Reminiscing with Dad
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Sometimes I like to get out Dad’s older articles and read them. I get real inspiration from looking over his articles. I have big conversations with Dad telling him how much has changed. Or I laugh and tell him that a product is still the best 10 years later. And then I came across this article that he wrote almost 12 years ago. The message is still real, and I thought I would share it with you, his readers. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.
I had already had an article written, and then I realized this is the article before Christmas and I wanted it to be special. I know everyone is hurrying around buying gifts for family and friends. I started thinking about the reason we buy gifts, because we love our family and our friends. And giving gifts is one way that we show that love. The size of the gift is not what is important. It's the remembering that is important. Life has a way of keeping us busy. So busy that we forget friends that we used to have. We forget how much we cared for them; how much fun we had with them. And that's the nice part about Christmas, we reach out to each other and show love. Love that was shown to us, love we should share. You never realize how important that small act of love and kindness can be to someone at this time of the year. Merry Christmas to your family...from ours.
Now, to the email…...
Question: I have some rental property, and they have cultured marble tops. Well, my last renter left burn marks on the marble from his cigarette. I am just floored – is there anything to remove the burn mark?
Answer: Well... not really. But we could try and disguise it as best as we could. Clean the top with some Gel Gloss or a Stone Cleaner from Stonetech. After the top is clean, try a product that we usually use on grout. It’s called Grout Aid. Just feather it in on the burn mark. Use thin strokes and then build up. You might have to touch it up every once and a while- but short of replacing the top- this is the best of which I can think.
Question: We live close to you and have some concrete that has effervescence staining around our pool. We have tried muriatic acid and the Acid Magic that you suggested but nothing has budged the stains. Do you have another suggestion?
Answer: Oh gosh, I feel bad that Acid Magic didn’t work. But I have a Plan B. I did a deep dive into old volumes of “The Best of Johnnie Chuoke" and I came across an article where the question was about effervescence and the answer was Drylok Concrete and Masonry Etch and Cleaner. Whew, I feel better. Dissolve 12 ounces in a gallon of water. Scrub with a stiff brush and let it sit on the surface for 20-30 minutes. Then rinse with clear water. You will get 300 square feet of cleaning coverage. Let me send it to you and you try and see if it fixes the problem. It’s a dry powder, so it has a great shelf life.
Question: I just had a fence built and it looks beautiful. But the latch that the contractor installed doesn’t open from both sides, so if you are inside, you can’t open the fence. So, I want to fix this myself instead of calling the contractor back. I have a slide latch, what kind of latch should I get that will work from both sides?
Answer: Go to your hardware store and look for a National Self Closing Latch. They come in several finishes. They make one that is also self-adjusting that will give you a ½ inch of gate sag. Then look for a Gate Latch Cable and attach that to lift the latch from the inside. You can do this, great question!
Question: I have scratch marks on my white porcelain sink that happened when we had Thanksgiving. Now I don’t know how to remove them. I don’t want to use anything too aggressive so that it doesn’t mar the sink, but these black marks have to go.
Answer: Use Delete Germ and a Scotchbrite scrubby sponge. Put a stream of Delete Germ on the stain and immediately start cleaning. Then rinse thoroughly.