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Cleaning solution, elbow grease needed for outdoor project

Q. I saw a column of yours in the paper a few months ago and I can't remember what you told the person.

I have been in my home for 11 years and the previous owner put outdoor carpet on our front porch, which consists of six concrete steps. We are trying to remove it because it looks terrible now and is torn up in a lot of spots. I think you said that it is very hard to take carpet off the concrete steps, but to just try to rip it up.

Is there anything we can buy or do to get rid of this? Once this is taken off the steps, I think we will just try to paint the concrete and hopefully it will look all right.

A. Remove as much of the carpeting as you can by ripping it off. Pour boiling water on 2-foot-square sections of what is still sticking to the concrete, one section at a time, and pry them up using a broad-blade putty knife as the adhesive softens.

Painting concrete, especially outdoors, is not always successful in the long run. It is best to stain concrete. Before you stain the steps, be sure all remnants of the carpet adhesive have been removed; you may need to wash the concrete with acetone.

You should also wash the concrete with a mixture of one cup TSP-PF to a gallon of hot water. You may want to substitute one quart of fresh bleach for one quart of water to remove any latent mold as well as any other pollutants.

Q. I have read your response about the appearance of pinhead-sized black spots on vinyl siding. I didn't pay much attention to your answer because I did not have this problem myself. But I have noticed these spots on my son's vinyl siding and vinyl fencing. Please respond, once again, regarding the source and remediation of these spots.

A. These black spots are very likely to be from what are known as artillery fungi, an appropriate name for them since they are propelled, like cannon projectiles, from most decomposing organic mulch. Cypress mulch is the exception; it is said not to generate the needed conditions for artillery fungus to develop.

Artillery fungus is only active in the spring and fall when the soil and air temperatures are mild. The spores explode with great force and attach themselves to nearby surfaces, usually to light-colored ones.

According to an earlier report from the Penn State Extension Service, this fungus was considered almost impossible to remove without causing damage to the surfaces. Or so I thought, until a reader mentioned that he was successful in doing so following a new Penn State Extension Service report that indicated several people had good luck with Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser.

The trick is to wet the spots first and wait several minutes for the packets to soften. This seems to make them easier to "erase."

Another Pennsylvania reader wrote me that he finds the spots easier to remove after they have frozen solid over the winter. He uses a plastic scraper and has had good luck with it.

I hope that these methods will not damage the vinyl siding. The risk is that the vinyl siding may develop shiny areas where treated. These methods may damage wood siding, but the damage is relatively easy to repair, especially if the siding is painted.

To prevent recurrence, you can add new mulch over the older one; remove the older mulch, and replace it with new mulch yearly; use cypress mulch; or use rubber mulch, which is made from recycled auto tires, shredded into small brown pieces, and is permanent and quite attractive (www.rubbermulch.com.)

Q. We have an older house with only one full bath, so the shower is used a lot. It's a stall-type shower with ceramic tiles, which we wipe down after every use. Unfortunately, the grout still gets a lot of mildew, so it's a constant maintenance headache. Could the entire shower (tiles, grout and caulk edges) be coated with an epoxy acrylic to eliminate this problem? I'm thinking of the same type of coating that's used to refinish bathtubs.

A. The tiles and grout will need to be cleaned first. Look into SaniGLAZE, www.saniglaze.com. I haven't had any experience with the process, but it does sound as if this is what you are looking for.

If you choose to have SaniGLAZE treat your shower stall, please let me know how you found the service and its results.

Q. After 30 years, my electric attic fan has finally stopped working. My plan is to utilize your suggestion of ridge vents, but not until I have to get a new roof in six to eight years. In the interim, I plan to use a new solar attic fan.

The solar fan will be on the backside roof, which faces south. The space to aerate is about 2,000 square feet at the base of the gable roof. I calculated that the electric cost of using the fan is about $15 per month, or $180 per year, so the new solar fan will pay for itself in four to five years.

My questions are: What size solar fan should I get? The old fan used a thermostat activation at 110 degrees, but the new fan goes on when the sun goes up and off when the sun goes down. I live in the Chicago area. Will I get enough sunlight to operate the fan if it faces south, at a 40-degree or so gable roof angle? Can you discuss the ratings of solar fans and what I need to know, so I use the correct type and size?

A. The photo you sent shows a gable vent. When you replace the roof shingles with a combination of a ridge vent and continuous soffit vents on the front and back eaves of your house, make sure there is an unobstructed space between the soffits and the ridge vents. This may require some kind of baffling system at the eaves.

And be sure to close the gable vents, as they would have a negative influence on the new venting system. This can be easily done by blocking them with a piece of exterior-grade plywood painted a matte black.

I am not a fan of attic fans of any type. It is almost impossible to provide enough net free ventilation area (NFVA) in an attic to satisfy the CFM requirements of most fans.

The result is that the fan will draw conditioned air from the living space, summer and winter alike.

Q. I have had Pella replacement windows for approximately 20 years. The windows on the rear of my house face south. The vinyl window trim and screen frames have faded over the years. The vinyl is a dark architectural brown. Can the vinyl be repainted? The inside is stained wood, so there is no problem. I intend to have the screening replaced, and if it is possible to do, I would prefer to repaint the screen frames prior to replacing the screens. I live in a suburb just northwest of Chicago. Thank you for your advice.

A. You should first try to clean the vinyl trim to see if it improves the looks enough to satisfy you. You will need to do so anyway before painting.

Clean it with a solution of 1 cup TSP-PF, 1 quart fresh bleach and 3 quarts water. Rinse the solution off.

To paint the vinyl trim, you will need to scuff it up with 220 grit sandpaper, wash the trim again with plain water to remove all resulting "dust," and let the trim dry.

Apply one coat of exterior latex primer, followed by one or two coats of a top-quality latex exterior paint.

Q. I am planning to increase the insulation in my attic. Which would you suggest I use - fiberglass batts or cellulose? I now have fiberglass batts between the trusses, but it seems to be only 6 inches thick.

A. Considering that your roof is built of trusses, you will get a better job of covering the entire attic with blown cellulose. It would be difficult to do a thorough job with fiberglass batts.

Cellulose, made of recycled materials, is also a more environmentally friendly product, and requires far less energy than the production of fiberglass.

If you have soffit and ridge vents, be sure the contractor, whom you will hire to do the job, does not seal the soffit vents with insulation. Baffles may need to be installed to ensure a clear airflow.

Q. Water has actually found its way into my basement from the porch area from tunneling by rodents (chipmunks, moles and voles), which I now trap year-round.

I may have to resort to gutters, which I assume would be a less costly way to deal with runoff. Is that right? I recently heard of a company that will seal basement floors in plastic, effectively sealing out moisture. Have you encountered this method?

A. Gutters should not take the place of proper grading, which is the best way to deal with basement water problems.

Low grade under porches is a common problem, and it should be corrected. I do not recommend covering basement floors and walls with plastic.

Moisture is still getting in and is trapped behind the plastic. You can guess what may eventually happen - mold!

• 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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