PHANTOM MENACE
Slamming doors, phantom toilet flushes and eerie rustling from the attic – might your house be haunted?
Each October, Rich Robbins, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., gives a popular lecture about problems in the home that could be mistaken for supernatural phenomena.
“We carry a prototype in our mind of what a house should be like,” Robbins said. “When something out of the ordinary happens, we may or may not seek to explain it in rational terms.”
Technology magazine Popular Mechanics has dubbed this “spooky house syndrome,” and given some recommendations for how to deal with a few common, pesky problems in the home.
MYSTERY SCRATCHES ON THE HARDWOOD FLOOR
Problem: Scuffs, scratches or gashes appear in the wood, likely made by shoes or moving furniture.
Solution: For smaller scratches, use stain markers in the colour that blends into your flooring. When dealing with deeper marks, fill them in with paste wax or acrylic wood filler in a matching colour.
TOILETS FLUSHING ON THEIR OWN
Problem: A worn-out flapper valve is allowing water to leak from the tank to the bowl. Eventually the toilet signals it needs the water refilled, tripping the fill mechanism and causing the flush.
Solution: Turn off the water to the toilet and replace the old flapper with a fresh one.
SELF-OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS
Problem: The door may not be hung precisely level, and gravity is causing the strike to slip out of the latch plate. Air-pressure differentials throughout the home could be responsible for self-slamming doors.
Solution: Use a hammer to put enough bend in the hinge pin that the door stops swinging freely. Try weatherstripping to seal air leaks.
TUNNELS TO NOWHERE
Problem: Little holes appear in your yard, with no animals in sight. You may have a collapsed foundation drain.
Solution: Dig next to your house, and repair the damaged drain if you can. For damage to larger underground structures, hire a professional excavation contractor.
SCRATCHING AND SCURRYING IN THE NIGHT
Problem: Mice, rats, bats, squirrels or raccoons.
Solution: When dealing with mice and rats, place traps perpendicular to the wall, not parallel. For bats, squirrels and raccoons, consult pest-removal professionals to install one-way traps and look for and patch up any large entry holes. Clear brush and shrubbery next to the house. Trim tree branches that allow passage to the roof and eaves.