Through rain, sleet, hail...we get mail
Crazy humidity and rain in Chicago over the past couple of days...thank goodness, these little storms pass quickly.
Opened the "mailbox" this morning (comments from the site) and saw a note from Becky...
(Photo via Dave Browning at www.wavebaseball.com--the ultimate Tulane Baseball Fan.)
From: becky
i had a small grease fire and would like to do repairs myself. lol. but i have a couple of questions.
1. my cabinets over the stove are blackk. do i need to refinish or can i clean them? if cleaning is possible, what equiptment do i need?
2. while i am repainting, there are several areas on wood trim where old paint was not wiped off. How can i get this off without taking trim down?
Becky...wow. I am sorry about your grease fire. What a horrible situation!
I know next to NOTHING about cleaning up after a fire (knock on wood). Especially since I am not knowledgeable about anything outside of my small bubble of a life which includes this specific house, a very tall husband, a dog and a cat. And a big pile of assorted stuff. I am an expert in nothing home related outside of my own home...just a weary home improvement blogger.
But! I did find someone else ONLINE who may have an answer to your question:
HGTV star, Mary Ellen Pinkham!!!
She writes (cited here....)
To remove smoke and grease from painted surfaces, make a solution of starch in water, and paint it on. After it's dried, rub with a soft brush or a clean cloth. This removes stains without harming paint.
On oak, use a strong mixture of Spic & Span. When dry, it will looked stripped. Just buff it with soft towels and it will be as good as new.
Baking soda and water will clean smoke and grease off other surfaces.
Mary Ellen Pinkham is a cleaning expert! (I had no idea that there WERE cleaning experts other than my mom.) Mary Ellen Pinkham would absolutely hate my house right now.
As for the cabinetry, if it is just a little bit of paint, go for a low cost solution. If the paint is on wood, try a paint stripper from your local hardware store.
If the paint is on veneer, we can turn to Dr. Paint. (I kid you not. How does someone get a doctorate in paint? His thesis must have really been something.)
His answer on this question...as cited here...is:
Removing paint from a veneer surface can be difficult. You may want to contact a company called Dumond Chemicals. Dumond Chemicals makes a product called Peel-Away that can be used to remove old finishes from many surfaces. The Peel-Away system is environmentally safe and there are NO FUMES AND NO FLAMMABLE SOLVENTS. The system includes a paste that is spread or sprayed over the surface and then covered with a fibrous laminated cloth. After the paint has dissolved the cloth is removed with the bulk of the paste and paint adhering to it and the stripped surface is washed clean and neutralized. For more information on the correct Peel-Away products visit their web site at www.peelaway.com.
I can't take any responsibility for the answers of Mary Ellen or Dr. Paint. I don't know them personally. So proceed with caution and try to get a second opinion.
Ahha! I DID figure out something that I have know a little about...searching the Internet for answers.
(Photo via ai.zee)
The next time you need to find an answer to a question that is more complicated than, "What is a cow?", try what is called a "Boolean search."
Google.com is the search engine in the English language that I turn to for this. Though any search engine will do.
Let's take Becky's problem with cleaning up from her grease fire. I typed the following into Google:
grease fire clean
...and VOILA! The answer from Mary Ellen Pinkham was at the top of the list.
Boolean searches are fun and helpful. Even the name is cool. Try saying it a few times out loud, "Boolean. Boolean."
Many librarians love the sound of that word. So, make friends with a librarian today! Librarians are also fun and helpful.
And now I think I need some coffee.
Cabinet Refacing:
Face Your Kitchen | Your Guide to Kitchen Cabinet Refacing |
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