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EPISODE #17 -
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
Fall is here and that means we are itching to get
some projects done both inside and outside the house
before the weather changes. We are even doing some
stories to show you what to look for when you are
checking out your home. Don’t worry, we still will
have some great recipes and a couple of design tips
for you too!
Kid Proof Carpet
The 2 toughest things on your carpet are kids and
pets. To learn about some of the newest and
toughest carpets we stopped by
Paulson’s Floor Coverings (503-620-7080). Tyler
Paulson told Robin about the newest fabrics that are
out on the market. He told us that most carpets
have some kind of stain resistant protection but
they don’t cover the toughest stains like bleaches,
blood and wine. There is a new product called
Sorona fiber by Mohawk Carpets. In fact, to test it
they put it in a pen with a live rhino for 2 weeks
and then went in and cleaned it! It bounced back
beautifully! Next we took a look at the latest in
kid’s carpets from Disney. You can get patterns
that feature a bunch of different Disney
characters. You can get Hannah Montana, Disney
fairies and an assortment of princesses. For the
boy you can get Winnie the Pooh, Cars and Toy
Story. If you have a small Disney fan you need to
stop by Paulson’s!
Placemat Pillows
Our friend Linda Gemal from
Rejuvenate Your Home (503-803-8000) showed us a
cute little project she has done with placemats she
found at her local store. She discovered a
placement that had tassels and she thought it would
make great pillow for the holidays. It was a double
sided placemat and she used a seam ripper (or a
scissors) to open the seam at one end. Then she
used poly-fill to fill the space in between and then
just stitch the small seam shut. Not only do you get
a cheap pillow, but you can match it to your
table-setting!
Preserving Your Shades
You have your beautiful new lamp shade and it is
covered in plastic. It is well preserved and safe,
right? Wrong! Bea Searles from
Naomi’s Lampshades (503-636-1884) in Lake Grove
joined Robin to show us how to preserve your shades
and extend their life. Leaving the plastic on your
lampshade can shorten the life of the shade by
holding in the heat and causing it to fade faster.
Most shades will also have better color if
uncovered. If you need to clean your lampshade Bea
recommends that you use a soft bristle brush and not
your vacuum. A vacuum will sometimes transfer the
dust and dirt from other area to your shade. You
can also use a soft clean cloth to whip the dust
away. It is the dust that ends up destroying your
shade. Heat is another thing that will destroy
your shades. Remember to use the correct wattage of
bulbs in your lamps. Most lamps are designed for a
certain type of bulb and using the wrong bulb can
ruin your shade and even create a fire danger with
your lamp. If you have any questions about lamps or
shades you can always call Naomi’s.
Northwest Cioppino
The Northwest is known for lots of things; beautiful
outdoor scenery, clean air and fresh and tasty
produce. We stopped by the
Stone Cliff Inn (503-631-7900) and met with Chef
James Keeney to learn how he uses some great local
ingredients (including seafood) to make a cioppino
with a Northwest twist. This recipe has a little
bit of prep before you fire up the stove. You will
want to cut up your vegetables, clean your seafood
and organize your ingredients first. Once you have
everything ready it will only take about 10 minutes
to cook everything. To see how quickly it can go
together check out the video. If you don’t want to
tackle this recipe (or you want to compare your
recipe) feel free to stop at the scenic Stone Cliff
Inn. Once you are there, see if you can recognize
the scenes at the restaurant that appeared in the
recent ‘Twilight’ movie. Even one of their
employees appeared in the movie (see if you can
guess who the star is!). You can find Stone Cliff
Inn along with many other great local restaurants at
DOITNW.com.
Cutting a Potato
If
you are looking to make fresh cut potatoes you may
have run into a problem with slicing due to the
round shape of it. Chef David showed us how easy it
is to cut once you know a few tricks. First, cut of
a small slice on one side. This will allow you to
have a flat surface on one side and it becomes more
stable to slice. From here you can make scalloped
potatoes by cutting off rounds, or you can slice
long planks that can then be sliced into long French
(or steak) fries. Then you can also cut these down
even more by dicing them for a southern style
hashbrown!
Fixing a Leaky Toilet
If
your water bill is a little bigger than usual it
could be a signal that there is a leak in your home
somewhere and one of the most common locations for a
leak is your toilet. We took a couple of minutes to
show you how to find and replace possible leaking
parts to your toilet. First, we turned off the
water and flushed the toilet to get the water out of
the tank so we could work better. We then checked
the flapper. This is the part that stops the water
from draining into the lower bowl. If you notice
flaky pieces, worn edges or cracks you will want to
replace this piece. Take the old piece with you to
the hardware store so you can get the right size
replacement part. Next we showed you how to replace
the flush valve assembly. This is the part that has
a float attached to it. Sometime the seals wear out
and the valve will leak. Before removing the valve
we got a bucket a couple of towels, a wrench and a
mirror. We placed the bucket under the valve and
unscrewed the valve from the tank. This is where
you use the mirror to see the underside of the tank
to loosen the valve nut. Once we removed the valve
assembly we took it to the hardware store to make
sure our replacement valve is the same size. To
install the new valve we just reversed the steps we
used to remove it. It looks like we fixed the leak,
but we will check the toilet in a couple of weeks to
make sure there is no other problems. For more
water saving tips we recommend contacting the
Regional Water Providers Consortium
(503-823-7528).
Painting your Front Door
Sometime a small change can make a big statement.
We found this to be true with something as simple as
painting your front door. Changing the color to
something striking, like the color red, can make a
huge transformation to your home. To get started
you first have to clean the old door. Robin used a
product called TSP, which cleans and de-glosses your
door. That will help the new paint stick to the old
stuff. You also want to clean the door to get rid
of any mold or mildew that could cause problems down
the road. Next came the primer. This is a base
coat of paint that creates a good foundation for
your final color. Always start from the inside of
door and work toward the edges to help you pick up
any drips that may occur. After the primer dries we
are ready for our final color. If it is something
strikingly different it will probably require 2
coats of paint, but once you are finished you will
have something that will really stand out!
Check Your Roof
With the cold wet days of winter approaching it is a
good time to get up on your roof to make sure you
can avoid future problems. Mike Satran of
Interstate Roofing (503-684-5611) took us up on
a roof to show us some of the things a homeowner
should look for. First of all check for nails that
may be exposed, they could mark the point where a
small leak could start. You also want to check the
flashing and seals around your chimney and
skylights. You should also check the grout on your
chimney to make sure that it is intact and not
chipped or broken off. Next we moved to an
overhanging tree. This is a problem because the
branches have rubbed the shingles off in places and
even started to wear a hole in the roof. An
arborist may need to be called if the job is too big
or requires some big cutting (you don’t want to
carry a chainsaw up there yourself). Finally we
checked out the flat roofs and talked about what to
look for up there like pooling water, plugged drains
and damaged skylights. Of course, if you get in
‘over your head’ you can always call the experts at
Interstate Roofing.
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