Q: My 3-year-old has been stuffing paper towels in the toilet – what a mess! I plunged the towels down the toilet drain, then smelled an awful smell and found sewage and some towels in the bathtub drain. What should I do? – Desperate
A: Ah, kids, ain’t they grand? As for the drains, start cleaning them out. I think the towels backed into the bathtub drain from your vigorous plunging, bringing the sewage with it. Try snaking out that bathtub drain with a plumber’s auger. You can insert the auger (snake) into the overflow lever in the tub; unscrew the cap over the lever, and pull it right out.
Clean it with bleach and stick the snake into this space. Then put a cup of bleach in the drain and let it sit for an hour or so. Next, open the taps and everything will go down. At night, put another cup of bleach into the tub drain and leave it overnight. The bleach will help dissolve the towels and help disinfect the drain.
This must be said: Wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach.
Q: The windows in my steel security doors steam up badly in winter. How can I prevent or reduce condensation?
– Another desperate caller
A: Never fear, it can be fixed. Build a wood frame big enough to cover the window, and screw a piece of 1/2 to 3/4-inch or thicker acrylic (Plexiglas) on the frame. Mount the frame over the window on the inside with an adhesive caulk, which will not only hold like crazy but will seal the connection so there will be no air leaks. You still might get some condensation, but it is likely to be less. Or build another framed acrylic window on the outside, too.
