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Home & Garden readers might also want to read Keep it Green, a gardening column by Michael Womack.

Saturday, September 29, 2001
Home and Garden Q&A

   Q. We have a small bathroom that has no windows or other means of ventilation. What can I do to help remove moisture and odors from the room?
   A. You can, and should, install a bathroom exhaust fan. Ventilation in a bathroom is important not only to remove odors, but to exhaust moisture, which can lead to such problems as mildew, peeling paint, and condensation on windows and cold surfaces.
   The fan must be vented to the outdoors, never into an attic or other room. The vent pipe, usually four inches in diameter, can be run through an attic, however. Fans are generally vented through the roof of the house, but if that is impractical, the fan can be vented through the bathroom wall.
   A popular type of exhaust fan combines the fan with a ceiling light, so that the fan comes on automatically when the light is turned on. Prices range from $20 to well over $100. Most fans include installation directions, but an electrician might be needed to install the wiring.
   Exhaust fans are rated by the volume (in cubic feet) of air they can change per minute, abbreviated as cfm. For a typical small bathroom with 40 or 50 square feet of floor space and an 8-foot ceiling, a 60-cfm fan is adequate. Larger bathrooms, often found in newer homes, require more power. As a rule of thumb, a bathroom with 100 square feet of floor space needs a fan with 110 cfm
   Q. I have a relatively new wood deck, never stained or sealed, and recently got several large grease stains on it while using a barbecue grill. How can I remove the stains without making a mess of the deck?
   A. Try blotting the stains lightly with a clean cloth moistened with mineral spirits (paint thinner). If that doesn't help, sanding is probably the best bet. Use a handheld belt sander fitted with 80-grit sandpaper. Wear a dust mask and goggles when sanding. Before working on the deck, practice sanding a couple of scrap boards. You want to use a light touch and extend the sanding beyond the stains, so as not to leave an obvious depression in the deck. The sanded areas will have a lighter appearance than the rest of the deck, but, in a few months, the wood will weather to a uniform color. When that happens, you should clean the deck with a regular deck cleaner and seal it.
   If you want to use a barbecue grill on a deck, it's a good idea to spread plastic sheeting under it to catch any grease. You can also place a piece of -inch-thick exterior plywood under the grill. If the plywood gets too messy, discard it and buy a new piece.
   Q. Some of the seams in our bedroom wallpaper have come loose. How do I fix this, and what would cause the seams to loosen? The wall was properly primed before the paper was installed.
   A. You should be able to fix the loose seams with wallpaper-repair adhesive, sold in toothpaste-type tubes at most home centers and wallpaper-supply stores. It will also pay to buy a wallpaper seam roller, a small tool with a wood roller that is used to press down the seams to make sure the adhesive has good contact with the wall. In fact, the seams might have come loose because they were not pressed down tightly enough.
   Be sure to read the directions on the adhesive tube carefully and follow them when fixing the seams. The tubes have a tapered nozzle that can get behind most loose seams; use a small artist's brush to get adhesive into tight places.
   Press down each seam firmly with the roller and immediately clean up any adhesive that is squeezed out.


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