It's not been the best weekend for me housewise. Please have patience with two unrelated queries. One of my own making and one not!
1. My duplex (ground and first floor) is 7-8 years old. I have owned it from new for the last 7 years but I think construction started in early 2004. It is brick built. The kitchen is at the front of the house, and in the corner (about halfway up the wall beside the front window so an exterior wall) circles have started to appear. I only noticed them last weekend and there were three. To be honest I thought I was imagining things - as the bin is in that corner so I use it every day and hadn't seen anything, but my mam saw them as well. This weekend I now have 16 circles of various sizes. They are not damp to the touch. They are slightly darker than the paint (which is an orange colour) and have a light ring around them. With the heat on they seem to recede but I couldn't be sure. One has now appeared on the interior wall beside it (which is at right angles to the exterior wall). There is a balcony above and they are in line with the side of that but I can't see any sealant missing. The front of the house dips right outside the area and the drain is there.
My friend thinks it could be mould. But it's not black, isn't damp and doesn't smell. I'm also wondering why it would only happen now and how do you fix it? I was thinking about getting the kitchen painted anyway - would that work?
2. Second one is my own fault. In a fit of enthusiasm I took out the bathroom sink stopper to clean the filter. To stop the screw falling back into the sink and down the hole, I popped the stopper (which is a metal one lifted by means of a plunger thing) back into the hole (stupid I know). Now of course I can't get it out. I took out the pedestal and tried to poke it out from underneath. I'm reluctant to have to get a plumber for what I imagine is a simple job. Anyway I rang four plumbers and not one called me back. I've attacked it with screwdrivers and a pliers, but I can't simply fit a wrench into the space. My friends and my dad are worse than useless. Any ideas?
Thanks, for someone who uttered the words today, why did I give out about people who rented.
1. My duplex (ground and first floor) is 7-8 years old. I have owned it from new for the last 7 years but I think construction started in early 2004. It is brick built. The kitchen is at the front of the house, and in the corner (about halfway up the wall beside the front window so an exterior wall) circles have started to appear. I only noticed them last weekend and there were three. To be honest I thought I was imagining things - as the bin is in that corner so I use it every day and hadn't seen anything, but my mam saw them as well. This weekend I now have 16 circles of various sizes. They are not damp to the touch. They are slightly darker than the paint (which is an orange colour) and have a light ring around them. With the heat on they seem to recede but I couldn't be sure. One has now appeared on the interior wall beside it (which is at right angles to the exterior wall). There is a balcony above and they are in line with the side of that but I can't see any sealant missing. The front of the house dips right outside the area and the drain is there.
My friend thinks it could be mould. But it's not black, isn't damp and doesn't smell. I'm also wondering why it would only happen now and how do you fix it? I was thinking about getting the kitchen painted anyway - would that work?
2. Second one is my own fault. In a fit of enthusiasm I took out the bathroom sink stopper to clean the filter. To stop the screw falling back into the sink and down the hole, I popped the stopper (which is a metal one lifted by means of a plunger thing) back into the hole (stupid I know). Now of course I can't get it out. I took out the pedestal and tried to poke it out from underneath. I'm reluctant to have to get a plumber for what I imagine is a simple job. Anyway I rang four plumbers and not one called me back. I've attacked it with screwdrivers and a pliers, but I can't simply fit a wrench into the space. My friends and my dad are worse than useless. Any ideas?
Thanks, for someone who uttered the words today, why did I give out about people who rented.