DIIY DDOONNYY
Our expert answers your questions
Q
How can I stop cats using my garden as a toilet? I’ve tried all sorts of powders, none worked.
A
I once heard the smell of human urine puts cats off. I’ve never tried that but my dad used to lay chicken wire over his veg patch. Cats won’t walk on that, so it worked well.
Q
Dr Clive Whiston
Les Hattersley
How can I get rid of lichen growing on my tarmac drive?
ALichen and moss will grow where it’s shady and rainwater can’t wash it away. I usually use a hose (not a jet washer), then apply weed killer. If the water pressure is good this will work. There are products to clear lichen from stone but it will cost a fortune for a drive.
Q
I have a 1970s bungalow with internal walls of compressed straw panels with a very thin plaster skim coating called Stramit board. What kind of wall fixings should I use? I don’t want my TV to fall off!
Drew Russel
Stramit walls are solid enough but a TV needs a strong fixing. On a plasterboard wall you’d use around eight self-drill plasterboard fixings. Gripit also do great fixings. But in your case it may be safer to locate the timber studs the Stramit boards are affixed to and drill fixings into them. Failing that, fix a timber baton to the studs, which you could mount on the wall.
What will stop condensation running down the toilet cistern?
Now don’t laugh, Kathleen, but you could knit a tea cosy-style cover for the cistern. The aim is to stop the cold water that fills the cistern making the cistern’s surface so chilly it causes moist air to condensate. Another trick is to empty the cistern, dry it and fix insulation matting, such as a yoga mat, to the inside.
Kathleen Murray