergent pods. Ready-to-use wet wipes make wiping down any surface quick and easy. Keep these supplies handy, and keep your fingers crossed.

Q. We have a ceiling fixture in our entryway that has a burned-out light bulb. I can see the bulb but can't figure out how to get a ladder up to it to replace it. Got any ideas?

A. Check your hardware store or home center for a device that is made just for this purpose. Most have an extension pole and an end that will grab the burned out bulb so you can twist it to unscrew it. The new bulb can then be placed into this same end and then screwed into the fixture. If that doesn't work, you're going to have to rent a bigger ladder or hire someone else to change the bulb. If there is more than one, replace them both to save you another trip later.

Q. I would really like to know if you have an inexpensive way to cut down on road noise coming through my windows. We live on a busy street and it just gets louder by the day. Any suggestions?

A. You can caulk around the windows, as any gaps will allow more sound to penetrate. Before thinking that windows are just way too expensive, consider that, if they are letting in that much sound, they probably are also letting in a lot of the sun's heat or the winter wind.

Q. We had a family birthday party and someone dropped a pitcher of red punch all over the patio. It left a big, pink stain. I washed it off with the hose, but the stain seems to be there permanently. I don't know what else to do. How can we get the stain out?

A. If you have a pressure washer, you might give that a try. In lieu of that, try a 50/50 mix of laundry bleach and water. Allow it to sit on the stain to see if it will penetrate the surface and dilute it. It eventually will fade over time.

Reader tips

• I've always wanted a really nice china cabinet. I finally found one at a flea market, brought it home and cleaned it up. It's great and has plenty of room for all of my good stuff. I wanted to light it up, but it wasn't wired. I ran some white twinkle lights along each shelf and then drilled a small hole along the back of the cabinet to run the plug through. It looks so nice, especially with the lights on in the evenings. P.S. It only cost me $3 to do this!

• My kitchen is small - in fact, my whole apartment is small - but I have a great solution for storage. I installed a towel rack on the wall over my stove. I found some decorative hooks and have used this system for storing my pots, pans, cutting boards and some of my utensils. They are easy to reach and are up out of the way. The small amount of cabinets that I do have available can now be used for all of the other things I need to keep in the kitchen area.

• I have a sunroom where I keep a lot of my plants during the winter. I've got most everything already in there. One thing I did this year to keep things a little warmer was to cover the windows with Bubble Wrap. The Bubble Wrap should help insulate the windows and keep the little bit of heat that comes from a heat lamp inside the room with the plants on cold nights. I can't wait to see if it works as well as my friends told me it would.

• I really like ready-to-assemble furniture. I have three bookshelves, as well as a small desk and a sewing table. I have noticed that even though the hardware that comes with them is pretty good, the furniture tends to wear out after a while - especially if you move it. The particle board that is used to make most of this stuff crumbles under pressure. That's why I always add a few real screws as a reinforcement as I'm putting the pieces together. It helps them stay together longer and to stay more stable over time.

• I learned something new last weekend. My husband and I were replacing the light bulbs in our landscape lights that were burned out. I was waiting until dark to see if they all worked and my husband asked me why. I explained that they would soon be coming on as they would come on when it started getting dark outside. He got a piece of black electrical tape and put it over the sensor on the control box and they came on. I never knew they could do that. We were able to check them before it got dark.

• I buy a new kiddie pool every summer because they are hard to store and don't cost that much. But I have learned that it can be used to haul the leaves out of the yard and into the composting area. It's much easier to move them in this than in bags. You will make fewer trips with one of these!

Shoptalk

• Super Glue is great for so many things, but if you need to glue glassware or dishes that you use on a regular basis, try Dishwasher Safe Super Glue. It bonds instantly to glass, crystal, metal and other surfaces and is completely water- and heat-resistant. That means you can repair that coffee cup, use it, wash it in the dishwasher and still be able to use it again without it falling apart. What a concept! Check it out at your hardware store or home center next to the Original Super Glue. It's in a blue tube. Find out more at www.superglue.com.

• I like tool storage and organization that allows for easy access. I hate having to go through boxes looking for the tools or hardware that I need for a project. One of my favorite storage solutions is the Stanley Storage Bins. These small open-front boxes have plenty of room for several hand tools or hardware items and can be stacked or attached to a wall with a hanger system. You can get a set of four medium-size bins and the hanger in one kit. They are made from high-impact polypropylene material that won't crack or break easily. To find out more about these and the other goodies from Stanley, just go to www.stanleytools.com. You can buy them at your hardware store or home center.

• Write to Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit online at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2015, Cowles Syndicate Inc.