Tag Archives: surfactant leaching

EP70: Drip Irrigation with Grapids, Surfactant Leaching, Peeling Decks, and Other Common Paint Problems

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It’s largely been a dry summer. And while the landscaping at Dan’s house is doing remarkably well, the landscaping at Betsy’s is shriveling and dying. The difference? Drip irrigation! Today, we sit down with Aaron Katerberg from Grapids Irrigation to talk about some DIY solutions you can implement today!

We’ll also be talking with RepcoLite Sales Rep, Erick Lowing, about some common paint problems he runs into from day to day. In fact, the topics he plans to discuss are topics he’s dealt with multiple times just this week! That’s about as “common” as you can get! Tune in for the problems and most importantly, the fixes!

Listen here:

EP25 – September 23, 2017: Surfactant Leaching, Appliance Shopping 101, and Color Flow

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Every time Dan goes to buy a refrigerator, he makes a critical mistake that MANY people make. He starts by going to the store and looking at all the available options. He picks a fridge he just can’t live without, then goes home to measure the space. This is the point where he is overwhelming disappointed. The fridge he has chosen will never, in a million years, fit in the space he has available. He finds out the only fridge that will fit is the most plain, boring model. If he had measured BEFORE he went to the store, he wouldn’t have been disappointed. We’ve got everything you need to know before you step foot in the appliance store.

Listen here:

Show notes for episode 025:

We got a question from a listener! She has a tan sticky residue on the walls of her freshly painted bathroom and she wants to know what it is. The good news is, we know what it is and its more common than people realize. We dig in to the fix and discuss some hilarious (but wrong!) ideas of the cause that come straight from the internet.
It's a common occurrence: we go to look at appliances, find one we love, only to find out it won't fit in the space we have available. We are so disappointed! If only we hadn't looked at the fridge with the LED touch screen and coffee maker! If only we had only looked at the refrigerators that ACTUALLY fit in our space. Steve Rozema of Northgate Appliance walks us through things we need to know before we ever start looking for kitchen appliances. It's guaranteed to save all of us from a lot of disappointment and help us get more out of our appliance shopping.
In the second segment we talked with Steve Rozema from Northgate Appliance in Holland with the intent of talking about kitchen appliances. However, he had so much information, we only made it through refrigerators! Lucky for us, Steve agreed to hang around to finish talking about the rest of the kitchen appliances.
We see it all the time at RepcoLite; people are worried about choosing a paint color because they've had bad experiences in the past getting color continuity throughout their home. We call this color flow. Usually people paint one room at a time and focus on that room, not how it fits in with the rest of the house. The result is a patchwork feeling. We have simple ways to help you gain confidence in creating color flow. And if you STILL don't feel comfortable creating color flow, Benjamin Moore has the "magic" Affinity fan deck that takes the stress out of choosing color and makes it look like you hired a decorator! Affinity fan decks are available at all RepcoLite, Port City Paints, and Snyder Paints locations.

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Color Me Home Episode 16: Scary Bathroom? Simple Advice!

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Sometimes spending time in our bathrooms can almost feel like we’re on the set of a horror movie. Mold and mildew growing in the corners, on the ceilings, and some bizarre, horrible oily stuff oozing out of the walls. These things are real and they’re very common. But the good news is that they’re very easy to fix! In today’s episode, Betsy and Dan talk about how you can fix the problems and, better yet, avoid them in the future!

Episode Outline

  • Surfactant Leaching (0:27)
  • How Do You Fix Surfactant Leaching? (5:33)
  • Mold & Mildew Problems (8:31)
  • How Do You Fix Mold & Mildew Problems? (11:23)
  • Avoiding These Common Problems Entirely! (16:34)
    • Ventilate with the Right Bathroom Fan (17:31)
    • Use the Right Paint! Aura Bath & Spa (23:30)
    • Let the Paint Dry! (26:16)

Killing Mold and Mildew

Killing mold and mildew isn’t complicated. It just requires a little care! (We don’t want you to wreck your clothes, burn your skin, or blind yourself.) So, wear old clothes. Probably some gloves. And don’t forget safety glasses. (No, you probably won’t look terribly cool, but being able to still see when you’re done is worth the concession.)

Once you’ve got all your safety gear, just mix 1 part bleach to 3 or 4 parts water depending on how bad the situation is. Then wipe the affected areas down. Or, you could put the solution into a spray bottle and spray the mold. Either way, let it sit for about 10 minutes or so and then rinse the areas with clean water.

At that point, in most cases, the mold and/or mildew will be gone and the surface will look as good as new. If not, and you decide you need to repaint, then you’ll want to prime those spots with either B-I-N Primer or RepcoLite’s own ProFlo Alkyd Primer.

For a more thorough discussion of all of that, just click here!

Finding the Right Bathroom Fan

As we mentioned in the episode, a bathroom fan is critical to dealing with (or even avoiding) many paint problems that can occur in there. However, it’s important that you find the right fan. Bathroom fans are rated by Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM’s). Usually, this works out to about one CFM per square foot of bathroom area.  Below is a chart to help you determine which fan is right for you, taken from The Home Ventilating Institute (and, judging by their name, they should know!)

BATHROOM SIZEMINIMUM VENTILATION (CFM) REQUIRED
Less than 50 sq. feet50 CFM
50 - 100 sq. feet1 CFM per sq. foot of floor space
More than 100 sq. feetAdd the CFM requirement for each fixture:
Toilet 50 CFM
Shower 50 CFM
Bathtub 50 CFM
Jetted tub 100 CFM

Aura Bath and Spa: The Perfect Bathroom Paint

aura_bath_and_spa

Whether you’ve had scary paint issues in your bathroom or not, Aura Bath and Spa is the paint you’ll want to use the next time you paint. In fact, it’s hands-down the first paint we suggest when recommending a bathroom paint. It’s a problem solver and a problem “preventer!” It’s mold and mildew resistant and it will resistant surfactant leaching better than any other product out there! Here’s some more features:

  • Optimized for humid environments
  • Extreme hide for fewer coats
  • Color Lock Technology means no color rub-off
  • Zero VOC, low odor
  • Stains wash off easily
  • Excellent touch up
  • Self priming
  • Easy application and clean up
  • Provides a mildew resistant coating

One note: While Aura Bath & Spa has excellent resistance to surfactant leaching when applied to new substrates, surfactant leaching stains on existing coatings can telegraph through Aura Bath & Spa if they are not removed prior to painting. So make sure you wash the walls well before you paint!

We recorded an interview with our Benjamin Moore Sales Rep, Kevin Hermann regarding Aura Bath & Spa that is worth listening to if you’d like more info. It can be found here!

Click here for more info on Aura Bath & Spa