To remove milk stain, try ammonia and water
Q. Milk was spilled on dark oak kitchen cabinets, and no amount of cleaners has helped to remove the stains. I have tried turpentine, which I believe you recommended, wax cleaner, which works only when it is wet, and other standard cleaners, without luck. What will work?
M.L.
A. Now I know what won't work. You mentioned it was whole milk, which of course has fat in it, and the solvent for fat is paint thinner or a strong detergent solution, or a mild ammonia/water solution, say one part ammonia to 10 parts water. Other things to try are alcohol. Now for the finale: Scrub the detergent solution on with fine steel wool; even Brillo or SOS will work, because you need abrasion to get the very top of the finish off without going too deeply into the finish. You might even use bleach, but never, never mix bleach with ammonia.
Q. My Deck House was built in 1971, and has 11 or 12 sliders that have given up the ghost: Broken seals in the double-glazing and the sliding frames do not work worth a darn. The sliders are not standard and Deck House is out of business. One window company wants $80,000 to build custom-sized sliders. What should I do?
GEORGE GLIMCHER, Westwood
A. Ah, the vagaries of fate, and "modern" construction. I'll bet that $80,000 is more than someone paid for the house. Any custom-made slider is going to be way too expensive, so here is my idea: Take out the old sliders and rebuild the wall to accommodate standard heights and widths. You can even eliminate some of those sliders because they are huge heat losers in winter and huge heat sinks in summer.
Q. Every winter I have noticed little pieces of bricks coming off my chimney. They look like flat chips. Is there anything wrong?
GARY KEEFE, Plymouth
A. Not really. The chipping is called spalling, when the bricks absorb water and it freezes. The freezing water expands, pushing bits of brick off. You can seal the bricks to prevent further spalling. Use a sealer called Chimney Saver, applied by a chimney sweep. It seals the brick to prevent the entry of water, but will allow moisture inside the brick to pass through safely. You might be able to find the Chimney Saver at a paint or big box store, if you want to do it yourself.
Q. I painted the outdoor pine trim around the front door with two coats of primer and Kilz, then regular latex paint. Two years later all the knots bled through. What went wrong and how can I fix it?
ANGELO, Natick
A. If that Kilz was a pigmented shellac, it should have worked. But other primers that claim to be stain killers often fail. So, sand those spots with medium sandpaper to remove some but not all of the paint, then apply two coats of a clear shellac, and then paint. Even shellac may not prevent bleeding, so two coats are better than one. Another fix: Replace that knotty pine with clear pine. Very pricey (a lumber man once told me that it costs 25 cents a look), but no knots = no bleeding.
Q. My tenant's house in Buzzards Bay is infested with raccoons. They are in a nearly-inaccessible crawl space under the house. What's a quick fix?
KATHLEEN WARDWELL, Plymouth
A. No quick fix. Have a nuisance animal person (they usually work for exterminators) remove them and then plug all holes in the foundation around that crawl space. And what can he do with the critters: Transport them far away? Leave them in the yard (a silly idea)? Both are wrong. They must be "disposed of humanely." It is the law.
Handyman on Call also appears in G on Thursdays. Peter Hotton is available 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair; call 617-929-2930. Hotton chats online about house matters 2 to 3 p.m. Thursdays, at www.boston.com. Hotton can be reached at photton@globe.com. 
