Conserve water while still maintaining healthy landscaping

Whether you are in a drought-prone area of the country or not, you should always be thinking of ways to conserve water. It's usually easier to cut back on your landscape rather than on your family, so here are some tips that might make it less painful.

Landscape experts tell us to water less frequently and more deeply. If you have an automatic sprinkler system for your yard, turn the timer off. Water only when you need to. About an inch a week is sufficient for most landscapes. Some need more, and others, less. If you want to know how much you are putting out, set some empty tuna cans around your yard and then do your usual watering. You will be able to tell how much water you are putting out from the amount of water in the cans. Reduce it if possible.

Don't water the sidewalks or streets. Adjust sprinklers to water the yard only.

Hoses, sprinklers and other watering devices should be repaired as soon as you find a leak. To mend a leaking hose, use a hose-mending kit, available from your hardware store. This is easy to do. Just cut the damage out, attach the coupling to the hose and you are back in business.

A new washer on every connection is a great way to start the year, and doesn't cost very much.

Automatic sprinkler heads usually can be replaced by simply unscrewing the damaged head and replacing it with another one.

Drip irrigation is the most effective way to water shrubs and gardens. The most common hoses are made from recycled tires, and are just laid on the soil and will "weep" water out slowly, getting lots of water into the soil. There is no waste unless you forget to turn them off. Most municipalities that restrict watering don't restrict this type of irrigation. More-permanent installations are also available, so maybe switching to these would be a wise choice.

Water wisely, and the dividends will be obvious to all!

Tie the knot: For long-distance electrical work, an extension cord or two is a must. When you are using two cords and want to avoid the disconnection that can sometimes happen, tie them together. A loose knot is better than a tight one because heat can build up in the cords and cause problems. Hold both ends that are to be connected together and tie them into a loose knot. Leave enough of the end sticking out to make the connection. The cords will be less likely to pull apart while you are working.

Syringe helps in tight spots: Getting caulk and glue into tight spots is always a challenge, but necessity is the mother of invention, so here's an idea we came up with: Use a plastic disposable syringe. These are available at drugstores, pet stores and many other places. You don't need a small needle, just a smaller tip than the glue bottle or caulking tube. You can buy tips that are large enough to accommodate a thick liquid, but the smaller they are, the harder they are to get through, so choose the largest size you can use for the job. Load it with glue and then make your repair. If you are clever enough, you can clean it out and use it again when you need to. That's our prescription for smaller glue repairs.

Super hints

• Working on the roof during the summer months is very hot, but if you bring a rubber car floor mat with you, you can kneel on it without getting your knees burned, and maybe hold on to your tools better, too.

• Squeaking wooden floors can be "lubricated" with baby powder. Just sprinkle a little on the floor and sweep it into the cracks. Wipe any residue away with a damp sponge. Now you can sneak to the fridge in the middle of the night undetected!

• Does your washing machine make a lot of racket, even though it's level and plumb? Perhaps you need to isolate it. If it lives in a closet or laundry room, add weatherstripping around the doors, and that will help seal out the noise from the rest of the house.

Q. Our shade trees are great at cutting down the summer sun over our home, but they do drop a lot of leaves in the fall and winter. How can we clean this mess off our roof?

A. You probably should consult an arborist about trimming the tree so it doesn't shed onto your roof. You can use a leaf blower or a broom to get the stuff off your roof. Add gutter guards to prevent leaves from clogging your gutters.

Q. I might need to replace my standard kitchen sprayer. It just dribbles now instead of producing a good spray. Am I ready for a new one?

A. You might try to clean it first. Remove the sprayer head from the hose and clean it with vinegar. If that doesn't do it, then you should shut the water off and clean the diverter inside the faucet with vinegar. One of those should do the trick.

Q. I have a beloved older Formica table. I keep it clean, but it is dull and scratched, and seems to stain easily. Can you suggest a way to protect it from stains and maybe even make it look better?

A. Clean it thoroughly, then give it a coat of paste wax. The paste wax will need to be repeated occasionally, but it will help protect the table and give it some shine. Another option would be to apply a couple of coats of polyurethane instead of the wax.

Reader tips

• When we were looking to add some storage to our bathroom, it seemed that most of the cabinets were too large for the room. We decided that shelving between the wall studs might be a better way to go, and opted for easy-to-install medicine cabinets. We didn't need another mirror, so we found a couple of matching, framed prints that we could hang over the mirrors with heavy-duty Velcro. They are perfect for storing all of our extra stuff, and they look great, too.

• I bought a couple of new brushes before starting a paint job in our bedroom. I bought the best brushes I could afford, and the paint store manager gave me some good advice: He told me to wash the brushes before I used them. I didn't ask why; I just did it, thinking he knew more than I did. The second I put them in the water, I could see why. They started to shed bristles right away. I ran my hand over the bristles, and even more came out. Had I not done this, I have no doubt that these loose bristles would have ended up in my paint job, and that would not have been a good thing.

• During the spring and summer, I have to water my garden more to keep things growing. The water faucet is on one side of my driveway, and the garden is on the other. I had to replace the hoses pretty regularly when people drove over them, so I came up with a great way to protect them. I just purchased a long section of PVC pipe that I could slide over the hose. I place the PVC pipe across the driveway, and the cars ride over it instead of just the hose. This takes the pressure off the hose, and I haven't had any damage since putting it in place.

• I think our wallpaper shrunk! It looked fine when we put it up, but after a few days, tiny gaps appeared between the pieces. I had never wallpapered before and wasn't sure what had caused it. It wasn't getting any better, though, so I bought some paint that matched the background of the paper and just painted in the gaps. You can't even see it now. I don't know how common this is, but I thought my solution was worth sharing.

• My garage is barely large enough to hold our two cars, and there is no space for extra storage - at least there didn't used to be. I designed and built a "shelf" that is attached to the back wall of the garage and sits above the hoods of the vehicles. It's very sturdy, so it won't fall on them, and it goes from just above the hood of the car on up. I made it extra wide so it will hold lots of things. It also runs the length of the wall.

Shoptalk

• Most of us know that you need to use different bits for different materials. But now Mount Prospect-based Bosch takes the guesswork, and a lot of the time, out of choosing the right bit for the job. The new Multi-Construction Bit is great for wood, plastic, masonry, ceramic tiles and even metal. The diamond-ground tungsten carbide tip features a steep spiral flute that removes debris and provides traction on a variety of materials to help you work faster and get professional-looking results. You can find these handy bits at your hardware store or home center, or visit boschtools.com to learn more.

• Waxing your car is a great way to protect it and keep it looking good, but after several waxes, it can build up. Rust-Oleum has created a super Wax and Tar Remover. It takes off those old layers of wax and leaves you with a clean surface so you can get the most shine and protection for all of your efforts. It's great at removing road tar as well, so you can keep your investment looking its best all the time. You can find Rust-Oleum products at your hardware store or many auto-supply stores. For more information about this product, visit www.rustoleum.com.

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

© 2009, Cowles Syndicate Inc.