Ask your local plumbing suppliers about waxless toilet seal

By Henri De Marne

Q. I love your column and want to thank you for all the wonderful advice you have given over the years. In a recent column, you mentioned a newer waxless-type toilet seal that should never need replacement. This immediately got my attention, and I would like to ask you to provide more information about a) how it works, b) why it does not need replacement and c) the name and contact info of the manufacturer.

A. Any plumbing-supply house should carry the waxless toilet seal; its use is standard nowadays. I suggest you visit a supplier and ask to see one and have its function explained. If you're reusing the same toilet that had a wax seal, the wax will have to be removed and the area cleaned up.

Q. The UFFI insulation sprayed between wall studs in my mother's home in 1978 seems to be turning into powder, reducing the house's insulation and making a mess when changing electrical boxes, (or if, in the future, any reconstruction work needs to be done). Should this insulation have lasted longer? What is the recommended way to re-insulate? Her house is in good shape, so we have no plans for residing or interior wall work. What should we do about the powder? Thanks for your help.

A. According to a friend, an expert who has inspected many urea-formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) jobs, shrinking and disintegrating into dust is a common problem with this type. The insulation has lost almost all, if not all, of its insulating value and should be removed.

He has done this by cutting a piece of drywall the width of each stud space at the base of the walls and vacuuming the powder out with a Shop-Vac.

Cellulose insulators can do this by using the same equipment they use to blow cellulose into walls and attics.

Q. We had a house built out in the country in Texas and have well water - very sulfury, although we installed an "injector" system to get rid of the sulfur. They installed the toilet before we moved in, of course, and it has this ring around the water line that I cannot get rid of. I've tried everything on the shelves at Home Depot and even tried using a denture tablet that was suggested on Pinterest. I'm assuming it's calcium buildup because it's about the same color as the toilet - just not quite as white. My shoulder has said, "Stop!" to all the scrubbing (I've used all kinds of different rags and scrubbies also). If you've got a fix, I'd love to hear it!

A. You may want to try Lime-Away, if you haven't done so yet. But one method I have used with great success is to pour one cup of muriatic acid in the bowl.

Be very careful handling muriatic acid, as it is very corrosive. Wear heavy rubber gloves and other eye and skin protection, such as safety glasses and old work clothes. Do not use any metal tools or containers with this acid.

Pour it very slowly and carefully into the bowl when you will not need to use the toilet for several hours. Close the lid. Later, gently scrub the ring with a toilet brush while flushing the toilet.

Such a small amount of muriatic acid diluted in several gallons of water, and after sitting for several hours, has very little effect on septic systems.

Q. We have an oak dining room table and chairs that have been in the family for at least 70 years.

The rungs on the chairs keep coming unglued. I've tried carpenter's wood glue and a compound called Chair-Loc but I end up regluing the loose chair rungs every 14 to 24 months. I always clamp the regluing jobs but they still eventually come unglued.

Would Gorilla Glue work better, or do you have another recommendation? I'm sure a humidifier would help also.

A. According to an old friend who is a furniture restorer, carpenter's glue should have worked fine, and the clamping was the right thing to do, but somehow, the parts may not have been clean enough.

Here are his recommendations: Take the chair rungs apart and use a knife or coarse sandpaper to remove any residue of the previous products you have used from the tenons and the mortises. The old stuff could prevent proper adhesion of the glue.

Be careful not to enlarge the mortises or take wood off the tenons, but if the parts feel loose, you can cut small pieces of cloth to fit around and glue to the tenons. Push the tenons into the mortises immediately.

He advises against the use of Gorilla Glue and Chair-Loc; stick to carpenter's glue.

Q. I have mold in the hollow cement block wall in the basement, which has a 24-hour running dehumidifier.

Recently, I came across an article suggesting the use of white vinegar to kill mold. The article also suggested using one cup of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to treat the mold. It was said that these two solutions were better than bleach, as bleach causes fumes. Another benefit cited was that vinegar and hydrogen peroxide kill mold on porous surfaces.

Please advise if the white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide is effective in treating mold.

A. Both distilled white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide will do an effective job of killing mold spores in porous materials. Bleach can only kill mold on nonporous surfaces, as it does not penetrate porous surfaces; so mold roots are left to grow again.

To kill mold spores and their roots, pour straight 3 percent peroxide (H2O2), undiluted, into a spray bottle and saturate the blocks with it.

Let the H2O2 do its work for 10 to 15 minutes, and scrub the walls to remove all dead mold.

You can add vinegar to the H2O2 in the spray bottle to make the solution stronger.

Q. We could really use your expertise to figure out what is causing water marks on a bedroom ceiling. We read your weekly column in the Daily Herald and hope you can help us solve this mystery.

The house is two stories built in 2008. There are three water mark strips along the ceiling of an upstairs bedroom. (I've attached a few photos.) The water strips are approximately 4 feet apart and 5 feet long. We originally thought there was a problem with our roof. However, after looking in the attic, there does not appear to be any water damage on the backside of the drywall where the stains are showing in the bedroom. Also, the joists in the attic run perpendicular to the water markings. There are no water lines in the ceiling. We cannot figure out what is causing this problem.

Do you have any idea what might be causing these markings? What type of repair service (roofer, general contractor, etc.) should we call? Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

A. I only received two photos, and the water mark is only clear in one of them. One photo shows a ceiling fan, and the other shows what looks like the base of the same ceiling fan on the other side of the fan.

Assuming the above, it looks like I only see one continuous water stain. If the stains are parallel and four feet apart, it looks like they are at the joints between two drywall sheets.

I really need some clearer photos and a more detailed description to be of help. As it is, I can only make some assumptions, which could be incorrect.

For instance, since the ceiling joists are perpendicular to the water marks, are they attached to a flush center beam or do they run straight through from one exterior wall to the one opposite?

Please send me as many photos as needed to show the entire affected area, and all other data you can find.

Comment from an Illinois reader: I read your column weekly in the Daily Herald. I am a landlord with seven units, so I have found many useful tips in your column over the years. This week you had a question about hair spray on bathroom walls (or doors). I have two ideas to share on that topic:

• If the buildup is thick, the fastest/best thing I have found is denatured alcohol applied with a white paper towel or cloth. Turn the cloth often as the buildup transfers to it. Remember to turn on the bathroom exhaust fan and to first check a small, out-of-the-way spot to make sure the surface isn't compromised by the denatured alcohol. (I've never had a problem, but I know that if you leave denatured alcohol on latex paint it can soften the paint.) I got this idea by looking at the ingredients label on the hair spray. Denatured alcohol was one of the first ingredients.

• For regular maintenance after the buildup is removed, use shampoo. I dissolve a quarter-sized dollop in about a cup of hot water and use a sponge to apply. Let it set for a minute or two, and then wipe down. Rinse with clean water and dry with a towel. When you think about it, this makes lots of sense, because it gently removes hair spray buildup from hair.

A. Thank you for a very good solution to this problem, which I have been asked about several times over the years.

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

© 2015, United Feature Syndicate Inc.