Go green to keep drains clean

Q. Just over 15 years ago, I had my kitchen remodeled and moved the sink from the "water wall" to under the window to create an "L" shaped kitchen. I called in three different plumbers to make sure I would have no difficulty with drainage, since the sink is now 7 feet from that "water wall." All these years I have had no problems.

About six months ago, I had my contractor switch the garbage disposal from the furthest side of the sink to the wall to the closest side. Since then, soap suds from the garbage disposal side now comes up onto the side furthest from the "water wall" - all over the just-washed dishes in the drainer. My contractor said it was because the sink was clogged. I never had to use any kind of cleaner in any of my drains, but if I did, I would use vinegar, borax, salt, or similar. He used a heavy-duty purchased drain cleaner and left it for me to put in again overnight if the situation didn't improve. I kept forgetting to put it in again overnight since the situation didn't change. I thought I would rather check with you on your thoughts on this problem before putting that heavy duty cleaner through my PVC pipe, which runs through my cabinets to the water wall.

A. When the contractor switched the garbage disposal from one sink to the other, he may have reconnected the dishwasher discharge to the same waste, now the sink without the disposal. If that is the case, have him reconnect the dishwasher discharge to the disposal's tailpipe and see if that helps.

It is best to clean drains with a nonlethal product like Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda rather than toxic drain cleaners. The instructions on the use of Super Washing Soda as a drain cleaner are on the side of the box. You should find it in the laundry section of your supermarket.

Q. I installed a Trex deck two years ago, and now there are black mold spots all over it. I understand this is a problem that a lot of Trex owners have. Have you heard what causes it, and have you heard of a product that will remove it? If not, do you know where I might find information on possible solutions? I certainly could use any helpful tips you may have.

A. Mold and mildew are common problems on any deck materials. Synthetic materials are not immune to these growths. Try cleaning your deck with one of the deck cleaners available in paint, building-supply and hardware stores. Or make your own solution of sodium percarbonate.

Sodium percarbonate is a very effective, biodegradable and environmentally safe wood cleaner. Powdered bleaches are made by treating soda ash with hydrogen peroxide. Two of the best are OxiBoost, marketed by Natural Choices, now also known as Eco Geeks, www.ecogeeks.com, (866) 699-2667, and Shout Oxy Power, marketed by SC Johnson. Both are ultra-concentrated forms of sodium percarbonate.

Q. In the Sunday, Feb. 1, edition of the Daily Herald, you wrote of the Laing AutoCirc Pump and how it can alleviate the wait for hot water from the water heater. We have a similar problem, so I went to the Laing Web site only to find out it specifically says not to be used with an on-demand water heater, and that's what we have. I love our Noritz, but we have the long-wait-for-hot-water problem. Is there a solution for those of us with the on-demand units?

A. Unfortunately, I know of no solution to obtain instant hot water with on-demand water heaters. The Laing AutoCirc pump uses the cold water piping to continually circulate hot water through the lines. On-demand heaters do not have hot water storage; they heat water only when you need it, so there is no hot water to be circulated. Sorry.

Are your hot water pipes insulated? If not, are they accessible so they can be? That should help if you have copper pipes, as some of the heat in water is lost quickly as the water travels through copper - a very good conductor. Insulating the pipes will prevent this, and you should be able to get hot water a little faster.

Q. Since I always read your articles (you are quite knowledgeable), I am hoping you will be able to answer my question concerning my gutter leaks. The top left side of the front red awning (at the bottom of the peak) always leaks downward during heavy rains or ices up in cold weather (then, when the ice melts, it leaks down and freezes onto my front porch next to my railing). I had new gutters installed two years ago and also had Master Shield gutter covers installed.

Twice I called the company complaining about water leaking down and not going into the gutters as they are supposed to do. They put up a "diverter" at the bottom of the peak (due to large water volume because of the peak), but the heavy rain still runs down the front of the house. They even replaced the mesh with one that has larger holes, and yet I still have this problem. I hope the photos give you some clue, as I am clueless what to complain about to resolve this matter without the company doing a bunch of nothing to appease me. The front of my house gets sun late afternoon, and after a snowstorm, it ices up then melts over the railing at the end of the front porch, causing slick ice. Note, I also had this problem before the diverter was put up on the roof, so it doesn't seem to matter as it didn't correct the problem. Please help me.

A. The first thing I notice, looking at the photos you sent me, is that there is poor insulation in your attic. Snow lingers on the rafters but is gone from the other areas of your roof. If you were to improve the attic insulation considerably, you would reduce the heat loss that is causing much of your problem.

Your experience with the gutter covers you had installed is why I do not recommend any gutter covers. In my experience, most of them will not perform as they are marketed, and some that do need to be removed and cleaned seasonally - not much help. This is why I recommend commercial gutters and downspouts, as they never clog and can handle large volumes of water. Commercial gutters are 6 inches wide instead of 5 inches for standard residential gutters, and commercial downspouts are 3-inch by 4-inch instead of 2-inch by 3-inch - twice the cross section. They cost slightly more than residential gutters but a lot less than gutter covers, and they have no problems. To me, that's the best solution.

Consider having the gutter guards removed and see if that helps a bit. At least, water would not flow over them. The diverter does not do much good and can actually cause leakage by forcing water under the shingles. I also notice that the valley in your roof seems to be what is known as "close-cut;" I do not see any metal from top to bottom. Unless the roofers who installed it put an ice-and-water protective membrane under the shingles, and followed the three rules of proper close-cut valley installation, you may have a problem you are not aware of.

Q. I need to replace some windows this spring. In your opinion, what is the absolute best window for our Vermont climate?

A. The best windows are those that are very tight to the weather so little infiltration of cold air occurs. Andersen and Marvin windows have a very good weatherstripping system. Both are wood windows with vinyl-cladding, and Marvin has all-fiberglass windows, as well.

Q. I have a quick question for you regarding the furnace in my home. Every so often, when the furnace kicks on, we will smell a burning odor coming out of our registers. The furnace is about 15 years old and has worked very well with the exception of having to clean off the "glow" plug igniter. I have looked at the filter and gone into the basement when we smell this odor and do not smell anything in the room the furnace is in; it usually just is coming out of a few floor registers. Should I be looking anywhere else? Is this dangerous?

A: It is not unusual to smell a burning odor when the heat is first turned on in the fall or after long periods of idleness. This is due to dust in the furnace that is burned when the furnace ignites. The same smell occurs when electric baseboards are first energized at the start of the heating season. But if this occurs more frequently, and the furnace is working regularly without long idle periods, you may need to have the ducts cleaned and have the furnace checked by a technician trained in checking heat exchangers to make sure it is not cracked. Furnaces older than 10 years are suspect.

Q. I read your column constantly, as we live in a 78-year-old home and many of the problems discussed are ones we face with an older home. Several years ago we decided to replace our windows in the upstairs, which was added about 30 years ago. These windows face south, and we have two rooms with double windows and one smaller one in the bath. The windows we chose were Pella, which we bought from Lowes. The windows are lovely, but the installation left much to be desired, as the three men who installed them left a mess and did a sloppy job. Now, this fall on one especially warm day, I noticed bugs, which I now know are stink bugs, flying into the windows and crawling in, even though the windows were all closed!

I happened to be resting there and continually sprayed them in both rooms. (I later counted over 35 bugs in each room.) I understand they seek a warm place to nest from the cold and they lay their eggs. They are slow moving, can fly and are hard to kill. Now I realize that the windows were not properly caulked from the outside and plan to do that in the spring when the weather allows. Should I have an exterminator spray first? I understand there is a product that is good, but it breaks down in sunlight. Could you give me some advice? I am sure this will be a recurring problem unless something is done as soon as possible.

A. If caulking around the windows does not solve the problem, you may want to contact a pest-management professional to spray the west and south sides of the house in the late summer and early fall to prevent them from getting inside through other cracks in the walls.

• Henri de Marne's column appears Sundays. He was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.

© 2009, United Feature Syndicate Inc.