Q. I am doing a kitchen remodel and the contractor doing the work ran the electrical as follows: 1 breaker for dishwasher and garbage disposal 1 breaker for lights 1 breaker for oven (220v) 1 breaker for countertop receptacles, which are also running the microwave, refrigerator and hood I am by no means an electrician - furthest thing from it - but it seems like there is a lot on that last circuit. The drywall is up and textured, etc. If this should be fixed, can it be done with minmal demo? Update - after reviewing your responses I chewed out my contractor and we will have dedicated breakers for each the refrigerator and microwave. Question - is it ok to have the hood remain on the same breaker with the convenience outlets and is it ok that we have only 1 breaker for the convenience outlets?

(No Chosen Answer)

Q. I can't afford to have anyone come out to clean it and my shop vac isn't strong enough to get the job done.

A. Go to your local appliance parts dealer and ask for a coil cleaning brush. It's a long brush that's about 2" in diameter and can be easily bent. Then go outside to the dryer vent and run it all the way in as far as you can get it and twist it as you bring it out. You may have to do this several times depending on the amount of buildup you have. Then go inside and disconnect the hose at the dryer and do the same thing. The great thing about this brush is that you can then also use it on the dryer. Remove your filter from the dryer and run the brush in there doing the same thing. Works great. When your all done, you can then use the brush under your refrigerator to clean the coils on it from both the front and the back and your refrigerator will run a lot more efficient which is what the brush is suppose to be for in the first place. By the way, they're only a few dollars. Hope this helps !!!

Q. ...Should this flooring be placed under wood stove, refrig ? Since I'm trying to protect the downstairs from footfall sound, I've determined that floating floors (i.e., no nails) are the best solution other than carpet, for my major remodel. (For those that know even less than me, "floating" are the floors that are laid with a 1/4 - 1/2" gap along all the edges that is later hidden by the baseboard along the floor edge(and sometimes "T-moldings" at key locations).) What should I expect my installer to do about the heavy items in the room? Two key concerns: A) The kitchen cabinets are raised on plywood, but the installer advised me that the flooring I install should go under the stove and refrigerator, since the eye can see under these appliances. Do I use the engineered wood, and assume that the 250 lb. refrigerator will not defeat the "float"? B) Same question re the 300 lb. wood stove in the corner. I'm about to buy one of those off-the-shelf-pads for under the stove; should I should stop the floating floor at this? C) Bookcases?

A. Everything that is not nailed down should have the same flooring under it. For example, the cookstove and refrigerator should have the flooring, as they will occasionally move in and out; and having continuous flooring will make it much easier. It will not significantly reduce the effectiveness of the insulation layer. the bookcases, unless they are 100% permanent, also should have the flooring under them just in case they get rearranged later. the wood stove, on the other hand, is pretty much permanent - I would be inclined to support it with plywood, as you are doing with the cabinets. (perhaps leave a space so the flooring slips under the edge of the pad, if you so desire) BTW, what makes it a "floating" floor is not the gap at the edges - it is the fact that it sits on a layer of padding and is not nailed to the subfloor.

Q. We hired a restoration company that was referred to us by my insurance company. At the beginning of their repairs they damaged our flat screen TV that we have mounted on a wall. Today I was told that they WILL pay for the tv and accept liability, but if I want them to pay for it they won't finish my repairs! I had flood damage and they've already done all the mitigation work, but haven't started to put things back how they were (including the drywall). I don't know what to do! Can they do this?!?!? Make me choose between them paying for the TV they damaged or finishing the work they started?

A. Call the insurance company that referred you to them. They need to know so that they can remove them from the list. Tell them that they better pay for the TV, or you will sue them. As for finishing the repairs, tell them that they don't get paid until the repairs are done to your satisfaction.

Q. There are several repairs that need to be done and have yet to be taken care of. if i have someone professional come in and fix everything cani charge everything to her name since she didnt take care of anything. some things needing to be fixed are as old as a year ago. some things are major work and some minor. where do i stand on this scenerio? any suggestions are welcomed. landlord is not renewing my lease because i called Dept. of Housing on her previously for not taking care of a leak in the roof so now until my lease runs out she will not accept any phone calls from me or make any necessary repairs to apartment needed. so i plan to have contractors come in and take care of the repairs but bill everything to her. can i do that? and she still comes to my door personally to collect my monthly rent!

A. Good luck finding a contractor who will let you "bill" someone else. Contractors expect money when services are rendered. My advise is stay there until you lease is up and move on. If she hasn't made the repairs, it isn't likely she is going to while you are still living there. Unless you plan on paying for them out of your pocket, I would just bite the bullet. You may even find yourself in court being sued for unauthorized repairs to the home. I don't think you want anymore drama than you already have.

A. I would think if you had damage to your roof that would be covered by insurance you would have already contacted your insurance company. the contractor can look at the roof, assess the damage and give an estimate. filing a claim is your responsibiity (if it's your house). in most cases, repairs from general wear and tear are not covered by homeowners insurance. contact your insurance company yourself to find out if the repairs will be covered before committing to anything with a contractor.

Q. After reading articles on leaking refrigerators I have come to the conclusion that the drain tube is clogged. I have looked though and have no idea how to gain access to clean the drain tube out. I even called customer service and they offered no help what so ever. They claim there isn't a way to get to it. I have looked underneath the vegetable drawers and there is no hose there. The bottom of the fridge is solid. Are there any other ways to get to the drain tube so I can unclog it and keep water from leaking all over my floor? The refrigerator is a single door with the freezer on top and fridge on the bottom. Thanks in advance for any help. I guess I should point out that I have read stuff where they say there some drain or something underneath the vegetable drawers. Is that where it should be? That doesn't really make sense to me. Thank you both for answering. I finally did see the drain tube going into the back of the fridge, but, ofc ourse, with mine it is attached to the drain cup which is attached to the lightbulb and tempuratue setting buttons. What a stupid setup. Now I have to figure out how to get some hot water down that tube to clean it out. I am also about to try my air compressor. Hopefully that will work. Thanks again!

A. If you look underneath the back of the fridge, you should see the drain pan with the tube leading to it. Follow it to the top, or just try to unclog it from the bottom with compressed air/coathanger/brush

Q. I have a friend whose refrigerator (mfg. and model above) accumulates all the self-defrost water in the two crisper drawers and under them. They have to clean this up daily or it will literally run out when the door is opened. The drain (evaporator) pan appears to not have had any liquid in it for quite a while. I am fairly familiar with appliances and know that there is a drain somewhere that is designed to send the defrost water to the evaporator pan where the heating unit causes it to evaporate fairly quickly. I'm sure the drain or drain line is clogged, but I simply cannot locate it. I have looked at all the illustrations on Whirlpool's site and the drain or line is not shown. I contacted Whirlpool and they just sent me the same drawings I had already looked at and suggested contacting an authorized local Whirlpool service center. I'm trying to help my friends save this money (probably $100.00 minimum). I know this is a tough one, but can anyone help? THANKS!

A. Remove the back panel in the freezer compartment. You should see the drain hole in the back but it is probably covered with ice. Remove all ice (you can use a hair dryer, carefully) from the drain pan, use hot water and a turkey baster to clear the drain. This is a design problem in many top freezer refrigerators and will probably recur unless you install a drain heater to keep the drain from freezing up again. But the drain heaters don't always work either.