Solving mysterious black specks
Q. My mom lives in Houston and the faucet in her kitchen sink has a problem with the cold water that comes out during the summertime. There are very small black specks in the water. When she runs the hot water, the specks are not there.
She has changed the faucet itself and this did not help. She has had several plumbers look at it and they say it's the faucet. However, if it was the faucet, why would the black specks not appear with the hot water? When she asks the plumbers they can't answer the question. Any ideas on this one?
A. I hope your mother has not suffered too much from the horrendous hurricane the Houston area is experiencing. My best wishes for her.
Are these specks only coming out of the kitchen cold water faucet and not in other fixtures, like the bathrooms? And only during the summer? That makes it even more mysterious.
If they were found in other cold water faucets as well, the problem could be a result of rusting steel or iron pipes used by the city. If the black particles are hard, it almost sounds as if there is a rusting steel pipe section feeding cold water to the kitchen faucet.
These black particles should disappear after the water runs for a few minutes. They do not appear when running hot water because the particles have settled in the water heater.
How old is your mother's house? The water pipes may have been iron originally and replaced in time with copper as leaks developed.
Most of the time, these pipes are only replaced where accessible, and those are usually the horizontal sections in open basements or cellars. Interestingly enough, the vertical sections hidden in walls do not rust as quickly or often as the horizontal ones and are not usually replaced unless leaks develop. That usually require opening walls.
But if the black particles are soft, they may be decomposing rubber from a flexible pipe feeding the cold water kitchen faucet. They are not likely to be from decomposing rubber parts in the new faucet because it has been replaced and they are still occurring. The decomposition may be a result of chemicals used to treat the water supply. The solution is to replace the flexible pipe with a pipe not containing rubber.
Q. I spilled a bottle of acetone fingernail polish remover on my black tile floor. It ate away at the glazing immediately. Now that large area is cloudy and dull. Any magic up your experienced sleeve to bring back the luster?
A. The repair depends on the type of tile it is. If you do not know which it is, to determine if it is granite, marble or porcelain, you'll need to have someone from a stone or tile store come to your house to identify it and perform the repair.
Marble and granite would need buffing and polishing while affected porcelain tiles would need to be replaced.
It would be preferable to have a technician from a shop that makes repairs visit your house.
Q. I am hoping you might be able to give me some advice on cleaning this 35-year-old, 12-inch tile floor. Not sure if it is slate or cut stone - picture attached.
Over time, it has been cleaned and waxed. About four years ago I had a professional carpet cleaner in with a steam cleaning device, which made a slight difference, but not much. I mostly want to clean the discolored grout, but getting more of the old finish off the tiles would be great, too. Any suggestions?
A. Try using Laticrete Heavy Duty Coating Stripper designed for use on slate and grout (www.laticrete.com).
After stripping the tile floor, you may want to consider applying Stonetech Heavy Duty Sealer, which is featured on the Laticrete website. These products are available on their website and through Amazon.
Q. Read your column today (always do!) about removing a blue stain from marble. Do you think using borax and hydrogen peroxide would also work on removing a rust stain from marble?
A. Yes, it should work. But the results depend on how deep the rust stain is.
If the hydrogen peroxide and borax do not completely remove the stain, make a poultice by adding some diatomaceous earth to the borax/peroxide mixture to obtain a toothpaste consistency.
Apply it to the stained areas and cover it with plastic wrap for 24 hours. You can buy diatomaceous earth in hardware and big box stores.
If the rust has penetrated too deeply, it may not be possible to remove the stain entirely. As an alternative, you may want to try D/2 biological stain remover. D/2 works on many materials and is quite safe. You can find where to buy D/2 on their website, www.d2bio.com.
Because any treatment will bleach the affected area, you may need to follow up with the application of whatever you have used over the entire surface to avoid a lighter spot.
Q. My concrete floor in my basement apartment is very cold. It was not insulated, so is there anything I can do now to make it warmer?
A. The easiest way to make the concrete floor more comfortable is to lay a synthetic pad and carpet over it.
The better way, which is far more involved and will raise the floor by 1½-inches before the floor finish of your choice is installed, is to lay 1-inch thick XPS (blue, pink or gray) rigid insulation on the concrete floor and cover it with ½-inch plywood fastened to the concrete with special fasteners or power shots.
Q. In a recent column, you responded to the question regarding installing a French drain. You wrote that the sides of the trench were to be lined with geotextile fabric. Why is the bottom not covered?
A. The reason for my suggesting lining the sides of the trench with geotextile fabric is to prevent the drain from getting silted by soil falling off the sides of the trench.
The bottom of the trench does not need to be protected from falling soil particles and is best left open to absorb water more easily.
• 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.