The bathtubs that were installed as standard in many suites are poorly designed in a number of subtle ways.
 
The bottom of the tub in my suite has a hollow are where a little bit of water remains after the all the rest has drained away. Over time, the evaporation of this pool results in a stubborn stain on the bottom of the tub.

Wiping it up or into the drain after each use is a pain, but necessary to avoid that build up of scale if you take pride in your tub.

The same problem occurs along the back of the tub lip against the wall. The tub has a curl slightly downwards as it approaches the tiled wall. At least mine does. Wiping the water up after each use again saves a lot of scrubbing later.

Another problem, potentially more serious, is that the front corner at each end of the tub is shaped so that the water lying against the wall is not prevented from slipping over the side of the tub and down the face of the tub against the wall. Over time, this periodic wetting of the baseboard can wreak havoc. A wood or fibreboard baseboard may swell and separate from the wall, allowing a crack which is a haven for mold. Even a tile baseboard needs to be properly caulked to prevent water from collecting behind it.

The water, over time, can cause the metal wall studs and plate to rust, mold to appear on the drywall in the wall cavity, and in severe cases to destroy the baseboard on the other side of the wall.

The remedy is relatively simple, if not elegant. Apply a bead of caulking on the rim of the tub from the corner of the tile diagonally to the where the rim turns down inside the tub. This will trap the water from going over the outside of tub and if there is a lot of water, as in a prolonged shower, will direct the extra back into the tub. You can also buy water dams at the hardware store which you caulk into place at the outer corners of your tub.
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Also, check that there is no gap between your baseboard and the wall at the tub. As a precaution, run a bead of caulking along the top of the baseboard and along the top and bottom of the quarter round at the floor, if there is one. The bathroom is a humid place; keeping moisture out of enclosed spaces will eliminate the water damage and discourage the formation of mold.

Do you have a gas stove, fireplace or other open flame appliance in your home? If you do, you must have a working CO detector. It became the law in Ontario on October 15.

The alarms hard-wired into your building’s fire system are to detect smoke and heat. They do not detect carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas so you are unaware of its existence in your environment. It kills. More than 50 people die each year from CO poisoning in Canada and many more are treated in hospital. Survivors of CO poisoning may suffer permanent brain damage.

CO detectors are available in many forms. The cheapest models plug into a wall socket, but also have a battery backup. Portable models are more expensive, but you can take them with you when you travel. A variety of detectors are available at most hardware and building centres such as Rona, Canadian Tire or Home Depot. They vary in price from about $30 to over $100. It is advisable to have at least one CSA-6.19.01 approved CO detector outside bedroom areas, but have one on each level of your unit. If you already have one, test it and check its expiry date. Detectors manufactured before 2008 will NOT meet the new CSA standard. Batteries should be renewed annually unless they are lithium-ion which have a 10-year life expectancy. An annual inspection of your appliances by a qualified technician is also a good idea.
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Exposure to carbon monoxide reduces a person’s ability to think clearly so remember, if the alarm sounds, get everyone out of the suite to a safe place and then call 911. 

The developments in lighting in the past few years have been significant. Changes and improvements appear frequently so it is appropriate to review the criteria that you can use when choosing a new bulb or light fixture.

A walk down the bulb aisle at your favourite hardware or building supply store can be confusing, so I am going to use this column to sort out some of the criteria you might use to select an appropriate replacement bulb. Just remember, although the newer bulbs will provide a good dose of sticker shock, the cheaper bulbs using new technology may not deliver on the promises written on the carton. The following comments are general, but assume that we are talking about bulbs that screw into a standard socket and are not subject to frequent on-off cycles which affect longevity, especially of fluorescent bulbs. Also remember that some fluorescent bulbs take time to warm up before they reach their full output. Look for an “instant-on” rating if that is a concern.

A word about the abbreviations and acronyms you will encounter. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode; CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent (usually meaning a spiral tube by itself or contained in a glass shell so it looks like an incandescent bulb). Another thing you have to be careful about is that most CFLs are not dimmable, while most LEDs and halogen bulbs can be connected to a dimmable circuit. Check the label or ask the store clerk if you need dimmable bulbs.

The first thing you may want to consider after you have absorbed the cost is what colour of light you are willing to accept. Colour in lighting is measured in Kelvins. Bulbs for domestic use range from 1800 to about 6000 degrees Kelvin. 1800 K represents the warm orange light of a candle while the cool colour of the noon sun is about 5600 K. Bulbs marked “daylight” are usually around 5000 K. The normal incandescent light that we have been accustomed to buying is rated at about 2700 K. “Cool white” fluorescents are probably in the range of 4100 to 4500 K.
Many people have been concerned about the shift away from incandescent bulbs because when they look in a mirror they appear better, more healthy, when the light is in the range of 2500 to 3000 K. A great deal of effort is going into devising efficient bulbs in that colour range.
The second consideration is the amount of light produced by a bulb. The light output is measured in lumens, a 40 watt incandescent bulb produces about 490 lumens; 60 watts = 860 lumens and 100 watts = 1620 lumens. By comparison, an 8 watt LED produces about 470 lumens, almost as much as the 40 watt incandescent using five times the amount of power.
The third point is longevity. Most bulbs are rated in hours of useful life. Incandescent bulbs are rated from 1,000 to 2,000 hours or 1 to 2 years of use at 3 hours per day. CFLs may last 5 to 10 years while LEDs can be expected to last 20 years or more. That is why a $25 LED will save the owner over $125 in energy and replacement costs over the lifetime of the bulb compared to a 50 cent incandescent. It also means that you should look for warranties on the packaging. Some LED bulbs have a 5-year warranty. Could you find the invoice 5 years down the road?
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A final reminder: All fluorescent bulbs, compact or tube type, contain mercury. At the end of their life they should not be put in the garbage or recycled. Put them in the hazardous waste system of your building or take them to a drop-off centre such as the City’s Solid Waste Depot at 400 Commissioners Street in the Portlands. (Tuesday to Friday 10 to 6 and Saturday 7 to noon) Almost all incandescent halogen and LED bulbs go in the regular garbage.

Mr. Fixit offers some helpful and sensible tips to keep the utility costs for condos down.

Water in Toronto is cheap, but it is not free. Electricity is expensive and likely to become more so. Saving both is good for the environment, for the condos and ultimately for you.

When you heat water, measure it first. Only heat what you intend to use. If you are making a cup of tea or coffee, don’t boil a quart (litre). If you use an electric jug, you have to heat a minimum so the element doesn’t overheat, but don’t put in more than that if you do not need it.

You can brush your teeth with one cup of water. Try it, you may like it. Compare that with how much water you use if you let the tap run while brushing. If you use an electric toothbrush, charge it only when it starts to slow down; probably a couple of weeks or more. It lengthens the life of the battery and saves electricity.