Mar 29, 2014 6 min read

Q. I bought my house in 2008 (it was built in 1977) and was told by home inspector there was some mold in the attic due to the lack of a bathroom vent in second-floor bath. I had a vent put in immediately. I recently went into the attic and found most of the insulation moldy on top and the bathroom area very moldy but very hard to reach (near soffit/eave area). So, my plan to scrub and clean seemed impossible.

Where do I start? New insulation? Is there a spray-only solution to mold?

A. Does that new bathroom vent exhaust to the outdoors? If not, make sure it does so. If the insulation is just lying on the attic floor, that is most of your problem, because all that mold is due to lack of ventilation. I suggest you put in a ridge vent and also proper soffit vents. The soffit is the under side of the roof overhang, and the correct vent is a 2-inch-wide screened strip going the full length of each soffit.

To kill the mold, mix 1 part bleach and 3 parts water, and apply to the mold areas. I think the moldy insulation should be replaced because it is difficult even to spray a bleach solution to the insulation. Ready-made mold killers just don’t work for me.

Q. Our dining room light is on a dimmer but not one that can be used for LED bulbs. Is it feasible for my husband (76 years old) to change it or should we get an electrician?

A. Your husband is an intrepid warrior, but if you have to ask, then have an electrician do it.

Q. We have an office that is connected to a three-season room by an average glass-paneled interior door. The office is colder than other rooms and a bit drafty.

This has been fine up until now but it will soon become a baby room. Should we replace the door with an exterior one or is it possible to protect the room from the cold by weatherstripping? If the former, any recommendations on what door would work?

A. That three-season porch is essentially outdoors, and an interior door with glass and no weatherstripping is not going to cut it. Take the door out and buy an exterior setup door which will work well. It’s as complete a door that you will ever get. Brosco is a good brand.

For your purpose, I suggest a wood door, with high windows. If the office has any heat in it, you will be all set.

Q. My Formica counter tops are in good shape, but a little dull. Is there any way to polish them and sort of restore them?

A. Surely there is some kind of polish to perk up the tops. But here’s an idea. There is a polish used for tire sidewalls, which I forget the name of. Check for it at a hardware or auto supply store. It might work equally well on your tops.

Q. Our master bedroom was originally an outdoor carport that was enclosed. The floor of the carport is brick. These are full bricks (not pavers) and are not sealed. There was new carpet laid over that brick. We had horrible issues with moisture coming up through the brick and molding the carpet.

We ripped out the carpet and are stuck as to how to proceed. There is no moisture barrier between the concrete slab and the brick, as it was not originally intended to be an indoor space.

We have left the brick exposed for about two months to let it “air out.” However, when we put down one small area rug, mold formed under it in just a week’s time.

Many of the bricks around the edges are so wet they crumble when poked with something sharp.

One flooring expert advised that we should not seal the brick and cover it with a no-glaze ceramic tile with a large (1/4-inch) grout so that the floor can breathe. But another expert said the glue for the tile would never properly dry and we would likely have tiles popping up and grout cracking.

Another advised against sealing the brick because the moisture will likely spread to the outer edges and destroy baseboards and Sheetrock. He said moisture will eventually form under the seal, causing a whitish/cloudy appearance on the brick surface.

Yet another expert suggested we do seal the brick and then lay a “floating” laminate floor such as a wood laminate that has pieces that lock into place. The best option would be to remove the brick flooring and start from scratch by preparing the subfloor properly. But this is a very expensive option and one that will have us out of our bedroom for a long time.

Do you have suggestions?

A. All those experts listed the correct problems of the inability to stop the rising damp (an English term for water vapor rising from the ground and through slab and brick). But their solutions will not work. You wisely checked again by placing a small rug on the brick, which confirmed the rising damp.

Your describing the brick crumbling from a sharp blow when wet made me believe the bricks are very old and soft in the first place. If you ever want to enjoy that room, you have to do what you said is a very expensive option. And that is to pick up the bricks and use them for another purpose. If the slab is intact, put down 6-mil polyethylene as a vapor barrier, with a foot or so going up walls). Then pour a 4-inch slab and install large ceramic tiles with thin-set mortar.

You can put down area rugs if you like. If everything works as it’s supposed to, you will get no moisture coming up from the ground.

Q. I have black slate around my fireplace, but it’s dull. Is there any way to make it shine?

A. You’re maybe too young to remember blackboards, which were slate in my time, long ago. They were black, and had no shine, so be content it’s the way slate is supposed to look.

If you want it to shine, paint the slate with a clear sealer.

Q. How can I clean plastic lawn chairs, especially of bird waste?

A. Count the ways: a strong detergent and water solution, plus a cup of bleach, left for a minute or two on the chair, scrub, and rinse. Rub with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.