Cleaning an Air Conditioner
If you have a serious problem with your air conditioner please refer this to a trained technician. To help prevent problems it’s important to keep components clean. One important component is the filter, to clean this first remove it from the furnace some filters are disposable and other can simply be cleaned and reused. Make sure to check with the manufacturer as to which type you have.
With a vacuum you can clean the condenser coils, you can sometime also remove these and simply clean them by hand. One tip is to spray water and detergent onto the coils. But, if you are doing this without removing be very careful that you do not spray the electrical components.
By Cleaning the blower’s fan blades this will help keep the air conditioner operating quietly
If you have mounting bolts try tightening this if needed. Cleaning the evaporator and also check that your condenser drain is clean.
Toilet Leaking Around Base
If you find your tank is leading the problem can be caused by a faulty wax ring between the base of the toilet and the closed end bend. To replace the wax ring you’ll need to pull the toilet, you need to make sure no water is coming from the leaking tank or supply connection.
You need to check for condensation at the surface. You’ll need to use something to make sure the area is dry like the rag, place some newspaper under the toilet’s tank and leave it there for a few minutes this is a great way for checking for leaks. If there are no signs of leaks but you still see water around the base the wax ring is probably causing the problem.
Before you start to try to repair the leak make sure you buy a new wax ring.
1) Switch off the water supply using the valve which you will find behind the base of the toilet.
2) Make sure to flush the toilet so you drain as much water from the tank as possible.
3) Remove the plastic covers that cover the flange nuts that mount the toilet to the floor.
4) Remove the nuts from the bolts with a wrench, make sure to turn them counterclockwise.
5) You will now be able to move the toilet moving it back and forth will make it become loose.
6) You’ll need to remove the old wax from the bottom of the toilet, if you have a putty knife this will do the trick.
7) Place the new wax ring on the base of the toilet, they sure the collar is pointing down.
8 ) Place a toilet back onto the flange, you may need help us as you need to make sure that the bolts go into the mounting holes and be careful because you do not want to damage the wax ring.
Attic Ventilation in Hot Homes
Question: Can you tell me how best I can ventilate my home, which is modeled on the Cape Cod style with the upper level having a short knee? I got answers from three contractors all of which were different from each other. With the onset of summer, the second floor and the attics become oppressively hot. I intend to install new shingles. I think that this is the right time for making changes.
Answer: Even if your home was a Victorian, tri-level, colonial or whatever, I will have the same answer for you. The attic in any house that is traditionally built gets heated up with direct sunrays. I have found it difficult to breathe in attics during mid-summer. The attic resembles a blaze that within seconds my skin burst out in sweat. The temperature, I guess, should have been around 130F.
Countering infrared heat and high temperatures is indeed a challenge in Cape Cod style home. The roof rafters are steep and its bottom usually rest atop the walls of the first floor. A lesser livable space is created on the second floor as the roof rises to meet at the centre of your house. Knee walls or small vertical half walls meet beneath the rafters. The ceiling area of a good number of Cape Cod style homes have a ceiling area that is small and flat in the midst of the living area of the second floor. The underside of the roof rafters creates the remaining ceiling space.
A major problematic area is the slanted ceiling. Several Cape Cod roofs are bordered with 2 x 6s and on odd instances, 2 x 8s. Carpenters can use rough lumber of smaller dimensions because of the small vertical knee wall. Space for insulation and the free space required above the insulation are hardly there with the small lumber. It is necessary to have free air space above insulation. It is the channel through which cool air can flow through the attic space.
Hot attic air should be expelled continuously to keep your attic sufficiently cool so that this makes sure that the completed living space is cool. The air gets hot in the attic resembling the heating in a furnace. The noon temperature on a summer day with direct sunlight can heat up the roof surface to as much as 190F. This severe heat then passes on to the wood rafters and wood roof sheathing. The amount of heat radiated is large though it does not glow like a cooking element of an oven. The heat is collected by the air in the attic which then is transferred to the insulation which in turn gets hot and the heat is transferred straight to the completed ceiling. The transfer of heat is known as conductive heat transfer.
I prefer to rely on Mother Nature and would rather use wind power to expel hot air accumulated in the attic. Large quantity of hot air is pulled out from the attic spaces b turbine vents that are wind-powered. It hardly takes 30 minutes by your roofers to install these cheap devices. Installing them on the rear of a roof will also make it hardly visible when one looks from the front yard. Do not purchase turbine vents with internal braces. You should get one with external bracing instead.
Large volume of air is also moved by electric-powered attic ventilation fans or what is called as PAV fans. The problem with these fans is that they may cause great suction that they then draw air even from the interior of your home. In case you are operating air conditioning then the cool air can be drawn to your attic from the finished living space. Low-roof static pot vents or soffit ventilations required in abundance by both turbine vents and PAVs. This assists in the cooler air from the outside easily enters and replaces the hot air that is expelled in your attic.
I installed radiant barrier chips to increase the comfort at my home. The heat is reflected back to its origin by these thin plastic pieces that functions like mirrors and are highly reflective. In another sense, this works similarly like the aluminum foil that is used to cover a casserole dish. However, any radiant barrier that is of single layer would lose its potential to reflect heat if it is covered with dust. The chips offer this advantage as it does not create this kind of problem. On installation of chips, thousands of thee drift down against the insulation. You will find that there are six or seven layers of radiant barrier lying one on top of the other. Even if the top layer gets dirty, it does not matter as the layer below acts as though they are new.
The house will not become necessarily cooler with more of the insulation. When the sun sets, these can increase the heat load. The heat transfer is slowed by the insulation as it is designed for this function. If your home is warm and you do not want the cold attic to receive the heat, then this is the thing for you. The insulation should be as cool as is possible, especially the ones that reach up and contacts with the ceilings. The heat finds its way back to the attic if the insulation is hot.
You need to move large volumes of air through the attic space for keeping the insulation cool. The outside temperature of 90-98F is definitely much cooler than 140-160F. the extreme temperatures if your attic can be thwarted by your air conditioner in your home. If you are able to make sure that the attic temperature is lowered by even 15-20F you will not only be cooler but also saving money.
Roof Turbine Vents
Question: There are two spinning turbine vents in my home. A number of people have suggested the idea of stuffing insulation into these vents during winter to make sure that warm air does not get drawn out of the attic place. Do you think this advice worthy? Are the turbine vents actually efficient? The roofs of my neighbor do not have them. Should I get rid of these turbine vents?
Answer: Those vents are actually superb devices for ventilation. Leave them alone. A long time ago I installed the very same vents in my second home. These have turned out to be hardy ones that Mother Nature operates. These vents are there on my home even now drawing air every time when the slightest of breeze blows, from the attic space.
The turbine vent as also the traditional metal pot vents and the commonly liked ridge and soffit ventilation systems are passive ventilation systems. Unlike these, the active ventilation could be electric powered such as the powered roof ventilator or the whole house fan. The advantages with the passive vents are that invariably these are silent when it operates and do not need electricity. They work for free. Read more
Monday DIY Speed Linking
In a new serious we are having a quick look around the web for articles of interest to us here at diystuff. Retailers Going Green is a nice article about green products available in stores. On another Green note Tom over at homeimprovementsdepot.com has listed some good articles on Green Home Improvements.
If you’re looking to make some savings on home decor accessories you’ll get some good tips. Nice article on Tool Sharing and I guess how you could save money, this might catch on at some stage.
Thats it for the moment hope you find something
Crawl Space Vents
There are numerous people who simply do not know the use of crawl space vents. I was puzzled with these small vents when years ago I was involved in installing them in rooms that were built new. I used to wonder at the science behind the vent that mostly prevented air from entering the crawl spaces. I could hardly feel any draft of air coming through the vent when I was in the crawl spaces even on windy days.
The logic with which crawl space ventilation operates is not so difficult to decipher. Place a clear plastic piece on the dry ground in your yard. Place some boards on the edges of the plastic to keep it on the ground so that air does not get under the plastic sheet. You can see the results immediately if it is a sunny day.
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