Q: As we become more and more "green," why hasn't anyone figured out a way to recycle the moist, heated air from gas dryers? As I have three kids, I do at least two loads a day. It seems so elementary an idea. While I know there is some safety factor to it, we must have the technology to devise a way. It would recycle the warm air and provide humidity for our dry furnace air. We could do away with humidifiers on our furnaces! Any insight on this subject?
TAMMY, by e-mail
A: I like your enthusiasm, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. It has been done before. During the first oil crisis in the 1970s, one of the many ideas was to divert the warm, moist dryer air to the basement or to the house. It was wrong; there would be not enough warmth to make much of a difference and much too much moisture, even in a dry house, and too erratic to take the place of the controlled humidification on a furnace. There were even kits made and sold to divert the dryer air. Don't do it.
And definitely do not do it with a gas dryer; gas dryers require (it's the law!) venting to the outdoors. OK, if it is not the law, it should be. Even with electric dryers, venting is better than not.
Q: My log cabin, a summer house, is four years old and had electric heat. I switched to an oil-fired boiler, and it works well. But when I prepared to close it up for the winter, the boiler man said not to shut it down, because an idle boiler can deteriorate. What should I do?
FEARFUL
A: If you drained the boiler of all water to let it stand during the winter, the gaskets and other parts of the boiler and radiators could deteriorate, causing problems when you fill the system and turn it back on. But instead of draining the boiler, have a nontoxic antifreeze put in the system to prevent freezing. This antifreeze can be left in the system. It should be nontoxic, in case some of the boiler water combines with domestic water. You can buy such antifreeze at hardware and big box stores.
Q: I have been in my house for 42 years and it is about time I did something about my windows. They are single glazed and aluminum framed. How can I insulate them without spending big bucks?
MARY FITCH, New Orleans
A: Those windows are not doing you much good, and they cannot be insulated, except of course by replacing them, and that you do not have to do. So this is what to do: Buy storm windows, which you can put on the outside frames. These are not inexpensive, but cost a sight less than new replacement windows. I am not sure the stores way down south carry them, but you could check.
Or, for a lot less cash, only a few dollars per window, you can buy a kit that provides special strips that can be put on the inside frames of each window. These strips hold a piece of plastic or polyethylene. It is an instant inside storm window. Again, I am not sure these kits are available down south, and if they are not, here is one more chance to keep a little warmer and a little cooler, depending on the season.
Buy 4 mil polyethylene plastic sheets that come in a roll, cut them to fit over the inside frames of each window, and secured the plastic with duct tape. They will not be beautiful, but they will do wonders in saving fuel and air-conditioning costs.
Q: I have fiberglass insulation on the basement ceiling, between joists. Some of the fiberglass is covering electric wires strung along the ceiling and stapled to the sides of the joists. It is also close to some heating ducts. Will that insulation hurt the wires and/or ductwork?
SAM
A: In a word, no. The basement never gets warm enough to cause concern. In fact, you can insulate the heating ducts with fiberglass duct insulation. Every little bit counts.
Q: My question has to do with insulating hot water pipes in my basement. They are attached directly to the floor joists via clips. There is no space between the pipes and the floor joist for the insulation to go all the way around the pipe where the pipe crosses the joists wherever they meet. Would you recommend I just get the foam insulation and cut notches in them at every floor joist/pipe intersection? Or would that result in too much exposure? This pipe runs the whole length of the house, so there would be about 15 notches cut into the foam insulation. I have the same issue with my heating ducts. I'd like to wrap those in duct insulation, but there is no space between the duct and where it meets the joist to wrap the insulation all the way around.
DAVE, by e-mail
A: Cutting notches in the foam tubes of insulation is a good idea. Then when you cover all horizontal and vertical joints with duct tape, you can put duct tape around the notches. Gorilla tape is a little thicker than standard duct tape, and may insulate a bit better.
The air ducts are another matter. Wrap the ducts with duct insulation as best you can, taping with Gorilla tape wherever you cannot reach the side against the joists.
Q: I read your article in the Midland Daily News about keeping fuel costs down by insulating your house. I've stuffed insulation in about half the electrical boxes in my house. Your article states that doing that can cause a fire. Should I remove the insulation? I'd rather pay a little more in heating costs than burn my house down.
SUE, from Michigan
A: Just take out the insulation form those electrical boxes. Just to be safe, turn off the power when you remove the insulation. There is a better way to insulate the outlet and switch boxes: Buy foam covers that fit over the outlets and switches, just under the regular plates. That is the best you can do with those boxes, except you can buy plastic plugs to fit into unused outlet plugs. These stop the flow of cold air and also prevent prying little fingers from fiddling with the outlets.
Q: I had a new roof put on my 30-year-old house just seven years ago. The roof is OK, but during an inspection one man said to take down several roof vents that are now venting the attic. Another man said to keep them open. Who is right, and why would there be such an extreme difference of opinion from two persons in the home improvement business?
M.P., Arlington
A: Keep them open. Any vents in the attic - ridge vents and soffit vents (those on the under part of the roof overhang) - should stay open all year. Those roof vents are not very efficient, but if they are the only vents there now, leave them open. It would be better to have ridge vents and soffit vents, even gable vents, but as long as your attic is dry and not excessively hot in summer, you are OK with the roof vents. Why the wide range of opinions? Beats the heck out of the Handyman.
Q: I'm getting a peculiar draft of cold air from my wood baseboards. How can I stop it? I plan to have insulation blown in the walls this year.
CHILLY
A: The insulation may take care of those drafts, but it is a good idea to caulk the joint anyway. To do so, if there is no quarter-round molding at the bottom of the baseboard, apply a heavy bead of caulk along that joint, then nail a quarter round molding in the joint, compressing the caulk for a tight seal. It will not hurt at all to caulk all joints indoors. Done carefully, such caulking will not show.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the Styles Section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com.
