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Q:
I live in a condo and recently had my carpet pulled up,
plywood put down, and then tile on top in my master bath
dressing room.
After
six months, the grout in the upper area began to crumble
and came out. The tile man came back and re-grouted the
area. He does not know why it is happening; there was no
water leakage.
Now
it is happening again in the same area. The tile man has
25 years experience and came highly recommended.
Can
you offer some advice?
A:
I’d probably blame the plywood used as the
underlayment. If it wasn’t properly anchored to the
joists, there might be enough give in it that when you
walk on it, the grout gets loosened, even if the tiles
are in solid.
I
put down exterior plywood once as underlayment for tile,
but I used drywall screws to anchor it to the joists and
the flooring underneath.
I
prefer Durock or other kind of cement board as
underlayment — again properly anchored.
———
Q:
A few months ago, you mentioned cleaning shower stalls
and referred to a "shower spray," but I don’t
believe you mentioned what exactly it was.
I
have tried everything on the market, as well as homemade
concoctions to get the film off of the fiberglass walls
(they are sort of a ripply plastic material on two sides
and then tile on the other two sides), with no luck.
What
did you use?
A:
It is something called Method Daily Shower, and I found
it at Target.
The
trick to keeping anything clean is to do it every day
— something I picked up when I interviewed Don Aslett,
the "Don Juan of the John" — back in 1997.
"The
biggest secret to cleaning is the word ‘now,’"
Aslett told me. "But most people wait till
Saturday. Men won’t do the dishes. They’ll let them
pile high in the sink until they run out of them."
Then
they buy paper plates.
"You
know why the restrooms at Santa Anita Racetrack are
cleaner than most home bathrooms?" he asked.
"Because the cleaning people are at it all the
time. They get in there and wipe the toilets and the
sinks and disinfect, and they’re out in no time."
The
point is that when you let cleaning the shower glass and
tile go for a month, you have to spend a lot of time and
energy cleaning it when you get to it.
Spray
every day. If you don’t, and the shower stall glass
won’t respond to the Windex variety of cleaners, try a
lime scale remover.
———
Q:
Could you please tell me what to use to seal my granite?
You have mentioned you seal your granite every year but
did not mention how to do this or what products to use.
We
have had our granite for a few years now and never have
sealed it since it was installed.
This
information would be very helpful.
A:
Apparently I’ve been lax about giving you the whole
story. So here goes:
It’s
called Goddard’s Granite and Marble Polish, it costs
$3.49 for a 240 ml bottle, lasts for years, and is
available at the hardware store.
You
do it every year. Not only does it polish, but it seals
and protects against stains and water spotting and doesn’t
yellow.
I’ve
been using it for 11 years, since I bought the house,
and the granite looks as good as the day we moved in.
Goddard’s
also works on other surfaces.
Remember,
I’m not into free advertising nor recommending
products, contractors and repair people. Your
experiences with them might not be the same as mine.
Time
has taught me to limit advice to the kinds of products
that might work for you or types of professionals you
should contact who might be able to help solve your
problems.
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