May 2, 2010 AsktheBuilder News And Tips

What's in This Issue?

Latest News
Deck Sealer Test
Mountain Lion
Overstock Stain Solver Sale

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Latest News

Yesterday, May 1, 2010, my son and I drove 15.5 hours from NH to Cincinnati, OH. He finished his second year of college the day before and came back to Cincinnati to be with many of his high school buddies.

It's spring, and wow were the bugs out. They were especially brutal through upstate New York. It reminded me of the opening few minutes of the movie Men in Black where that alien smuggler was driving that van in the desert night.

Overnight here in Cincinnati, it rained. It was raining when I got up. That was a blessing for bug removal as the constant saturation and humidity rehydrated the bug carcasses.

I went outdoors in a light rain with my dog Lady about an hour ago, she love chasing the stream of water from the hose, to take advantage of this gift from Mother Nature. With a little soapy water and a sponge, I got rid of all the bug bodies with very little effort.

This is pretty much the way you can get rid of many stains. You just need to rehydrate the dried deposit. Rehydrate simply means adding water back into the mix. Some things don't rehydrate well. In those cases, you need my Stain Solver. More on that below.

All too often I get a desperate email from a person who was impatient and ruined a surface. Usually the damage happens by immediately scrubbing the stain instead of allowing water to naturally soften it. This aggressive behavior, mixed with an abrasive cleaner, can spell disaster for counter tops, acrylic showers and tubs, painted surfaces, even glass.

I'll often use a paper towel to rehydrate a stain. I saturate the towel with water and then lay it on top of the stain. I push the towel against the surface like wallpaper. You can do this on vertical surfaces as well as flat. Let it soak for 30 minutes or an hour. Don't do this on surfaces harmed by water.

Deck Sealer Test

In the last issue, I talked about how I was going to do a test of three deck sealers on my cedar boat dock. I applied the sealers on Friday, and taped the video doing it!

I'm hoping the video will be post produced this weekend, so I can share it next week. Wait until you see this video. The difference between the two *clear* sealers was like night and day. I also had a little fun in the video. Good thing I don't make my money as a comedian. I'd be living in a cardboard hovel.

Mountain Lion

Last weekend, I met a neighbor who lives very close to the woods I own in NH. He showed me photos of mountain lion tracks in the snow taken not far from my property. Yikes! I thought those bad boys were west of the Mississippi!

A quick Google search shows that these beasts are absolutely being spotted east of the Mississippi. Read this six-year-old story from USA Today.

Overstock Stain Solver Sale

Last Thursday, I told you about the mistake we made in packing too many four-pound boxes of Stain Solver for the huge spring sale. I MUST get these overstock items out of the new warehouse.

Acckkkk! You can save 20 percent off the normal price, but only until Tuesday May 4th at midnight Pacific Time.   I used the Stain Solver to clean my dock before I shot the videos about the deck sealer. I use it in my laundry. You may be a person who's used it to clean floor tile grout.

On Thursday when I announced the sale, I got inundated with questions about what does it clean. Bottom Line: Stain Solver cleans anything that's water washable.

A man from California asked if it would clean dog *poop* from a new white carpet. My answer, " ... in about five seconds!" Yes, it can take stains out of carpets in seconds. I cleaned numerous stains from my daughter's carpet back in March. It gets rid of red wine stains, grape juice, Kool-Aid, orange and red cream soda, etc.

One customer I talked with on the phone the past few days told me how it completely restored upholstered chairs the arms of which had gotten soiled.

I urge you to act now. I honestly have no idea when the next Stain Solver promotion will be. This sale only happened because we made a mistake, one that I'm pretty sure will never happen again.

Oh, and please read this if you're a new subscriber and get torqued about promotions in free newsletters.

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