Beware of Air Duct Cleaners Who ‘Blow and Go’Learn the truth about such common problems as mold, mice, ducts, stucco cracks, electrical connections, galvanic corrosion, setback thermostats and lawn watering. You may be surprised by what our experts say about common myths and misconceptions. Myth 1: Laundry bleach is the best product to remove mold and keep it from returning. EPA researchers compared 12They used each product to clean the mold on individual samples of painted and bare stored the samples under ideal mold growing conditions and monitored them to see how bleach scored the worst on bare on painted drywall, but not as well as the leading cleaning product, full-strength Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner Orange Breeze. The researchers also tested the cleaners on wallpapered samples To read the research paper, go to Myth 2: Cheese is the best bait for mousetraps. Cheese isn't on any mouse's “top-10 list.”

only eat it if nothing else is available. hardens after sitting out for a while, making it easier for mice to “steal” the bait without settingThe perfect bait is actually peanut butter or bacon, or a blend of peanut butter and bacon grease. resist the smell and taste. So wipe that on the trip mechanism to get the greatest Myth 3: The best time to water grass is in the evening so the water doesn't evaporate.clean fan hp pavilion entertainment pc Evening watering does reducebest solution to clean vinyl blinds evaporation, allowing the soil tocar leather cleaner target soak up and hold more water. best way to clean a fabric coach bag

it also sets up the perfect growing conditions for mold and otherThe best time to water your lawn is in the early morning hours as the sun is rising.Use a watering timer. By the way, an impact sprinkler is the most efficient type of sprinkler. Avoid sprinklers that shoot fine spray or streams Misunderstanding 1: You should never paint stucco. Ordinary house paint seals the poresbest way to clean neoprene seat coversAnd as the stucco expandslaptop cpu fan diagram and contracts, the paint cracks, breakingThen water enters the stucco, gets trapped inside, and pretty soon the paint starts to delaminate. take long before you're left with sections of bare stucco and patches of paint—not a pretty sight. However, you can use elastomeric

paint, which is formulated for stucco. expands and contracts with the stucco and resists cracking (one brand is Valspar Duramax Elastomeric Exterior Masonry and Stucco Paint). Elastomeric paints also breathe, allowing moisture to get out. part: DIYers can apply it themselves. If you don't want to paint your stucco, consider hiring a contractor to “fog”Fogging contractors use a special spray gun that combines a colorant with a thin cement slurry. much faster and cheaper than dashing and lasts almost as long. Myth 4: Duct cleaning is something that should be done regularly. Most homes never need duct cleaning. There are some exceptions, however. If you find mold, or rodent or insect nests in the ducts, eliminate the source of the contamination or infiltration and have the ducts professionallyExpect to pay $350 to $1,000 for a thorough job that includes scrubbing the ducts with special brushes.

Avoid cheap duct cleaning “specials” for $100 or less. Those low-cost services usually just blow compressed air through the ducts. That gets the loose dust moving, but it doesn't clean the mold or rodent or insect residues. Myth 5: You should twist the wires before you put on the wire nut. This advice comes right from the wire nut manufacturers. You do NOT have to twist the wires before applying the wire nut. Most high-quality wire nuts incorporate a square-cut spring-steel wire that literally bites into the copper wires as you twist it on. The spring wire expands and contracts as the electrical wires heat and cool, keeping them tightly bound. wire nut even after it “hits bottom.” Keep turning the nut until the wire insulation is twisted 1-1/2 in. past the wire nut. Note: Some lighting fixtures come with wire nuts that don't have a spring-steel wire insert. freebies and use only high-quality wire nuts that have a wire insert.

Myth: 6 Leaving my computer on all the time makes it last longer. This myth had some basis 20 years ago when hard drives bit the dust early from frequent on/off cycles. It's no longer true. standpoint, leaving it on ALWAYS uses more power than shutting it off—even when it's in “sleep” or “hibernate” mode. Leaving it on also increases your risk of catastrophic damage from power surges—even with a surgeSo turn off the power strip or unplug your computer when you're not using it. Misunderstanding 2: A dielectric union is all I need to protect my water heater from electrolysis/ galvanic action. Anytime you join two dissimilar metals (such as copper and galvanized pipe) and add water, you create a flow of electrons (electrolysis or galvanic action), that eventually destroys the galvanized pipe. decades, plumbers have used an insulated dielectric union to prevent the damage. A dielectric union does provide a small measure of protection.

enough to prevent the complete failure of the galvanized pipe (top photo). show that a 3-in. dielectric nipple reduces current flow by 85 percent over the use of a dielectric union alone. So, next time you install a water heater, install a dielectric nipple in addition to a dielectric union. ) to find a local distributor. Huge Myth!: Setback thermostats don't save money. Sure, the furnace has to pump out a lot of BTUs to bring the house back up to the daytime temp. studies have proven beyond a doubt that the fuel savings during the setback period far outweighs the cost of raising the temp again. Set the temperature back at least 5 degrees at night and 10 degrees during the day (when no one is home) and you'll save 20 percent on your heating/cooling bill (raise the temp by the same amount for more than pay for the cost of the setback thermostat in the first year. Misunderstanding 3: Use hot water when you run the food disposer because it melts the grease to prevent clogs.

Sure, hot water melts the grease and washes it down the drain. the liquefied grease hits the pipes, it cools, solidifies and eventuallyThe grease is a magnet for food bits, lint and hair, eventually are so far away you can't reach them with a household snake. pro to clear the line will cost youCold water, on the other hand, solidifies the grease before it hits the sewer line, so it can float all the way to the city sewer. also cools the disposer motor, making Myth 7: Dethatching my lawn every year is good for it. Power dethatching is never good forIt may feel good to run a 5-hp monster power rake through your lawn and see it throw out hugeBut if you've set the machine low enough to reach the thatch layer, you're really tearing up healthy grass and stressing the the symptom of a serious problem, not the cause of it (the cause is overfertilization, too much water and experts recommend solving the