Around the House: Cover roof turbine vents during the winter

Ken Moon. Gazette file photo.

Dear Ken: I have turbine vents on the roof. Should I cover them in the winter? It may help you to know that I have those gable vents in the side walls, too. — Paul

Answer: It's a good idea to wrap all the turbines with a plastic garbage bag and secure them with a bungee cord. Also, cover the most north-facing gable vent with a fiberglass furnace filter to keep wind-driven snow out of the attic But leave the others alone; you must allow some attic ventilation year-round to avoid moisture buildup in the attic.

These two steps will allow you to capture and hold on to more of the wintertime passive solar heat buildup. Even with the best insulation, some of that heat will leak into the house, saving you expensive gas heat.

PS: Don't forget to unblock all the vents in the spring.

Dear Ken: Our dishwasher has a stainless steel interior. Do you know of anything we can use to clean it? — Leanne

Answer: Check out the Affresh or Finish brands of dishwasher cleaner. Or try one of these: a paste of Dawn Liquid and baking soda, full-strength white vinegar or Barkeeper's Friend, an oxalic acid-based cleanser. Let me know.

Dear Ken: I have a gas fireplace with a blower. Is there any way I can recapture the heat pouring out of the chimney? — Earl

Answer: In a word, no. The thermodynamics of the situation require the fumes to be exhausted to the great outdoors. Besides, they may contain a little carbon monoxide, and you certainly don't want any part of re-circulating that dangerous gas back inside. You’ve done a good thing, though, by adding that blower. It alone can raise the efficiency of the gas log fireplace by maybe 15% to 20% or so. That's because it will continue to run until the box cools down, even if you’ve gone to bed. Without the blower motor, a lot more of that excess heat can leak outside through the chimney.

There is another vents-must-go-to-the outside corollary here that's also worth mentioning. Clothes dryers must be vented directly outdoors — not into a crawl space, garage, water bucket or nylon stocking (see below). Those arrangements add unwanted moisture and lint into the house. That can really gum up your furnace and water heater in no time, and besides, it will take a lot longer to dry a given load of clothes. Most folks have electric dryers, and that energy source is expensive enough already without adding additional, superfluous minutes to each cycle.

Dear Ken: Our newer range has dirt and streaks inside the oven door glass. How can I clean it? — Karen

Answer: There's no ideal answer to this, short of calling a service tech. The GE folks say not to do this yourself; it requires special tools and techniques to get the door apart and then to reassemble it so the self-clean feature works safely. When you bake or clean the oven, grease-laden vapor is carried into the space between the glass. When the oven cools, the vapor recondenses, leaving the streaks behind. So, they recommend that you periodically wipe away grease buildup inside the oven — especially before a self-clean cycle.

Dear Ken: Lately I’ve noticed a layer of suds in the bottom of my dishwasher. It doesn't seem to go away as the cycle continues. Any ideas? — Amy

Answer: I’m hearing about this more and more lately as people have started switched to dishwasher soap pods. They contain detergents and other compounds that aid in cleaning and scouring off tough food residues. But they also contain a rinse aid, so the water sheets off of your glassware and other dishes without leaving a film. And that may be where the trouble lies.

Your rinse aid dispenser may be contributing to the soapsuds buildup by chemically overloading the water reservoir. Drain the dispenser by leaving the fill cap off while running a short rinse and hold cycle. Then if your glassware comes out pristine and shiny after a complete wash, you know you can ignore the dispenser and let it sit empty.

Here's how to get rid of whatever soap residue you have now and start over. Run a cycle with the dishwasher rack removed; as it progresses, open the door and blot out the soap bubbles with an old bath towel. You could also try one of the following, added before a short cycle: nondairy coffee creamer, white vinegar, or table salt, any of which will help dissipate the foam.

Dear Ken: We now vent the dryer through some pantyhose. How can I install one to the outside? Do we need to go through the concrete? Or siding? — David

Answer: Try to get the new vent up into the floor joist space, so you only have to drill through wood on the way out; run the pipe to the closest outside wall. It's best to use only smooth, 4-inch galvanized pipe for this — it collects less lint over time. But if you need to angle up or bend around a corner, you could use short pieces of flexible aluminum duct for the transitions. Since this pipe is moderately restrictive, it will need to be checked and perhaps cleaned out two or three times a year. And remember that we don't use screws for dryer vent installation — just that sticky and shiny aluminum duct tape on the outside of the pipe. Why? Even small screws will grab and encourage lint accumulation.

Ken Moon is a home inspector in the Pikes Peak region. His radio show airs at 4 pm Saturdays on KRDO, FM 105.5 and AM 1240. Visit www.aroundthehouse.com.

Dear Ken: We had a furnace installed and you can hear the blower all over the house. Is this normal? — Jill

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