filipino globe
section F life
filipino globe
home, health & beauty, money, travel, stars & sports
May 2008
23
Our refrigerator is giving us grief and we’re about to lose our cool
Q
I’m getting impatient with Let the new gasket sit about If the gasket is held by
our old refrigerator that can
DIYBOB
24 hours in the room with the adhesive, pry it off with a putty
no longer make ice and keep
do it yourself
refrigerator to bring it to the knife.
stuff cold. Is it time to replace it, correct temperature and humidity, When the old gasket is off, clean
or is there anything I can do to or soak the gasket in warm water the mounting area thoroughly with
improve its efficiency?
ROBERT
to make it pliable. mild household detergent and

Raul Cinco Jr
LUNARIA
Then you can begin removing water.
Hong Kong the old gasket. Door gaskets Remove stubborn adhesive with
are held by screws, clips, or mineral spirits and fine steel wool,
A
If you find that your adhesives, and the gasket may followed by a detergent/water
refrigerator’s compressor have a retaining strip, which helps rinse.
is constantly running – wasting bill comes right out, or falls out, shape it and provides a fastening Start the replacement at one
energy and cutting down the life of the gasket is faulty and should tab or guide. side of the top of the door. Work
your appliance – it could be due to be replaced. Before you replace Finish removing the fasteners down the sides to replace the
problems with the door. the gasket, check the door hinges on one side of the door at a time. entire gasket. Smooth the gasket
Test the door gasket for leaks for leakage. Remember to buy
can be a tough job. If you aren’t
Do not remove the entire door evenly into place, easing it around
by placing a dollar bill between a gasket specifically for the
sure about the model number of
panel. If the gasket is held by corners. Use gasket cement to
the gasket and the door jamb and model of refrigerator you own.
your refrigerator, cut out a small
spring clips, be careful not to secure it.
closing the door. Pull the bill out. If So-called fit-all gaskets may
section of the gasket and take the
pry too hard on the clips; they’re
it offers some resistance, chances fit after a fashion, but tailoring
sample to an appliance dealer for
under tension and could spring Send your questions or comments
are the gasket fits properly. If the them to the door’s configuration
matching.
out of their mountings. to diybob@filglobe.com
Making room
for young
children and
the elderly
Universal designs are the simplest way to build
flexibility into a house plan for an extended
family, writes Erwina Fae Gatbonton
W
hen building a home for an access, they greatly increase storage
extended family, universal capacity.
designs come to mind. Another universal design practice
Plans usually take into account is installing grab bars in bathrooms,
young children and elderly members which remind people of handicap
of the family. stalls at a public toilet.
The idea is to provide easier access But a grab bar can easily double
to home conveniences and personal
comfort. Child safety features can In the long run,
be built into the plans without much
effort.
this is the less
those with limited mobility several
For instance, placing light switches
uneasy trips during the course of a
expensive option
and electrical outlets between two
typical day,” says architect Lito De
and four feet from the floor makes
than remodeling
Cuadra.
them accessible without excessive
Still others prefer an upstairs
reaching or bending.
a home to build
bedroom, citing stair climbing as
Likewise, the use of pull-out
daily exercise.
drawers, blind-corner shelves or lazy
in a new master If you’re unsure about which
susans, tip-outs, and rolling storage
bedroom
approach meets your current and
future needs, look for plans that
in kitchens and closets puts contents
LITO DE CUADRA
include suites on both levels.
within easy reach.
Architect
For example, a downstairs suite
These universal design implements
can double as a family room or office
make good design sense, too. A low-
Accessible kitchen
(with a conveniently located full
level rocker-type light switch is not
switches, clear
bath) until the time comes to make
only easier to activate when carrying as a towel rack-though, not vice
passageways
the switch with the upstairs bedroom
an armload of groceries, but avoids versa, and clever placement will let
and staircases suite. Such flexibility may already
the annoyance of switches ending up them blend right into even luxury
that double as exist in the original plan; otherwise,
behind picture frames. bathroom designs.
storage are among modify the plan to include two suites.
Similarly, the comfort of a lever- Most homes of this type assume
the features of a “In the long run, this is the less
type door handle is obvious to that the owners will want the master
universal home expensive option than remodeling
everyone, not just those with reduced suite on the main level, citing the
design best suited
a home to build in a new master
hand strength. relative difficulty of climbing stairs
to families with
bedroom,” De Cuadra says. “That’s
The same goes for kitchen and in later years.
young children and
one big advantage of a universal
organization systems; besides ease of “A first-floor bedroom can save
elderly members.
design.”
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