Show Notes for July 26, 2008

What the Carey Bros. & Rebecca Cole are Talking About:
James & Morris held the fort down while Rebecca was on assignment at the Singapore Garden Festival. Among the topics discussed this week was a report by the New York Times that high levels of radiation have increasingly been found in kitchen countertops throughout the country. Also included were two recent news stories about a Milwaukee man arrested for shooting his lawnmower because it didn’t work and a woman who found an 8-foot-long snake in her washing machine!

Also:
Of course, we took your calls, questions ranged from removing glue & epoxy to plumbing questions. Some notable Q&A’s included Barry from Saratoga, California. He just put in a 3,000 square foot Redwood deck and he wanted to know what to do to finish and protect it. Morris suggested to make the red in the redwood more vibrant then Barry should wash his new deck with a combination of acyclic acid, or better known as wood bleach, and water. Rinse this off with water and let it dry for about a day. Then get a very thin penetrating oil, add a pigment, something along the color of the redwood, and apply evenly; this will protect the deck from the rain and the sun. You’ll have to oil & pigment the deck every year for protection.

Bob from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a radiation technician and he put his two cents in the granite countertop debate. His expert opinion was that this report is a totally untrue. Bob also had a question that On The House gets asked a lot. How to get rid of mildew? Well the Carey Bros.’ solution is:
--1/3 cup of powdered laundry detergent, 1 quart of liquid chlorine bleach, and 3 quarts of warm water. Mix together and apply to affected area, let it sit for a few minutes, but don’t let it dry. Rinse with fresh water, and make sure to immediately dry the rinsed surface so the mildew doesn’t return. Make sure to wear rubber gloves and proper eye protection. And remember, never mix bleach with ammonia (or cleaners containing ammonia), since the two create an irritating, toxic gas.

More Information:
For more information on products & websites mentioned during this week’s show click on the links below.

• To get more information on the Singapore Garden Festival, where Rebecca Cole is an honorary judge, click here.

• To read about the Milwaukee man who shot his lawn mower and to see his mugshot, click here.

• To read the New York Times article about “deadly” countertops, click here.

• To read the article and see the video about the Maine woman who found a snake in her washing machine, click here.

• To enter the Energy Efficiency Challenge, click here.

• To get more information on geo thermal technology and everything having to do with energy, click here.

• To get more information on the best product to remove glue from concrete, click here.

• To get more information on one of the best pest control products, click here.

• To get more information on our “Recall of the Week” – Dirt Devil Vacuum Tool Accessories, click here.

If you need any more information about today's program, please contact us or post on our new Home Improvement Forum and we'll try to help you find what you need. Thanks for listening to On The House with the Carey Brothers!