How to clean crud between twin-wall poly???
brumor
13 years ago
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spogarden
13 years agoRelated Discussions
How Do You Clean Whirlpool Jets??
Comments (53)Thanks for the cleaning info...definitely trying the Cascade. I get crud in the jet fixtures and was looking for a good brush to clean with...needs bristles on the tip. Anyway, I just wanted to add that if you are going out of town for a while and the tub will not be used...fill it above the jets with 4 c. of bleach and run it for 10 minutes, then just leave the water in it while you are gone...if you have a house sitter, they can just run it for a few minutes to move the water through the pipes, but its not necessary. This stops the slime from growing in the pipes and it is ready to use upon your return with just a drain and a quick cleaning. Unfortunately I learned the hard way about black slime in the pipes...it took so long to get rid of...argh!...See MoreHow do you Clean?
Comments (31)So this thread came back to life. Sigh. Right now I have five rooms that are clean because I had weekend visitors last weekend. Unfortunately my bedroom is not included. I started cleaning out my winter clothes and making the big seasonal switchover. I pulled out all the winter clothes and weeded the things I'll never wear again, sent a big pile to the dry cleaner, but the rest are lying on the floor of my room. I started it in the morning, went off to do other things, went upstairs to go to bed only to find it buried under clothes. I neatly lifted them off and laid them on the floor where they still are a week later. I literally have a narrow path between my bed and the door. In the little time I have outside of work, I spend most of my time in the garden since there is a lot to accomplish out there before the very hot weather sets in. Maybe I'll leave the winter things on the floor until it's winter again. I'm sure that will be in the blink of an eye. Also, my spring/summer clothes shrank in the closet over the winter. How does that happen??...See MoreHow to clean hardwood floors after renovations?!
Comments (15)Hi Amina, Is it drywall dust or glue that's stuck between the boards? We underwent a major renovation of our new old house this past year...and I remember panicking when I saw the filth on my dark hardwood floors. A dry vac picked up all of the white dust that had settled between the boards. It was labour intensive work...I was on my hands and knees vacuuming every single hardwood edge. And then I swept again and once again was on my hands and knees with damp towels.. On the stairwell and second floor, our contractors had put protective covering on the floors to protect them. The glue from the covering was stuck on many areas, and, as Redroze suggested, we used rubbing alcohol to spot clean. It worked. Good luck,...See Morewater based poly and smell
Comments (28)@Brianna I do have this on another thread but thought it would be helpful here as well. Brianna, I'd love to hear how things went for you. Hopefully I can offer some additional insight as I am currently in this situation :( A quick side note, I am shocked that polyurethane brands, specifically Minwax, does not offer more of a warning about the longevity of "off-gassing." It is understandable to deal with a toxic smell during application and sometime after, but the lack of education/honesty about their product, to me is complete negligence. Especially when these brands are carried at DIY home improvement stores and are bought by "everyday homeowners" and not restricted to just professionals. To sum up my situation... I bought my house in June 2021. I immediately sanded and refinished my floors in the Minwax stain and Minwax fast drying polyurethane for INTERIOR use. I did one coat stain, 2 coats poly. I aired out my house for an entire month before moving in July. As everyone can assume, the smell as intense, a 10/10! When we moved in a month later, I would rate it an 8/10. I cannot stress this enough for people thinking about using poly....DONT USE POLY! The off-gassing is very real! All of your area rugs, your couch and soft fabrics will most definitely absorb the smell. And if you're like me, you will be washing/ cleaning constantly to get rid of it. I have always had a very fresh smelling home, and this "adventure" has consumed me for the past 6 months and has continued today. Today, I would rate the smell a 2/10. I ask everyone that comes into my house to rate the poly smell...yes, I'm that person. For those dealing with this, here are the methods I used: 1) AIR OUT YOUR HOUSE EVERYDAY! This is the most important. Create airflow by pulling air in and pushing air out using window box fans. I did this for 4 months straight. No Joke! Every room with 2 windows has an in and out fan. 2) I CLEANED MY FLOORS AT LEAST 4X A WEEK! I used my Shark floor steamer. I would fill a bottle with vinegar water and pour it on the floor, then go over with my steamer. I would repeat this with bleach water. This definitely helped neutralize the smell. I started this 1 week after the last poly coat. 3) AIR PURIFIERS! I used multiple methods, so not sure what has had the most effect. I have 2 CARBON FIBER air purifiers, which I leave on every day and turn the setting up on high at night. Carbon fiber absorbs VOCs. I also bought Activated charcoal fiber pellets and put them in mesh bags in closets and under furniture. Be sure you activate the charcoal by laying them in the sun for a few hours. Not sure if it actually works, but that's what I read. I have 2 Filtrete Smart Furnace filters which i taped to 2 box fans and let them run in the house as well. Air filters are expensive, and this does the same thing. This specific filter absorbs VOCs. These became very very black from absorbing the fine particles and worked awesome. I use a Berger Lamp ever so often and also would put baking soda and water in a small crockpot to neutralize the air. Please change your furnace filter often during this process. I went through 3 in 6 months. 4) WASH SOFT FABRICS AND FRESHEN AREA RUGS! It's important to wash any fabrics taht have been exposed to the poly smell. I have consistently washed curtains, couch pillows/blankets, clothes and bedding during the "off-gassing" process. I have most of my clothes and off-season items in totes to avoid the exposure. I spray fabrics that i cannot wash with a backing soda/ vinegar/ eucalyptus mixture. The area rugs that I do have down, I have been freshening up every month or 2 with a similar backing soda/ vinegar mixture in my carpet cleaner. Even sprinkling backing soda on your rugs and let it sit before vacuuming can be helpful. 5) USE CANDLES, WALL SCENTS, ETC... These can be helpful but the last thing you want to do is mask/mix these smells with poly. Your goal is to really purify and clean the air. Poly has a sort of "warm" smell so i stayed away from "warmer" smelling scents like vanilla or sugar. I found that fresh, minty smells did better. Eucalyptus, Spearmint, Solar Musk, Citrus, Herb and Floral smells worked best for me. 6) OZONE MACHINE If you use one of these, definitely do your research on how to properly run one. Not sure if it helped much with neutralizing the floor smell, but it did help neutralize fabric smells. These machines work amazing and can make a dent in the "off-gassing" smell. I used it weekly the first couple months. FYI: don't put them directly on the floor, I set it on a stool. It can leave a mark, so I'm told. Again, these can be harmful so do your researched! There may be other things I'm forgetting. I tried to simplify this while giving as much info as possible. I am glad to see the off gassing is coming to an end...hopefully and I can actually feel comfortable having people over. I will never use poly again on a project of this scale. Hope this helped someone! :)...See Morecalliope
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