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I love your radio show. Where are you located at the home show this weekend so I can talk to you about my remodeling plans?
How hot should your hot tub temp be at?
I have listened to you for years, I love your show and now I need your help. Can you recommend a waterproofing company in the Plymouth area? Thanks in advance for your help!
How often should I replace the filter in my furnace?
My hottub overflowed (by 7 teenagers) the florida room is starting to smell. I tried a wetvac when it happened but its still starting to smell moldy? Do i need to replace the carpet, and will i need to move the hottub?
Hi DL,
I will be located in the large room as you enter the main door for the expo. Please come over to my broadcasting area so I can say hello.
I have 15 interviews planed for the weekend; this should be a great learning time for all.
Murray
After a long day at work or watching the kids, it’s nice to be able to sit down and relax. It’s even nicer when the relaxation can be done in the comfort of a hot tub that you or your friend(s) own(s).
However, no matter how much you may ache (literally) for your hot tub time, safety should be at the forefront of your mind. Part of hot tub safety is knowing and maintaining the proper hot tub temperature. Below is a short but simple guide to what temperature is safe for hot tubs and what factors you should consider when setting the thermostat.
Recommendations
1. The official recommendation for hot tub temperature is 104 degrees F. Settings higher than 104 degrees F are believed to raise health risks because such high temperatures raise individual body temperature to levels higher than the body can tolerate safely. The 104 degree recommendation has led to most hot tub manufacturers putting controls on their hot tubs that do not allow the temperature to rise much, if at all, above 104 degrees F. Some manufacturers recommend not placing the temperature above 102 degrees F and claim that this temperature usually is satisfactory to most hot tub users.
Highest Temperature
2. Hot tub temperatures can feel higher or lower than the thermostat setting based on the individual’s preference. This has resulted in some individuals bypassing the 104 degree recommendation and turning the thermostat higher. Occasionally thermostats also malfunction and read incorrectly. Regardless of what the water temperature feels like, and no matter what the tub thermostat reads, hot tubs should never reach over 110 degrees F. At this temperature, the physical safety threshold is easily crossed.
Age
3. Age impacts what setting the hot tub thermostat should have. Adults generally can tolerate higher temperatures than young children can. This is because young children have a harder time adapting to temperature shifts than adults do.
Physical Condition
4. Physical conditions can impact how hot your hot tub should be. Extremely hot temperatures in tubs need to be avoided by pregnant women not because it is especially harmful to the woman, but because it can be harmful to the fetus. Similarly, those with heart conditions and hypertension should turn down their hot tub thermostats a bit from the recommended 104 degrees F because heat will raise blood pressure. This could lead to a stroke, heart attack or even death. Obesity is also another consideration, since obesity often is associated with higher blood pressure and because it can be harder for an overweight person’s body to stay cool.
Diet and Medications
5. Many medications, foods and drinks impact an individual’s internal body temperature and blood pressure. If an individual is on a medication or has eaten something that affects blood pressure, or if the individual has been drinking alcohol, the temperature of the hot tub should be set at a temperature lower than the recommended 104 degrees F.
Personal Tolerance
6. Not everyone’s internal body temperature is 98.6 degrees F. It is normal to run a degree or two higher or lower than this average. This means that, regardless of how much someone may weigh, he may be more or less affected by a particular temperature than someone else. Some people may feel like 100 degrees F is too hot, while some may not feel warm until the temperature in the tub is at the 104 degree recommendation. Hot tub temperature thus can be adjusted (within reason) according to the user’s preference.
Number of People
7. The more people in a hot tub, the cooler the water will feel. For this reason, an individual can turn up the thermostat a little if the number of people in the tub increases. She can turn down the thermostat if the number of people in the tub decreases…
You should change your standard furnace filter every 6-8 weeks. Use your own judgment, depending on your usage you may need to change it more often.
Never let the filter get clogged, as this can cut down on the efficiency and/or cause damage to the unit.
All filters are not created equal! A standard 1″ throw-away furnace filter will only trap about 5-10% of what passes through them. You can improve the efficiency of the filtration of your heating and/or cooling system by upgrading to either a media or electronic style filter.
A high efficiency filter can remove up to 98 % of airborne particles. By upgrading to a high efficiency air cleaner, you will also cut down on maintenance costs on the system since dirty systems are the #1 cause for malfunction.
Murray
i have wood privacy fence. would u have any idea what i could put between the planks of wood about a quater of an inch 2 get full privacy. thanks
Hi Murray-
I’d like your opinion on heating a breezeway. We have conventional gas furnace heating, however it soesn’t keep the room warm. Previosuly, we had a second furnace in the garage to heat this room, however that was very inefficient with the cold garage and the furnace had to work extra hard. Any simple options?
Hi Murray, your daughter and a friend of mine suggested I ask you to help me. My Doctor is convinced I have some type of mold in my house based upon lab results. I have a bungalow from 1952 and sleep upstairs which we all know is essentially an attic. I know this can be a very expensive endeavor and am trying to avoid being “taken” by people in the industry. I also want to avoid paying $500 to have someone make a diagnosis and then have to go to another company (probably one this company recommends) to fix it. I live in Dearborn and wondered if you can recommend a company that will provide me an honest diagnosis and if necessary a quality fix at a reasonable price. Thanks for your expertise.
Dear Murray,
A couple of years back you did a feature video story on a basement waterproofing company here in Metro Detroit who I ended up using. They did a fantastic job, were on the up and up and were honest about start and finish times. Overall a great experience. I just CAN’T remember the name of the company and I desperately want to refer them to someone else who I think is getting taken advantage of by another company who is infamous for ripping off consumers. Please help!
If this is any help…they dug around my house to the footings, installed new drain pipe and a heavy gauge black plastic with dimples on it. In the video they did the same thing. Thanks for your help! I am trying to save someone a whole bunch of money and stress.
Hi Murray,
I live in Sterling Hts. in a ranch home with finished basement. We would like to put a bathroom (toilet, shower and wash basin) in the storage room area of the basement. (storage area is large enough for this). I’ve been researching on line and came across a product called saniflow—www.saniflow.com. Are you familar with this product and is it reliable? According to website, there is no need to bust up the concrete when using this. Any guidance or suggestion or further info on this product would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. P.S. I would have an approved contractor install this so it would be correctly done.
Bob Jokerst
Is it a bad idea to replace a driveway in the winter?
Hi Murray,
I recently closed my remodeling buissness of 22 yrs. My question is — what is the statute of limitation for my suppliers, vendors and any trades to collect on debt. Also, I have been told conflicting answers on that if they did not file any liens or notice of furnishings on the properties, that they can not persue me for any old debt. I must also mention that I had to file personal bankrupsy.
please advise,
Thank You
Frank L.
Great text. I like your web page style also. proceed your great function.
What I dont comprehend is how youre not even a lot more popular than you might be now. Youre just so intelligent. You know so significantly about this topic, created me consider it from so many diverse angles. Its like men and women arent interested unless it has some thing to accomplish with Lady Gaga! Your stuffs great. Continue to keep it up!
I have a 3 year old Trex Deck that is showing signs of mold. “Black spots” what cleaning product would work best and easiest for the removal and care of the Trex Decking.
I have poured concrete walls in my basement. I have a leak at one of the beam pockets. It only leaks when there is a significant pooling of water between our home and the neighbors. The distance between houses is 17 feet. My side is five feet wide and the neighbors 12. There is a significant downslope on the neighbors side. There is little or no slope away from my house.
I plan on repairing this myself. I plan on excavating 2 feet of soil on either side of and below the beam pocket. Then covering the excavated areas with a waterproof sealer, installing some kind of protective membrane and covering the membrane with sealer. After drying or recommended waiting time I will replace the excavated soil and add topsoil to creat a bigger slope away from my house.
Is this the best way I can stop the leak and if not could you provide a better method? Also the names of products that will do the job.
Thanks,
I am planning to build a new home and have been reading about energy efficient features. What type of foundation would you recommend if we plan to heat the basement ad use it just like the main floor? I have read about ICF and superior walls but it is not clear what is best. Or is a standard poured foundation good enough.
Hi Kathy,
First I want to give you some easy to understand printed material from the EPA pertaining your real concerns. This subject troubles me more then most because; it can leave your family and your environment with long lasting bad effects on both.
http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.html
The plan that should be fallowed: Inspect, Test, Identify, and Remediate.
Black and other colors and other types of mold have been around us for literally millions of years, but in the past few years they have really gotten everyone’s attention. Because many people think the mold they see is toxic mold, they start to wonder what is the best way to tackle mold removal. You can remediate as a do-it-yourself job if the amount of mold is not too large and you have the proper equipment on hand.
With well over 30,000 known types of molds so you can see that even professional microbiologists could spend a lifetime trying to identify each one. Mold spores are already in everyone’s home, keep it dry, unless you happen to live in a house built like the sterile rooms like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where scientists wear special suits.
Mold spores are invisible to our eyes as they often are only 3 microns across. The smallest object the average person can see with the naked eye is often 50 microns or larger in size. The spores are actual seeds that sprout and grow into microscopic plants when they come into contact with water. They are everywhere in the average home just waiting for a food source and water.
Mold spores in your home must be in contact with an organic substance like food, dust, paper, cardboard, dirt, leather, etc. in order to grow. Surfaces such as ceramic tile and even stainless steel can have mold on them, but the mold is growing in and on a thin invisible layer of dirt, grease, oils, body skin cells, etc. As soon as the spores come into contact with water, the outer surface of the spore dissolves and starts to soften the organic material. Small roots grow out of the spore much like a regular plant into the softened organic food source.
Most molds need very little moisture to flourish while other molds need lots of water to quench their thirst. But when you consider how small the mold spores are, you can see it doesn’t take much water to get them to grow. In fact, the water needed to start and support the mold’s life cycle can be an invisible fog of tiny water droplets that are also invisible to your eyes. This is why people have so much trouble controlling mold growth in bathrooms such as yours. When you take a steamy shower you see the mirror fog up. This same fog covers the ceiling and walls as well and is the water needed to fuel the growth of the pesky mold.
Bathrooms should have powerful fans that duct the humid air to the exterior of your home, out of you building shell, including the attic.
After you have bathed, tub and shower walls and shower doors should be squeegeed down to direct as much liquid water as possible to the drain. Bathroom shower curtains need to be shaken to remove as much water as possible. Leave your shower door, shower curtain and bathroom door open when you leave the room. You want all surfaces to dry out as rapidly as possible.
These guidelines of do-it-yourself cleanup as stated by the Environmental Protection Agency for areas under 10 sq ft, larger surface areas it might be necessary to call in a professional that works with special protective clothing and breathing apparatus and is able to minimize or eliminate the spread of mold spores throughout the rest of the house.
It is very wise to wear an N-95 respirator when cleaning mold. The cleaning process can liberate additional mold spores into the air that can cause mold to spread and more importantly, create health risks to those people who are allergic to that particular mold.
It is a good idea to lightly mist the area to be cleaned with a biocide solution such as regular chlorine bleach and water before you start to clean it. Wear rubber gloves and goggles that do not have ventilation holes. You want to avoid getting mold on your skin and in your eyes and all over your clothes.
A large fan to the outside should be used in the room you are cleaning to exhaust mold spores outdoors. Imagine the air being filled with smoke. The air will be filled with mold spores as you disturb the surface you are cleaning, so try to exhaust as many spores as possible outdoors.
Rinse all cleaning tools, immediately after cleaning and wash all clothes immediately so they do not grow mold in the clothes basket. Dry all cleaned surfaces with rags, paper towels or a fan. Remember, the key to stopping mold growth in its tracks is to prevent water from getting on any interior surfaces of your home.
Good luck,
Murray
Local Mold Resources: Inspect, Test, Identify, and Remediation
MUST BE LICENSED BY THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
Mold Experts of Michigan, (888) 950-6653
Proteck Environmental, (888) 677-2366
Healthy Homes, (248) 358-3311
Hi Murray,
I recently bought a ranch style home in Clinton Twp., with a poured basement featuring a brick wall and fireplace. The basement has had its water issues mostly from leaky rod holes which have been repaired except behind the 17ft wide brick wall. Water is leaking through the backwall of the firebox and in multiple areas where most likely rod holes are during moderate to heavy rain. Outside, this back side of the home doesn’t have a gutter going across ( chimney area) but I have some downspouts located on each side of the area that are not extended outward. I am hesitate to go all out and excavate/waterproof the outside wall of the foundation. I feel to solve this matter I perform a few water tests (flooding with hose) and start with a trial and error approach to attempt to get the water away from the home. First by assessing the slope and extending the downspouts underground away from the home. I also have been doing alot of research regarding french drains. I would like to know if you think it would be a good start to install a french drain across the back of the home where the water issues are happening in the basement (possibly around most of the home), linking it to the downspouts and run the pipe outward away from the home under ground? I am quite the DIYer but do you have any local companies you recommend if I decide to go with the external waterproofing? I look forward to your reply.
I love what I do, that’s what everone should do to keep it real.
Thanks
Murray
Hi Andy,
I’m sorry to report there out of business. I don’t know exactly what happened; I think they got mixed up with a marketing company that gave bad advice. I tried to turn them around but it was to late.
Some times people feel it’s everyone else’s fault, except in this case, I felt the marketing company was way out of line to spread his resources to thin, and I can only say I begged him not to listen to the other company and let me help him stay in business. I try to help everyone.
Every day everyone should make it a point, to Pay it Forward!
I still feel real bad about Steve. I have other companies I feel are as good and care about the customer, please have your friend call or email me ASAP.
Regards,
Murray
Thanks for your comment. That’s what its all about, helping to make a better place to be part of. A little work never hart anyone, it only makes a better day for someone else.
Thanks,
Murray Gula
Need guidance in getting mailbox post reset. It was set in cement 5 years ago. Over that time, it has tilted forward the street. It needs to be set upright. Is this a costly repair? Any suggestions? HELP!!!!!!!
C. Thomas
I have been hearing a lot lately about Liquid Rubber Siding. Are you familiar with this and if so do you have any insight or recommendations
Our furnace makes some loud banging sounds at about 25 degrees and lower when the furnace pilot comes on before the blower. Is there anything I can do to stop this?
Murray,
I hope you can help. Our house is roughly 45 years old and we have a high water table and when it rains hard we get a temporary pooling of water at the far end of our back yard. We have water coming into the basement from the wall where the front of our house and garage meet. We had the drain snaked and were told we may have a broken tile because the snake could not be advanced further in the drain because the camera only showed mud. The person who came out talked about digging the area up to look for a broken tile. I’m not keen about having my yard dug up when we are not really sure of what we are looking for. This is not just a small annoying leak. We have to use the wet dry shop vac twice a day to keep the water localized to one area of the basement. Can you suggest a methodical way that we might go about definitely establishing the source of the leak and how we might go about fixing it? We don’t know where to start or reputable businesses to call should we need to call someone in to do the work. We live in Genesee County.
I was trying to get a home loan from my
Chase bank. But I was denied. So the Chase
bank sent me to Quicken Loans. So since the
chase denied me on a FHA loan with 3 1/2 % down
But Quicken said the could Do the loan . And then 3 weeks
later Quicken Loans said the FHA case # was already denied
and they couldn’t do it.
Although I was not denied through Quicken Loans
for A 50,000 loan. It was the FHA case # that caused me
to not get the house I wanted.
I would have to wait 6 months for another FHA 3 1/2 % down
But I do have 20% to put down on a loan for 30,000
or less. Do you know where I can get a loan for 30,0000 or less
and if so what is the average rate I should pay for a personal loan
like that.
This all has happened to me since my first close was supposed to be
March 5th. 2011 And the second close was supposed to be on March 25th 2011
I see most of the loans start around 50,000 . Why is it so hard to get a loan for 25,000
to 30,000. Ok if you know any info where I can get a loan for 25,000 to 30,000
I live in Detroit metro area. Ok thanks let me know
Hello Murray: My son needs to rebuild a deck on his property in Indian River. It was destroyed by the weather last year & had to be torn down. Is there a person or company in the Indian River area that you could recommend to call. We are going up there April 2 and would like to get some quotes for this project.
Thank you
Murray, I was listening to your show and heard you talking about saving energy by insulating the space above the basement walls in the basement. I was wondering if i should seal the space between the top of the basement wall and the sill board that lays on top of the wall? If I do what should i use to seal it? Will this help to keep spiders out of my home also? Thanks
CORRECTION-Husband states water coming in where basement floor and wall meet.
Good Afternoon,
My mother is interested in selling her house without a real estate agent. She recently had a neighbor’s tree fall and damage the roof. This is being repaired but before it is placed on the market, she would like to make sure there isn’t any additional damage. Should she hire an inspector? If so, can you recommend one? Lastly, what’s the average cost for something like this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
-Kristen
I am looking for a home security system and locksmith for my home. I live in the Trenton area, but I would like a recommendation for a company outside of this area.
I am having problems with water coming into my basment. What do you recommend?
I am looking for a company that could do some porch work for me. Who do you recommend?
hi murray, I was listenimg to the show on saturday april 9 on basement resoration. Great tips but unfortunately i missed some of them. Could you please give me all the tips again so i can go over them with my contractor. Great show you’re giving a great service to all of us that care for our homes but know little to do so
Basement water problem / Lincoln Park
Mr.Gula
I spoke to you on the radio Sat. concering mold in the attic and ice damming.I have had people come out and want to spray cellulose over present insulation,open up the soffit vents and install a motorized fan after they have cleaned the mold.I am not “sold” on this fan.You suggested that I contact Dana Engery. You also asked that i Email you and you would possibly have some other contractors that you could suggest.
I really enjoyed our conversation and leard a lot.
Thank You
Gil Greytok Livonia
I was wondering what the name of the roof cleaner you have mentioned before to clean shingles that have algae. thanks
Hi Eileen,
The name is Spray and Forget. Should be available at the Ace Stores.
http://www.sprayandforget.com/ (832) 295-1430
Good Luck
Murray
Where can I find someone to install a tube skylight in my home in Shelby Twp.Mi
Mr.Gula
I spoke with you on Bob Allisson’s program on friday concerning conversion of a gas latern to electric. Budget Electric does not do it. You had some other suggestions but were on a cell phoneand did not have numbers at that time. I will also try and get you on Sat. on 1130 radio.
Thank You Gil Greytok Livonia
hi murray-how do i ground an outside tv antenna?
Grounding outdoor antennas
For TVs, the main benefit of grounding is lightning protection. Lightning is a powerful radio wave generator and any elevated wire is an antenna for it. A lightning strike in your neighborhood can generate hundreds of volts, even thousands, on the coaxial line. These voltages can damage your equipment. (This is also called electromagnetic pulse, EMP.)
To reduce these voltages the antenna cable should have a grounding block (Radio Shack 15-923) at the point where it enters the house, and that grounding block should be wired to a ground rod driven into the ground as close as possible to the grounding block. An effective ground rod is one driven deep enough to reach into moist soil.
The ground rod should also connect to the mast via a heavy wire. #8 aluminum wire is readily available for this. Ground wires should be as short and straight as possible. Turns should be curves with a 6-inch radius. Ground wires do not need insulation.
Some people will tell you “Don’t ground the coax. That just makes the antenna a lightning rod”. But the coax is already grounded through your receiver’s power cord, so you can’t prevent it from being a lightning rod. All you can control is how much of your house the high current will go through before it reaches the ground.
Another advantage: Appliance RF noise can travel up the outside of the coaxial cable to the antenna, and then back down on the inside to interfere with reception. The grounding method described above will often eliminate that.
The grounding method described above conforms fully to Channel Master recommendations. It does not fully conform to NFPA recommendations.
The NEC requirement
The National Electrical Codes (document NFPA 70) requires another wire be added to the grounding described above.
This 6-gauge wire, shown in red, connects the new ground rod to the breaker box (typically). This wire will help absorb the lower frequency components of a direct strike.
If this seems like too much work for too little benefit, don’t be discouraged from at least installing the ground rod. But if your antenna is situated where a direct strike is likely then installing this wire is strongly advised. The wire should run close to the ground so that side flashes will likely arc to the ground.
It is OK to run this wire around the exterior of the building. In this case keeping the wire 6” to 12” above ground is best. The length of this wire is less important, but turns should still be curves of large radius.
(4-gauge aluminum can be used for this wire, but the rules forbid bare aluminum within 18 inches of the ground outdoors.)
Winegard and others recommend putting the antenna near the breaker box so that the house ground rod can ground the antenna. But this author considers that to be overly risky, as does Channel Master.
Many people have been killed when their antenna fell into the power lines. (Also power lines can interfere with TV reception.)
Some additional NEC rules
1. Do not attach an antenna to the power line service entrance power mast. Outside the building, the antenna coaxial and grounding wires shall not come closer than:
a. 2 feet from exterior power lines of 250 Volts or less.
b. 10 feet from exterior power lines of greater than 250 Volts.
c. 1 foot from underground power lines.
d. 6 feet from lightning rod wires.
(Although these are safety rules, they also reduce the pickup of appliance noise.)
2. If the antenna mast or wires come within 5 feet of a swimming pool, they must be bonded to the pool’s bonding grid.
3. Grounding wires and grounding blocks are permitted to be interior to the building. (An interior ground rod might be in soil too dry to conduct much.)
4. Grounding connections must be constructed so that they will not come loose or corrode away. (Any connection joining two different kinds of metal will corrode very rapidly if the connection can get wet.)
5. An interior cold water pipe is acceptable as a ground rod if the connection point is within 5 feet of where the pipe enters the ground.
(You must verify that the underground water line is not plastic.)
6. Indoor antennas (including attic antennas) are not generally susceptible to direct strikes. In such cases a grounding block is not required by the rules, but is probably a good idea when the cable is longer than 30 feet.
There is nothing that you can do to guarantee that your electronics will survive a direct strike. If you have any uncertainty about a safety issue, seek the advice of a registered electrician.