Apr 11, 2015 4 min read

Q. I live in a Cape with a gas hot water heating system. There is at least a 6-degree difference in the temperature between the two floors. When I have the thermostat set at 74 degrees and I am watching TV, my nose is cold so it’s obviously not 74 degrees. I watch TV with two sweaters on plus an afghan to be comfortable and the thermostat is set at 74 degrees. I have raised it to 80 degrees when I am desperate but then the second floor is unbearably warm.

When I go upstairs, it is comfortably warm at 74 degrees. I have had several supposed professionals look at it.

The air has been let out of the pipes which one said was the solution. No change. Another said the thermostat was fine in spite of the fact it read 74 degrees and it was obvious, to me, that the temperature was lower as further evidenced by a thermometer I had in the room.

Also, when the heat comes on, the baseboard gets warm and then cools down. Is this normal for this type of heating? I can’t recall whether or not it was always this way. Up until recently, I was out of the house until evening so it really wasn’t so noticeable. Now that I’m home all day, it’s really problematic.

A. You need a professional who knows what he is talking about. Your dealer should be able to provide one. Me? I think you need a new thermostat.

Q. My ancient car has been leaking oil onto the driveway asphalt pavement for a long time now, so long that the oil is thick and dry, and ugly. How can I remove it without messing up the asphalt?

A. Hardened oil gets harder to remove over the years, but this is how you can try: Wet the hardened oil with paint thinner, which hopefully will soften it, then pile on lots of Speedy Dry and other absorbent clay and materials. Leave it on the oil until it changes color, then shovel it up and throw it away. Repeat as needed.

Q. 1. For some reason, blue ink got on my pink leather purse. How can I take off it off? It probably came from a ball-point pen. 2. My old vinyl wallpaper is in good shape, seams and all, but the top border of the same vinyl is loosening and separating a bit. How can I fix that? 3. I have a large slab of white (with a few darker seams) marble that seems a bit dirty. How is it best cleaned?

A. Answers by the number: 1. Most inks are pretty soluble in detergent and water, so try washing your leather with Spic and Span and water. There are ink eradicators around, but don’t use them without a professional. 2. For the border, insert a putty knife under the border so you can slip in vinyl paste, smooth out and roll lightly to squeeze out excess paste. This should work, but if it does not, you can buy special pastes for pesky problems such as seams and borders. If worse comes to worse, take off the border and rehang it. 3. Clean the marble slab with Spic and Span and water. Not clean enough? Make a mix of 1 part household bleach and 10 parts water. Not clean? Reduce the ratio to 1 to 8, and so on until you get to 1 to 2.

Q. I have a chest of drawers that are 70-plus years old and have a musty odor. How can they be freshened for storing seasonal clothes?

A. Make a mix of 1 part household bleach and 3 parts water, and paint it on the outside and especially the inside of the chest and drawers. Let dry or wipe with an old clean cloth.

Q. I have two basement doors and would like to get rid of one. Inside, there are two concrete steps up to the door. On the outside, there are two concrete steps down to the “landing” which is hard-packed soil. There is a concrete “wall” on the other two sides. Weeds grow in this landing and it’s a mess. Surrounding the opening are 4-by-4 pressure-treated timbers. I would like to make the outside hole disappear by filling it with soil or concrete. But what do I do about the door? The pressure exerted by a filler would probably push down the door. I don’t want any moisture to enter the cellar.

A. I think it will be easy. Take down the door and hardware, leaving an opening surrounded by concrete. Fill the hole and let it cure. Then fill in the opening with 8-by-16-inch concrete blocks, mortaring them in place. Or, a mason can do this in one day.