Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

stickguy

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

I usually just do the touchless for the undercarriage blast. And expect the sides to come out slimy. I generally towel it down to take care of that. I only use a car wash in an emergency in the winter to get salt off the underneath.

Though yesterday we did drive past a 5 bay spray it yourself car wash. Hard to find those up here. I’ll use that next time.

————————————————-
I thought you bought one of those $30 gizmo’s that you attach to your hose and roll it under the car. I’m pretty sure I posted a link of the one grandson #1 bought. He thought it worked pretty good (a good bit of junk in the driveway).

jmonroe

I put it in the amazon cart but never bought it. the issue is when it is below freezing and I am not pulling any hose out. I usually just stick the regular nozzle under there and do it that way. I also do my best to not go out when the salt spray is happening.

stickguy

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Goodness, how rude of me to be non-PC.

Yes, the primary bath, attached to the primary bedroom where the wife and I sleep. Also called an en-suite bath, in the venacular of HGTV.

The terminology is difficult. The one attached to the primary/master/main bedroom would/should not be called the main bath because it is only used by those who sleep in that bedroom. Everyone else uses what I would call the main bath in the house wherever it’s located, which wouldn’t be that one.

in new house listings now they call that the owner's suite.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Goodness, how rude of me to be non-PC.

Yes, the primary bath, attached to the primary bedroom where the wife and I sleep. Also called an en-suite bath, in the venacular of HGTV.

The terminology is difficult. The one attached to the primary/master/main bedroom would/should not be called the main bath because it is only used by those who sleep in that bedroom. Everyone else uses what I would call the main bath in the house wherever it’s located, which wouldn’t be that one.

in new house listings now they call that the owner's suite.

It wouldn't be an owners suit if it's being rented out now would it?

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

stickguy said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Goodness, how rude of me to be non-PC.

Yes, the primary bath, attached to the primary bedroom where the wife and I sleep. Also called an en-suite bath, in the venacular of HGTV.

The terminology is difficult. The one attached to the primary/master/main bedroom would/should not be called the main bath because it is only used by those who sleep in that bedroom. Everyone else uses what I would call the main bath in the house wherever it’s located, which wouldn’t be that one.

in new house listings now they call that the owner's suite.

It wouldn't be an owners suit if it's being rented out now would it?

————————————————
Picky, picky, picky.

jmonroe

ab348

stickguy said:

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Goodness, how rude of me to be non-PC.

Yes, the primary bath, attached to the primary bedroom where the wife and I sleep. Also called an en-suite bath, in the venacular of HGTV.

The terminology is difficult. The one attached to the primary/master/main bedroom would/should not be called the main bath because it is only used by those who sleep in that bedroom. Everyone else uses what I would call the main bath in the house wherever it’s located, which wouldn’t be that one.

in new house listings now they call that the owner's suite.

We had a useful term used for a very long time that everyone understood to mean one thing and one thing only. Then somebody spun a different and likely very erroneous intent on it and now we can’t come up with a decent replacement. I guess we’re going to be stuck with en suite which I don’t like either but seems more palatable than the others.

cdnpinhead

Gotta avoid those triggers. . .or not.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

I usually just do the touchless for the undercarriage blast. And expect the sides to come out slimy. I generally towel it down to take care of that. I only use a car wash in an emergency in the winter to get salt off the underneath.

Though yesterday we did drive past a 5 bay spray it yourself car wash. Hard to find those up here. I’ll use that next time.

————————————————-
I thought you bought one of those $30 gizmo’s that you attach to your hose and roll it under the car. I’m pretty sure I posted a link of the one grandson #1 bought. He thought it worked pretty good (a good bit of junk in the driveway).

jmonroe

I put it in the amazon cart but never bought it. the issue is when it is below freezing and I am not pulling any hose out. I usually just stick the regular nozzle under there and do it that way. I also do my best to not go out when the salt spray is happening.

————————————————
I’m sure you have a floor drain in the garage, so pull out both cars and put the one you want to clean over the floor drain and wash away. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

jmonroe

stickguy

nope. no floor drain. Never see those around here that I recall.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

nope. no floor drain. Never see those around here that I recall.

————————————————
That surprises me especially with a new build. I’ve never lived in a house that didn’t have a garage floor drain. It’s code around here these days in my hood.

jmonroe

xwesx

stickguy said:

in new house listings now they call that the owner's suite.

Huh. Sounds a lot like a master bedroom.

xwesx

stickguy said:

nope. no floor drain. Never see those around here that I recall.

Are you serious?! That's a travesty!

ab348

cdnpinhead said:

Gotta avoid those triggers. . .or not.

Hope you never need to have brake work done. Sourcing a new primary cylinder might be tough.

tjc78

No floor drain at my home!

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

No floor drain at my home!

None in any house I have had. No real need for one as there is no water source there and the driveway slopes down away from the house.

nyccarguy

Michaell said:

Not with a bang, but a whimper - T.S. Eliot

That's how I would describe the end of my professional career. Next month will be two years since I was laid off from my last company.

Since then, unemployement benefits and a series of part-time jobs, along with starting to draw down on my retirement funds and the monthly interest generated from my inheritence, have kept the creditors at bay.

While I am still applying for new positions, I am losing my optimism for securing something, given my age and the state of the job market.

Not that I was looking for a big retirement party and the proverbial gold watch, but I was at least hoping to determine on my own when I would quit work and start retirement.

The good news is that my retirement funds are in reasonable shape, so long as I don't take too much from it on an annual basis - at least, that's what my investment counselors at Fidelity tell me.

I am starting to look at ways to reduce the expense side of the ledger, primarily the size of my mortgage payment. I've got a fair amount of equity in my current home, and if I use that as a down payment to purchase something, somewhere, in the $400K range, my mortgage will be cut by 1/3, even with the higher interest rates.

Just trying to figure out where that might be is the issue - certainly not the Metro Denver area.

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry you are struggling financially. You, your wife, & step daughter have put a lot of work and a lot of love into that house. The mortgage is tough one. I hope things get better for you. Keep pluggin' away!

kyfdx

No floor drain in my garage, either. The only floor drain is in the lower level.

imidazol97

How many times have I said, "I wish a cop saw this driver do that" and was there to stop them.

A local Meijer store was hosting a program where cops shop with kids to pick out gifts in the store free for them to give them a better Christmas. 30 to 40 cops in the store, I assume off duty but wearing related shirts, etc.. So a shoplifter gets caught.

When I've seen these going on, there are police cars, marked and unmarked lined up along the front of the store. I think they transport the youngins' to and from in them! Meijers is an upscale version of Walmart and Kroger combined if you don't have them in your area.

Arrested, not convicted.


https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/woman-tries-to-shoplift-with-dozens-of-cops-inside-huber-heights-store/SUCHUMQNE5CZ5J3JT3UK423QCU/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_12026202

venture

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

No floor drain at my home!

None in any house I have had. No real need for one as there is no water source there and the driveway slopes down away from the house.

It's nice to have in the winter when you come through a lot of snow and pull in the garage.

Michaell

venture said:

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

No floor drain at my home!

None in any house I have had. No real need for one as there is no water source there and the driveway slopes down away from the house.

It's nice to have in the winter when you come through a lot of snow and pull in the garage.

I've owned three houses in CO - not one of them have had a floor drain in the garage.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

Michaell said:

Not with a bang, but a whimper - T.S. Eliot

That's how I would describe the end of my professional career. Next month will be two years since I was laid off from my last company.

Since then, unemployement benefits and a series of part-time jobs, along with starting to draw down on my retirement funds and the monthly interest generated from my inheritence, have kept the creditors at bay.

While I am still applying for new positions, I am losing my optimism for securing something, given my age and the state of the job market.

Not that I was looking for a big retirement party and the proverbial gold watch, but I was at least hoping to determine on my own when I would quit work and start retirement.

The good news is that my retirement funds are in reasonable shape, so long as I don't take too much from it on an annual basis - at least, that's what my investment counselors at Fidelity tell me.

I am starting to look at ways to reduce the expense side of the ledger, primarily the size of my mortgage payment. I've got a fair amount of equity in my current home, and if I use that as a down payment to purchase something, somewhere, in the $400K range, my mortgage will be cut by 1/3, even with the higher interest rates.

Just trying to figure out where that might be is the issue - certainly not the Metro Denver area.

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry you are struggling financially. You, your wife, & step daughter have put a lot of work and a lot of love into that house. The mortgage is tough one. I hope things get better for you. Keep pluggin' away!

Thanks for the positive feedback! Yes, our lifestyle has taken a bit of a hit - no vacations for us lately. But, we are making do. Just wasn't ready to be thinking about retirement quite so soon. I'd still like to get one more new (or new-ish) car in the near future!

jmonroe1

venture said:

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

No floor drain at my home!

None in any house I have had. No real need for one as there is no water source there and the driveway slopes down away from the house.

It's nice to have in the winter when you come through a lot of snow and pull in the garage.

————————————————
Yep, those guys without garage floor drains have to live with a wet sloppy floor until mother nature decides to dry it up. But I’m surprised so many areas of the country don’t require them. There otta be a law.

jmonroe

explorerx4

We don't have all those abandon mines for the water to drain into like PA does.

stickguy

Get a squeegee if it really bothers you. I just use a push broom if needed. Or the leaf blower.

I suspect there are concerns about garage crap going into the sewer system if that is where the floor drains into. Or does it go into the waste water system?

xwesx

stickguy said:

Get a squeegee if it really bothers you. I just use a push broom if needed. Or the leaf blower.

I suspect there are concerns about garage crap going into the sewer system if that is where the floor drains into. Or does it go into the waste water system?

The typical setup is a drywell directly under, or near, the drain. The primary purpose is for collecting melt water from vehicles parked there, so maybe a "northern" thing, but it is also surprising how much water can drip off cars when driving in the rain. I find it handy for defrosting freezers, processing meat, or really anything that requires water that you'd prefer not to do outside and would be difficult to accomplish if confined to something like a sink or bath tub.

It is definitely NOT for oils.

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

We don't have all those abandon mines for the water to drain into like PA does.

————————————————
Your loss and that’s the price you pay for not abandoning your old mines.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

There otta be a law

Sorry, but that crowd just got voted out,

stickguy

If the drain is on the floor it is going to collect automotive fluids.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

If the drain is on the floor it is going to collect automotive fluids.

————————————————
Not my problem. I didn’t put it there.

jmonroe

explorerx4

The last couple of houses have had a garage floor that is somewhat angled toward the front so it will drain that way.
I did see a house in our neighborhood that had a drain in the garage floor.
They poured the floor angled to the drain in the center. Seemed a little strange.
The floor wasn't very flat. If you get a drain, I guess that's how they do it now.

ab348

stickguy said:

Get a squeegee if it really bothers you. I just use a push broom if needed. Or the leaf blower.

I suspect there are concerns about garage crap going into the sewer system if that is where the floor drains into. Or does it go into the waste water system?

Coincidentally, in my latest water bill there was an insert about having stormwater drains like gutters, garage drains and driveway drains connected to the sanitary sewer system as I guess was often the case with older homes. That is now illegal (and apparently has been for a while). They say having that stuff going to the treatment plants puts a strain on the system. What was interesting was how they say they hunt down those that are so connected. They pump smoke into the sewers under pressure. When it starts coming out of your gutters or driveway drain, they nab you.

stickguy

In our NJ house there was a lot of ground water and clay soil so the sump pump (with French drains) ran a lot. And was set up to exit out a pvc pipe that ran across the back yard and came out of the ground in the bank of a drainage ditch behind our house. Which was fine except for in a cold snap when it would freeze then burn out the pump and sometimes get water in the basement before we noticed. After the 2nd time the plumber capped off the outlet through the foundation and ran it into the waste clean out of the main drain pipe out of the house that happened to be right above the sump. Worked like a charm, never A problem again. Totally illegal apparently but even when we sold the house nobody noticed! Pretty sure our last house up here drained into the waste water (not sewer) system. As does our new house. Though this place has sandy soil and gray drainage. Don’t think the pump has ever run and the builder says it probably never will.

venture

stickguy said:

If the drain is on the floor it is going to collect automotive fluids.

I don't have fluids gushing out of my cars. Maybe some do, but that is a stretch. If these automotive fluids don't have a drain, where do they go?

If you don't have a drain, fine. Thats not a reason to insinuate a drain in the garage is a bad idea. I just came home and all the snow and ice that has accumulated under the car is now dropping off and going to the drain.

snakeweasel

venture said:

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

No floor drain at my home!

None in any house I have had. No real need for one as there is no water source there and the driveway slopes down away from the house.

It's nice to have in the winter when you come through a lot of snow and pull in the garage.

Maybe, but in reality the only significant amount would be in the wheel well and I usually kick it off and it's a solid block which I kick outdoor. Beyond that any snow on my car would be minimal and anything melting off the car wouldn't accumulate enough to run to a drain.

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Get a squeegee if it really bothers you. I just use a push broom if needed. Or the leaf blower.

I suspect there are concerns about garage crap going into the sewer system if that is where the floor drains into. Or does it go into the waste water system?

Coincidentally, in my latest water bill there was an insert about having stormwater drains like gutters, garage drains and driveway drains connected to the sanitary sewer system as I guess was often the case with older homes. That is now illegal (and apparently has been for a while). They say having that stuff going to the treatment plants puts a strain on the system. What was interesting was how they say they hunt down those that are so connected. They pump smoke into the sewers under pressure. When it starts coming out of your gutters or driveway drain, they nab you.

Storm water in my neighborhood goes into the lake behind me. That lake is connected through underground drainage system to another lake and that one is connected to another lake which is connected to the river system which eventually connects to the Gulf of Mexico.

explorerx4

Years ago, CT switched their ice melter to calcium chloride(?).
One of the negatives is it attacks rubber/flexible plastic.
The DOT said you need to go the the carwash to mitigate it's effects.
After having to replace a few axle/driveshaft seals, I started going to the carwash at least once a month in the winter. Never had a problem after that.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

A really good automatic car wash with cloth does the best job. “Touchless” washes are generally useless.

If any of you driveway washers do it with no cloth, let me know how that works out. 🙄

Yes, the brush type car wash does a better job but at what price. As a former car wash “professional operator” I know that dirt and grit can lodge in those big cloth thumpers and scratch the clear coat. Same with the bristles on the spinning brushes. Over time you’ll notice. While not perfect the brushless systems at least washes most of the salt off.

When I hand wash I use a microfiber mitt and drying towels which I run through the washing machine after each use.

My former career location:

With that doorway it looks like the car wash place could only do tiny cars.

When I worked there 50 years ago the door was larger as were most cars. My 74’ Charger got a wash every time I went to work. Very easy job; collect money, make change, push the button and let the machinery do the rest. I even came home with a rosey glow on my cheeks from the acid they used to spray the wheels.😬

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

No floor drain in my garage, either. The only floor drain is in the lower level.

No floor drain here either. I don’t know where it would drain to since we have septic. I do have perimeter drain piping around the outside of the foundation that I connected to the farm’s field drain system.

The basement floor has a slight downward slope toward the garage door so I suppose if we ever had a flood I could just open the door and let it run out.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

We don't have all those abandon mines for the water to drain into like PA does.

————————————————
Your loss and that’s the price you pay for not abandoning your old mines.

jmonroe

There’s a price you pay for abandoning them too.😥

https://youtu.be/2kZCvBcHAJc?si=SXkpYRYNn15OXRP8

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

A really good automatic car wash with cloth does the best job. “Touchless” washes are generally useless.

If any of you driveway washers do it with no cloth, let me know how that works out. 🙄

Yes, the brush type car wash does a better job but at what price. As a former car wash “professional operator” I know that dirt and grit can lodge in those big cloth thumpers and scratch the clear coat. Same with the bristles on the spinning brushes. Over time you’ll notice. While not perfect the brushless systems at least washes most of the salt off.

When I hand wash I use a microfiber mitt and drying towels which I run through the washing machine after each use.

My former career location:

With that doorway it looks like the car wash place could only do tiny cars.

When I worked there 50 years ago the door was larger as were most cars. My 74’ Charger got a wash every time I went to work. Very easy job; collect money, make change, push the button and let the machinery do the rest. I even came home with a rosey glow on my cheeks from the acid they used to spray the wheels.😬

————————————————
In keeping with forum bylaws, pics or it never happened.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

We don't have all those abandon mines for the water to drain into like PA does.

————————————————
Your loss and that’s the price you pay for not abandoning your old mines.

jmonroe

There’s a price you pay for abandoning them too.😥

https://youtu.be/2kZCvBcHAJc?si=SXkpYRYNn15OXRP8

————————————————
That’s been a big news story the last few days around here. Very sad.

jmonroe

roadburner

stickguy said:

Get a squeegee if it really bothers you. I just use a push broom if needed. Or the leaf blower.

I suspect there are concerns about garage crap going into the sewer system if that is where the floor drains into. Or does it go into the waste water system?

Mine drains out into the small valley behind my house.

ab348

Two contractors here today, the original crew mostly finishing off the deck today, while the 3-man window crew was here from 8AM until a little after 3PM replacing 4 windows. They did a nice job and were very neat and tidy in their work. Even replaced the curtains and blinds which was a pleasant surprise.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

A really good automatic car wash with cloth does the best job. “Touchless” washes are generally useless.

If any of you driveway washers do it with no cloth, let me know how that works out. 🙄

Yes, the brush type car wash does a better job but at what price. As a former car wash “professional operator” I know that dirt and grit can lodge in those big cloth thumpers and scratch the clear coat. Same with the bristles on the spinning brushes. Over time you’ll notice. While not perfect the brushless systems at least washes most of the salt off.

When I hand wash I use a microfiber mitt and drying towels which I run through the washing machine after each use.

My former career location:

With that doorway it looks like the car wash place could only do tiny cars.

When I worked there 50 years ago the door was larger as were most cars. My 74’ Charger got a wash every time I went to work. Very easy job; collect money, make change, push the button and let the machinery do the rest. I even came home with a rosey glow on my cheeks from the acid they used to spray the wheels.😬

————————————————
In keeping with forum bylaws, pics or it never happened.

jmonroe

Pics from 50 years ago? Well I never thought to memorialize a business from back then but here’s the car:

houdini1

test

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

A really good automatic car wash with cloth does the best job. “Touchless” washes are generally useless.

If any of you driveway washers do it with no cloth, let me know how that works out. 🙄

Yes, the brush type car wash does a better job but at what price. As a former car wash “professional operator” I know that dirt and grit can lodge in those big cloth thumpers and scratch the clear coat. Same with the bristles on the spinning brushes. Over time you’ll notice. While not perfect the brushless systems at least washes most of the salt off.

When I hand wash I use a microfiber mitt and drying towels which I run through the washing machine after each use.

My former career location:

With that doorway it looks like the car wash place could only do tiny cars.

When I worked there 50 years ago the door was larger as were most cars. My 74’ Charger got a wash every time I went to work. Very easy job; collect money, make change, push the button and let the machinery do the rest. I even came home with a rosey glow on my cheeks from the acid they used to spray the wheels.😬

————————————————
In keeping with forum bylaws, pics or it never happened.

jmonroe

Pics from 50 years ago? Well I never thought to memorialize a business from back then but here’s the car:

————————————————
I was talking about your “rosey glow cheeks”.

jmonroe

sda

I wonder why they didn't sound good? Nice size magnet on the woofer. Solid construction.

jmonroe1

sda said:

I wonder why they didn't sound good? Nice size magnet on the woofer. Solid construction.

————————————————
Can that be rubbed out?

I think I know what you’re getting for Christmas.

jmonroe

roadburner

You can buy speaker surround repair kits; I don't know how well they work.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

A really good automatic car wash with cloth does the best job. “Touchless” washes are generally useless.

If any of you driveway washers do it with no cloth, let me know how that works out. 🙄

Yes, the brush type car wash does a better job but at what price. As a former car wash “professional operator” I know that dirt and grit can lodge in those big cloth thumpers and scratch the clear coat. Same with the bristles on the spinning brushes. Over time you’ll notice. While not perfect the brushless systems at least washes most of the salt off.

When I hand wash I use a microfiber mitt and drying towels which I run through the washing machine after each use.

My former career location:

With that doorway it looks like the car wash place could only do tiny cars.

When I worked there 50 years ago the door was larger as were most cars. My 74’ Charger got a wash every time I went to work. Very easy job; collect money, make change, push the button and let the machinery do the rest. I even came home with a rosey glow on my cheeks from the acid they used to spray the wheels.😬

————————————————
In keeping with forum bylaws, pics or it never happened.

jmonroe

Pics from 50 years ago? Well I never thought to memorialize a business from back then but here’s the car:

————————————————
I was talking about your “rosey glow cheeks”.

jmonroe

I would never show another man my cheeks.😂😂

tjc78

@roadburner said:
You can buy speaker surround repair kits; I don't know how well they work.

Years ago I did a set of vintage KLH (12” woofers) for my neighbor. Did it all by feel (no spacers or alignment tool) and they came out great. Tedious project but after the adhesive cured we gave them a pretty good workout and I’d wager someone is still rocking out to them today.

It was paired with a Sansui QRX-7001 and Elac turntable. Fantastic vintage rig.