How to care for stainless steel utensils

Q. First, let me say I miss reading your column that was published in the Daily Herald. I looked forward to reading it weekly.

My problem and question is that my Wallace stainless knives have developed a discoloration on the knife blades. I have tried a number of cleaners, etc., but nothing takes the discoloration away and restores them. I was wondering whether you have any knowledge of a product that would clean and restore the "new" look to the knife blade. Hope you can help and thank you.

A. Good news. But first, thank you for all the emails from Daily Herald readers who have kept in touch and expressed their dismay at the loss of my column. The Daily Herald has contacted me with the desire to continue carrying my column directly, which I am so glad to do, having so enjoyed all your emails over the years of national syndication.

By discoloration, do you mean just dullness or rust-like stains?

The following is a compendium of stainless steel care, not necessarily applicable to your concern.

We have successfully kept our stainless steel utensils stain free over the years by carefully removing all food particles from them with a soft brush under running hot water in order not to scratch them, and putting them through a normal cycle in the dishwasher. Of course this can only be done if your knives are solid stainless steel and do not have handles made of material that should not be put in a dishwasher.

It is also best to remove the utensils and dry them thoroughly with a soft cloth or paper towels as soon as the cleaning cycle is complete to prevent water spotting.

If the stains you are experiencing are what are called heat streaks, gently rub the utensils with a soft cloth dampened in olive or mineral oil. You can also try making a paste with baking soda and liquid dish soap, and rubbing each stained utensil with a clean cloth dampened with the paste.

Other suggestions are to immerse the blades in white vinegar for a few minutes, rinsing and drying them, but care must be exercised that the acid will not harm the utensils (more later).

Here are other recommended cleaning methods from Silver Magpies, a sales, appraisals and identification of vintage silver (www.silvermagpies.com), which the owner is generously suggesting be passed along to anyone in need.

Make a thick paste with two tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl and a little water. Vigorously rub the paste onto the stained blades and rinse the paste off, also vigorously, under running water.

This should do it, but if not, she recommends substituting lemon juice for water with the caveat that some stainless steel, depending on how it is alloyed, may be damaged by the acid. If need be, test your utensils before using any acid.

One comment she makes is worth noting: If you have used your knives with acidic food and they haven't become damaged, substituting lemon should be OK.

Rub the paste and rinse it off as mentioned above.

Lastly, if still not satisfied, she recommends the use of a copper cleaning cloth.

Once all the stains are removed, buffing the utensils with lemon oil should bring out its original shine. Use very little lemon oil and buff following the grain of the steel, which, on utensils, should be following the handles.

Q. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that we are still able to enjoy your column in our newspaper. I learn so much, and in the past you've given me invaluable help with our own home challenges. I must write once again to ask for your wisdom and experience about an issue we have in our present home.

One of the upstairs rooms becomes unbelievably and unbearably hot in the summertime. Two separate carpenters have taken a glance at the construction in that end of the house (they were hired for other jobs) and have only remarked that it looked "different," but didn't expound upon what that meant or what needed to be done. This room is on the northerly side of the house, with one full side facing west (no shading), and the north side adjoins the garage. We have insulated the adjoining wall appropriately. Even when we put air conditioning in that room, it's a challenge to keep it comfortable. I'm wondering if it's not venting properly up through the ridge vent and this is why it becomes so hot. The bedroom on the other end of the house, which has a southerly and westerly face with no shading, doesn't get like that at all.

Who would I consult with about this matter? A structural engineer? A construction contractor? I'm at a loss as to where to turn, so I'm hoping you will be able to point me in the right direction to find help.

A. The two carpenters were not much help. Too bad they did not explain what made the construction of this room different; it would have been helpful. Perhaps they had no idea and simply deflected the question.

I am reading that the garage is attached to the house on the ground floor and that this bedroom is over conditioned space with its northern window overlooking the garage roof?

I am not clear as to which wall you insulated; is it the wall adjoining the garage? But that would be on the main floor.

You haven't mentioned if that bedroom gets uncomfortably cold in the winter. If it does, the insulation problem may be more serious than I think it is.

If it is only a summertime overheating problem, I suspect that it has to do with an attic insulation problem, and I doubt it is caused by a ridge vent problem. It would seem that, if it were, it would affect both bedrooms.

Has this problem started recently or has it been there all along? How long have you lived in the house?

Since you have a conventional attic, the insulation should be checked.

Over the years, I have inspected attics with similar problems and found that cellulose insulation had been blown away over time under strong windy conditions because there were no baffles at the eaves to protect it and the soffit vents had been installed tight to the exterior wall. I have even seen fiberglass batts blown clear off the attic floor and folded back some 6 feet under similar situations, albeit drastic.

Baffles are essential to protect the insulation from strong winds, and soffit venting should be at least 2 inches away from the walls to minimize the effect of strong winds.

Cellulose insulation can also be blown away by wind blowing through gable vents, which, by the way, should not be used with a combination soffit/ridge venting system as it short circuits the proper venting between soffit and ridge vents.

Under certain drastic circumstances, insulation can also be soaked by wind-driven snow and rain through gable vents to the extent that it cannot fully dry over the summer.

Depending on when this problem started, insulation could also have been poorly installed or omitted altogether over that bedroom. Construction can be fraught with many inconsistencies.

A professional engineer or experienced contractor should be able to check your attic for possible insulation problems and suggest or make necessary repairs.

If no problem is found with the insulation, an energy auditor may be the best person to perform a thorough investigation with the variety of tools available to them.

• Henri de Marne, a former remodeling contractor turned columnist and consultant, is the author of "About the House with Henri de Marne" (Upper Access Publishing). He continues to take questions from readers for this column and his website, www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to aboutthehouse@gmavt.net.