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radiator knocking is caused by air in the pipes/system. at beginning and end of season, your building should open/bleed the entire system, eliminating dirty water and air pockets. it works.

How do you stop an electric radiador from "buzzing"? it is so loud when on it drives me crazy.

Thansk, Cathy

Can you get mold in your pipes?

Wherever I have standing water in my house I get a brown (and eventually) black slime which looks like mold. For example, if you water lingers on my shower floor where there are shampoo bottles sitting, the bottles will get black on the bottom, toilets that aren't used frequently get brown line at water line (within 3 days or so). The same is happening to my scrub brush in kitchen sink, etc.

I think we have a serious problem. Any suggestions? (p.s. it's a 90y old Tudor home in suburbs)

Thanks!

@ashley:

Bedbugs do spread between adjacent apartments, especially during extermination. That is how it spread around our apartment building.

there are many misconceptions about bed bugs, and I'm afraid your guests might be perpetuating some of them: bed bugs feed on Human blood, and having even the cleanest apartment is no defense! This is why many hotels in NYC are having problems... Bed bugs are typically transmitted by clinging to their human hosts themselves, or else on clothing. I've found steam cleaning clothing and bed linen to be very effective and non-toxic method of dealing with them...

Bed bugs do not eat food; they drink blood. Therefore a warm body is all they need to be attracted to an apartment. The best preventative measure anyone can take is to powder the whole apartment with Silicon Dioxide also known as diatomaceous earth. It's completely non toxic and can even be digested by humans. It's very cheap to get over the internet just make sure it is food grade diatomaceous earth.

It kills the bed bugs (and all other non-flying bugs including roaches) by mortally drying out the essential oils they produce.

also heat related -- very timely --

Top floor apartments (mine + neighbors) have significantly less steam heat than rest of building. Radiators are tilted, pipes are clean. any thoughts? Space heating has been costly!!

I have the pesky bathroom with poor ventilation. I recently repainted it. I used BINS primer and Ben Moore semi gloss latex paint. The white paint I used for the ceiling. the same paint, began cracking and in places where I spackled cracks peeling. It looks like the paint shrunk when it dried and created cracks. The cracks keep forming more and more. The trim with the same paint is beginning to crack. Do you have any idea whats going on? The wall paint is not cracking which is a color but otherwise the same.

siliCONE not silicon

What do I do if my water heater makes a "popping sound" as soon as I turn on the hot water?

Regarding bedbugs, it's my understanding that they cannot migrate as roaches, ants, rats and other pests do. They require a carrier, such as luggage or upholstered furniture, in order to migrate. Therefore, unless you've been sleeping in your neighbor's bed or sharing clothes with them, you are probably ok! This is likely why the exterminator advised not treating the caller's apartment.

If they migrated freely, NYC would have a much bigger bedbug problem than it currently does.

Does Riddex work? I have 1 mousey (I think) that's driving me crazy!!

They were wrong about bedbugs!

Bedbugs do not feed on crumbs and left-out food. They feed on blood meal. If you are in your apartment, then you are food for the bedbugs. the caller should use diatomaceous earth to help prevent the spread into their apartment. The bugs do spread between apartments during treatment! That's how we got them.

the bedbug advice was ridiculous. You can have the cleanest house in the world and get bedbugs. He said it himself that the bugs are going to come where there is an attractant. That's US ... they feed on blood. Don't make people feel unclean about the bedbug epidemic that landlords should be taking responsibility for!

To Myron from Brooklyn re: knocking radiators - This Old House had a great segment a few years ago on exactly how to do this yourself - very easy. You may want to check their archive for the episode.

Good luck!

i have window on first floor that i'd like to open and lock without risk of intruders....hardware store has stickem thing but not very secure....any ideas?????

Bedbugs have NOTHING to do with dirt. Treat preventively!!!!!!

Correction: It's a Federal Tax Credit of up to $1500 for weatherproofing your home.

I second this question,

"I'm concerned about any damaged to my wires due to squirrels chewing on them. What should I do?"

and add "what about mice in the apartment?" and "what routine should we follow to check wiring, esp. household appliances?"

I second this question:

What is the best type of metalic insulation to use behind my standing radiator to reflect heat back into the room and keep it from escaping out the back wall to the outside?

And add: radiator covers--good or bad? If I remove the radiator cover don't I get MORE heat?

"Easy Out" is a brand name. The only proper answer is "screw extractor".

Who the hell ever calls a screw extractor an Easy Out? Maybe bad mechanics do; machinists use the proper name.

How does one eliminate that loud knocking in steam-heated radiators in old brownstones? One guy told me that one end of the radiator not connecting to the feed pipe needs to be lifted at an angle so that the water flows back into the pipe by using small blocks. But that didn't work last winter and I know I can't take that knocking this winter.

"easy out" is a brand name for a screw extractor

Can the Gurus recommend a DIY book or website of How To measure and install insulation and weatherproofing for interior walls, basement ceilings and around windows and entry doors? I'm looking for advice also on the pros and cons of different types of insulation.

Also, New York State is offering a tax credit for all weatherproofing improvements up to $1500 that lasts through December 2010.

Thank you!

It is an easy-out

Its call an EZ Out

The tool for broken screws is an ease-out or easy-out

Its call an "EZ Out"

The tool to take broken screws out easily is called an easy-out!

-jeffrey

We had squirrels in our attic. The entry hole has been sealed and the squirrles were trapped.
I'm concerned about any damaged to my wires due to squirrels chewing on them. What should I do?
Thank you!

Could you repeat the question posed by the Ubells? I found it hard to understand him...

What is the best type om metalic backing I can put behing my standing radiators to reflect heat back into the room and what is the best way to repair leaks from valve?

Ever heard of the subway?

My wife and I are thinking of buying a house with an old forced air heating system with one HUGE vent in the stairwell to heat this small 2 story, 1 family house. What is involved with installing a whole new heating systems with radiators? PLS HELP!

a pipe in our upstairs neighbor burst, saturating our walls, and necessitating much scraping of plaster to help it dry. it's a 1920s-era building in chelsea with solid concrete interior walls and plaster exterior. the super's moisture meter read 100% dry, even thought it felt damp. they've plastered, and it's been "drying" for a week. parts of this "dry" plaster are brown, much like the original water stains. does this mean the interior wall is still leaching moisture? we don't want them to paint until it's dry, lest we re-visit this awful chapter. help!

my heating system is natural gas/steam - the house is 80 years old and the boiler has been replaced some time ago, the steam seems to be balanced. added to the boiler was a coil to heat two additional hot water zones, i am wondering if it would make sense to remove the hot water system from the steam boiler and add a second new hot water heater? any advice which is more efficient, thanks richard

How can I get rid of black mold on furniture.
I believe I have heard you say zinc, how would I apply it.
Thank you

my natural gas/hot water tank is getting old i would like to stay ahead of it and am planning a instant hot system with a tempering/pre tank. i have little luck in locating one, other than the advice to recycle an old hot water tank stripped of insulation, can you help with a source for tank please? thank you Richard

Would the Ubells please tell us how to avoid bedbug infstation and what to do should we get them. (When I was a kid I was banned from going to a local movie theater because it was said to be a "scratch house".) Also I'd like the guys to comment on my opinion that it was a mistake to ban DDT. Think of all the malaria-caused deaths that would have been avoided as well as bedbug bites.