Clean walls will enhance paint jobs

Q. I want to paint the walls in several rooms of my house. I have been told it is best to clean the walls first, but they don’t appear to be very dirty. If I do clean them, what do I use?

A. You will get best results if you clean the walls. The new paint will adhere better, and you will probably get a smoother, more evenly colored paint surface.

Even if the walls don’t appear to be dirty, they collect dust, dirt and various contaminants over time.

You can use almost any good household cleaner to wash the walls, such as Top Job, Mr. Clean or Simple Green, but many pro painters prefer TSP. This is a heavy-duty cleaner with the chemical name trisodium phosphate. TSP or a phosphate-free substitute is sold at most paint stores.

To make a cleaning solution for interior or exterior surfaces, mix two tablespoons of TSP with a gallon of warm water. Apply the cleaner with a sponge, working on a space about 4 feet square at a time. After cleaning each section, use another sponge and clean water to rinse.

A technique that some painters use to save hard scrubbing is to start cleaning at the bottom of a wall rather than the top. If you start at the top, dirty water will run down to the still-dirty bottom section of the wall, making streaks that are hard to remove. By starting at the bottom, dirty water from the upper section runs onto a clean surface and is easily wiped off.

Let the surfaces dry thoroughly before painting.

Some stains might not come off walls or ceilings even with TSP as the cleaner. For example, if there are crayon marks, a special cleaner such as Goof Off might be needed to clean up.

To keep any trace of crayon from bleeding through the new paint, prime the entire wall with a stain-killer primer such as Bulls Eye 1-2-3 or Kilz.

Water stains from roof leaks will also bleed through if not primed. For these, use a shellac-based primer like B-I-N.

Q. My aluminum rain gutters are sagging in spots, letting water run over the front edge of the gutters in heavy rain. How can I fix this?

A. Several types of brackets to support aluminum gutters are sold at most home centers. One system that I have used to correct sagging areas utilizes long aluminum spikes. The spikes are threaded at one end and have large heads to grip the gutter.

To install a spike in a sagging section of gutter, drill a hole in the front top edge of the gutter. The hole should be just big enough to let the spike slide into the gutter.

Slip a metal sleeve on the spike to keep the spike from pinching the gutter, and put the point of the spike against the back of the gutter. Hit the head of the spike a few times with a hammer to start the spike into the wood behind the gutter, then hold the gutter level with one hand while you drive the spike into the wood with a power drill.

For best results, the spikes should be driven through both the fascia, or trim behind the gutter, and into the end of a rafter behind it.

Q. We recently bought a new glass-top stove and are having problems removing caked-on grease from around the burners. I have tried a special cleaner bought at a home center and even an abrasive pad, but still can’t get it really clean. What next?

A. I think you are making a mistake using abrasive pads and cleaners not recommended by the stove manufacturer.

You will probably find some cleaning instructions in the owner’s manual. If you can’t find those instructions or have tried them and they don’t work, you should contact the stove manufacturer’s customer service department.

Using unauthorized products to attempt to fix a problem with a new appliance (or other new device) can void the warranty, so it definitely pays to go through the proper channels for information.

You should find a customer service telephone number in the owner’s manual. If you can’t find such a number, contact the stove dealer and ask for help.

You should also review the cooking procedures that are leaving heavy grease deposits on the stove top.