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Try Nok-Out to knock out carpet's lingering pet odors

Q. I was wondering what you'd recommend for deep pet urine odor in my carpet and pad, which lie over cement. I just bought my townhouse and there is a small area of my living room rug (under the stairway) where a dog urinated a lot. I've tried a steam cleaner and Woolite Pet and Oxygen, but all it did was leave a very strong ammonia odor. Is there another product that could help me?

A. Try Nok-Out. It's a miracle odor eliminator. You'll need to access the pad and treat it as well as the carpet. Nok-Out can be used everywhere to remove odors.

We have used it with great success to get rid of a highly offensive skunk odor. You can buy Nok-Out online at www.nokout.com.

Q. I have a one-story home with a concrete block foundation and dirt crawl space. It was built in the early 1940s. There are 2½ to 4 feet between the dirt floor and the joists in the crawl space. The entrance to the crawl space is on the outside and there are two vents that I keep open in the summer months. The furnace is also in the crawl space.

In November 2014, I hired a contractor to insulate the crawl space. They put insulation between the floor joists and along the walls. They also covered the dirt floor with plastic.

In years past before the plastic was put down, when there had been a decent amount of rain the dirt would get damp. I would open the door to air out the crawl space throughout the summer months. Eventually, the top layer of dirt would dry out. Since putting the plastic down, it seems to hold the moisture in under the plastic and the dirt doesn't dry out.

I also recently noticed some of the plastic does not go all the way to the wall under the insulation, which exposes the insulation to the wet dirt floor. I am planning to put plastic under those areas to keep the insulation dry.

I am concerned the wet dirt will eventually cause mold in the crawl space, then move into the house. Should I pull some of the plastic back so the dirt gets air to dry out? Any help and recommendations would be appreciated.

A. Keeping the vents open in the summer brings in a lot of the humidity common at this time of year. It is best to ventilate a crawl space on cool days with very low humidity. Fans can help in those times.

If the crawl space floor is thoroughly covered with 6-mil (or heavier gauge) plastic, which your contractor apparently didn't install as well as they should have, it is best to keep the vents closed year-round.

Since the furnace is in the crawl space, there should not be insulation between the floor joists. The heat generated by the furnace helps warm the floor above.

Insulation on the foundation walls is sufficient, if well done. But I hope that the feasibility to insulate the walls was determined before proceeding with the job. My concern is that you mention that in periods of decent amounts of rain, the crawl space soil gets wet. This tells me you may have some grading issues that allow deep moisture penetration in the outside soil against the foundation. In the winter, this could result in deep frost penetration that could cause the block walls to crack, and the insulation would hide those cracks. Over time, the cracks might be serious enough to cause structural damage.

I suggest that you check the grade around the house. Make sure it slopes gently away from the foundation so rain and melting snow drain away and do not penetrate too deeply into the soil.

Before the plastic was laid, the dirt seemed to dry because the moisture in its top layer evaporated into the crawl space. This is undesirable, and if there is fibrous insulation between the floor joists and no plastic on the ground, moisture can affect the insulation negatively.

Moreover, the moisture trapped in the insulation can also cause damage to the subfloor and the finish floor. It can cause wood-strip flooring to swell and cup.

The beads of moisture showing on the underside of the plastic are held in check and are not adding moisture to the crawl space air - a positive thing.

Please do not pull up any of the existing plastic to allow the soil to dry, and do apply more plastic over the missed areas you have found to protect the wall insulation from absorbing moisture.

I have not heard or experienced any deleterious effects from keeping the soil moist under the plastic. In fact, I know from experience that properly covered soil results in sweet-smelling crawl space air, which does not need outside ventilation.

Q. I am writing about a roof on my Vermont camp (in Mallets Bay) that was built in the 1880s.

In true Vermont camp style, it is very close to the water, built on a hillside, and neither the road nor driveway is in proximity to the house. Additionally, the walls - inside and out - and roof are single tongue-and-groove wood - i.e., no interior wallboard, no insulation, etc. It is on leased land, and per the lease, is only usable from mid-May to mid-October.

The asphalt shingles on the house are in need of replacement. They are cracking and falling off, and we have had roof leaks that we have patched with a liquid, tar-like solution.

A big cost, whether it be money or our labor, is the hauling of the old asphalt shingles off the roof and up the hill to a location where we can haul them away with a truck. And, of course, hauling the new material and supplies down the hill and up onto the roof. Also, the north side of the house, being in proximity to the lake, but also high up due to the hillside, is a treacherous place to work. We can't put scaffolding up, so we would have to build out a cantilevered scaffolding to work closely on the edge.

So we are looking for suggestions, and wondering what you think of putting a metal roof right on top of the existing shingles. The metal roof would be easier to install, and would shed snow buildup in the winter better, as well. And if you think a metal roof is OK, what kind? Standing seam or corrugated? Also, without insulation, will it be truly deafening in a rainstorm with a metal roof?

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, and if you have questions (or would like pictures) I would be happy to answer/send them.

A. A metal roof is the best solution.

It would seem that the choice is limited to the screw-on type roofing for the following reasons: Besides the considerably higher cost of a standing seam roof, it would require a new plywood deck because this type of roofing cannot be put up over an irregular surface. Doing so would end up telegraphing all the irregularities of the existing asphalt shingles.

There is also the question of the additional load on the roof rafters. Are they able to take on the additional weight of a new plywood deck and metal roof? An engineer or experienced contractor can answer that question.

Screw-on metal roofing comes in a number of profiles, so you have quite a lot of choices. The roof panels will need to be screwed onto strapping consisting of 1-by-4-inch wood, installed horizontally and screwed to the rafters, 24 inches on center going up the roof.

You are very likely to hear rain on it, but with the air space provided by the strapping and the noise-reducing properties of the old shingles, it may be a pleasant experience.

It sounds as if you are planning to do the job yourself. The staging on the steep lakeside sounds very challenging. You may want to consult an experienced builder for suggestions. Staging brackets that are bolted onto the siding just below the roof may be the best option, but the problem remains: how to install the brackets. There would only be a few holes to patch when you are done.

Interesting tip from a reader: The following is in response to an earlier question about how to remove mildew from caulking in a shower:

"One of your readers asked a similar question a while ago, and a reader wrote to you with a solution they had discovered. They said to put some layers of toilet paper on the caulk and soak it with bleach. It worked great for me. I left it on all night and the next morning the mildew was all gone. Obviously, it was not under the caulk.

"I have found a new product that works on the grout, the caulking and the floor of my shower, which is Swanstone and white. Plus, it works fast. It is a product from Clorox called Clorox Precision Pour Bleach Gel. I have only seen it in one grocery store in my area, but it is great. No scrubbing; just let it sit for a few minutes. It also works on the walls because it doesn't run off like regular bleach. I found it when I was searching for a bleach pen, which did well on wall grout. I am assuming this is a replacement for that."

A. Thank you for the new information on the Clorox Precision Pour Bleach Gel. I also am happy to hear that the toilet paper trick works well to remove mildew from the surface of affected caulking.

• 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.

© 2016, United Feature Syndicate Inc.

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