February 2, 1998
IS SOMETHING BROKEN, leaking, or shabby-looking in your house? Found a weird stain on your carpet and don't know how to remove it? The Tripod Handy Girls can help! Check out the latest questions they've answered, below. For a full archive of Handy Girls answers, go here. If that doesn't help, go ahead and Ask the Handy Girls. New here? Come on in and meet the girls.


Tripod member Caramba asks:
HELP! We have a mouse problem in our basement! We have set out two types of traps — the regular snap trap with peanut butter on it, and the tin box live trap. We got three mice already, but now the mice are eating the peanut butter and not setting off the traps! The live traps don't seem to be working. It has been two weeks now and I am terrified of them! What else can we do to get the critters out?
Handy Girl Bernadette replies

Tripod member Squarshy asks:
What's the best way to remove old candle wax from a painted wood surface? The paint is harsh flat white (courtesy of my frugal landlord) so stains and other stuff just smear across it when I try to clean it. I'm afraid I'll remove some paint if I try to scrub the wax off.
Handy Girl Bernadette replies

Tripod member RhondaD asks:
I'm considering putting a tile floor in a very small bathroom. Will I have to install some type of subfloor? Will I have to pull the toilet, or figure out how the cut the tile to go around it?
Handy Girl Bernadette replies

Tripod member Angelyna asks:
I just recently moved into my first apartment. The landlord was kind enough to install new carpet, but then his crew painted the walls without covering the floors. How do I get paint out of the carpet without ruining it?
Handy Girl Candi replies

Tripod member rescue1 asks:
We recently had a Christmas party and a large pillar candle leaked all over my carpet and was not discovered until just recently. The wax is very thick and bright red. I have tried scraping it off and realized that the wax has actually soaked into the carpet fibers. Any suggestions for removing the wax? The carpeting is only a year old.
Handy Girl Candi replies

Tripod member GreenBlue asks:
I've got a wood floor that, with 50 years of use, has no protective coating except a coat of wax. Got any idea on how to help this without major sanding operations?
Handy Girl Candi replies

Tripod member SigridV asks:
I would like to know if there is anyway of fixing scratches in glass. While sanding some French doors, I accidentally scratched some of the glass panes.
Handy Girl Al replies

Tripod member Squarshy asks:
My lampshades are grimy with dirt and dead bugs (wanna come over?) and I would like to know how to clean them without the benefit of a doodad-loaded vacuum.
Handy Girl Al replies

Tripod member Amee asks:
A friend has had a professional painter working in her house for the past year, à la Murphy Brown. One of the things he's done is a wonderful color-on-color rag job in her library. I can't afford the painter and my home doesn't include a library, but I'd still like a creamy yellow ragged paint job for my living room/entry way. How do I do it?
Handy Girl Karen replies

Tripod member lxs asks:
I plan to strip and polyurethane my wood floor in the spring, but in the meantime I wanted to put a temporary finish on the floor because it was looking very dull. I applied floor wax and buffed it with a cloth. It looks better, but the floor looks a little greasy. I probably should have rented a buffer, but was trying to do it cheaply because I plan to do it again in a few months anyway. Is there anything else I can try to make the finish look better?
Handy Girl Karen replies

Tripod member Squarshy asks:
I want to strip and refinish a dresser that has thin (1/8") overlays of maple on the drawer fronts and on the top of the dresser. The dresser is now stained evil '50s dark, and I'd like to give it more of a cherry stain. What's the best way to do this?
Handy Girl Jennifer replies