Jury is out on electronic, salt-free water softeners
SALT-FREE WATER SOFTENERS
Q What’s your opinion of electronic, salt-free, water softening systems?
A I’ve tried electronic salt-free water softeners a couple of times in the past for several months each time and I noticed no difference in the buildup of scale in our kettle, faucets and shower doors.
We have moderately hard water at my house (about 16 grains of hardness,) and the systems I tried made no difference that I could see.
The manufacturers of electronic systems don’t claim their technology will remove dissolved minerals from water like salttype water softeners do, but they do claim to prevent the buildup of minerals on surfaces.
I haven’t been able to find an official review of salt-free electronic water softener technology from an independent authority, but some people seem to feel there’s an improvement in their situation.
This could be wishful thinking or it could be that different types of hard water chemistry behave differently.
If you wanted to try one, choose a brand that offers a money-back guarantee. Some that I’ve seen give you 12 months to try them out.
REPAIRING A DAMAGED TABLE FINISH
Q How can I repair the damaged soft-gloss finish on a family heirloom coffee table? I’m tempted to try the repair myself. The batteries in a portable radio leaked and ate right through the finish to the bare wood.
A I’m sorry to hear about your trouble because the challenge you face is a steep one. Getting a repair to match perfectly is quite a tricky job.
The kind of professional needed would specialize in antique restoration and finish repair.
You’d want to look in your area to find someone, but I wouldn’t trust them without first seeing a number of examples of their work.
If you can’t find anyone and decided to do the repair yourself but weren’t pleased, you could always have the table top completely refinished by a professional.
This is a much less challenging job than matching a repair.
The challenge of a repair like yours is two-fold.
First, you need to colour the damaged area the same as the surrounding table top.
Second, you need to seal the repair area in a way that blends with the rest of the table and is chemically compatible with the existing finish.
Buffing would be a final step to unify the look of the table and create a uniform gloss. I’d start by seeking a professional repair first.
You can see the buffing process I use in action at baileylineroad.com/7619.
BASEMENT WALL CONDENSATION
Q How can I stop condensation from developing between the vapour barrier and batt insulation in my basement? Beads of water appear there in the summer.
Should I redo the vapour barrier or take everything down and spray closed cell foam between the wall studs?
A Your problem is quite common. I often hear from observant people like you who notice the same situation.
I’m sure it’s going undetected in many basements where drywall covers the vapour barrier, too. This is precisely why so many basements get musty over the years.
Unfortunately, the problem isn’t caused by a faulty vapour barrier on the basement side of the wall, but rather from the migration of moisture vapour through the basement wall into the insulation.
Below-ground basement walls are fundamentally different than above-ground walls in several ways, and the potential for inward moisture vapour migration is one of the differences.
The best solution by far is your suggestion about removing the batt insulation and replacing it with closed cell spray foam.
Three inches of this stuff acts as its own vapour barrier, so it’s impervious to moisture or condensation from either side of the wall and in all seasons.
As long as you don’t have leaks of liquid water, spray foam will work great.