When something brand new comes on the market you are the first to know about it because you read this great paper. We all have a toilet fill valves. And they fill your toilet tank with water. So you say – big deal. But there is a new toilet fill valve out called the Hydro Clean Fill Valve that:
1. Will tell you when you have a leak
2. No tools required to install
3. It will keep your tank clean
4. Could save you 10,000’s of dollars.
Lift the lid on the toilet tank and you will see a 1" round tube that is called an overflow.
The water level is kept below so in case of failure and too much water comes into the tank it will not flood the room. But it also has another reason for being in the tank. There is a plastic tube that comes from the fill valve that clips on to the tube and it fills the bowl with water. It stops running when the tank is filled. With a standard valve we waste over 3000 gallons of water per toilet. But we have an adjustment on the new Hydro Valve, which is so easy a child could do it. While you have the lid off your toilet tank make sure that the hose you have going to the over flow pipe has a good clip holding the hose to the over flow pipe. I had a plumber change out all of my fill valves because I just couldn’t find time. He didn’t clip the hose down to the pipe. And after a few flushes at 2 o’clock in the morning it was raining down in the living room. That cost me a few thousand- the clip is 15 cents. If I had had a Hydro Clean Valve this wouldn’t have happened. I am taking the time to install Hydro Clean in every toilet. To find out more about Hydro Clean go to www.hydrocleanez.com. If nothing else you will learn how your toilet can waste water, even if you have a water saver. Remember never put chlorine in the tank of your toilet- it might keep it clean but if will ruin the soft rubber flappers in the tank. And if your flapper is not sealing right---that’s right- you are wasting water. And that translates in to $$$$$.

And now to the e-mail…..

Question: Johnnie we have a flagstone patio that had a crack running the length of the patio. The installer replaced a large section of the flagstone, but now the old flagstone and the new flagstone do not match in color. The installer has tried several different sealers and enhancers to try to remedy the situation but so far nothing has made a difference. We keep thinking there must be some kind of stain made for a problem like this in lieu of replacing the flagstone totally. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer: You can stain the flagstone with a Coronado product called "Finial Finish". But you have to make sure that you can stain- drop water on the flagstone, if it beads up you will have to remove the finish- if the water soaks in – you can stain.

Question: Johnnie I have a ten year old Heat N Glow fireplace that has brass coating around the facing. I want to change the facing to something more modern. Local dealers are telling me there is no retrofit for this, but I can paint over the brass finish. Any ideas on how to do this? Painting it black would be ok with me.

Answer: There is one product called Coronado Grip and Seal that will stick to most any surface and should do the job. Then you can paint it with any heat resistant paint, which most every time comes in black!

Question: Johnnie my garbage can (it’s that one supplied by the city) stinks so bad. I nearly faint every time I open it. Is there anything I can spray inside the can so I don’t have to put a cloths pin on my nose?

Answer: Open it up and rinse it out with clear water and leave the lid open to dry- when it’s all dried out, spray it down with Bio Zap, it works every time.

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KTSA (5500 AM) from 9-11 or call 828-8907. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.