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TANG: YOU CAN DRINK IT AND CLEAN WITH IT
Dear Mr. HandyPerson: I was fascinated by your column a while back about removing toilet bowl stains with vinegar, and was determined to try it.
However, since it involved turning off the water to the toilet for a time, I encountered a problem. The handle to the shut-off valve to the toilet absolutely will not budge -- it's frozen tight. A strong young man wielding some weird-looking pliers tried to loosen it but was unsuccessful. It's probably been years since anyone turned the handle. Can you give me some suggestions as to how I can loosen the handle?
I'm a longtime fan of your baking soda/water/vinegar remedies for different cleaning and drain-clearing uses, and have found them to be an invaluable housekeeping aid.
I would like to suggest another possible solution to
I enjoy your column immensely. Please keep up the fine work! -- Mary Lou, Glastonbury, Conn.
Dear Mary Lou: Thank you for both your kind words and your useful tips. Mr. HandyPerson has heard of using Tang as you suggested, and he's heard from many people over the years who swear by it. He suspects the makers of Tang do not promote it as a useful household cleaning product since they want people to drink it, just as the makers of Coca-Cola do not sell it as a rust or oil-stain remover.
Mr. Handyperson sometimes wonders about the person who first thought to use either product to do something it was obviously not designed to do. Did someone accidentally put Tang into an automatic dishwasher and discover it helped clean the machine? Did someone drop a bottle of Coke on the garage floor and discover it helped remove an oil stain?
Of course, vinegar and baking soda are also "food products" that have a long and worthy history as household cleaning products. It would take many columns to list the various uses of each, separately and together. Readers could likely add many more.
Mr. HandyPerson leans toward solutions that are simpler, cheaper and safer. For example, he avoids buying shower and tub cleaners by using a squeegee and an old bath towel to wipe down the shower walls and plumbing fixtures after a shower, and uses baking soda as a scouring powder to clean the tub when needed. He doesn't need mildew removers because he does not get mildew around the tub. He still shakes his head a bit when he sees the massive array of household cleaning products at the supermarket, few of which he ever buys. He likes the idea that nothing going down his drains is likely to be harming fish in nearby San Francisco Bay. It seems like common sense to him, and, perhaps, some version of good manners.
Regarding your stuck shut-off valve, Mary Lou, you could wrap the valve tightly overnight with a rag soaked in white vinegar, wrap the rag and valve in a plastic bag or plastic food wrap to keep it from drying out and dripping on the floor, then use some steel wool or a wire brush to remove any softened mineral deposits the next day, and try to get some penetrating oil or WD-40 into the stem of the valve. This might loosen it enough to turn again. Unfortunately, it might not, and you may have to call a plumber to replace the frozen valve.
You can avoid this problem in the future simply by turning all water shut-off valves in the house off and on again once or twice a year to keep them working freely. If you do have to call a plumber, check the rest of your shut-off valves beforehand so you don't have to call for another visit later. Good luck.
(Editors: For editorial questions, contact Greg Melvin, gmelvin@amuniversal.com.)
