E. H., Atkinson, N.H.

A. If the brick has not been sealed in any manner, then cleaning stains will be doubly difficult. But we Americans don't use our cleaners properly. We scrub our floors with all kinds of cleaners, but are not quite satisfied. That is because we do not let the cleaner do its work to dissolve the dirt and stains. This is what to do: Make a double-strength solution of TSP or Spic and Span and water, apply this heavily to the floor, and let it sit there for several minutes. Then scrub, and take up all liquids with the wet vac.

This will at least clean the brick, but may not remove all the stains, particularly if they are oily. The only way to get oily stains out is to apply paint thinner, then add generous amounts of baking soda to absorb the thinner and the stains.

Finally, if the bricks are reasonably clean, you can seal them with a masonry sealer or tile sealer, which will make the bricks a little more water resistant and therefore stain resistant.

Q. My attic ceiling tiles have a lot of water stains. How can I cover them? I heard I could get rid of them with bleach and water.

K.M., Milton

A. Some people have had luck with bleach and water in removing water stains. But, even if this works, they may come back. Besides, the tiles are fibrous and might react adversely to the bleach. It is better, in my opinion and my experience, to seal in those stains with clear shellac, then repaint the ceiling. You could try repainting just the affected tiles after using the clear shellac, but that way you would probably never get any two tiles to match.

Q. The white plastic sink in my cellar is only 5 years old, and I spilled dye on it, discoloring it badly. I tried bleach and that helped, but only a little. I tried dye remover without success. What else can I do?

M.C., Gloucester

A. If the bleach worked a little, more applications of straight liquid chlorine bleach should work some more. Or, try this: Wet the stain with water and sprinkle baking soda on it, and scrub with a damp sponge, using the baking soda as a mild abrasive.

Still not successful? It is worth trying this: Wet the stain with hydrogen peroxide, and sprinkle cream of tartar on that. Leave it for an hour or so, then scrub and rinse.

Q. I like the idea you suggested to stain the basement concrete floor with a concrete stain, but then you said that Benjamin Moore no longer makes one. Does anyone?

A.B., Belmont

A. Let's hear it for Muralo, a manufacturer that makes a concrete stain, and in considerably more colors than did Moore, which stopped its production because of environmental concerns and taboos. Let's hope that Muralo doesn't run into them, too.

I discovered the Muralo stain at Factory Paint Store, where I went not only to pick up some paint but also to ``case'' the place to see what was new and different and exciting.

The reason I like the idea of a stain for concrete is that it is unlikely to peel, perhaps not peel at all, which is one of the problems with paint on a concrete floor. Paint will peel, no matter what you do, and it is a big pain to scrape it off and do it all over again. With stain, since it resists peeling, you can wait until it fades or wears off, then repeat, without scraping. Of course, stain can go only over bare concrete.

And, if Muralo discontinues its concrete stain for any reason, you can always use an ordinary oil-based semitransparent house stain, which comes in many earth colors. While it is not designed for floors, it will work, applied thinly.

Q. The water won't drain out of my kitchen sink unless I use the disposal. How can I fix it? Also, I have a small television set that is very sticky and dirty. How can I clean it?

IRENE, Newton

A. Obviously, the disposal doesn't stay open when it isn't working. It might have broken, or needs a simple adjustment. Check the manual; if there is no information on blockages or there is no manual, then call a plumber. If the disposal is not broken or defective, it may be sinple to fix, but it escapes the handyman.

To clean the TV set, disconnect it and clean only the top and sides, and the screen, not the back or anywhere else there are wires. A set can give you a shock even unplygged. The best cleaning solution for this is a half cup of ammonia in a bucket of warm water; the ammonia will cut the grease very nicely. Don't soak the surface; squeeze out a sponge till almost dry and wipe lightly. It doesn't take much oomph. While you're at it, you can clean the stove and microwave the same way.

Q. The kids got crayon on a bluestone hearth. Neither alcohol nor Windex worked. How can I get it off?

CINDY STONE, Wrentham

A. Scrape off any gross part that can be scraped, then try DeSolvit, if you can find it in a hardware stores. Also, apply a little toothpaste and brushing the stone. We got that information from Marguerite Jablonski of Medfield (Hey, said Cindy Stone, I know Peg Jablonski!). It certainly is nice that you know her; it's a small world, eh? Also, Thelma Dame of Guilford, N.H., told us she used Ultra-Brite toothpaste to clean crayon from marble. If it works for marble, it also should work for bluestone and other stone or stonelike material.

Q. How can I get ink off a leather dashboard in a minivan? I don't know what kind of ink it is.

MICHELLE PARMENTER, Oxford

A. Without knowing what kind of ink it is, you will have to experiment. Try rubbing alcohol first. Or, rub lightly with toothpaste or mechanic's gel soap. Or, a solution of ammonia and water. As with all potential cleaners, try them in an obscure area to make sure they don't damage the rest of the dashboard. Some ink fighters have used hair spray successfully; it is the alcohol in the hair spray that does it.

Q. The heat was left on under a large metal griddle, which has stained badly, so much so that I cannot clean it. How can I clean it?

R.W., Hingham

A. If there are no plastic or other non-metal parts on the griddle, you can put the griddle in the oven and put on the self-cleaner; it will not only clean the oven but the griddle as well. Or, if there are no non-metal parts on the griddle, soak it overnight in detergent and water, and scrub with steel wool in the morning.

Q. I read somewhere that cigar ash and oil will remove white water stains from a varnished mahogany table. What formula can I use: How much oil and how much cigar ash?

L.S., Framingham, Mass.

A. It is not so much a formula but this is the way to do it: Wet the stain with oil, then sprinkle the ash fairly liberally, but make sure the ash becomes wet with the oil. The oil is simply a lubricant; without it the ash will scratch the finish. Rub with the wood grain, with the palm of your hand.

Before you bother with this, squirt some toothpaste on the stain and rub that with your hands. There is just enough abrasive in the ash and the toothpaste to remove the very top layer of the varnish, where the stain is. Call in your questions on (617) 929-2930. Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer telephone questions on house repair. Hotton will chat on line about house matters 1-2 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, point your Internet browser to www.boston.com and use the keyword, chat.

Q. A hot pan burned a 1/4-inch blister on my white Formica counter, leaving an equal-sized crater. How can I fill it?

ARTHUR FELDMAN, Randolph

A. Try filling it with Seamfill, a material sold by Formica dealers and designed to fill seams. If you can't find it, try a white wood filler, one that hardens. Then sand lightly to smooth it off. Another material to try is white sandless grout, which will also harden. These repair jobs may get dirty fairly quickly, so you could wax that part of the counter to make the repair water resistant, and to give the patch the same sheen as the counter top. One householder found Jubilee works as a polish or wax.

Q. Workers took a boiler and burner out of the house, leaving a lot of black greasy stuff on the floor. How can I get rid of it?

A.D., Walpole

A. Let the workers take it off; they didn't complete the job. If you can't cajole or threaten them into it, try this: Scrape up all that greasy stuff and throw it away. Now, pour paint thinner liberally on the stains. Then put down lots of Speedy Dry, cat litter or baking soda to absorb it. Repeat as necessary.

Q. When I had my roof redone last fall, insecticide was sprayed onto one of the vents infested with yellow jackets. The spray stained the white roof. How can I get rid of the brownish-yellow stain?

AMERICO COSPENNATO, Lynnfield

A. You can't, effectively. Try a little latex solid stain, which will disguise it. Or, let it weather off; it will in a few years. And in the future, avoid using insecticides against yellow jackets, unless they are interfering with the roof workers or anyone else. The hornets will die off in the winter because they don't hibernate.

Q. Hot wax spilled on my bluestone hearth and left a terrible stain. I tried burning it off, and scraping, then using a hair dryer, which was not hot enough. Now what?

D.S., Sagamore Beach

A. Try the old standby: Cover the stain with brown paper, and run a hot iron over the stain. You will see the brown paper pick up the melted wax and change color. Do it again with clean paper, and repeat as necessary. If you can remove most of the stain but not all, finish up this way: Wet the wax with paint thinner, or heat the remainder to melt it; then pour baking soda on the stain; really pile it up. You will see it turn color as it absorbs the wax. Sweep it up and dump it, and repeat as necessary.

Q. My walls got wet last winter because of leaks from ice dams. The dams have been fixed and there is no more leaking, but the walls were stained, so I sealed the walls with Zinsser primer, then sized the walls and papered. The water stains bled right through the paper. Now what?

R.A., Abington

A. The primer might not have been a stain killer, although a lot of primers claim to be. I suggest this: Take off the paper where the stains are showing, clean off the sizing and paint the stains with clear shellac. Then resize, repaper and hope for the best.

BIN is a good stain killer because it is shellac-based, but it is so intensely white that it also could show through paper. If you use BIN instead of clear shellac, you will have to do the whole wall to prevent this ghosting of the super-white BIN.

Q. My daughter moved into a house in North Attleborough, where the owners had left a dining set. She took up the rug in the dining room and found a lot of little black dots on the floor. I thought they were mildew, but a bleach-and-water solution did not clean off the mildew. What can I do now?

JACK ROUGEAU, Carver

A. Little black dots are usually mildew, but if it didn't budge with the bleach/water solution, the mildew may be under the varnished finish. Your next step is to clean the floor with paint thinner. If that doesn't remove the dots, then you can live with them or refinish the floor.

Q. How can I clean a white water stain from an outdoor glazed urn?

M.A., Winchester

A. Try rubbing lightly with steel wool dipped in paint thinner. Or, Brillo or SOS pads without the paint thinner, but rub lightly.

Spilled bleach on a rug
Here's another handyman's saga; this one is bleach spilled on a rug, and how to recolor the bleached areas.

Bill Frazier of Danvers called to tell us what he did: ``I brought a spray paint from an auto supply store to match the rug. I just let the mist of the spray drop on the bleached area. Many treatments were needed, but now no one can tell the difference.''

Nell Atkins of Houston had the same idea, although she used an acrylic paint, the kind favored by painters of tole lamps (``I used Americana''). Select a paint to match the rug, and apply it with a small brush. Build up coats until the light spots are covered. Do this on a spare piece of carpet first and let dry to check the match.

Thank you, Bill Frazier and Nell Atkins.

Getting a match is likely to be the hardest part of the project, but even a not-perfect match is better than those bleached spots.

Q. I had just too much humidity around my house this year, and a great deal of mildew. I power-washed it off, and plan to restain the siding that has a Cabot stain on it. Would changing colors discourage the mildew?

MARGARET DENLY, Marion

A. It might, but the difference would be so small that I don't think it is worth it. A darker color (and it has to be fairly dark, like dark gray or dark brown) will be warmer than a light color (that reflects heat), and water vapor will be less lightly to condense on the dark color. Since a wet surface is ideal for mildew growth, the drier surface will be less likely to attract mildew. Another argument for a dark color is that any mildew growing on it will be less noticeable. But because mildew encourages decay, it's not a good idea to leave it. One more thing: Exterior stains contain a mildewcide that discourages the growth of mildew, but it works for only about two years.

Since there is no cure, you can change color if you like, but you'll have to settle for regular maintenance of the siding: Whenever you see excessive mildew, treat it with the handyman's favorite solution: 1 part bleach and 3 parts water. This solution is better for mildew, in my opinion, than power washing.

Q. I am planning to put in a hardwood floor, and am a little up in the air over putting in prefinished or regular oak flooring. I was told that the prefinished boards, with a little V-groove between the boards, will show the joints too much, and dirt will get into them, too. What should I do?

DEBBIE WAGGENHEIM, Sharon

A. It's remarkable how old wives' tales get started -- and never die. And it's remarkable that no amount of spiking old wives' tales puts an end to them. No, prefinished floors do not collect dirt in those little V-grooves, and the V-grooves do not give a linear look to the floor, either. So, in the handyman's opinion, prefinished floors are better because they have four coats of polyurethane varnish, factory installed. They're less expensive, too, because they need no sanding and finishing as regular floors do. When buying a prefinished floor, be sure to specify the polyurethane finish, not the sealed and waxed finish. The latter needs constant maintenance.

And one more thing. Prefinished floors come with square edges, without the V-groove, to give an even smoother, evener surface.

Q. I am having a new roof installed, along with replacing some of the decayed roof boards, after a considerable problem with leaks. I can understand how roof boards might decay, but how do I know if any studs in the wall are bad?

A.B., Brighton

A. You can't, unless you open up the wall either on the inside or outside. But I really don't think there is any need to do this, because it is extremely rare that studs decay, unless at the bottom where the sill (the timber that sits on the foundation) decays, and affects the studs. On a house less than 100 years old, this is unlikely, because generally, if the studs do get wet they will dry out before they begin to decay, especially if there is no insulation in the walls. The roof boards decayed because when they got wet, they stayed wet.

Q. Someone spilled grease on the frosted glass of a bathroom door. It looks like a bunch of fingerprints, but nothing gets it off. I tried Lestoil, Fantastic, and rubbing alcohol without success. What now?

KELLY SCHEIN, Chestnut Hill

A. Try paint thinner; ammonia and water, even straight ammonia; or straight chlorine bleach. Wear skin and eye protection when using bleach, and use lots of ventilaton when using ammonia.

How you use these cleaners is the key to success: They must sit on the fingerprints for two to five minutes to dissolve the grease before scrubbing and wiping off with a dry cloth. If you can do this on a vertical surface, OK, but you might have to take the door off its hinges and lay it flat so the cleaners will soak the greasy spots, getting into the tiny nooks and crannies on the frosted glass.

The three cleaners I mentioned are safe to use by themselves, but do not mix them.

Q. My bathroom window (not in the tub-shower area) is stained and varnished, but after many years the varnish is wearing off and there are black marks on the wood. How can I clean those black marks so I can refinish?

DEBBIE, from Westford

A. The black marks may be mildew, or wood that has darkened by water after the finish has worn off. Check for mildew by applying a mix of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water. If the black marks disappear, they were mildew; rinse, let dry, restain if necessary, and revarnish with anoil-based polyurethane varnish. Be sure to sand everything before varnishing.

If the black spots do not disappear with the bleach treatment, then rinse, sand the spots to the bare wood, restain and revarnish.

Q. How can I get iron stains off a stucco wall?

D.Y., Brookline

A. The same way you'd get them off a concrete driveway or walk: Mix 4 ounces of oxalic acid in a quart of hot water. Brush onto the stains and let stay on the stains until dry.

Another treatment, especially for vertical surfaces such as stucco walls: Make a paste of the oxalic acid solution and flour, wear rubber gloves and rub it in with a scrub brush. Let it sit until dry, scrub a little more and rinse. Always wear skin and eye protection when working with acid.

And before you try either of these treatments, try a little liquid chlorine bleach; dilute it some, maybe half and half with water, so it does not turn the rust stains yellow.

Q. My copper water pipes sweat in the basement in summer, and drip onto the floor, making a green stain. Bleach did not touch that green stain. How can I remove that stain and keep the pipes from dripping?

M.F.C., Franklin

A. To remove the stain, wet it with hydrogen peroxide, then sprinkle on cream of tartar and let it sit for an hour or so. Sweep it up and throw it away. Repeat if necessary.

To prevent future dripping, insulate the pipes with foam tube insulation. And, ventilate the basement in summer, which should be done anyway to prevent that enormous buildup of water vapor. Keep windows open from April to June and September to October. In July and August, when it is so humid outdoors, ventilation won't do much good, so you can install a dehumidifier. In winter, there will be much less humidity, so ventilation is not necessary.

Q. I tried everything to get a coffee stain off a rug. Even tried Oops, without success. My daughter suggested Windex. It did the trick!

RICHARD TENNIS, Arlington

A. Well, that's one question that doesn't need answering. I'll put it in my file. Thanks.

Q. Professional cleaners spilled something on the wood floor of my condo, making a brown stain. I think the stuff was oven cleaner. How can I clean it up? I know the cleaners should fix it, but I don't want them back.

A.H., Brookline

A. OK, I think I understand. I doubt if the stain can be washed off, although you might try a little fine steel wool dipped in paint thinner. Even a Brillo pad might help. If not, the stain has to be sanded to the bare wood and the spot refinished. It is difficult to spot-finish a floor because you never get the exact color back by revarnishing, and the gloss of the patch will be different from the original finish.

But, it's worth trying: Sand the spot to the bare wood. If the original finish is medium dark to dark, you can apply a little stain to the bare wood to try to make a match, although you might not have to. Then wipe on some semigloss polyurethane varnish with a lintless cloth; that way you can wipe it on very thinly. Let dry and repeat as many times you think necessary. It is risky using polyurethane varnish on an unknown finish because some polyurethanes are not compatible with others. But you are safest in using an oil-based polyurethane.

Q. I have a coffee stain on a beige rug that nothing I have tried is taking out. Anything other than vinegar and water, detergent and water, and Resolve?

I.D., Burlington

A. A last resort maybe, before calling in the pros, is to try Gonzo. No guarantees, but it's designed for such jobs, and is sold in food and discount stores.

Q. The shower base in the house we recently moved into is extremely stained from years of use and apparent lack of cleaning. The base is fiberglass. I have tried every cleaner to remove it, but nothing seems to work. Is there anything that will clean this, or how about painting?

J.W., North Quincy

A. Some cleaners might work, even some you used, but they didn't work because you may not have used them correctly. Try one of these, and the secret to most cleaners is to let them stay on the dirty area for five to 10 minutes, even longer, so they can do their work.

Straight liquid chlorine bleach. Just pour it on and see what happens. After it dries, rinse thoroughly.

Soft Scrub with bleach: Smear it on liberally and leave for several hours, then scrub and rinse.

Paint thinner. Leave it on as long as you can without it evaporating, then scrub with a dry cloth.

Ammonia and water. (Do not use ammonia in conjunction with bleach; the combination can create a deadly chlorine gas.)

Make a paste of baking soda and water, smear it on and leave for several hours. Scrub and rinse.

Wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach. And, in all cases, use plenty of ventilation.

You could have the fiberglass at the base redone. There are companies in the Yellow Pages that do this, under ``Fiberglass Repair.''

As for painting, it should be done only as a last resort. After cleaning as best you can, sand lightly to roughen the finish, then apply an oil-based primer and finish off with a latex floor paint or a swimming pool paint.

Q. I have a stain on my Formica counter. It's a white spot on a dark gray color. How can I remove it, or is it impossible?

B.R., Randolph

A. It may be impossible but, for starters, try rubbing lightly but steadily with a soap pad.

Or, try this: Make a paste of baking soda and water, leave it on a while, and then scrub and rinse. This also can work to take out bleach stains.

Q. Rain water washed black aluminum stains from my old aluminum storm windows, leaving black streaks on my asbestos siding. The streaks do not wash off. How can I get rid of the stains and keep them from recurring?

D.B., Jamaica Plain

A. The black streaks are the same as the black that gets on your hands when you rub aluminum. It is oxidation and does not occur if the aluminum is anodized. So, try aluminum jelly, made by Woodhill and sold in hardware stores. Brush on and allow to work for five to 10 minutes, and flush off with water. Wear skin and eye protection; the jelly contains phosphoric acid. Or, try Cameo aluminum and stainless steel cleaner, sold in supermarkets.

Now, to keep the storms from bleeding off that oxidation, paint them with two coats of latex house paint or solid-color latex stain. Paint just the frames; do not paint the movable screen or storm sash.

Q. I would like to know how to get rid of mildew in my toilet tank top. Its plastic foam lining looks gross. What would work without harming the mechanism in the tank?

B.J., Springfield

A. Bleach. Pour a cup of liquid chlorine bleach in the tank and let it set a while; the bleach will kill the mildew. Swish a cloth or sponge on the sides and bottom of the tank to loosen any mold if it there is any remaining. Then flush the toilet and you're all set till the next time.

Q. Oven cleaner severely stained my fiberglass tub when it was mistakenly used to clean a stain. I found fiberglass restorer at a boat store, which is a rubbing compound, and reduced the stain quite a bit, but not entirely. Can I repaint this stain? If so, how can I get a color match? I also discovered that Gel-Gloss comes in colors, also sold at the boat store.

D.M., Sharon

A. The colored Gel-Gloss should do it, but getting the right color is very difficult. You could try mixing various shades of Gel-Gloss, but that would require buying scads of the stuff. Not practical. While fiberglass generally requires a specific paint, you could try painting the stain with an indoor-outdoor oil enamel and hoping for a disguise, at least. You might get a better color match with the enamel.

Q. I have a water stain on my calcimined ceiling. Can I use Kilz on the stain to seal it so it won't bleed through when I repaint the ceiling?

S.L., Braintree

A. No. Anything you put on calcimine will peel off on the roller or brush almost immediately, or at least in a short time. Even shellac, which is used to seal a water stain, can cause peeling when applied to calcimine. And, you have to use calcimine, or Cal-Kote, a calcimine substitute, to finish the ceiling off anyway. In other words, it might be impossible to seal that water stain.

The only cure, in my opinion, is to remove all the calcimine, seal the water stain, if it remains, with clear shellac, and repaint with latex ceiling paint. You can remove calcimine by repeated washing with a heavy-duty detergent and water, or with chemical paint remover, a risky, messy job indoors. In fact, if you do use chemical paint remover, I suggest you use SafeStrip, a remover that does not contain methylene chloride, the most caustic and toxic ingredient of regular remover.

Another way to remove the calcimine may be easier, but no less messy: Use a wallpaper steamer to soften the calcimine so that it can be scraped off with a wide scraping blade. Wash off residue with the strong detergent solution.

Q. My daughter has a condo with an acrylic tub and shower. Blue stains are appearing at the drain of the tub. How can she get rid of them? Will they stay away?

NANNETTE PITTS, Newton

A. The stains are the result of copper in the water, or the copper pipes, leaching out and being deposited at the drain opening. Wet the stain with hydrogen peroxide, then sprinkle cream of tartar on, fairly liberally. Wait half an hour, then scrub and rinse. The stain can be removed, but not kept away. So, when it occurs again, clean it again with the magic potion.

Q. Several white rings were left on my white Formica counter top by terra cotta planters left on the top. How can I remove them without ruining the plastic?

J.K., Newton

A. Try a little Pine-Sol, or better yet, make a paste of baking soda and water, leave it on the stain for several minutes, and scrub and rinse.

And what do you know, J.K. called back to tell us that the baking soda worked. Delighted, the handyman replied, ``Well, I'll be snookered. It worked.'' It's something to be remembered.

Q. How can I remove a large ink stain on my hardwood floor? I think the wood is waxed.

ALICE FARREN, Malden

A. If the floor is waxed, you have to remove the wax first; do this with wax stripper or paint thinner. Then try washing the stain with a bleach solution or a strong ammonia solution, but don't mix the ammonia with bleach or vice versa, the combination can create deadly chlorine gas. If none of these treatments works, try ink eradicator, sold in building supply stores and possibly at office supply stores.

These treatments may bleach the floor. If so, wipe the area with a stain of the desired color, then wax and buff.

Q. How can I get ballpoint pen marks off a painted wall?

REBECCA LEONG, Newton

A. Rubbing alcohol is the cleaner most used for such marks. Others are acetone, Stain-X Carpet stain remover, sold in grocery stores; Ink-No-Mor, toothpaste, Vaseline and dry Brillo pads. With all these cleaners, try them on an obscure area to make sure they don't stain, rub off or affect the paint in any way.

Q. How can I get grape juice stains from my Formica counter top?

BARBARA GAUTHIER, Kingston

A. Try these tricks: First and easiest is bleach. Apply a bit of bleach on the stain; it should bleach out without affecting the top. Or, make a mix of baking soda and water, slather it on the stain and leave it for 15 minutes or so. Scrub and rinse. Or, Soft Scrub; slather that on and wait a while, scrub, and rinse. Pine Sol might also do it.

Q. How can I get newspaper stains off a plastic chair? You can actually see the print on the chair. I tried a million things without success. And, incidentally, for your information, I was able to get mildew stains and odor out of cloth upholstery with ammonia.

C.B., Brookline

A. Second things first: Using ammonia to get mildew out of cloth upholstery is a new one on the Handyman, but welcome information. It sounds like a good substitute for bleach and water, which could and probably would bleach out the cloth. If anyone else tries the ammonia technique, use it in an obscure area to make sure that the ammonia does not bleach out the cloth.

Now to the first thing second: For the newspaper ``liftoff'' stains, try Mr. Muscle, if you can find it: Wear rubber gloves and wipe on and off. Or, use a pre-wash spray such as Spray & Wash.

Q. I tried using hair spray to get rid of ball-point ink on a hardwood floor, but it smeared the ink. What can I do?

P.M., Needham

A. Repeat with the hair spray or, better yet, rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol. The hair spray smearing the ink means that it dissolved part of the ink, and is doing what it is supposed to do. Keep wiping with the alcohol, which is the solvent for ball-point ink; eventually it will disappear. The alcohol will not harm the varnished hardwood floor.

Q. A water tank broke in my basement, flooding the floor. When the water dried up, it left a large white spot. The tank has been fixed, but nothing seems to take off that white spot. I tried washing and it came back. I tried washing with soap and it came back. How can I get rid of that stain?

S. R., Beverly

A. That stain is efflorescence, the leaching of lime out of the concrete by the water. Washing even without soap or detergent should have removed it. You could try scrubbing it dry with a scrub brush. If that doesn't work, buy muriatic acid (sold in hardware and building supply stores), and make a solution of one part acid and five parts water. Always pour the acid into the water, and wear skin and eye protection when working with acid. Apply this solution to the stain and you'll probably see the stain fizz up; after the fizzing stops, rinse the floor and let dry. The acid attacks the lime wherever it is, dissolving it.

Q. Some Lime-Away was spilled on Formica cabinets, dulling the spot. The cabinets have a matte finish, and the area of the spill is duller than matte. How can I restore that finish?

J. S., Norfolk

A. I am not sure it is restorable, because the Lime-Away, being an attacker of mineral (often used to remove mineral deposits from toilets and other plumbing fixtures) may have etched the matte finish, making it rougher, therefore duller. So, anything I suggest not only might not do the job but might make it worse; you have to take your chances. One thing you might try is furniture polish. Another might be to rub with a little toothpaste, trying to smooth that rough surface out a little. Still another possibility, still with no promises, and even a warning that it might make things worse, is to rub it lightly with Never Dull Magic Wadding, sold in many hardware and building supply stores. This wadding was designed to polish metal but has been used to polish glass to remove fogging.

Q. A skunk sprayed my vinyl siding, making a terrible stain. I tried many things -- ammonia, Zud, baking soda and water -- to remove it, without success. What can I use?

B.B., Reading, Mass.

A. Try washing the stain down with straight liquid chlorine bleach; wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach. Other things to try: Simple Green or a citrus cleaner (not paint remover). This might work: It is what removes egg stains. Brush on Shout, a laundry soaker. After it stands a while, reapply, and brush with a brush to loosen the material. Still another possibility: One quart hydrogen peroxide, one-quarter-cup baking soda, and one teaspoon liquid soap. Apply, let sit a few minutes, and scrub and rinse. If all fails, scrub with a cleanser or sand lightly with fine sandpaper.

Q. I have a water stain on my ceiling, and I noticed that you don't like BIN to seal it because it is too white, and hard to cover with ceiling paint. What can I use instead of BIN?

WILLIAM MORRISON, Westwood

A. Clear shellac. It will seal the stain and prevent it from bleeding the new ceiling paint. And, it is easy to cover with one or two coats of ceiling paint. But alas, the whole ceiling must be done.

Some people have had luck in eliminating the stain rather than sealing it, by using a bleach and water solution on the stain. You could try it, using a solution of one part bleach and one part water. If the stain disappears, you probably won't even have to repaint.

Q. The stairway hall in my three-family house was painted light cream, but it shows finger marks that won't wash off. Is there some kind of a spray that I can use to prevent future fingermarks, once I get the wall clean again?

ANONYMOUS CALLER

A. Sorry, we're all out of magic sprays. You could varnish the wall but that would look pretty awful. The only thing that will work is to secure a sheet of one-eighth-inch-thick Plexiglas or acrylic on the wall high enough so hands cannot reach above it. This is the best you can do; any finger marks on the acrylic can be washed off with detergent and water.

Q. The sheet vinyl floor in my kitchen is tan, and 14 years old. A big burgundy stain has developed. It is big, 30 by 6 inches. It does not clean up with anything I have tried. Is there any way I can make it right?

A.N., Pittsfield

A. Hmm. Another vinyl floor developing a stain? The Handyman has gotten a lot of calls over the years with sheet vinyl problems, and has concluded that these stains are chemicals, in the vinyl itself, and nothing will clean them. I don't know what the manufacturer said, if you contacted it, but since it is 14 years old, I doubt if you would get much satisfaction.

The only thing that I can think of is to patch it. If you have a spare piece, well and good, or you might have to buy one. At any rate, tape the new patch over the stain, overlapping it by several inches. Then double cut with a utility knife through the patch and through the sheet on the floor. Scrape off the sheet on the floor; when you put in the patch, it will be a perfect match, in size if not color. Well, it should be a perfect match.

Q. My black walnut trees are staining my concrete steps. Bleach did nothing. How can I clean the steps and keep them clean?

EDWIN GRAB, Newton

A. Try the bleach again, but this time leave it on the steps for several minutes before scrubbing and rinsing. Wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach. Or, make a strong solution of Spic and Span and water, add a cup of bleach, apply this solution, let it sit a while, then scrub and rinse.

Or, try muriatic acid. This usually does nothing for stains, but will etch off a very thin layer of concrete, possibly taking the stains with it. Mix one part acid with one part water, and always pour acid into water. Paint this solution on the stains, let it sit a few minutes, then scrub and rinse. Wear skin and eye protection when working with acid.

Once the concrete is clean, seal it with masonry sealer, which will make the concrete resistant to water and stains. The sealer must be renewed every year or so.

Q. My shower stall floor is fiberglass, and is badly stained. Nothing seems to clean it, including Fantastic and Formula 409. What can I use?

LEO ROYTBERG, Brookline

A. The Fantastic and Formula 409 may not have worked because of the way you used them. The way to work with such materials is to apply liberally, let sit for an hour, even, then scrub and rinse. Letting the solution sit a while will allow it to do its work of dissolving the dirt.

Or, use Soft Scrub or Simple Green, the same way as described above. The handyman has had good luck by leaving either of these cleaners on the surface, even letting it dry out, then scrubbing and rinsing. The secret is to leave the cleaner on as long as practicable.

Q. A group of my lady friends made a big quilt, but someone got a little careless with the needle, and got two small blood spots on a white square of the quilt. How best to remove those marks without affecting the white square?

CARELESS QUILTER

A. There is a laundry detergent with enzymes called Era, designed to remove protein stains (grass, fruit, blood). Try it, cutting it to one part Era and three parts water, or use straight. Or, clean with dry-cleaning fluid or wet with ammonia and water.

Q. A water tank broke in my basement, flooding the floor. When the water dried up, it left a large white spot. The tank has been fixed, but nothing seems to take off that white spot. I tried washing and it came back. I tried washing with soap and it came back. How can I get rid of that stain?

S. R., Beverly

A. That stain is efflorescence, the leaching of lime out of the concrete by the water. Washing even without soap or detergent should have removed it. You could try scrubbing it dry with a scrub brush.

If that doesn't work, buy muriatic acid (sold in hardware and building supply stores), and make a solution of one part acid and five parts water. Always pour the acid into the water, rather than vice versa, and wear skin and eye protection when working with acid.

Apply this solution to the stain and you'll probably see the stain fizz up; after the fizzing stops, rinse the floor and let dry. The acid attacks the lime wherever it is, dissolving it.

Q. Some polyurethane varnish spilled onto the wallpaper, making yellowish streaks. Is there a way to get them off?

ROBERT DORSON, Lynn

A. Possibly, particularly if the paper is vinyl coated. If it is a water-based polyurethane, you can try Goof-Off, which is designed to remove latex spills without spoiling the original finish. If it is oil-based polyurethane, try any kind of oil; paint it on the stains and let it sit there 15 minutes or more, wipe with a rough cloth, then wash off the oil with detergent and water. If that fails, paint the whole wall.

Q. My stainless-steel stove top is heavily stained, mostly from baked-on food stains. How can I clean it and make it shine like the original? I tried a metal cleaner from Home Depot, and while it shined up the stainless steel, it did not clean it. What can I use?

M.T., Boston

A. If it is baked on food, drench it with water and baking soda, and let it soak off. But if it is a stain from the baked-on food, it's another matter, even though stainless steel is not supposed to stain, but does anyway.

Here are things to try: Cameo Aluminum and Stainless-steel Cleaner, sold in supermarkets; Soft Scrub (smear it on, let it sit for an hour or so, then scrub and rinse); Never Dull Magic Wadding, sold in hardware stores in a blue and red can.