Q-In very cold weather, we have trouble with the cold-water pipes under our kitchen sink and under the bathroom vanity at the back of the house freezing up during the night. This is an old house with no insulation in the outside walls, and both these pipes are on outside walls. Someone told me we could keep the pipes from freezing by allowing the water to run slowly all night, but we are reluctant to waste water in this manner. Is there a better way?
A-Yes, with insulation. I assume the water pipes are inside the sink cabinet and bathroom vanity, but that they are still accessible. If so, you can wrap those pipes with insulation to protect them against the cold from the outside walls. You can use foam-type insulation to spirally wrap the pipes and conserve heat.
This insulation comes in rolls and has a sticky backing that holds it in place once wrapped around the pipes. You can also use foam sleeves that come in tubular form and are sold for use on pipes. Each sleeve has a slit down one side that permits you to slip it on over the pipe from alongside.
It also might help to leave the cabinet doors open under each sink during very cold weather. This will allow heat from the rest of the room to warm the air around the pipes.
Vine residue
Q-I have had some type of vine climbing up the brick on the outside of the house for several years, but this year I decided to get it off. I did so with considerable difficulty, but there are still many tiny root hairs or bits of vine embedded in the brick. I tried grill cleaners and wire brushes but still have a lot of these little clinging root hairs left. Can you suggest anything?
A-Scraping and abrasion are the methods most often used, and they are generally the only safe and effective treatments I know of. Scrubbing down with a muriatic acid solution sometimes works, but it is potentially dangerous to your skin and eyes, and can harm plants or turf.
Burning the little embedded pieces off with a torch also works sometimes but, again, this can be dangerous and can cause the bricks to split if you are not careful.
Flaking paint
Q-Our house is more than 50 years old and has brick walls in the basement. Several times, we’ve scraped off flaking paint from the south wall, then patched with mortar and repainted. But within a year the bricks push up the paint and we have to go through the whole process again. Do you have a remedy for our problem?
A-When you say the bricks “push up the paint,” I assume you mean that paint flakes off, or seems to puff up and then flake off. If so, chances are your problem is caused by efflorescence in that wall, a condition where excess dampness leaches out white powdery salts that literally push the paint off the wall as they work their way out to the surface.
Your first step should be to eliminate the dampness in that wall. It may be that you need some footing drains installed at the base of that wall, or that you need a waterproof coating over the entire wall.
Also, make sure gutter downspouts carry water several feet away-or to an underground dry well-rather than allow roof water to soak into the ground next to that wall.
