Crayon marks on tile floor may require grout repairs

Q. Our 31/2-year-old granddaughter decorated the grout lines on our porcelain floor with crayon. If the color wasn't on the opposite side of the color wheel from our tile and grout, we might have had her seal it in its entirety. Do you have any suggestions on how to remove it from the tile and grout?

A. Unfortunately, the products I know of that would remove crayon marks on hard surfaces would push the softened crayon into the porous grout, making matters worse. The only suggestion I have is to use a grout saw to cut the grout as deeply as needed to remove all crayon marks. Then apply new grout. A tile contractor is the person to call. Your best resource is a quality tile store.

If you wish to do the job yourself, you can buy a tile saw from a tile store. If any readers have had experience with this problem and have successfully solved it, please let me know and I'll pass it along.

We have black stuff on our roof and walkway. A roofer sent by U.S. Homes said it was tree sap, but a consultant engaged by our community called it a fungus and recommended power-washing for roof and walkway. Do you have any suggestions?

A. The consultant is correct. It is very likely algae growth. But I take strong objection to his or her recommendation to power-wash the roof if you have asphalt or fiberglass shingles, as power-washing would dislodge the mineral granules that protect the underlying asphalt from the destructive UV rays of the sun. Power-washing the walkway is fine.

To get rid of the algae on the roof shingles, have zinc strips installed by a roofer just below the ridge cap on each side of the roof. It will take time for the zinc strips to kill the algae. So if you want faster results, the roof can be sprayed with a solution made of three-parts fresh Clorox bleach to 1-part water with a garden sprayer on a windless day. Work from a ladder, not by walking on the roof - as it can become slippery. Wear goggles, old clothes and rubber gloves. Spray only enough to wet the shingles and avoid as much runoff as possible. One gallon of the mixture covers 50 square feet of roof surface. Before you start, thoroughly soak any vegetation below the roof and cover it with plastic. If you have metal gutters and downspouts, keep running water in them while spraying and until all runoff stops, as the solution is very corrosive.

When you are finished with the spraying, wash the plastic thoroughly with your garden hose and spray the plantings again. It will take several weeks before you see results. Not too environmentally friendly, but very effective.

You can also buy ready-made formulas to remove algae. Roof & Deck Cleaner, a concentrated form based on sodium hydroxide, can be purchased through the Shingle Shield Web site at www.shingleshield.com. ZincShield, (800) 440-3010, also sells LiquidZinc for treatment of existing growth.

We have a vacation home we use on the weekend. We have a pump. When we turn the water on, it takes forever to get rid of the sulfur smell/taste in the water. Is there anything we can do to get rid of the smell/taste?

A. Have a water-treatment specialist install a water-conditioning system that will eliminate the sulfur smell and taste.

I need a landscape-safe way to melt the ice on my stairs and walkway. My property slopes, and I have many stairs and a winding walkway, all surrounded by evergreen plantings. The front of the house faces north, so I don't even have the help of the sun. I've tried shoveling immediately, but the slate steps become a sheet of ice no matter when I do the shoveling. The last few years I have not done any shoveling, as the snow at least gives my feet something to grab onto as I wind my way down the slope. I did Internet research and found a reference to urea used by some landscapers, but I could not find anything else about it. I also saw some advertisements for a spray coating that is used before the snow but don't know if it really works.

A. You can find any number of safe snow- and ice-melting crystals in hardware, garden and building-supply stores.

I have my (forced air) Aprilaire humidifier supplied by hard water. I have noticed over time that my 3/4-inch PVC drain for it (and the air conditioner) gets clogged up with a hard brown flaky substance. If I switch to have soft water service to my humidifier, can I avoid the same brown flaky substance?

A. It should help, but your best bet is to have a water specialist analyze your water and offer a remedy based on the chemical composition of your water.

We recently added central air to our ranch house. The attic is very well-insulated, and the full basement under the house has a separate heating zone. In the attic, there is a large attic fan that I no longer use, and in the ceiling of the first floor is a large vented opening for air. I think it's about 3 by 5 feet in size. It occurred to me that this opening could cause a lot of heat loss during the winter, and it's also not very aesthetically pleasing. Do you think I should disconnect the fan in the attic and replace the large ceiling vent with a regular ceiling?

A. By all means, disconnect the attic fan, remove the ceiling's grille and insulate and patch the hole.

Our roof has mold with black streaks and stains that are only on the North side of the house, along with some green mold that will come off with a strong (spray from a) garden hose. We are very leery of all the different companies and their claims; the latest one that we reviewed on the Internet is Cleaner Today, cleanertoday.com.

A. Be careful using a strong jet from your garden hose; it can dislodge the mineral granules that protect the asphalt from the harmful rays of the sun. If you can wait for the algae to clear up, buy some zinc strips from a building-supply house and install them just below the ridge cap shingles. These strips come in 50-foot rolls. Rain will leach ions from the strips and kill the algae, but it will take some time. I've had no experience with Cleaner Today.

What product do you recommend to clean oil and other automobile fluids on a black asphalt driveway? I tried the Krud Kutter product and it didn't work with my Karcher pressure washer. Someone told me to put regular Dawn dish soap on the spots and it would work but would bleach the black white. Is that true?

Is there any way to get the ballpoint pen size black spots (from mold I think) from white vinyl siding? Will any of the products from Krud Kutter or Karcher remove the spots, or should I use something like a mixture of bleach and water with a brush?

A. To remove oil stains, etc., from an asphalt driveway, sprinkle trisodium phosphate (TSP) crystals on the affected areas, sprinkle hot water on the crystals and scrub with a stiff brush. Wait 30 minutes and rinse off. Repeat if needed.

The ballpoint-sized black dots on your vinyl siding are artillery fungus coming from a decomposing mulch next to the foundation. They cannot be removed without causing serious damage to the vinyl siding. To prevent additional spots from staining the siding, you can add new mulch over the old every year or remove the old mulch entirely and replace it with rubber mulch available at garden supply and some hardware stores.

What is the proper way to clean finished furniture such as chairs, tables, end tables, etc.? I find that in the summer if you lean against a table or chair, your clothing actually sticks to the furniture (humidity, I assume). I am an avid Pledge user, which is supposed to clean plus shine. But this problem makes me feel like the furniture is dirty. Should I be using a mild soap and water? I've done this on a few pieces, and it seems to take the finish off. I've also tried Pledge Oil and other furniture oils.

Also, concerning no-wax linoleum: I'm starting to get wear in certain very used spots (looks like scuff marks). I've used the Mr. Clean sponge, which removes it, but I feel it's also wearing out the linoleum. Is there a way to refinish these areas?

A. The furniture refinishers I know do not recommend the use of Pledge. Try Milsek Furniture Polish instead. A Pennsylvania reader bought hers at Sam's Club. You can also buy it online at milsek.com. As for the floor, if you know the manufacturer, ask a dealer for the product they recommend to protect the affected areas.

• Henri de Marne 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.