November 29, 2025 • 44 mins
**From Maintenance to Masterpieces: Navigating Home Improvement with Gary Sullivan**
Step into the world of home improvement as Gary Sullivan tackles everything from Christmas tree mishaps to humidity control. This episode dives deep into practical solutions for common household dilemmas, offering expert advice that balances DIY approaches with professional insights.
Gary shares personal experiences and listener stories about securing Christmas trees, eliminating stubborn odors, and rejuvenating tired cabinets. The conversation takes unexpected turns when an HVAC professional calls in to debate the merits of continuous fan operation, and a piano technician reveals the critical relationship between home humidity and instrument maintenance.
**Timestamps and Key Takeaways:**
- 3:45 - Creative solutions for securing Christmas trees, including ceiling anchors for homes with active children
- 12:30 - The debate on running HVAC fans continuously vs. auto mode for humidity control
- 25:15 - Three main causes of creaky wood floors and how to address each one
- 29:20 - Expert insights on radiant barrier paint for attics and how it works like "putting a shade tree over your house"
- 37:30 - Piano technician explains how humidity affects instruments and why whole-home humidity control is critical
Whether you're planning a post-holiday renovation project, troubleshooting mysterious creaks, or simply looking to maintain your home's systems properly, this hour delivers practical wisdom from Gary and his community of experts and homeowners.
Ready to tackle your home improvement challenges with confidence? Listen now and discover solutions you won't find in any manual!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
All right, the weekend is upon us. Thank you for
joining me. You're at home with Gary Sullivan. This hours
brought to you by Dumont Global. They make a body
called smart Strip Advanced. It safely removes almost ninety percent
of the codings, no harmful fumes, no dangerous chemicals, and
if you're not sure what type of coding you're removing,
(00:47):
Dumont's test kit. We'll tell you exactly which Dumont products
you need for the job. You'll find Smart Strip that
you do it best. Retailer Sherwan Williams, or you can
visit Dumont Global. All right, our phone number eight hundred
eight two three eighty two five five. Got a question
regarding maintenance or repair of your home, feel free to
(01:09):
join us. Danie'll take your call. We'll chat and get
you back at it no time at all. All right,
Let's go to Bill. Bill, Welcome, good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I love the show, and I love writ and forget shower.
Very good work, work works great. You were talking to
Ron Wilson earlier, and I didn't hear all of it
about different ways people had trouble with Christmas trees.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
In the house, my father in law knew had a
doctor who was an orthopedic doctor, and he was the
years ago. He was the orthopedic doctor for the Bengals,
and he had like at least three boys at home,
and the tree got knocked over so many times. He
put an anchor in the ceiling and he hung the
tree so that the tree swam and he didn't have
(01:57):
to pick it up all the time.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's the best I think I remember as a kid.
I'm not positive, but it's in my head, and that's
why I asked Ron the question. I think when I
was a kid, one year, my dad had tied some
wire around the middle or the top part of the
tree and put an anchor in a wall with a
screw eye or a screw hook or something, and because
(02:22):
it tilted too much, the kids were.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Chasing the dog. And he had like at least three boys.
I don't I don't want to mention his name because
I don't know personally. I heard it from my father
in law, but this is many years ago, and he
was the orthopedic doctor for the Bend and Bengals.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
So very good. I appreciate that. That's that's a maybe, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
A soy you have a great day.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
All right, Bill, thank you. Yeah, sometimes that could be
a I don't think I've ever had a tree fall,
but I I know that happens for sure, And I
think when Ron was talking about he had a tree fall,
and you know, having now they have some of these bases.
(03:09):
But back in the day, I remember on our stand
we did have a decent sized piece of plywood where
it extended out and the stand was actually attached to
the plywood. It just didn't sit on there. It was
screwed on there. And boy, it was always it was solid.
May have been crooked, but solid. He might have had
(03:31):
to shim that plywood when he tied it to the wall.
I don't know. I can't remember. I was a little kid,
but I kind of do remember that. Now they got
these big If you haven't seen those, and you're going
to do a live tree, they have oh jeez, you know,
it's not just a metal one. It's home. It's a bigger, wider,
(03:53):
cone shaped stand. They're awesome, hold a lot of water,
very very balanced, and maybe if you're going with the
live tree action, maybe that's something you want to take
a look at. All right, let me give you that
phone number love to have you join us. Kind of
slow today, holiday weekend. I get that, but we can
(04:14):
talk about things maybe for next year, projects you want
to do, or like I said, if your house is
going all I want for Christmas. My my suggestion is
the wallpaper borders goodbye. And the only reason I bring
that up is he was upstairs the other day and
(04:35):
in the one bathroom between the Jack and Jill bedrooms.
I remember painting that I don't know eight years ago,
and I remember Sue telling me, you know, why don't
you just take that border off before you paint it?
And I'm like, nah, No, that border looks fun. There's
(04:56):
nothing wrong with that border. See, I'm just like everybody else,
you know, I don't want to do that. It looks fine.
Nobody's ever up here and painted it, trimmed that painted
and uh. And when I was upstairs, I saw the
border and I went, yeah, we probably need to get
in that border. It is very dated this time of year,
(05:19):
is uh, not so much right now, but I'd say
in the next four weeks. You know, right now, we're
all busy, we're all kind of happy, you know, the
holidays and people coming over the house and decorations are
up and everything's good, and then in January we take
all the decorations down and I don't know about you,
(05:41):
but you just see things that you'd really like to address.
You'd really you know that floor, man, we really ought
to do something with that floor or that I start
off the show today talking like, oh, we really ought
to do something with those countertops or those cabinets, and
maybe we just clean that cabinets. Cabinets depends on the
(06:05):
type of cabmis you have and the type of wood
or if they're for mic or whatever. But sometimes they
just get really tired looking because maybe you used wax
on them or silicons and things like that, and they
just get tired. You got to get them cleaned and
spruced up, rejuvenated. But that's when we start seeing that stuff.
(06:25):
So happy to chat about that those types of projects.
You know the phone number, and this is usually that time.
I also give you the holiday cleaning tips that jaws.
We usually do it about six weeks before the holidays.
Got a couple more to go. But here's a little
(06:48):
cleaning tip. When you're using glass cleaners. And I've had
this call before. Gus cleaners are not to be used
on TV screens, computer screens, eyeglasses, and they'll they'll literally
(07:14):
compromise the TV screen. They'll be it almost looked like
some oil or greases on that screen. And it may
be never ever used Ammonia Bay based glass cleaners on smartphones, eyeglasses,
like I said, TVs, computers, because it will it will
permanently ruin the screen. Now one exception, maybe there's more,
(07:40):
but I know there. This is an exception. Jaws glass
cleaner has no ammonia and no alcohol in that glass cleaner.
That's one of the reasons why it's so streak free.
It's crystal clear results and you're not going to harm
(08:02):
screening like on a TV. You can actually use the
Jaws glass cleaner on a TV, video games, computers, eyeglasses,
whatever you want. So I wonder because I do get
people that have ruined a TV or a computer screen
just by using just any old glass cleaner. So if
(08:22):
you get the Jaws glass cleaner, it's safe, you can
use it on those products. And they got twenty percent
off at jawscleans dot com. And if you order over
thirty five dollars worth of product and the shipping is free.
So that's the tips if you haven't tried. Their products
are awesome. They're they're very, very very good. As we're
(08:44):
talking about sales too, gutter Brush. I don't know in
your area, but our area, the leads are gone, well
some of them are still on the ground, but the
leads are off the trees. And they got that gutter
brush sale. It's uh, you know, thirty five percent off
right now and it's just gutterbrush dot com. Yeah, clean
(09:06):
those gutters, slide to gut, slide to gutter brush in
and I'm telling you you will thank me. You will
thank me because the cloud gutters cause a lot of
damage and I do want to talk about some of
that damage it causes. But first we'll take a little break.
We'll come back. If you'd like to join us, dial
us up. It's eight hundred eight two three eight two
five five year at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com. This is at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Hey, folks, before winner really kicks in, do yourself a
favor and take gutter cleaning off your chart list. Right now,
gutter Brush is running the biggest Black Friday sale of
the year, huge savings on the simplest gutter protection you'll
ever install. Just slid gutter brush into the gutters. That's it,
no tools, no hassles, and it keeps gutters flowing all
year long, prevents clogs, reduces maintenance, and protects your home
(10:15):
from water damage. Don't wait. Head the gutterbrush dot Com
today and grab the Black Friday savings gutterbrush dot Com.
Be sure to shop now directly at odo exit dot
com for the best holiday pricing. Don't put up with
odors this season, eliminate them for good with otor Exit.
The Black Friday sales already happening, and the only place
to get the strongest deal is right on their website.
(10:37):
From pet smells to musty basements to tough lingering odors,
odor Exit is the safest, most natural, and truly effective
solution that actually works. Breathe easy for the holidays and
get the best Black Friday pricing by buying direct from
odor exit dot com today. Remodeling your basement into a recroom, office,
or home gym, well, don't forget to ventilate those spaces
(10:58):
to protect your home from decay. The Easy Breathed Ventilation
System exchanges trap dirty damp air for cleaner, dryer, healthier air.
We've had an easy Breeze system in our home for
about ten years now and the air in our basement
always feels fresh and clean. Diy kits are available and
right now get two you minutes stats plus twenty percent
off every easy Breath purchase. Call eight six six eight
(11:22):
two two seventy three twenty eight. Hey Gary Salvan here
for solar pumps. Zalor's been keeping home safe and dry
since nineteen thirty nine, and their passion for excellence is
why it's the only name I trust to keep my
basement dry. For your home's groundwater protection system, you got
to check out the Solar Model sixty three some pump
with the LED plug and the aquanot Fit five oh
(11:44):
eight battery backup system. Together they're your guaranteed water protection
system when installed by a factory certified installer. To find
your installer today, go to zalarpumps dot com. All right,
(12:10):
you're at home with Gary Salvan twenty minutes after the
top of the air, talking a little home improvement and
happy to take your calls. And let's go to Bob
Bob Welcome.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Hey Gary, sir, I can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay, I can.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Okay, you're talking about the furnaces earlier and running the
fan and whatever else with humidity and blah blah blah. Anyway,
one of the things I tell my or I should
say it this way. I see a lot of no
heat calls where the customer is sitting there. Here's a
(12:50):
flowers running, puts his hand down by the register, flowing
cool cool air, great temperature air right right. So I
go out there. The first thing I do as I
go to the thermostat and I see the fan is on.
I've flipped the auto. I raised the thermostad and I
look like a hero.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
That's great as the Yeah, So what's your take on
leaving the fan on though?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Okay, so in the winter time, I suggest that the
fan is in auto at whatever temperature. You guys are
comfortable at stealing fans reverse. So we're pulling the heat
off the cteialing correction of the house. And that's it.
And then as far as running the fan for air conditioning,
(13:40):
leaving the fan run all the time will make on
a two story house, it'll make upstairs more bearable. It
won't make it like it is downstairs because hot air
rises call their falls. But it will still make it
more bearable on a ranch a single story home. By
running the lower all the time, depending on the load,
(14:04):
how hot and humid it is outside, you can eliminate one,
maybe even two cycles of that outdoor in it per hour,
just by moving the air that you've already taken.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Let me give you my take. And I'm not an
HVAC guy, but I have HVAC guys call me a lot,
and I was having an issue one time, and so anyway,
I agree with you on the heat. There are people
I know that just like to move the air around
some hot spots, like in a bedroom and then the
(14:36):
family room's a cooler one. But I get your take
on it. But it does move air. Certainly, Ceiling fans
do a better job. So I'm neutral on that. You know,
if you feel like you need it, fine, you know,
like maybe you run the fireplace or something like that.
I don't know, so I'm kind of neutral that the
(14:57):
air conditioning one. This is a crazy story, and I've
talked to a lot a lot of HVAC companies and
no one like they're like, no, I don't I don't
think so. But I had a problem of running high
humidity in my home. Out of nowhere. I was having problems,
and I'm pretty conscious of that. And it wasn't super high,
(15:23):
but it was like sixty percent in the summertime. And
I was doing the show and kind of whining about it. Bob,
an HVAC guy, called me. He goes, I know exactly
what your problem is. I said, what's what's my problem?
I was always told moving air is dry air. So
(15:44):
I got my fan on and he goes, that's the problem,
and he said that I was pulling the humidity out.
The coils were wet, but since the fan was on,
I was just redistributing that moisture throughout the home. And
I got off the air. I went home, I turned
(16:07):
the fan to auto, and within two days my humidity
was fine. It's been fine ever since for three years.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Excuse me.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
A lot of times.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
You know, every house is different, right, it's positive for everyone.
So if the house is late or the house is loose,
that's when you can run into those problems. But the
moisture on the coil, it seems if I don't know,
(16:46):
I think it's I think that moisture is minimal. My
hair flow going across that coil will dry it off.
Not like it's there all the time. It's there when
it's running, when the ac is right, and then it
dreamed out. But a little bit that's that's stepped on
the coil. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I know either, and I've I've said this to a
bunch of guys in fact, that you know, when I
get my UH air conditioner and furnace service every year.
I've even said to the guy, I mean, it's a
great company and been using them for years, and he
was like, I don't know, And I said, well, you
know what, I'm nobody to challenge you, but I can
(17:29):
tell you for me in my house that worked. And
I've mentioned that a couple of times on the show
and I've had good response. I'm just throwing that out there.
Maybe maybe you can use it someday. You helped me, so, uh,
you know, I don't know. It's a crazy thing. I
never heard of it, never really thought about it that way,
(17:52):
but but anyway, it worked for me.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Anyway, that's that's good. That's good. Whatever works.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I wanted to enjoy your show. I listened to you
every week, So.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Very good and I thank you for your call, Bob.
That's how we all learned, So thank you, all right,
And uh yeah, it's it is kind of like a
I like his comment. And I've used that many times
doing home improvement, when somebody will say we'll do this.
You you said do that, and somebody will say and
(18:25):
I'll go like, well, I don't know about that. Well
it worked for me, and that's all that counts. If
it worked, that's fine. Maybe we're not going to find
it in a book, but if it worked for one
of us. And we've had crazy calls over the years.
Remember the one I can't remember. It was a beeping
sound and it would go off in the middle of
(18:46):
the night. I still reb yeah, remember that, you remember that?
And it was an alarm or something on a on
a watch, on an old watch that was in a
dresser and they could never pinpoint where it was coming from.
And somebody called and said, I know exactly what that
is as I had that happen, So you never really
know as all as it works. I agree totally. All right,
(19:06):
let's see Lewis and then Phil and Steven. We will
get you. I promise our phone number. If you'd like
to join us, it's eight hundred eight two three eight
two five five year at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Solutions to your home improvement are as easy as calling
one eight hundred eight two three talk. This is at
Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I've used this product because my washer smelled terrible, and
let me tell you it worked great. Hi, Gary Sullivan. Here,
Now my water's crystal clear. I've got real peace of
mind with Awesome Watercare. Their products remove all the hidden gunk, biofilm,
bacteria and build up from hot tubs, jetted tubs, swim spots,
even washers and dishwashers. If you want your water system spotless,
(20:22):
check out Awesome dot com spelled ah h som me
dot com. You'll see and smell the difference. Make your
home sparkle this holiday season with Jaws the Just Add
Water System. The Holiday Caddiepack is back filled with your
four must have Jaws cleaners, my favorite glass cleaner, plus
the kitchen cleaner, disinfectant, bathroom cleaner, and the super convenient disspray.
(20:44):
Everything you need to clean up after holiday baking, gift wrapping,
and fun perfect for your home or is a holiday
gift for a limited time, It's twenty percent off with
promo code. Gary comes with free shipping jawscleans dot com
jaws cleans dot com and make your holiday shine well.
I talk about a lot of products that can make
your life easier and I use and love ter Mender.
(21:06):
It repairs tears and all types of clothing, fabrics, leather,
even buttons. It's time to get those holiday decorations out
and it's one product you gotta have around your home.
In fact, listeners tell me tear Menders you must have
for all their holiday decoration repairs, no so gifts, holiday crafts,
and stocking stuffers. Tear Menders available at your local hardware
store Amazon or find a store at tear mender dot
(21:27):
com and find more great make doing men's solutions and ideas.
Hey folks, before winter really kicks in, do yourself a
favor and take gutter cleaning off your chore list. Right now,
gutter Brush is running the biggest Black Friday sale of
the year, huge savings on the simplest gutter protection you'll
ever install. Just slide gutter brush into the gutters. That's it,
no tools, no hassles, and it keeps gutters flowing all
(21:50):
year long, prevents clogs, reduces maintenance, and protects your home
from water damage. Don't wait at the gutterbrush dot com
today and grab the black Friday savings guts brush dot com.
(22:12):
All right, here we go at home with Garry Sullivan
talking about your home and maybe a little maintenance repair
that needs to be done. And let's get back to
the phone calls. You can give us a call, happy
to talk to you about your issues. Also, and Lewis welcome.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Hi, Gary Lewis in Massachusetts. Yes, sir, Yeah, I have.
I've been in this house is a new house for
a couple of years now. The the the cabinets are
painted and the island is black and the rest of
them are light blue collar and the black is getting
(22:49):
kind of I would like to kind of put something
on it that makes it look it makes it popping
set up, because it's getting kind of a dull, a
little bit dull. What would you recommend me?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Well, what have you tried at this point? And is
it it enamel pain on there or is that the
laminate finish or what's the finish? Also nice enamel?
Speaker 5 (23:17):
And I've tried water so far because I you know,
like you were saying previously, you don't want to put
stuff that it might have them build up right, and
it makes it worse. So that's why I mean, and
that's that's the problem.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah. Yeah, So was that cabinet, were they waxed or
anything along those lines, or is it because inside the
reason I'm asking these questions inside the dirt we have
inside our home usually contains oils, oils from our hands,
oil from cooking, et cetera, et cetera. So you know,
(23:58):
quite honestly, I'm kind of thinking about dawn soap and water.
If it's a good enammel, I think that would be
a really good cleaner.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Okay, Yeah, my son in law made the cabinet, she's
a cabinet maker, so I know they were made right.
It's just it's just one of them things that again
it's only been two years, sure, but I just just
kind of want to pick your brain about that.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, you know, we want to make sure we don't
use an ambrasive We want to make sure we you know,
like normally if it were like a wood grain and
it was stained and it had a varnish on there,
you know, like some cabinets are. I've got a couple
of In fact, I got a product that was made
by a cabinet maker one hundred years ago, which is excellent,
(24:47):
but when they're painted, they're already sealed, and that particular
product is also designed to rejuvenate the wood, et cetera,
et cetera, So that really wouldn't be appropriate for a
painted surface. And really I think I would just try again,
no braces. We don't want to dull it anymore. But
I try a little don soap in a damp cloth,
(25:11):
warm water, and then come back with you know, just
damp cloth and no soap, just to get any residue
off it. I think that would be one option. I
also talk about products called jaws. Jaws. They have one
(25:33):
called kitchen Degreaser. It is a pH neutral product. It's
not going to hurt a painted finish at all. I've
not used it on a painted cabinet, but I've used
it on everything in my kitchen, my grill and everything.
It is pH neutral, there is no grit to it.
You would spray it on. It'll loosen any type of
(25:56):
oiled residue, which would be also a great cleaner. I
would use that also, but Okay, dawn and soap and water.
Give that a try first.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
Okay, I have a second question. I'm along the same.
It's a new house. I have some hardwood planks on
the on the floor, you know, real wood, and uh
they they put some water based uh paint or not paint,
but you know the water based feel around the on
(26:33):
the on the floor, and it's always creaking and cracking
like you walk on it and it's it's always creaking
and uh. In my other house, it it never the
floor never creaked like this, and it was just a
regular petroleum based seala that we put And this one
(26:53):
is creaking and it's just kind of awful.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
I yeah, I don't think it's in and I don't
think it's the ceiler, you know, because there's there's three
main components that make wood floors creak, and none of
it really has to do with the ceiler. So let
me just give you the scoop. The first thing that
(27:18):
would make a wood floor creek is if it's a
wood floor and it's a tongue in groove, and that
tongue in groove just over walking on it gets loose
and it rubs against the groove. The tongue rubs against
the groove and that makes it creak, okay, And the
way that can be solved is taking some talk powder
(27:42):
or baby powder and just brushing it into the wood floor.
Well sometime eliminate that, I say sometime, but that's that's
an option. The second place a floor creeks is where
the wood is attached to the wood sub floor, so
(28:05):
usually glued, glueden, screwed, whatever, but if nailed, yeah, nailed
and and and it's it's loose maybe in some areas,
which is causing that creek. Probably more prevalent in the
winter time than the summertime. Probably more prevalent right now
(28:28):
since it's just starting to dry out and there's some
shrinking or minimizing going on. And the third place is
where the sub floor, and this is really quite honest,
I think that's probably where it is where the sub
floor is attached to the joist. Over time, those are nailed,
(28:54):
they're they're nailed in, glued sometimes depends how old the
house is, and there gets to be that nail. The
hole gets worn just from walking on that that nail
starts rubbing and almost becomes a piston. And downstairs, if
you can get underneath it. Sometimes you can, but shims.
(29:18):
There's even a product called a squeak ender that loops
around the rafter. And then there's a plate that screwed
to the subfloor and you literally tighten up a big
thumbscrew to pull the sub floor down. But that's the
three places that a floor will squeak.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
All right, Gary, well, I guess major day.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Major day. All right, thank you much for the call.
You take care all right, Phil, welcome. Yes, yes, I
have a question.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Yes, I have a question on the uh, radiant barrier
spray paint that you put on erneath your attic. Uh
huh do you know if any if it actually works.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Well, radiant barrier paint is available, and yeah, it does work. Now,
it's not like an insulation. It's a radiant barrier. I
tell people. It's like this, Phil. Let's see. It took
me a long time to figure out how to explain
radiant barrier paint. But radiant barrier paint is essentially when
(30:32):
you're a kid and you're outstanding in the ball field
on an August day and it's hotter in the heck
and you're sweating, and that radiant heat's just cooking you
and then you go over by the bench and you
sit underneath the big old shade tree and it's like, huh,
it's not bad at all. So that's what a radiant
barrier does. It's a it cuts down the radiant heat
(30:54):
that's coming through the roof and it does it creates
and helps minimize the heat that's going into the attic. Now,
we got other things that helped that too, right, We
got you know, radium barrier paint. We also have ridge
vents and soft events where we bring in the outdoor
(31:18):
air temperature and we push out the one hundred and
forty degree temperature it's in the attic out through the
ridge vent. But radium barriers work, there's no question. They're
just like they're just hard to explain. But it's like
putting a shade tree over your house. Think of it
that way.
Speaker 6 (31:36):
Yes, it doesn't mess with the the roof for anything.
As far as the no.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
No, sure, Williams. What I'm familiar with, I think it's
called E barrier. It's a paint and it's sprayed. You
got to cover all of the underneath part. You just
can't do patches of it. And this comes in like
a gallon canner, five gallon pan. It's sprayed in the attic. Okay,
sometimes during construction, sometimes after construction. And yeah it works,
(32:13):
I mean, yeah, it works. It it's it doesn't affect
the roof. It's just a coating on the inside underside
of the roof which minimizes solar gain into the attic.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
Oh okay, yes, all right, Oh okay, that's that's all
I need to know.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Very good. I hope I explained that. Well, now, thank you.
All right, let's take a little break. We got Randy
and Steven and Wilson and you can grab a line
as we march through the weekend. And we got a
good another hour ago. So don't be don't be shy.
Step on in. We'll chat about your home project. You're
at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Gary Sullivan online dot com. Aw this, he's at home
with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Well, it's fall and that means smart homeowners are preparing
their homes for winter, especially they're plumbing. Hi this scary
solvent for roto router plumbing and water cleanup. I want
you to go outside, unscrew your garden hose and check
those outdoor faucets for drips. Listen if they're leaking now,
they could freeze and burst this winter, causing expensive water
damage and plumbing repairs. The time to fix dripping hose
(33:41):
bibs is right now called Rota Router at one eight
hundred git Roto for fast, reliable plumbing service. Guysh Coatings
Black Friday Sale you won't want to miss twenty five
percent off everything on their website. Yes, everything, countertop kits, stealers,
primer's garage floor kits, and a wide variety of coatings
for walkways, patios, pulldecks more. It's the biggest sale Dice
(34:01):
Codings has ever had. No limits. Stock up now for
all your planned indoor and outdoor projects. The sale runs
from Thanksgiving Day to the end of Cyber Monday. That's
twenty five percent off every item on the website. Visit
disch codings dot com November twenty seventh to December first
and save big. For over forty years, Dumont has made
powerful paint and coating removers that are tough on layers
(34:23):
but save for you in the environment. Try demand Smart
Strip Advanced. It works on over ninety percent of the coatings,
no harmful fumes, no dangerous chemicals. Not sure what you're removing. Well,
Demon's easy test kid tells you exactly what you need.
Find smart strip that you're participating. Do it best retailer
Sherwin Williams, or visit Dumont Global dot Com. That's Dumont
(34:43):
Global dot Com. Dumont Smart, safe and proven. So do
it yourself with demand. Get chemicals out of your life
and come over to the natural side with Odor Exit
Odor Eliminator made with essential oils and water. This essential
oil based formula contains no harsh chemicals, making it safe
for moms, dads, babies, and pets. It's even safe for
those with sinus or respiratory concerns, or if you just
(35:06):
hate artificial fragrances. Odor exits Essential Oils Odor Eliminator just
might be the healthiest odor eliminator you can buy. Come
tootor exit dot com for the best pricing, combas and service.
That's Odor Exit dot Com. All right, Beck, here we
(35:36):
go at home with Garry Sullivan phone number. You bet
you can join us. It's eight hundred and eight two
three eight two five five and we're talking about your
home and Randy.
Speaker 7 (35:47):
Welcome, Hi Gary, thank you for getting me in. I'm
a piano technician, okay, And I heard you talking about humidity,
and you mentioned a room human fires, and as you know,
I'm sure most people don't. Those aren't very good for
(36:07):
a piano. No, because they're putting out cold air humidity,
and cold air humidity goes to the coldest thing in
the room, which is usually the strings of a piano.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (36:22):
They do make a.
Speaker 7 (36:25):
Humidifier that goes inside of a vertical piano and underneath
the soundboard of a grand piano. And I said humidifier,
but I mean humidity control system.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Okay, it's made.
Speaker 7 (36:39):
By it's made by a company called damp Chaser. And no,
I don't have any financial.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
No, that's fine, that's fine. And I don't have a piano,
so I wouldn't have knowne that. I really didn't know that.
But I do know that, you know, kind of along
those same lines, you know, too much humidity or not
enough humidity, even in our homes causes problems with wood floors,
with furniture, with all kinds of things. And we can
(37:10):
see it taking place right now, that squeaky floor from
the fell in Boston may be related just to the
time of year and the you know, drying out of
the house. So it's critical that we work with humidity
inside our homes, right.
Speaker 7 (37:26):
And this system has a humidifier and a dehumidifier and
a humanist stat which makes humidity because and then an
easy way to you know, fill the water without having
to open the whole piano upon and a light that
(37:47):
tells you if it needs more water.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Nice.
Speaker 7 (37:51):
So anyway, they've they've worked very well. I've been a
piano technician for fifty years. This is my fiftieth year,
and so I thank you. I put a lot of
these in and I wrote a course to teach people
to tune in. One of the important sections for piano
technicians to learn is you know when a piano should
(38:15):
have one of these. People in Hawaii, for example, don't
need the humidifier part. They just need the dehumidifier and
the ministat. And anyway, I just thought, I'd no.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
That's fascinating. It's fascinating. I know, I you know, I
don't know anything about tuning pianos, so I do fight
it fascinating because you know, I talk, I speak a
lot about humidity, just from the health of the inside
of the home and you're nuttnet down to a real
niche part of the home for a lot of people.
(38:53):
And do most people that have pianos know that exist.
Speaker 7 (39:00):
No, and most of them really don't need that. Don't
need it now. Now, the main thing that causes a
piano to go out of tune despite the fact, I mean,
in addition to the fact that it has forty thousand
pounds of tension on it, and that's going to make
it go out of tune. It's just like your tires
(39:20):
have thirty five pounds of pressure in them, and even
if they just sit in the driveway, they're still going
to lose some of that tension. Their piano has forty
thousand pounds of tension on it. And it's the changes
in the humidity more than the changes in the temperature
that make a piano go out of tune. Some kinds
(39:47):
of pianos, particularly those made in the sixties, seventies and older,
older uprights, that have what we call salt spruce soundboards,
and solid means solid from the front of the soundboard
to the back of the soundboard. A soundboard is like
(40:08):
a picket fence where all the pickets got slid slid together,
so that piece of wood is solid front to back,
but not.
Speaker 5 (40:17):
Solid edge to edge.
Speaker 7 (40:18):
But anyway, they can get cracks in them from excessive dryness. However,
in the times of the year, when there's too much humidity,
it can cause the soundboard and the annual rings you
(40:40):
know in wood, the ones that are furthest apart, they
get crushed so that in the winter when it dries out,
those ones that were crushed can open up and get
cracks in them. Most boards today, not all, most, for
(41:01):
many are made with what we call laminated soundboard, where
it has you know, like plywood, one layer going one
way or another layer and then a third layer, and
those aren't going to crack.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
They never study.
Speaker 7 (41:17):
Sure, yeah, but there's other parts of the piano as well,
case parts and stuff that sometimes will stick and make
it hard for me to get the front off the
piano because the ends have the sides of the pieces
(41:41):
have spread out side to side, and so it's kind
of in pinch. So sometimes test a struggle taking those
parts off. My clients are watching me thinking I don't
know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, So really I question if a
homeowner does a good job of just controlling the humidity
in their home. Is that helpful?
Speaker 7 (42:08):
It is helpful. And I have, for example, as Steinley
Grand piano, which has a solid spruce soundboard and not
a crack in it. It's twenty five years old, not
a crack in it. I have a humidity control system
in my whole house, okay, you know what, And I
(42:29):
have that service twice a year, and they changed the
cylinger in it.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
And.
Speaker 7 (42:37):
I keep my humidity in my house at around thirty
eight forty. Yeah, and I love it.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
Yeah, that's perfect. Well, it's nice to know there's somebody
that's as concerned about humidity in their house as I am. So, Randy,
thank you for the education. I certainly appreciate it. Thank
you very much. All Right. Yeah, that's that's that's niched down.
I get that. But kind of what he's talking about
(43:05):
is the same kind of things that I talk about,
and I might take it, you know, to a much
greater degree in terms of out of control humidity inside
a home. When I'm talking about mildew and smelling mold. Yeah,
well that's really goofing up Randy's piano for sure. All right.
(43:26):
Uh Wilson Don You are one and two. If you'd
like to join us, please do. It's eight hundred eight
two three eight two five five and we'll take your
call and chat about what you're working on around your home.
I do want to tell you about one of my
favorite products. You hear me talk about all the time.
It's the wedd and Forget and don't forget if we
(43:47):
get some warm weather. You're in a warm weather climate,
the Wet and Forget Exterior Window and Screen Cleaner. It's great.
You can do thirty six windows and screens in a
bottle just connected to your hose and you're ready to go.
It's called wedd and Forget Exterior Window and Screen Cleaner.
Lead the screens on and go. I'm telling you you
(44:08):
can clean them on the second story. Also, you can
check it out at Wedinforget dot com. We'll continue at
home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Thank's the weekend and you have fixed questions. Give Gary
a call and on eight hundred and eighty two three
talk please. He's at home with Gary Sullivan.
All right, the weekend is upon us. Thank you for
joining me. You're at home with Gary Sullivan. This hours
brought to you by Dumont Global. They make a body
called smart Strip Advanced. It safely removes almost ninety percent
of the codings, no harmful fumes, no dangerous chemicals, and
if you're not sure what type of coding you're removing,
(00:47):
Dumont's test kit. We'll tell you exactly which Dumont products
you need for the job. You'll find Smart Strip that
you do it best. Retailer Sherwan Williams, or you can
visit Dumont Global. All right, our phone number eight hundred
eight two three eighty two five five. Got a question
regarding maintenance or repair of your home, feel free to
(01:09):
join us. Danie'll take your call. We'll chat and get
you back at it no time at all. All right,
Let's go to Bill. Bill, Welcome, good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I love the show, and I love writ and forget shower.
Very good work, work works great. You were talking to
Ron Wilson earlier, and I didn't hear all of it
about different ways people had trouble with Christmas trees.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
In the house, my father in law knew had a
doctor who was an orthopedic doctor, and he was the
years ago. He was the orthopedic doctor for the Bengals,
and he had like at least three boys at home,
and the tree got knocked over so many times. He
put an anchor in the ceiling and he hung the
tree so that the tree swam and he didn't have
(01:57):
to pick it up all the time.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's the best I think I remember as a kid.
I'm not positive, but it's in my head, and that's
why I asked Ron the question. I think when I
was a kid, one year, my dad had tied some
wire around the middle or the top part of the
tree and put an anchor in a wall with a
screw eye or a screw hook or something, and because
(02:22):
it tilted too much, the kids were.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Chasing the dog. And he had like at least three boys.
I don't I don't want to mention his name because
I don't know personally. I heard it from my father
in law, but this is many years ago, and he
was the orthopedic doctor for the Bend and Bengals.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
So very good. I appreciate that. That's that's a maybe, that's.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
A soy you have a great day.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
All right, Bill, thank you. Yeah, sometimes that could be
a I don't think I've ever had a tree fall,
but I I know that happens for sure, And I
think when Ron was talking about he had a tree fall,
and you know, having now they have some of these bases.
(03:09):
But back in the day, I remember on our stand
we did have a decent sized piece of plywood where
it extended out and the stand was actually attached to
the plywood. It just didn't sit on there. It was
screwed on there. And boy, it was always it was solid.
May have been crooked, but solid. He might have had
(03:31):
to shim that plywood when he tied it to the wall.
I don't know. I can't remember. I was a little kid,
but I kind of do remember that. Now they got
these big If you haven't seen those, and you're going
to do a live tree, they have oh jeez, you know,
it's not just a metal one. It's home. It's a bigger, wider,
(03:53):
cone shaped stand. They're awesome, hold a lot of water,
very very balanced, and maybe if you're going with the
live tree action, maybe that's something you want to take
a look at. All right, let me give you that
phone number love to have you join us. Kind of
slow today, holiday weekend. I get that, but we can
(04:14):
talk about things maybe for next year, projects you want
to do, or like I said, if your house is
going all I want for Christmas. My my suggestion is
the wallpaper borders goodbye. And the only reason I bring
that up is he was upstairs the other day and
(04:35):
in the one bathroom between the Jack and Jill bedrooms.
I remember painting that I don't know eight years ago,
and I remember Sue telling me, you know, why don't
you just take that border off before you paint it?
And I'm like, nah, No, that border looks fun. There's
(04:56):
nothing wrong with that border. See, I'm just like everybody else,
you know, I don't want to do that. It looks fine.
Nobody's ever up here and painted it, trimmed that painted
and uh. And when I was upstairs, I saw the
border and I went, yeah, we probably need to get
in that border. It is very dated this time of year,
(05:19):
is uh, not so much right now, but I'd say
in the next four weeks. You know, right now, we're
all busy, we're all kind of happy, you know, the
holidays and people coming over the house and decorations are
up and everything's good, and then in January we take
all the decorations down and I don't know about you,
(05:41):
but you just see things that you'd really like to address.
You'd really you know that floor, man, we really ought
to do something with that floor or that I start
off the show today talking like, oh, we really ought
to do something with those countertops or those cabinets, and
maybe we just clean that cabinets. Cabinets depends on the
(06:05):
type of cabmis you have and the type of wood
or if they're for mic or whatever. But sometimes they
just get really tired looking because maybe you used wax
on them or silicons and things like that, and they
just get tired. You got to get them cleaned and
spruced up, rejuvenated. But that's when we start seeing that stuff.
(06:25):
So happy to chat about that those types of projects.
You know the phone number, and this is usually that time.
I also give you the holiday cleaning tips that jaws.
We usually do it about six weeks before the holidays.
Got a couple more to go. But here's a little
(06:48):
cleaning tip. When you're using glass cleaners. And I've had
this call before. Gus cleaners are not to be used
on TV screens, computer screens, eyeglasses, and they'll they'll literally
(07:14):
compromise the TV screen. They'll be it almost looked like
some oil or greases on that screen. And it may
be never ever used Ammonia Bay based glass cleaners on smartphones, eyeglasses,
like I said, TVs, computers, because it will it will
permanently ruin the screen. Now one exception, maybe there's more,
(07:40):
but I know there. This is an exception. Jaws glass
cleaner has no ammonia and no alcohol in that glass cleaner.
That's one of the reasons why it's so streak free.
It's crystal clear results and you're not going to harm
(08:02):
screening like on a TV. You can actually use the
Jaws glass cleaner on a TV, video games, computers, eyeglasses,
whatever you want. So I wonder because I do get
people that have ruined a TV or a computer screen
just by using just any old glass cleaner. So if
(08:22):
you get the Jaws glass cleaner, it's safe, you can
use it on those products. And they got twenty percent
off at jawscleans dot com. And if you order over
thirty five dollars worth of product and the shipping is free.
So that's the tips if you haven't tried. Their products
are awesome. They're they're very, very very good. As we're
(08:44):
talking about sales too, gutter Brush. I don't know in
your area, but our area, the leads are gone, well
some of them are still on the ground, but the
leads are off the trees. And they got that gutter
brush sale. It's uh, you know, thirty five percent off
right now and it's just gutterbrush dot com. Yeah, clean
(09:06):
those gutters, slide to gut, slide to gutter brush in
and I'm telling you you will thank me. You will
thank me because the cloud gutters cause a lot of
damage and I do want to talk about some of
that damage it causes. But first we'll take a little break.
We'll come back. If you'd like to join us, dial
us up. It's eight hundred eight two three eight two
five five year at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Garysullivan online dot com. This is at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Hey, folks, before winner really kicks in, do yourself a
favor and take gutter cleaning off your chart list. Right now,
gutter Brush is running the biggest Black Friday sale of
the year, huge savings on the simplest gutter protection you'll
ever install. Just slid gutter brush into the gutters. That's it,
no tools, no hassles, and it keeps gutters flowing all
year long, prevents clogs, reduces maintenance, and protects your home
(10:15):
from water damage. Don't wait. Head the gutterbrush dot Com
today and grab the Black Friday savings gutterbrush dot Com.
Be sure to shop now directly at odo exit dot
com for the best holiday pricing. Don't put up with
odors this season, eliminate them for good with otor Exit.
The Black Friday sales already happening, and the only place
to get the strongest deal is right on their website.
(10:37):
From pet smells to musty basements to tough lingering odors,
odor Exit is the safest, most natural, and truly effective
solution that actually works. Breathe easy for the holidays and
get the best Black Friday pricing by buying direct from
odor exit dot com today. Remodeling your basement into a recroom, office,
or home gym, well, don't forget to ventilate those spaces
(10:58):
to protect your home from decay. The Easy Breathed Ventilation
System exchanges trap dirty damp air for cleaner, dryer, healthier air.
We've had an easy Breeze system in our home for
about ten years now and the air in our basement
always feels fresh and clean. Diy kits are available and
right now get two you minutes stats plus twenty percent
off every easy Breath purchase. Call eight six six eight
(11:22):
two two seventy three twenty eight. Hey Gary Salvan here
for solar pumps. Zalor's been keeping home safe and dry
since nineteen thirty nine, and their passion for excellence is
why it's the only name I trust to keep my
basement dry. For your home's groundwater protection system, you got
to check out the Solar Model sixty three some pump
with the LED plug and the aquanot Fit five oh
(11:44):
eight battery backup system. Together they're your guaranteed water protection
system when installed by a factory certified installer. To find
your installer today, go to zalarpumps dot com. All right,
(12:10):
you're at home with Gary Salvan twenty minutes after the
top of the air, talking a little home improvement and
happy to take your calls. And let's go to Bob
Bob Welcome.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Hey Gary, sir, I can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay, I can.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
Okay, you're talking about the furnaces earlier and running the
fan and whatever else with humidity and blah blah blah. Anyway,
one of the things I tell my or I should
say it this way. I see a lot of no
heat calls where the customer is sitting there. Here's a
(12:50):
flowers running, puts his hand down by the register, flowing
cool cool air, great temperature air right right. So I
go out there. The first thing I do as I
go to the thermostat and I see the fan is on.
I've flipped the auto. I raised the thermostad and I
look like a hero.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
That's great as the Yeah, So what's your take on
leaving the fan on though?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Okay, so in the winter time, I suggest that the
fan is in auto at whatever temperature. You guys are
comfortable at stealing fans reverse. So we're pulling the heat
off the cteialing correction of the house. And that's it.
And then as far as running the fan for air conditioning,
(13:40):
leaving the fan run all the time will make on
a two story house, it'll make upstairs more bearable. It
won't make it like it is downstairs because hot air
rises call their falls. But it will still make it
more bearable on a ranch a single story home. By
running the lower all the time, depending on the load,
(14:04):
how hot and humid it is outside, you can eliminate one,
maybe even two cycles of that outdoor in it per hour,
just by moving the air that you've already taken.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Let me give you my take. And I'm not an
HVAC guy, but I have HVAC guys call me a lot,
and I was having an issue one time, and so anyway,
I agree with you on the heat. There are people
I know that just like to move the air around
some hot spots, like in a bedroom and then the
(14:36):
family room's a cooler one. But I get your take
on it. But it does move air. Certainly, Ceiling fans
do a better job. So I'm neutral on that. You know,
if you feel like you need it, fine, you know,
like maybe you run the fireplace or something like that.
I don't know, so I'm kind of neutral that the
(14:57):
air conditioning one. This is a crazy story, and I've
talked to a lot a lot of HVAC companies and
no one like they're like, no, I don't I don't
think so. But I had a problem of running high
humidity in my home. Out of nowhere. I was having problems,
and I'm pretty conscious of that. And it wasn't super high,
(15:23):
but it was like sixty percent in the summertime. And
I was doing the show and kind of whining about it. Bob,
an HVAC guy, called me. He goes, I know exactly
what your problem is. I said, what's what's my problem?
I was always told moving air is dry air. So
(15:44):
I got my fan on and he goes, that's the problem,
and he said that I was pulling the humidity out.
The coils were wet, but since the fan was on,
I was just redistributing that moisture throughout the home. And
I got off the air. I went home, I turned
(16:07):
the fan to auto, and within two days my humidity
was fine. It's been fine ever since for three years.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Excuse me.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
A lot of times.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
You know, every house is different, right, it's positive for everyone.
So if the house is late or the house is loose,
that's when you can run into those problems. But the
moisture on the coil, it seems if I don't know,
(16:46):
I think it's I think that moisture is minimal. My
hair flow going across that coil will dry it off.
Not like it's there all the time. It's there when
it's running, when the ac is right, and then it
dreamed out. But a little bit that's that's stepped on
the coil. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
I know either, and I've I've said this to a
bunch of guys in fact, that you know, when I
get my UH air conditioner and furnace service every year.
I've even said to the guy, I mean, it's a
great company and been using them for years, and he
was like, I don't know, And I said, well, you
know what, I'm nobody to challenge you, but I can
(17:29):
tell you for me in my house that worked. And
I've mentioned that a couple of times on the show
and I've had good response. I'm just throwing that out there.
Maybe maybe you can use it someday. You helped me, so, uh,
you know, I don't know. It's a crazy thing. I
never heard of it, never really thought about it that way,
(17:52):
but but anyway, it worked for me.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Anyway, that's that's good. That's good. Whatever works.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I wanted to enjoy your show. I listened to you
every week, So.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Very good and I thank you for your call, Bob.
That's how we all learned, So thank you, all right,
And uh yeah, it's it is kind of like a
I like his comment. And I've used that many times
doing home improvement, when somebody will say we'll do this.
You you said do that, and somebody will say and
(18:25):
I'll go like, well, I don't know about that. Well
it worked for me, and that's all that counts. If
it worked, that's fine. Maybe we're not going to find
it in a book, but if it worked for one
of us. And we've had crazy calls over the years.
Remember the one I can't remember. It was a beeping
sound and it would go off in the middle of
(18:46):
the night. I still reb yeah, remember that, you remember that?
And it was an alarm or something on a on
a watch, on an old watch that was in a
dresser and they could never pinpoint where it was coming from.
And somebody called and said, I know exactly what that
is as I had that happen, So you never really
know as all as it works. I agree totally. All right,
(19:06):
let's see Lewis and then Phil and Steven. We will
get you. I promise our phone number. If you'd like
to join us, it's eight hundred eight two three eight
two five five year at Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Solutions to your home improvement are as easy as calling
one eight hundred eight two three talk. This is at
Home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
I've used this product because my washer smelled terrible, and
let me tell you it worked great. Hi, Gary Sullivan. Here,
Now my water's crystal clear. I've got real peace of
mind with Awesome Watercare. Their products remove all the hidden gunk, biofilm,
bacteria and build up from hot tubs, jetted tubs, swim spots,
even washers and dishwashers. If you want your water system spotless,
(20:22):
check out Awesome dot com spelled ah h som me
dot com. You'll see and smell the difference. Make your
home sparkle this holiday season with Jaws the Just Add
Water System. The Holiday Caddiepack is back filled with your
four must have Jaws cleaners, my favorite glass cleaner, plus
the kitchen cleaner, disinfectant, bathroom cleaner, and the super convenient disspray.
(20:44):
Everything you need to clean up after holiday baking, gift wrapping,
and fun perfect for your home or is a holiday
gift for a limited time, It's twenty percent off with
promo code. Gary comes with free shipping jawscleans dot com
jaws cleans dot com and make your holiday shine well.
I talk about a lot of products that can make
your life easier and I use and love ter Mender.
(21:06):
It repairs tears and all types of clothing, fabrics, leather,
even buttons. It's time to get those holiday decorations out
and it's one product you gotta have around your home.
In fact, listeners tell me tear Menders you must have
for all their holiday decoration repairs, no so gifts, holiday crafts,
and stocking stuffers. Tear Menders available at your local hardware
store Amazon or find a store at tear mender dot
(21:27):
com and find more great make doing men's solutions and ideas.
Hey folks, before winter really kicks in, do yourself a
favor and take gutter cleaning off your chore list. Right now,
gutter Brush is running the biggest Black Friday sale of
the year, huge savings on the simplest gutter protection you'll
ever install. Just slide gutter brush into the gutters. That's it,
no tools, no hassles, and it keeps gutters flowing all
(21:50):
year long, prevents clogs, reduces maintenance, and protects your home
from water damage. Don't wait at the gutterbrush dot com
today and grab the black Friday savings guts brush dot com.
(22:12):
All right, here we go at home with Garry Sullivan
talking about your home and maybe a little maintenance repair
that needs to be done. And let's get back to
the phone calls. You can give us a call, happy
to talk to you about your issues. Also, and Lewis welcome.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Hi, Gary Lewis in Massachusetts. Yes, sir, Yeah, I have.
I've been in this house is a new house for
a couple of years now. The the the cabinets are
painted and the island is black and the rest of
them are light blue collar and the black is getting
(22:49):
kind of I would like to kind of put something
on it that makes it look it makes it popping
set up, because it's getting kind of a dull, a
little bit dull. What would you recommend me?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Well, what have you tried at this point? And is
it it enamel pain on there or is that the
laminate finish or what's the finish? Also nice enamel?
Speaker 5 (23:17):
And I've tried water so far because I you know,
like you were saying previously, you don't want to put
stuff that it might have them build up right, and
it makes it worse. So that's why I mean, and
that's that's the problem.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah. Yeah, So was that cabinet, were they waxed or
anything along those lines, or is it because inside the
reason I'm asking these questions inside the dirt we have
inside our home usually contains oils, oils from our hands,
oil from cooking, et cetera, et cetera. So you know,
(23:58):
quite honestly, I'm kind of thinking about dawn soap and water.
If it's a good enammel, I think that would be
a really good cleaner.
Speaker 5 (24:08):
Okay, Yeah, my son in law made the cabinet, she's
a cabinet maker, so I know they were made right.
It's just it's just one of them things that again
it's only been two years, sure, but I just just
kind of want to pick your brain about that.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, you know, we want to make sure we don't
use an ambrasive We want to make sure we you know,
like normally if it were like a wood grain and
it was stained and it had a varnish on there,
you know, like some cabinets are. I've got a couple
of In fact, I got a product that was made
by a cabinet maker one hundred years ago, which is excellent,
(24:47):
but when they're painted, they're already sealed, and that particular
product is also designed to rejuvenate the wood, et cetera,
et cetera, So that really wouldn't be appropriate for a
painted surface. And really I think I would just try again,
no braces. We don't want to dull it anymore. But
I try a little don soap in a damp cloth,
(25:11):
warm water, and then come back with you know, just
damp cloth and no soap, just to get any residue
off it. I think that would be one option. I
also talk about products called jaws. Jaws. They have one
(25:33):
called kitchen Degreaser. It is a pH neutral product. It's
not going to hurt a painted finish at all. I've
not used it on a painted cabinet, but I've used
it on everything in my kitchen, my grill and everything.
It is pH neutral, there is no grit to it.
You would spray it on. It'll loosen any type of
(25:56):
oiled residue, which would be also a great cleaner. I
would use that also, but Okay, dawn and soap and water.
Give that a try first.
Speaker 5 (26:11):
Okay, I have a second question. I'm along the same.
It's a new house. I have some hardwood planks on
the on the floor, you know, real wood, and uh
they they put some water based uh paint or not paint,
but you know the water based feel around the on
(26:33):
the on the floor, and it's always creaking and cracking
like you walk on it and it's it's always creaking
and uh. In my other house, it it never the
floor never creaked like this, and it was just a
regular petroleum based seala that we put And this one
(26:53):
is creaking and it's just kind of awful.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
I yeah, I don't think it's in and I don't
think it's the ceiler, you know, because there's there's three
main components that make wood floors creak, and none of
it really has to do with the ceiler. So let
me just give you the scoop. The first thing that
(27:18):
would make a wood floor creek is if it's a
wood floor and it's a tongue in groove, and that
tongue in groove just over walking on it gets loose
and it rubs against the groove. The tongue rubs against
the groove and that makes it creak, okay, And the
way that can be solved is taking some talk powder
(27:42):
or baby powder and just brushing it into the wood floor.
Well sometime eliminate that, I say sometime, but that's that's
an option. The second place a floor creeks is where
the wood is attached to the wood sub floor, so
(28:05):
usually glued, glueden, screwed, whatever, but if nailed, yeah, nailed
and and and it's it's loose maybe in some areas,
which is causing that creek. Probably more prevalent in the
winter time than the summertime. Probably more prevalent right now
(28:28):
since it's just starting to dry out and there's some
shrinking or minimizing going on. And the third place is
where the sub floor, and this is really quite honest,
I think that's probably where it is where the sub
floor is attached to the joist. Over time, those are nailed,
(28:54):
they're they're nailed in, glued sometimes depends how old the
house is, and there gets to be that nail. The
hole gets worn just from walking on that that nail
starts rubbing and almost becomes a piston. And downstairs, if
you can get underneath it. Sometimes you can, but shims.
(29:18):
There's even a product called a squeak ender that loops
around the rafter. And then there's a plate that screwed
to the subfloor and you literally tighten up a big
thumbscrew to pull the sub floor down. But that's the
three places that a floor will squeak.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
All right, Gary, well, I guess major day.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Major day. All right, thank you much for the call.
You take care all right, Phil, welcome. Yes, yes, I
have a question.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
Yes, I have a question on the uh, radiant barrier
spray paint that you put on erneath your attic. Uh
huh do you know if any if it actually works.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Well, radiant barrier paint is available, and yeah, it does work. Now,
it's not like an insulation. It's a radiant barrier. I
tell people. It's like this, Phil. Let's see. It took
me a long time to figure out how to explain
radiant barrier paint. But radiant barrier paint is essentially when
(30:32):
you're a kid and you're outstanding in the ball field
on an August day and it's hotter in the heck
and you're sweating, and that radiant heat's just cooking you
and then you go over by the bench and you
sit underneath the big old shade tree and it's like, huh,
it's not bad at all. So that's what a radiant
barrier does. It's a it cuts down the radiant heat
(30:54):
that's coming through the roof and it does it creates
and helps minimize the heat that's going into the attic. Now,
we got other things that helped that too, right, We
got you know, radium barrier paint. We also have ridge
vents and soft events where we bring in the outdoor
(31:18):
air temperature and we push out the one hundred and
forty degree temperature it's in the attic out through the
ridge vent. But radium barriers work, there's no question. They're
just like they're just hard to explain. But it's like
putting a shade tree over your house. Think of it
that way.
Speaker 6 (31:36):
Yes, it doesn't mess with the the roof for anything.
As far as the no.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
No, sure, Williams. What I'm familiar with, I think it's
called E barrier. It's a paint and it's sprayed. You
got to cover all of the underneath part. You just
can't do patches of it. And this comes in like
a gallon canner, five gallon pan. It's sprayed in the attic. Okay,
sometimes during construction, sometimes after construction. And yeah it works,
(32:13):
I mean, yeah, it works. It it's it doesn't affect
the roof. It's just a coating on the inside underside
of the roof which minimizes solar gain into the attic.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
Oh okay, yes, all right, Oh okay, that's that's all
I need to know.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Very good. I hope I explained that. Well, now, thank you.
All right, let's take a little break. We got Randy
and Steven and Wilson and you can grab a line
as we march through the weekend. And we got a
good another hour ago. So don't be don't be shy.
Step on in. We'll chat about your home project. You're
at home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Help for your home is just a click away at
Gary Sullivan online dot com. Aw this, he's at home
with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Well, it's fall and that means smart homeowners are preparing
their homes for winter, especially they're plumbing. Hi this scary
solvent for roto router plumbing and water cleanup. I want
you to go outside, unscrew your garden hose and check
those outdoor faucets for drips. Listen if they're leaking now,
they could freeze and burst this winter, causing expensive water
damage and plumbing repairs. The time to fix dripping hose
(33:41):
bibs is right now called Rota Router at one eight
hundred git Roto for fast, reliable plumbing service. Guysh Coatings
Black Friday Sale you won't want to miss twenty five
percent off everything on their website. Yes, everything, countertop kits, stealers,
primer's garage floor kits, and a wide variety of coatings
for walkways, patios, pulldecks more. It's the biggest sale Dice
(34:01):
Codings has ever had. No limits. Stock up now for
all your planned indoor and outdoor projects. The sale runs
from Thanksgiving Day to the end of Cyber Monday. That's
twenty five percent off every item on the website. Visit
disch codings dot com November twenty seventh to December first
and save big. For over forty years, Dumont has made
powerful paint and coating removers that are tough on layers
(34:23):
but save for you in the environment. Try demand Smart
Strip Advanced. It works on over ninety percent of the coatings,
no harmful fumes, no dangerous chemicals. Not sure what you're removing. Well,
Demon's easy test kid tells you exactly what you need.
Find smart strip that you're participating. Do it best retailer
Sherwin Williams, or visit Dumont Global dot Com. That's Dumont
(34:43):
Global dot Com. Dumont Smart, safe and proven. So do
it yourself with demand. Get chemicals out of your life
and come over to the natural side with Odor Exit
Odor Eliminator made with essential oils and water. This essential
oil based formula contains no harsh chemicals, making it safe
for moms, dads, babies, and pets. It's even safe for
those with sinus or respiratory concerns, or if you just
(35:06):
hate artificial fragrances. Odor exits Essential Oils Odor Eliminator just
might be the healthiest odor eliminator you can buy. Come
tootor exit dot com for the best pricing, combas and service.
That's Odor Exit dot Com. All right, Beck, here we
(35:36):
go at home with Garry Sullivan phone number. You bet
you can join us. It's eight hundred and eight two
three eight two five five and we're talking about your
home and Randy.
Speaker 7 (35:47):
Welcome, Hi Gary, thank you for getting me in. I'm
a piano technician, okay, And I heard you talking about humidity,
and you mentioned a room human fires, and as you know,
I'm sure most people don't. Those aren't very good for
(36:07):
a piano. No, because they're putting out cold air humidity,
and cold air humidity goes to the coldest thing in
the room, which is usually the strings of a piano.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (36:22):
They do make a.
Speaker 7 (36:25):
Humidifier that goes inside of a vertical piano and underneath
the soundboard of a grand piano. And I said humidifier,
but I mean humidity control system.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Okay, it's made.
Speaker 7 (36:39):
By it's made by a company called damp Chaser. And no,
I don't have any financial.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
No, that's fine, that's fine. And I don't have a piano,
so I wouldn't have knowne that. I really didn't know that.
But I do know that, you know, kind of along
those same lines, you know, too much humidity or not
enough humidity, even in our homes causes problems with wood floors,
with furniture, with all kinds of things. And we can
(37:10):
see it taking place right now, that squeaky floor from
the fell in Boston may be related just to the
time of year and the you know, drying out of
the house. So it's critical that we work with humidity
inside our homes, right.
Speaker 7 (37:26):
And this system has a humidifier and a dehumidifier and
a humanist stat which makes humidity because and then an
easy way to you know, fill the water without having
to open the whole piano upon and a light that
(37:47):
tells you if it needs more water.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Nice.
Speaker 7 (37:51):
So anyway, they've they've worked very well. I've been a
piano technician for fifty years. This is my fiftieth year,
and so I thank you. I put a lot of
these in and I wrote a course to teach people
to tune in. One of the important sections for piano
technicians to learn is you know when a piano should
(38:15):
have one of these. People in Hawaii, for example, don't
need the humidifier part. They just need the dehumidifier and
the ministat. And anyway, I just thought, I'd no.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
That's fascinating. It's fascinating. I know, I you know, I
don't know anything about tuning pianos, so I do fight
it fascinating because you know, I talk, I speak a
lot about humidity, just from the health of the inside
of the home and you're nuttnet down to a real
niche part of the home for a lot of people.
(38:53):
And do most people that have pianos know that exist.
Speaker 7 (39:00):
No, and most of them really don't need that. Don't
need it now. Now, the main thing that causes a
piano to go out of tune despite the fact, I mean,
in addition to the fact that it has forty thousand
pounds of tension on it, and that's going to make
it go out of tune. It's just like your tires
(39:20):
have thirty five pounds of pressure in them, and even
if they just sit in the driveway, they're still going
to lose some of that tension. Their piano has forty
thousand pounds of tension on it. And it's the changes
in the humidity more than the changes in the temperature
that make a piano go out of tune. Some kinds
(39:47):
of pianos, particularly those made in the sixties, seventies and older,
older uprights, that have what we call salt spruce soundboards,
and solid means solid from the front of the soundboard
to the back of the soundboard. A soundboard is like
(40:08):
a picket fence where all the pickets got slid slid together,
so that piece of wood is solid front to back,
but not.
Speaker 5 (40:17):
Solid edge to edge.
Speaker 7 (40:18):
But anyway, they can get cracks in them from excessive dryness. However,
in the times of the year, when there's too much humidity,
it can cause the soundboard and the annual rings you
(40:40):
know in wood, the ones that are furthest apart, they
get crushed so that in the winter when it dries out,
those ones that were crushed can open up and get
cracks in them. Most boards today, not all, most, for
(41:01):
many are made with what we call laminated soundboard, where
it has you know, like plywood, one layer going one
way or another layer and then a third layer, and
those aren't going to crack.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
They never study.
Speaker 7 (41:17):
Sure, yeah, but there's other parts of the piano as well,
case parts and stuff that sometimes will stick and make
it hard for me to get the front off the
piano because the ends have the sides of the pieces
(41:41):
have spread out side to side, and so it's kind
of in pinch. So sometimes test a struggle taking those
parts off. My clients are watching me thinking I don't
know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, So really I question if a
homeowner does a good job of just controlling the humidity
in their home. Is that helpful?
Speaker 7 (42:08):
It is helpful. And I have, for example, as Steinley
Grand piano, which has a solid spruce soundboard and not
a crack in it. It's twenty five years old, not
a crack in it. I have a humidity control system
in my whole house, okay, you know what, And I
(42:29):
have that service twice a year, and they changed the
cylinger in it.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
And.
Speaker 7 (42:37):
I keep my humidity in my house at around thirty
eight forty. Yeah, and I love it.
Speaker 1 (42:44):
Yeah, that's perfect. Well, it's nice to know there's somebody
that's as concerned about humidity in their house as I am. So, Randy,
thank you for the education. I certainly appreciate it. Thank
you very much. All Right. Yeah, that's that's that's niched down.
I get that. But kind of what he's talking about
(43:05):
is the same kind of things that I talk about,
and I might take it, you know, to a much
greater degree in terms of out of control humidity inside
a home. When I'm talking about mildew and smelling mold. Yeah,
well that's really goofing up Randy's piano for sure. All right.
(43:26):
Uh Wilson Don You are one and two. If you'd
like to join us, please do. It's eight hundred eight
two three eight two five five and we'll take your
call and chat about what you're working on around your home.
I do want to tell you about one of my
favorite products. You hear me talk about all the time.
It's the wedd and Forget and don't forget if we
(43:47):
get some warm weather. You're in a warm weather climate,
the Wet and Forget Exterior Window and Screen Cleaner. It's great.
You can do thirty six windows and screens in a
bottle just connected to your hose and you're ready to go.
It's called wedd and Forget Exterior Window and Screen Cleaner.
Lead the screens on and go. I'm telling you you
(44:08):
can clean them on the second story. Also, you can
check it out at Wedinforget dot com. We'll continue at
home with Gary Sullivan.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Thank's the weekend and you have fixed questions. Give Gary
a call and on eight hundred and eighty two three
talk please. He's at home with Gary Sullivan.
At Home with Gary Sullivan News
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.