apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You don't want it to go down the drain? That's what I use to clean my drain! I dump some baking soda down and then pour vinegar in until it stops fizzing. Gets rid of any interesting smells, too.

Isn't it wonderful to step back, think about what you are posting and come up with a more coherent, rational argument instead of ranting with innacuracies, accusations and assumptions?

Seems SteveR has discovered this.

I have a home question. I have a typical pre-war 1920s bathroom that I love, but the subway tiles and floor tiles are both dull and dirty. Any idea how to clean them? I've tried so many things to clean them over the years and gotten nowhere -- especially with the floor tiles. Should I just re-grout? I need to stay away from the super-toxic acids because I have a baby here and there's not enough ventilation. I'm open to medium-toxic ideas!

Then about the dullness: what's the story with reglazing? Is that something I should look into? The wall tiles need something.

Thanks a lot

Hey Julianna,

I once attacked a 1920s bathroom floor that had a seemingly-permanent gray cast to it with good old Borax, a stiff-bristled brush, and a *lot* of elbow grease. I made a loose paste of Borax and water, spread it around on a section of the floor, waited a few minutes, then scrubbed like mad. The tiles came out fairly white—not perfect, but much better than they were. The floor wasn't shiny to begin with, so I wasn't concerned about dulling the finish.

L

Seeking advice about decorating-
In preparation for the March Spring Cure, I plan to redo my living room. I lean towards a modern aesthetic (a barcelona sofa?), but my children insist on something "squishy and comfy". The compromise is likely the Crate and Barrel Petrie sofa in off-white.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=931&f=6643&q=petrie&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1
.

Do you all think that I could still get two white repro barcelona chairs to accompany the Petrie sofa, or will the white leather clash wit the off-shite Petrie sofa? The living room has medium dark wood, and the other furniture are two black pianos and a large square lucite base/glass top coffee table.

I am leaning towards either a sagw green for the walls with cream molding, or one of those warm taupe colors that I have seen a lot of lately. Any suggestions?

TIA!

Sorry for the typos above! I had corrected the post, but had trouble sending it in. In my various attempts, it posted my earlier, uncorrected version. I don't see a way of editing spelling.
N

I think that if the tiles themselves are still nice, then you might want to just re-grout. However, it's apparently not so easy. However, I was watching either a commercial or an informercial the other day and they had SOME kind of knife-esque tool they were selling that was removing grout pretty easily.

It seems like it was also supposed to cut through sheet metal and all kinds of other stuff in order to justify people getting excited enough about it to order it, but I can't remember the name to save my life.

If you can figure out what that was, that would make that part easier.

Because THEN... once you re-grout it, you can probably do something to seal the grout so it won't get gross again, and yet you'll have your beautiful old style tile. And seriously, grout is dirt cheap; you're only looking down the barrel of how much work it will be, not how much money re-tiling would be.

Re-glazing? A neighbor in my building has down that in both apartments she bought and sold, because in my building all of our bathrooms came with the peach-and-black tiles, which I LOVE (and I made it work), but which many people don't love. She re-glazed her tub white (and changed out the other fixtures to white) and re-glazed all her tiles. What re-glazing really is, is a very serious epoxy paint and it goes over the tile AND the grout, so you kind of have the ghostlike suggestion of where the grout was, but it's all one shiny texture.

If you do that, though, you really have to be careful with the re-glazed surface, because it can scratch more easily than regular tile or tub.

Nancy,

My instinct would be to avoid bright white + off-white, but I'm cautious on these matters and don't use a lot of white myself.

Could be that the Petrie's "natural" upholstery fabric is actually far enough away from the Barcelona white that it won't clash... I'd get a swatch (or several, if you can) from C&B and take it/them to an actual white Barcelona chair to see what you're going to see.

L

Julianna,
it will take elbow grease, but not much else - have you tried the Magic Eraser from Mr Clean? That thing is a little 2x4" miracle of blue and white. It might get it clean (when I use it, my bathtub sparkles!)

Thanks guys. I'm going to try Borax. I have tried all sorts of other pastes (including peroxide and baking soda) and elbow grease but not Borax. I have tried the Magic Eraser and it didn't work either. I was shocked because that works on everything! It did work on stains in the tub, but not the tiles.

I think I will re-grout. I know what kind of knife you mean Curtis. I can do that. And thanks -- reglazing sounds like something I don't want to do.

Rachel,
I was prepared to make the same suggestion til I scrolled to the bottom and saw you beat me to it. The Magic Eraser really deserves it's name! I've been amazed at how shiny and new my bathtub looked after using it.

Hey Curtis,

If you've reglazed tile the way you describe, do you know if the whole thing has to be reglazed if it gets chipped for some reason? Just curious....

L

off topic a bit: but has anyone ordered from modernreproductions.com? I fear they are huge scam artists. They do not return any phone calls or emails about delivery.

Lynn- thanks for the suggestion. That's a good idea, to compare materials side by side; it's a little hard since I am doing this by mail-order. I have a sample of the off white Petrie material, which is quite light. I
ll have to send for a sample of the white Barcelona leather.

Do you think that the two styles will work together in one room?

Hi everyone, we're buying our first home and aren't entirely clear on the mortgage process--do mortgage brokers help lower your rates? Streamline/expedite the process? Or are they just an additional unnecessary expense? Our credit is close to 800--should we just approach banks ourselves? Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Chris

Ding dong the....

oh, um Julianna, I don't know if Borax is better, but I'm a big believer in Barkeeper's Friend.

Well, there's but one thing to do.

Good bye, everyone! It's been fun!

Love & Kisses,

Henrietta

While DD will be missed by some for some of his posts (by no means all of course) I can't imagine Henrietta being missed by anyone interested in design.

All she did was brown nose DD.

Rather eloquently I will admit.

Was that RUBanned@hotmail.comcom

?

My sincerest apologies. Of course I meant

RUBanned@hotmail.com

Chris, I just used a mortgage broker that I found through mtgprofessor.com. I used one of the brokers that he had listed as an "upfront mortgage broker" (an industry term) and he got me an absolutely fantastic rate with super low costs and no BS--the fees were actually lower at closing than the already low fee he quoted me. This was by far my best buying experience and I will definitely look for this type of broker again in the future.

Nancy,

I think the Petrie and Barcelonas will look quite nice together, actually—nice lines and nice proportions to both. I find myself wondering about the size of the room you're working with, just because those three pieces of furniture are so strong and in my mind need a lot of elbow room...

My friend just painted her living room sage green with a cream trim and it looks really nice.

L

Mortgage brokers aren't doing anything that you can't do yourself. They are finding the lowest rates on the market and that's about it. They are just a middleman...

Here's a critique on mortgage brokers:
http://tinyurl.com/ynl9uk

A slightly less hostile view:
http://tinyurl.com/2g9feg

And lastly, a good site for all things financial (including mortgage rates):
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mtg_home.asp

JenPDX, I tend to agree with the comments in the links you provided as they pertain to traditional mortgage brokers, but there is a group of brokers who are positioning themselves as "upfront mortgage brokers" and who operate quite differently. In past transactions I have used the Bankrate listings and then gone through, contacting the various lenders directly, spending hours and hours on the phone. This time I started going down that road, then tried the "upfront" guy, and he got me a rate that was lower even than the unrealistically low rates that show up on the Bankrate chart, and my fees were much lower than in past transactions, even including his fee. So, Chris, I would at least check it out, see what they quote you, then you can contact lenders directly and ask them to beat the terms the broker quoted you. In my case, they all said they couldn't touch it. (For what it's worth, I also have excellent credit.)

Grrrrr! Why does that keep happening?

Design Dabbler alerted me that a fake Henrietta kicked in after I announced my departure. I should have anticipated this nuisance. The posts about DD's e-mail address-for-exiles are not mine, and any posts henceforth by Henrietta will not be by me but by my pathetic imitators, or some other person by that name.

Thanks.

Nancy, I wouldn't worry about the whites not working in the same room. Whites come in all shades. The Petrie sofa and the Barcelona chairs will look fabulous together and the color scheme of the walls/trim will bring out the whites in the room. Use the green from the walls or introduce another color to tie everything together - a lap throw over the arm of the sofa, a pillow on the chairs, a rug that holds the furniture plan in place. You get the idea.

Can't wait for the Cure. Here's a question about shelves I would like to install in my bathroom. I have two walls which meet at a right angle near the alcove which holds the tub. I want to install three simple wooden shelves without visible supports. The dimensions would be 8" square by one or two inches thick. The shelves would of course be attached to the two walls which meet in the corner. The remaining sides would be free floating. The shelves would be painted to match the wall, and could hold small objects like a candle, bud vase of flowers, etc. Any ideas for hardware for this application? How about material for the shelves? I have no saw. Is this something I can have cut at Home Depot? It would have to be cut rather exactly. Thanks for the help.

You will find, Henrietta, that no one cares either way.

Just like no one cares when Mia writes her one liners. No one ever responds which is actually the funny part.

Would you all mind looking at this picture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marbargarbo/406236609/

and letting me know if you have any idea where you can get this?

Thanks,
MP

Julianna,
I have the subway tiles in my bathroom, a 1929 building in Queens. The landlady had them reglazed prior to my move-in and it was an improvement. My bathtub was done at the same time and within about six months it was peeling--a LOT. I was referred to a reglazing company by my mom who works for a large apartment complex--they took one look and said my tub had not been truly glazed, but painted! I never brought this up with the landlady--you know how it is when you choose your battles.

Anyway the second glazing job was beautiful and the work is warranted for five years. You DO have to be careful with how you clean the tub. You also can't use suction mats, or if you do you have to make sure you pick it up right away when you're done.

For cleaning, what I found best is Scrubbing Bubbles. Usually I hate any chemical smells, etc., but the smell is not too bad. (It's much better than Tilex).

I paid less than $300 for the tub to be done. I didn't have the tiles done.

I think you may also be asking about floor tiles. Do you have those little octagon-shaped tiles? If so, I don't have any suggestions for you. I ended up getting a plain Armstrong peel & stick tile and a really nice rug.

Hope this is helpful.

Lynn -

Yes, your point about just one chip and it has to be re-done is a good one, and no, I've never had it done. I LIKE my peach and black tiles, but my neighbor had it done and she sold her place so fast who knows when it's going to chip; definitely after the new person has been there a while. So, yes, I really think it's not an optimal answer, which is why I encouraged the idea of re-grouting the real tile.

Susan -
Actually there is really no such thing as truly re-glazing one way or the other. That would require removing the tub and re-baking the finish on, which isn't what happens, but the difference between what was called a paint job and what was called a re-glazing is probably the difference in crappy quality paint and the kind of VERY serious epoxy paint (but paint, nonetheless) that get's sprayed on by people who know what they're doing. By the way, if your tub is old and cruddy and pocked and chipped, a good company will sort of spackle (so-to-speak) that stuff smooth before re-glazing.

Susan, did the peeling paint have any effect on the new glaze on your tub? When I moved into my apartment a dozen years ago, the landlord had the tub reglazed but neglected to tell me that I couldn't use suction cup bath mats. Peel city. The new glaze has also stained horribly over the years, just from using ordinary cleansers.

Thanks,

Mlle Kate

Juliana - i have discovered a mix of white vinegar and baking soda cleans any stained dirty surface, including old sinks, bathtubs and tiles......it is like a miracle.....
yolan

yolan: what's the proportion of white vinegar to baking soda?

JonathanB-

Ive tried various things - but mostly its dumping a plie of baking soda on the place to be scrubbed, and then dumpind a splash or three of vinegar on it. you can find more excat equations, im sure but this had always worked for me...and i also recommend if you are cleaning a sink or tub to put the stopper in so it doesnt just go down the drain!
also from experience!

hope it works for you -
Yolan

On another bathroom-related note, we just put in a Toto Aquia dual-flush toilet, and a small amount of water is pooling around the base. The plumber told us that there is probably a tiny hole in the tank. I suspect that he didn't install the toilet properly (the instructions were far from clear). Has anyone else had this problem?

Curtis--then what I had done first was the crappy quality paint (and probably a bad technique...there are painting errors all over the apartment) and the latter was the type of job you describe--sprayed on. In any case the second job has held up nicely.

MlleKate--they removed the pelling paint before applying the new. Twelve years is a long time; mine has a five-year warranty although I hear it can and should last longer. Given this is a rental I'll worry about it in five years if I'm still in this place.

anne - only after i have finished cleaning the tub! lol.......then , yes - its place is definitley down the drain, since i also use the mix tp clean it out.......

yolan