|
Chaosfeather posted:Hi everyone, I was directed here from the aquarium thread. Maybe you can help. Call your local county ag extension. They will be able to suggest what type of testing you need based on their knowledge of local water supplies and may even already know about this. They also will do the tests usually in cooperation with the school they are a part of.
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 14:56 |
|
|
Motronic posted:Call your local county ag extension. They will be able to suggest what type of testing you need based on their knowledge of local water supplies and may even already know about this. They also will do the tests usually in cooperation with the school they are a part of. Yes. Also, it couldn't hurt to knock on doors on your block and ask other residents if they have experienced similar issues with their water or in their bathrooms. Stay on your side of the street because sometimes the buildings across the street might be on a different supply line (this is the case on my street). Do you get a reaction if you hold your hand under water from the kitchen sink? From what you describe, it does seem like some sort of allergic reaction, possibly something lurking in the pipes or in the bathroom. This might be a biased response because I just bought a steam cleaner and I love it, but if I were in your shoes, I would borrow/rent/buy a steam cleaner and blast every square inch of your bathrooms with steam - every crack and crevice, into vents/ducts/behind radiators, the shower head (like remove and disassemble and thoroughly clean inside and out), up the spigots and down the drain pipes, inside the toilet tank, windows, shower curtain, ceiling, absolutely everywhere. Steam can kill mold and mildew (most effectively on nonporous surfaces) and pretty much everything, so if your symptoms are being caused by an allergen residing in the bathroom, the steam will probably kill and destroy it. Also, it has the massive advantage of literally just water in hot gas form, so you're not introducing any harsh chemicals that could exacerbate symptoms or bother you in new ways and make it more difficult to gauge if there's any improvement in your symptoms. Seriously, as someone who has chemical (and especially chemical fragrance) sensitivities, having a perfectly clean, disinfected bathroom that smells like absolutely nothing is loving amazing. If the deep steam clean does not lead to improved symptoms, then you'll know it's coming from the water or deep in the pipes, and if your symptoms clear up, then it was something that was in the bathroom and probably not the water. Either way, you'll have a sparkly clean bathroom.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:40
|
|
|
So, a woodpecker has taken an interest in one particular spot on my house. It's shown up all of the last three days or so and won't leave until somebody goes out to shoo it off. It has made a pretty sizable hole:  That's maybe 1.5-2 inches in diameter. My questions: (a) Why is it doing this, is this an indication that I have termites or something else it wants to eat? and (2) how should I make it stop, short of sending a person or dog outside to make it leave every day forever
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:41
|
|
|
loquacius posted:So, a woodpecker has taken an interest in one particular spot on my house. The condo where my in-laws live had this problem. They put up pieces of mirror and other reflective things in the immediate area. It looks tacky as poo poo, but it works from what they tell me.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:49
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:I use a rare earth magnet as a stud finder. Just wipe it along the wall until it sticks, there's your stud. Yeah, I do this too. I have a stack of them and usually map out a few studs all at once
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:50
|
|
|
loquacius posted:So, a woodpecker has taken an interest in one particular spot on my house. That is nesting behavior not feeding from the look of it. Maybe out a bird box next to it and patch the hole with some metal mesh for starters?  Or you have bugs in your walls.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 18:53
|
|
|
I agree that looks more like a nest hole than a feed hole. If you had bugs in the walls you'd be more likely to see a line or random pattern of small holes. Seconding the nesting box idea. Offer them someplace more appropriate to call home. Just covering the hole with wire mesh will keep them out (or in if you don't check the hole for occupants first) but if you don't offer them someplace nicer to put a nest they'll likely start drilling another hole elsewhere on the house.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 20:11
|
|
|
Douche4Sale posted:
While it could be the pipes, when I mentioned that to the apt complex they refused to inspect the pipes and simply repeated "we don't control the water, ma'am" until I let them go. Like literally two minutes of the same line as I asked if they could look at the pipes, or the water heater, or literally anything. It's a fair point that it doesn't hurt to try it and see if it works, and I might need to resort to that since I am not really in the budget to spend $$$ on this. Motronic posted:Call your local county ag extension. They will be able to suggest what type of testing you need based on their knowledge of local water supplies and may even already know about this. They also will do the tests usually in cooperation with the school they are a part of. I'll look this up as best I can. I worry that another 'test' that I might ask to submit will have to go through the complex like the water district one, and I have already been told the apt. complex will refuse to pursue that since "there are no other complaints of this nature". Queen Victorian posted:Yes. Also, it couldn't hurt to knock on doors on your block and ask other residents if they have experienced similar issues with their water or in their bathrooms. Stay on your side of the street because sometimes the buildings across the street might be on a different supply line (this is the case on my street). If it was in the bathroom I wouldn't expect it to happen in both of the two bathrooms. I know there are other problems with the apt. (such as a gaping hole under one of the bathroom sinks) but I will look into a steam cleaning service around here, since I know I found old mildew spots that were there as I was moving in. I already know I have a bad bleach allergy (as in the diluted bleach in water will make me break out in blisters and burn horribly, while my coworker's various skins would be unaffected) so I will give this serious consideration. Yknow, although I do the dishes I haven't braved the kitchen sink long enough. I'll give that a try this afternoon and report back if the thread is interested. Thanks for the ideas and advice everyone, I greatly appreciate it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 20:15
|
|
|
Chaosfeather posted:I'll look this up as best I can. I worry that another 'test' that I might ask to submit will have to go through the complex like the water district one, and I have already been told the apt. complex will refuse to pursue that since "there are no other complaints of this nature". You pick up or they mail you bottles to collect the samples in. You return them with your payment for the testing. Nobody else is or needs to be involved. If there is something legitimately wrong with your water you just continue on right to legal aid/your local tenants rights organization who will not take "no" for an answer from your building.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 20:34
|
|
|
Chaosfeather posted:If it was in the bathroom I wouldn't expect it to happen in both of the two bathrooms. I know there are other problems with the apt. (such as a gaping hole under one of the bathroom sinks) but I will look into a steam cleaning service around here, since I know I found old mildew spots that were there as I was moving in. I already know I have a bad bleach allergy (as in the diluted bleach in water will make me break out in blisters and burn horribly, while my coworker's various skins would be unaffected) so I will give this serious consideration. I don't think it's improbable that a potential allergen/contaminant could be present in both bathrooms (sorry, forgot to pluralize in a few places - I only have one bathroom and tend to think of it in singular). The previous tenant and/or cleaning crew could have used cleaning products in both bathrooms that might be causing a reaction, there's cross contamination in the form of moving towels, cleaning implements and other supplies between bathrooms, and of course, mold spores can get around. And yeah, I'm definitely interested to hear how washing dishes goes. If you usually use gloves, try going without. As for steam cleaning services, depending on the quote, it might be more economical to just buy your own steamer. An entry level residential steam cleaner can be had for under $200 (my little Dupray was $175).
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 21:23
|
|
|
Queen Victorian posted:As for steam cleaning services, depending on the quote, it might be more economical to just buy your own steamer. An entry level residential steam cleaner can be had for under $200 (my little Dupray was $175). Okay, now I've got questions because when you posted about this earlier today I looked on amazon and i see some cheesy handheld things for like $35 and the prices just go up from there. I'd like something to really clean the tile and grout in showers. The master in particular because it's a steam shower so it's fully tiled including the ceiling. What should I be looking for to make that work well? The cheap ones look like s smoke pot where you just blow steam on stuff. That seems......less than ideal. I'm assuming there must be some sort of hard surface cleaner attachment that would work much better at keeping steam touching the walls.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 21:29
|
|
|
I bought this about a year ago for 10 bucks less than it is right now. It's awesome. I use it for our tile floors though mostly, but it can be used all sorts of places. BBQ Grills, auto detailing, steam cleaning the toilets. It's a fun toy. https://a.co/d/dPr5Yrn
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 21:50
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Okay, now I've got questions because when you posted about this earlier today I looked on amazon and i see some cheesy handheld things for like $35 and the prices just go up from there. The reservoir is tiny but you can get steamers designed for clothing, they have brushes on the end intended to keep the fabric at x distance from the steam eyelets but they'd also serve to isolate whatever area for increased steam exposure. I wish it worked on silicone caulking because the stuff in one area of one of my bathrooms is a nightmare.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 21:55
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Okay, now I've got questions because when you posted about this earlier today I looked on amazon and i see some cheesy handheld things for like $35 and the prices just go up from there. This is the model I bought: https://dupray.com/products/neat-steam-cleaner. It's in the same class of product and price range as the McCulloch model skipdogg linked. They come with a bunch of different brush and mop attachments for all sorts of cleaning. The McCulloch is a bit more expensive at its non-sale price, but it has a few more attachments. I became aware of this type of steamer from watching car detailing videos on YouTube (I'm weird and find them very relaxing and satisfying). The little handheld ones are trash - I went through a few and they all lasted less than a year and were really only good for de-wrinkling dresses. The new steamer covers all those use cases and then some.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 22:10
|
|
|
Nice, thanks for the info all. That Dupray looks pretty nice. I've been meaning to get at the glass door on our shower to really really clean it before applying aquapel. This looks like the easiest way to do that.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 22:19
|
|
|
Front door latch wasn't retracting all the way and it was getting a bit "hope there isn't a fire." Went to lowes and bought dry graphite lube. Lubed the lock (using the key) and got nothing. Got the handle apart and it wasn't the lock but the stupid latch itself. Lubed everything up and now it opens nice and smoothly. Is there a truck to lubing those without taking the handle off? Either way, just a quick win for the afternoon. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 00:47
|
|
|
Chaosfeather posted:While it could be the pipes, when I mentioned that to the apt complex they refused to inspect the pipes and simply repeated "we don't control the water, ma'am" until I let them go. Like literally two minutes of the same line as I asked if they could look at the pipes, or the water heater, or literally anything. Are both showerheads exactly the same? We've had shower heads that put a lot more mist into the air then others. If you've got an allergy to bleach then I possibly see you having issues if the chlorine in the water is made into a fog from the showerhead. I've got a weird suggestion though, take a sample from the tub (let it run for a couple minutes first) to a pool store. They're already set up to test for stuff like chlorine/pH, and can probably give you a pretty good report on what's in the water, at least as far as chlorine goes. I'd expect this to be pretty low cost (or free). I'm not up on my bleach allergy symptoms, but do antihistamines work? devicenull fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Oct 13, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 01:33
|
|
|
I had a guy out today for a quote on a subpanel. I'm having a 60A 8 space panel put in an unfinished space. The line from the main panel has to run about 18 feet through a finished ceiling and may potentially require opening up the ceiling (ugh I hope not). We're in Northern Virginia where everything more expensive than a Subway footlong has a 15 to 20 percent bonus cost. Quoted me $1510. It doesn't sound too bad, but I thought I'd get a sanity check from the internet.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 01:35
|
|
|
Sash! posted:I had a guy out today for a quote on a subpanel. I'm having a 60A 8 space panel put in an unfinished space. The line from the main panel has to run about 18 feet through a finished ceiling and may potentially require opening up the ceiling (ugh I hope not). We're in Northern Virginia where everything more expensive than a Subway footlong has a 15 to 20 percent bonus cost. I'm amazed you can get it done at all that cheaply. Why not 100amps? 
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 01:45
|
|
|
loquacius posted:So, a woodpecker has taken an interest in one particular spot on my house. As others said, it's trying to build a nest. I have a pet theory that woodpeckers do this to houses because they sound hollow and woodpeckers like to build nests in hollow-ish dead trees.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 02:36
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:I'm amazed you can get it done at all that cheaply. Why not 100amps? Actually it is 100A. I misremembered something!
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 05:02
|
|
|
Sup NoVa buddy, you'll have to let me know if you're happy with their work.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 11:53
|
|
|
NomNomNom posted:Sup NoVa buddy, you'll have to let me know if you're happy with their work. I'm pretty sure I'll be happy because I wasn't with the last one (I don't remember who, off the top of my head). We had our laundry room done last year and the electrician that subbed for our contractor was...ok so the contractor and I literally drew on the wall where we wanted the boxes to go and what kind. Literally none of them went into the right place, which is sort of a big deal when one of them is the power for the washer and dryer, which is supposed to be under a countertop and you put the outlet above the line going across the room labeled COUNTER. There was also the one labeled "light switch" that was inexplicably a two gang box with two receptacles in it? He was terrible.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 15:05
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a thermostat suitable for an elderly person with failing eyesight? Basically something with big numbers and controls.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 15:12
|
|
|
Phanatic posted:Can anyone recommend a thermostat suitable for an elderly person with failing eyesight? Basically something with big numbers and controls. There are a ton of them available because this is a super common scenario. Search "large number thermostat" on Amazon or go pick up the Honewell that LowesDepot almost definitely has on the shelf right now.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 15:18
|
|
|
Phanatic posted:Can anyone recommend a thermostat suitable for an elderly person with failing eyesight? Basically something with big numbers and controls. It's not 100% what you were referring to but if the adjustments are like "up in the morning" and "down at night" you might want to look into a programmable thermostat so they don't need to touch it at all and you can program it to do whatever they needed.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 16:40
|
|
|
Comedy option, smart thermostat and put the app on your phone. Grandma or whoever can just call you and say "hi sweetie I'm cold can you please turn the temp up a few degrees?"
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 16:47
|
|
|
Why do you hate grandma?
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 16:48
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:Why do you hate grandma? she smells of dust and looking at her reminds me I'll die one day
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 16:51
|
|
|
loquacius posted:So, a woodpecker has taken an interest in one particular spot on my house. I had the same thing happen about two months ago. Once I patched it up, the bird hasn't been back. I followed this method with a slight modification https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDIEIjkIpDw When I cut the template, I used a 2" hole saw, and then used that to make a nice round hole in the side of my house. When I cut the plug, I used a 2-1/4" hole saw and then used my benchtop sander to shape it to a snug fit in the 2" hole. That way I didn't try to have to make filler with a bunch of glue, caulk or wood putty. Once it was cut and shaped, I filled the center hole with wood putty. Then primed, painted, pushed it into the hole in the wall, caulked the edges, and was done.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 20:37
|
|
|
Final Blog Entry posted:Comedy option, smart thermostat and put the app on your phone. Grandma or whoever can just call you and say "hi sweetie I'm cold can you please turn the temp up a few degrees?" Forcing grandma to beg for heat sounds horrible and hilarious at the same time
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 20:37
|
|
|
I expect one dollar for every degree of temperature to appear in my birthday card. The number is in your hands.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 20:40
|
|
|
Sash! posted:I expect one dollar for every degree of temperature to appear in my birthday card. The number is in your hands. And I'm measuring in Rankine.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 20:56
|
|
|
Sash! posted:I expect one dollar for every degree of temperature to appear in my birthday card. The number is in your hands. Enjoy an envelope full of $2 bills.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 20:57
|
|
|
I was thinking more to help Grandma because she can't see or operate the thermostat but yeah it does read more like elder abuse in hindsight
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 21:04
|
|
|
Final Blog Entry posted:I was thinking more to help Grandma because she can't see or operate the thermostat but yeah it does read more like elder abuse in hindsight More: do you really want to be tech support?
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2022 21:39
|
|
|
Do they make a clap on thermostat
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 00:51
|
|
|
Follow-up, I decided to test the kitchen water by doing a lot of dishwashing by hand tonight. The reaction seemed slower, but still present. I may have been imagining the slower, or it might have been from the lower average temp I was using to wash the dishes. Either way, it appears to be in three sinks and two showers in the apt. I'll look into pool places, though I am a little confused because if it's the chlorine, wouldn't I have reacted to swimming in chlorinated water as a child? I know allergies can develop with age, but this seems a little silly. I suppose I could always try the pool and see how I do, but I kinda dread that tbh. Perhaps if I travel somewhere, try a pool there to try to isolate the chlorine a bit?
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 02:18
|
|
|
Chaosfeather posted:Follow-up, I decided to test the kitchen water by doing a lot of dishwashing by hand tonight. The reaction seemed slower, but still present. I may have been imagining the slower, or it might have been from the lower average temp I was using to wash the dishes. Either way, it appears to be in three sinks and two showers in the apt. I'll look into pool places, though I am a little confused because if it's the chlorine, wouldn't I have reacted to swimming in chlorinated water as a child? I know allergies can develop with age, but this seems a little silly. There's nowhere near enough chlorine, flouride, etc in standard tap water to cause a reaction, if anything actually exists that you're having a reaction to it's something that's happened after the water has gone into your apt building pipes, or something not actually in the water but in your apartment. The best way to test this is probably for you to come over and wash all my dishes for 6 months and see if you get a reaction.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 02:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2024 14:56 |
|
|
The scientific method requires you to wash my dishes and take a shower at my house too
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2022 03:51
|
|
