Evening star., 1942-04-04
First Aid
For the
AHingHouse
BY ROGER B. WHITMAN.

wallpaper with caSeln paint, but am
told that if I wish to paper the
rooms next year it could not be done,
for the casein paint would prevent
the present paper from being taken
of. Is the casein paint really water
proof?
A. Casein paint is waterproof to
the extent that water will not take
IL of. But 1t Is absorbent, and
when well soaked with water, the
paper underneath would. I believe,
become loosened. OF course, the
quality of the paint and of the paper
would make difference, but I think
that you would be safe in going
ahead,
! Watering the Furnace.
iQ. Water vas heard coming down
between the walls of my fiat, and in
the basement I found water dripping
from all the pipes leading from the
hot-air furnace to the second-hoor
apartment. On asking the tenant
what she was doing, she explained
that she was pouring buckets of
water into each register to clean out
the pipes, because of the dust that
was coming into them. BY doing this
has she damaged the furnace and
the pipes? AS the pipes are tin, will
they rust? Did the water go into
the furnace?
A. That certainly was a most i'm
Proper way to attempt to clean out
the pipes. However as the system
was warm, the water that remained
ln the pipes would quickly evaporate.
Some might get into the furnace,
but 1t would be only into the air
jacket, and I should think would
quickly soak through the floor and
be absorbed.
Plywood Floor.
q. My kitchen floor is plywood.
The builder says it was well nailed,
nut to me it seems loose, with a
vibration and knock. Should the
noor have been glued down?
- A. Plywood Is not satisfactory as
1loor1ng material, for the surface is
likely to scuff and splinter with use.
Gluing should not be necessary. It
should be quite enough to nail the
hoor1ng solidly to the beams. Ply
wood is an excellent base for limo
leum and, if properly laid, there
should be no trouble.
Cleaning Asbestos Shingles.
Q. We have white asbestos shin
giles on our house. They are get
ting very dirty. and we were won
derlng If there would be any way to
clean them.
A. Scrub the walls with a long
handled brush. using handful of
trisodium phosphate in a bucket of
water. Grocers sell this chemical
under various trade names. Rinse
OF with your garden hose.
Frozen Leaders.
@. Because of the last heavy
snowfall, the leaders over my
open-type front porch froze, and
when the snow melted, caused a
downpour of water to leak through
the floor of the porch and into the
cellar. Three weeks ago I used a
roofing compound of tar and filled
in all the cracks possible under the
porch. This evidently was not suf-
f1cient. Could you suggest method
that can waterproof the porch floor?
A. One method Is to fill in
all cracks, crevices and openings
with roofing cement, especially the
joint between the wall and the, sur
face of the porch floor (not the un-
derside). Leader pipes can be kept |
from freezing by the installation of |
a ball-shaped unit in the top OPEN
ing. Your roofer should be able to |
supply it.
Damaged Linoleum.
@. Blue linoleum has been dam
aged by an alkaline drain cleaner. !
How can this be neutralized?
A. The alkali has eaten into
the linoleum, which cannot be re-
stored. Get new piece of linoleum
of the same pattern, big enough to
cover the spot; lay it over the dam
aged place with the pattern match
ing, and cut through both layers
with very sharp knife. Remove the
old piece, Scrape the floor clean and
inlay the new piece with roofing ce-
msnt softened by heating. Smears
on the surface can be taken off with
turpentine. If you cannot get a new
piece of the same pattern, you can
get an ornamental square or panel
that will do the trick.
Cakes Stick to Griddle.
@. bought an electric chafing
dish with a griddle for pancakes.
I was told that if I put olive oil
on the griddle and heated it, the
cakes would not stick. did so, but
the cakes stick. What should I do?
A. Clean the griddle thoroughly
and wipe again with olive oil. 1t
Is my guess that you are skimping
where you bought the griddle should
be able to give you any further in
structionS necessary.
Septic Tank Drain.
@. All cur drain pipes run into
the septic tank. I recently heard
that the kitchen sink drain should
not be connected to the tank
because of possible damage from
soapsuds and drain cleaning COM
pounds. Is this true?
A. For best results the kitchen
sink should be connected to a
septic tank through a separate
drain pipe provided with a grease
trap. This trap will separate the
grease from the rest of the drain
age and you will not need to use a
drain cleaning compound. Also, the
operation of the septic tank will be