Borrow your kid's skateboard for help with heavy loads

Ah, remember the good old days, when you could use a skateboard without a written permit from your doctor? Well, you still can, but not how you think.

A skateboard is a platform on wheels that would be perfect for moving heavy items around your shop or home. Use one to transport heavy plants from window to window during the winter months, or use one to move a heavy box from one room to another. In the shop, you can use one to help you get a large bag of fertilizer into the backyard for your garden or to help move a heavy box of tools to a storage closet. We're pretty sure your kids won't mind you borrowing it, as long as you don't try to ride on it!

Tin cans catch messes

Winter means that most of your projects will be the indoor kind. One very popular project is redoing a piece of furniture. Stripping it is a good start, in most cases. And thanks to the "green" strippers of today, it's more possible than ever to do a project like this indoors. All you really need to do, in most cases, is put down a good dropcloth and get to work. To keep the stripper from puddling up on the dropcloth, it's a smart idea to place each furniture leg into a small tin can or some other container. This will prevent most accidents with the stripper, and the cans are easy to get rid of after the stripping part of the project is finished. Tuna cans or cat-food cans are good choices, but others work well too. Just use whatever you have on hand.

Super hints

• If you are in the middle of a painting project and need to quit for the day or for a break, put your brushes and rollers into sealable plastic bags and set them in the fridge. There is no need to clean them just for a short break, or even overnight. They will be fine when you unwrap them to use again.

• When using an extension ladder up against the side of your house or some other place where it might make marks on the surface, slip an old sock over the ends of the ladder and let the socks protect the surface from the ladder's legs.

• I like the vacuum-cleaner canisters that you can just dump out rather than the ones you have to replace with a new bag. The only problem is that it can get really dirty if the dust shakes out in the wrong place. What I do is place the canister in a plastic bag, close it up and then shake the dust out of it. Then you can take the canister out of the plastic bag and throw the bag and the dust away without getting it all over your house or yourself.

Q. How can I drill a hole in my bathroom's tile wall to hang a towel bar on it? I sure don't want to ruin the tiles.

A. Place masking tape over the exact spot you want to drill. Then use a masonry drill bit. Start slow and take your time. The masking tape will keep the drill bit from moving around on the tile as you get started.

Q. Our bar has a marble top on the counter, and it has some stains on it. I would really like to find a way to clean them. Can you suggest a way to get the stains out of the marble?

A. Mineral spirits paint thinner is a good cleaner for surfaces like this. Just saturate the stain with it, and then cover it with cornmeal or some other absorbent and let it soak the stain up overnight. Hopefully the stain will come up with the cornmeal. Bleach also can be used, but use caution, as it can alter the color of the surface, in some cases.

Reader tips

• We are really lucky in that we have built-in storage in our garage in two closets at the back. But the problem has always been that if you want to get into these closets, you have to back the cars out. We removed the standard doors and installed some simple accordion doors. These were easy to install and inexpensive, and we no longer have to back the cars out to get into the closets. Problem solved!

• We always have had foggy, wet windows during the winter. I guess the humidity in the house collects there and fogs them up. My friend told me about something you can do to your glasses to keep them from fogging, so I tried it on my windows, and it works great. I just wipe some glycerin, purchased at the drugstore, over the windows like you would a cleaner. It leaves a little film that you can't see, and it prevents fogging. I don't know how, but it works.

• In plumbing the garage for the washer and dryer, I have done a fair amount of soldering. I used kitchen hot pads instead of any kind of work gloves. They worked better and were more insulated than anything I had on hand in my shop. I'll bet they cost a lot less than the ones you would have to buy made just for that, too.

• I wanted to decorate our windows for the holidays so they would look like they were frosted. I placed stencils on the windows and then dabbed over them with a sponge and a bar of soap. The soap was my "paint." The windows look just terrific and very festive. I know this is a good method and will easily wipe off with a damp sponge after the holidays are over with.

• I have had to throw away enough paint over the years that I know better than to leave it in the original paint can. I don't care how carefully you close the lid, the paint eventually will get a skin or develop some other age issues. I always put any leftovers into a sealable plastic bucket. Then I write on the lid exactly what type of paint it is and the mixture of colors inside. It will last almost indefinitely in one of these jugs if the lid fits on really tightly.

Shop talk

• The Hide-A-Hose is a central vacuum system with a retractable hose. The hose is stored in the SmartTube system, hidden in a wall, attic or crawl space, and can cover up to 2,300 square feet. There is no need to lug and store a heavy hose. The Hide-A-Hose is five times more powerful than a conventional vacuum cleaner, and keeps allergens and other dust particles outside your home. It easily can be installed in new homes as well as retrofitted in existing homes. To learn more, visit hideahose.biz.

• Minwax Water Based WoodSheen offers rich color with the added convenience of soap-and-water cleanup. The low-odor formula also dries faster and is very easy to use. The gel formulation makes it perfect for vertical surfaces, like doors and walls. Look for it at your paint store or home center. For additional information, visit minwax.com.

• Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrell's Web site at thesuperhandyman.com.