KEEPING ROOT CELLARS COLD
Insulating floor not recommended but air conditioner can cool space in summer
Q Why don't you mention insulating the floor of a basement root cellar in your root cellar book? You mention insulation elsewhere, but not on the floor. A When it comes to a basement root cellar, the ideal conditions for storing most fruits and vegetables is just a couple of degrees above freezing, and more than 90-per-cent relative humidity. The reason for keeping the floor uninsulated in a basement root cellar is because the floor is like one of the exterior walls in that it's the source of cool temperatures from the earth. It's the coolness of the earth that we want to maximize in any root cellar.
Even with the floor and outside walls uninsulated, your cellar won't reach ideal temperature and humidity conditions during summer without help. The cellar will certainly be useful, but not perfectly ideal. If you want the best possible conditions for long-term storage of food, consider a standard window air conditioner as a source of cooler air during summer. To make this work you'll need a special device that allows the air conditioner to cool the space lower than the 60 F limit that was built in at the factory. The best model I know of is called a Coolbot (www.storeitcold.com). It allows window air conditioners to cool spaces down to just above freezing.
ROTTEN EGG WATER SMELL
Q What's the best way to stop hot water from smelling like rotten eggs? Shortly after I installed new bathroom faucets, my wife noticed the dreaded rotten eggs smell from the faucets, but only from those specific faucets. My water heater is 12 years old, gas-fired, 50 gallons. Is it worth changing the anode rod? Should I get a new tank?
A Are you sure the smell is coming from the hot water tap and not the bathroom sink drain? Many times drains pick up microbial infections and they smell like rotten eggs. This is especially true with bathroom sinks. The fact that no other faucets in your house have the bad smell suggests that the problem is not your hot water heater at all. Pour a bottle of ordinary hydrogen peroxide (three-per-cent concentration) down the drain at bedtime and leave it until morning. After this the drain should be temporarily plugged with a rag, then more hydrogen peroxide poured down the overflow passage of the sink. Give this a try. If it's going to work the smell will be gone in a few hours and it will stay away for at least several weeks or months, often longer.
If hydrogen peroxide doesn't do the job, check your water heater temperature setting. If it's lower than 120F, sulphur-consuming bacteria can live in the tank and cause odours. Try cranking up the temperature on
the heater for a few days to sterilize it, then dial it back down to see how that affects the odour.
ELECTRIC I N- FLOOR BASEMENT HEAT
Q Will the DITRA-HEAT system on its own do a good job warming the floor of a basement I'm renovating for my daughter?
A According to what I've learned from Schluter, the company that makes DITRA-HEAT, you can heat rooms with this product but only if heat loss is minimal. Given your situation with an insulated basement, I think it will work fine. If it doesn't then you could always plug in an electric heater for those rare times when the floor heat isn't quite enough.
Running cost for a heating system has more to do with the heat loss from a space than it does the type of energy used. In your case, you don't have much choice other than to go electric to warm the floors.
I've installed DITRA-HEAT personally and seen it in action over a number of years. It works very well, is easy to use and is reliable.