You would probably get more answers if you posted this separately, but I'll try to help if I can. First, you need to figure out why the leaves are turning yellow and brown. Peace lilies don't like constant wet soil, or dry soil, you have th find a happy medium since this plant like evenly semi moist soil at all times. A couple things to keep in mind. The pot should only be an inch larger than the root-ball, they like to be snug in their pot like many indoor plant do. Need for a good draining soil is essential. I like to add "Perlite" to the soil which helps with drainage. It can be found at any of the box stores like Lowe's. The leaves can burn in direct sun, keep it where it gets bright light, but no direct hot sun. When the top inch of the soil starts to feel close to dry, water the soil thoroughly spilling out any excess water out of the saucer. As far as fertilizing, use only half strength or less, too much can cause the roots to burn. Billy Rae

The soap probably helps the water penetrate dry soil better (it has a surfactant to break water tension and makes water "wetter.") I think it's similar to how they are adding things to potting soil to make the dry soil wick up moisture more readily. It's been my experience that when someone hasn't just completely over-watered, they've under-watered because the soil got dry and when the instructions say "water until you see it running out of the bottom of the pot" they don't take into consideration a dehydrated and hydrophobic soil cube. This causes the water to rush out through the path of least resistance and causes small wet spots and dry spots which is lethal. I just read a story on GW about an Aglaonema that just kept "trying to die" when in reality it was just trying to live and the person's watering regimen was just killing it.

The more open the air channels are, the more air it will move and the better it will work. If debris clogs up half the orifices, the pads may still look good but give inferior performance. Nick, this sounds like the performance of lungs which are "compromised"! --Stitz--

RC: I have been servicing his walk-behind mower every spring, and it works ok. I think he had his son using the tractor, and he probably gave it a cursory inspection (Is the seat dry? Is it wet? Are the wheels going around?) Probably pulled the dip-stick and saw lots of oil on it, and didn't second stick it after a wipe-off! And, it didn't look like anybody had oiled anything, nor cleaned the thing! TSK, TSK, TSK! (RJ)