Dear Maintenance Men:
Dear Maintenance Men:
I’m attempting to remove old caulking from around a
bathtub. Are there any tricks or
chemicals to help with this job?
Steve
Dear Steve:
Most bathtub caulking is either silicon or latex based.
If originally installed properly, it should stick pretty well.
Most household chemicals will not effect the caulking or help in its
removal. The best method is to use
a razor knife to cut along either side of the bead. Then pull the bead out by
hand as you cut. The balance of the
material can be removed with a flat razor, either along the old bead or
perpendicular to the bead. After
all the material is removed, use a damp rag to remove any loose bits.
Before installing the new caulk, be sure the area is clean and dry.
You can use a wet/dry vacuum to suck up any water left over from your
cleaning.
Dear Maintenance Men:
We have a resident complaining that the shower
fluctuates from hot to cold without notice. As you might imagine, this can be
quite an invigorating situation. The
water heater has been checked and found to be working properly and the second
shower in the unit does not have this problem.
What can I do to fix this problem?
Bruce
Dear Bruce:
This question comes up every now and then.
Most likely the anti-scald valve is malfunctioning and allowing the cold
water to over mix with the hot water. An
anti-scald valve prevents the user from getting burned or scalded by hot water
when there is a drop in cold-water pressure, such as when a toilet is flushed.
Some anti-scald devises are built into the mixing valves, others are separate.
Determine the valve brand and model and take that information to your local
plumbing supplier. The supplier should be able to sell you any replacement
parts necessary.
Dear Maintenance Men:
My rental unit has a kitchen with a double sink. The drains smell very bad. I have tried running lemon slices through the garbage disposal, it works for a short time, but the smell comes back. What steps do you recommend for resolving this problem?
Dear Barbra:
The smell may come from a number of places. First, use a
small toilet type bush with soap and scrub the inside of the garbage disposal.
This will remove any slime build-up. (For safety reasons, shut the garbage
disposal off at the breaker or pull the plug.) Next remove the drain trap and
clean out any sludge. Many
times the horizontal pipe between the trap and the wall may have hard deposits
coating the inside of the pipe. The deposits will collect food and debris that
may slow the drains considerably. If
you have a dishwasher, check the drain line leading from the air-gap or
dishwasher to the garbage disposal. It
may be full of sludge that will cause a smell to come through the air-gap
located next to the faucet. Clean
or replace any pipes with deposits or sludge. Check both drain lines for the
above problems. Now if you wish,
run the garbage disposal with a few slices of lemon and it should smell good and
stay that way. Once in a while,
throw some ice cubes in the garbage disposal unit to help scrape away any
debris.
Did you know: Putty is a cement compound of fine
powdered chalk or oxide of lead mixed with linseed oil.
Bio:
Jerry
L'Ecuyer is the owner of JLE Property
Management & Buffalo Maintenance
and is a licensed contractor & real estate broker.
He is currently on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Education
Committee for the Apartment Association of Orange County. Jerry has been involved with apartments as a professional
since 1988 and can be reached at (714) 778-0480 or jerry@JLE1.com. Frank Alvarez is the Operations Director for Buffalo
Maintenance. He has been involved with apartment maintenance for over 14 years.
Frank can be reached at (714) 956-8371 or visit the office at, 202 E. Broadway
in Anaheim, CA 92805. Please view our web site at: WWW.JLE1.COM