Great Questions from the Website
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Looks like y’all are all working on projects inside the house. I had a tremendous response from last week's column about our book, The Best of Johnnie Chuoke Vol.14, and if you missed it and you would like a book for the “handyman” in your home you can check it out on the website, www.happyhandyman.com. We also post the previous articles and so if you miss one, it’s on the site. If you want the article delivered to your email, just sign up on the website! If you can’t find the products I write about, call me at the store, 210-341-1573. Now to the questions, I hope one hits home with you.
Question: I am a part of a weekly carpool in my neighborhood. Little did I know that all those teenagers come with all the trash from their snacks. I love these kids but wish I wasn’t cleaning up all the wrappers. Do you have any tip on keeping the car neater?
Answer: Yes, I do! It’s called Tossits and here is why I think it works better than just keeping random trash bags in the car. Tossits attaches to the head rest of any vehicle with an elastic bungee strap, so it stays conveniently out of the way and off the floor of the car. Tossits come in packs of 7 bags so that if you fill one, you have another one immediately available. They hold more trash than most car trash bags. They entirely seal up and stop odors in the car. If, unfortunately, someone gets sick, they can be used as a sickness bag. Attaching a set to the back of the passenger side headrest will help keep your vehicle neater. I just bought a car, and the first thing I did was attach my Tossits to the back of the headrest. I went on a road trip to Alpine this last week and my car was not littered with trash from traveling. I found these at a National Hardware Show one year and always keep them in stock.
Question: I have foot and knee pain from old injuries and arthritis, but I love to run. There are so many products out there that claim to help, but the ingredients that are in them bother my skin. I know you have discussed out some products, like Medline and Two Old Goats, but do you know of a product line that has only natural ingredients?
Answer: There is a line called Naturulz that completely made from natural ingredients. They are several products, but the ones I keep in stock are Ultimate Healing Cream and Total Foot Repair. Made from all natural ingredients including Arnica, Chili Pepper, and Ginger with no waxes. Made with coconut oil it will immediately melt into the skin to relieve pain and soreness. And the nice part, you can use it as much as you like. Most of my customers will use it twice a day. If you like a firmer product, keep it in the refrigerator. The Total Foot Repair is relief for neuropathy, poor circulation and dry skin. I like it because it doesn’t have any alcohols in it that will dry out my skin. If you have someone that suffers with athletes' foot, this is a good answer for the itching.
Question: I love to antique and then re-home my finds. I find so many chairs that have loose joints and as much as I like antiques, I don’t love spending a lot of time repairing them. I recently bought a set of 4 chairs, that are very pretty however the spindles are very loose. The person I bought them from gave me a good deal but said I would have to re-glue and clamp the joints to make the repairs. It seems like I remember you talking about a product that would stabilize the joints without taking them apart?
Answer: That product is called Tite Chairs. It’s the repair solution that fixes all wooden joint problems. Just apply a few drops of Tite Chairs into the loose joint. It doesn’t swell the wood but it’s an extremely strong adhesive that is thin like water. That thin consistency of the glue allows you to put the product deep into the joint of the loose chair. It also works great on loose tool handles, staircase spindles and drawer dovetail joints.