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MY SUN DAY NEWS

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Sun City in Huntley

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April 5, 2018

Keeping birds out of house vents

When we moved here seventeen years ago, there were very few birds. Our previous house was located in the woods, and we were used to hearing birds in the morning when we awoke and there were many birds to be seen in the air and in the trees all during the day.

Ask the Woodchucks: March 22, 2018

There are many small things, including several battery changes, you may not have thought about when it comes to garage door maintenance. Lubrication is absolutely necessary for devices like this that operate every day.

Minor repairs anyone can do

Minor repairs anyone can do.

Ask the Woodchucks: February 22, 2018

One of the Woodchucks had a problem with the light bulb in his garage door opener. He was able to diagnose the problem and repair it. Here is his solution.

Ask the Woodchucks: January 25, 2018

Are Your Windows Closed? Are You Sure?

Ask the Woodchucks: Instant Hot Water

We recently moved to Sun City and love our house, but it takes forever in the morning to get hot water to the bathroom sink. Is there any way to get hot water faster?

Repair your Keurig coffee maker

Keurig coffee makers will make single cups of coffee easily, quickly and with no cleanup, but they do occasionally need a simple tune up. If your Keurig is brewing slowly, shorting your cup, or won’t work at all, don’t throw it away until you’ve tried these tips first.

Vacation Checklist

As many Sun City residents pack for warmer climates it is important to spend an hour or so to get your house ready for winter. When you are going to be away for a week or more you should prepare your home so there will be no surprises on your return.

Ask the Woodchucks: November 16, 2017

We have Moen faucets in the bathrooms of our Pulte built home. The handle (hot) on one faucet has become very loose and wobbly. I’ve attached a short video. It works fine but will likely get worse in the future.

Ask the Woodchucks: Fall Maintenance

As winter approaches, you should remove all hoses from the outside faucets, drain them, and store them in the garage to prevent them from freezing and damaging the hose. If you have a basement with a sump pump, be sure to remove the extension hose from the sump pump discharge pipe on the outside of the house. This is a black hose that directs sump water away from the foundation.

How many batteries does your house have?

As electronics move into every corner of our lives, most of them require batteries to operate. As these batteries die the consequences can be from a minor annoyance to a catastrophic failure in your house when the heat goes off and the pipes freeze. In order to avoid these problems, large and small, you need to know where all the batteries are located and when to change them.

Ask the Woodchucks: October 5, 2017

I went to check the number of covers (dryer vent and bathroom exhaust vents), and to my surprise I found that a bird had got stuck in the dryer opening and had died. I bought what I needed at Home Depot, and the one I bought actually had a clasp to open it and gain access to the dryer and bath vents without removing the whole unit. Where do we get a similar cover for the microwave vent that is larger (10” high x 9” wide)?

Ask the Woodchucks: September 21, 2017

We have the Fox model and there is a vent in the rear of the house toward the bottom of the siding, and the flaps are breaking off. I’ve been looking all over and can find anything to replace it. There is a grid behind the flaps. While we’re at it what is it used for?

Ask the Woodchucks: September 7, 2017

The light bulb in the ceiling of my master bath shower is burned out. It is a 65w flood light bulb. It looks like a standard bulb, but shouldn’t it be some kind of special bulb because it can get wet in the shower?

Ask the Woodchucks: August 24, 2017

We have an Adler unit with no basement and recently had our air ducts cleaned. During the process, the tech removed the grill from each duct and inserted an air and vacuum hose. While working in the laundry/utility room, he removed the ceiling grill by the garage door and found that there was a circular duct about a foot long, which was not connected to anything, just open to the attic.

Ask the Woodchucks: August 10, 2017

Am puzzled and concerned as to how and when I can get the birds out of my two bathroom exhaust vents. I hear the scratching each morning and see them going in and out of the vent flaps.

Ask the Woodchucks: July 27, 2017

I’ve heard about the Woodchucks and I pass the woodworking shop on Sun City Boulevard, but I don’t know anything about them. Could you explain how the wood shop operates?

Shower temperature adjustment

Most Sun City homes have Moen shower faucets. These faucets have a feature called Posi-temp that allows you to set the maximum temperature. The temperature was set on installation so that when the handle is turned all the way counterclockwise, the temperature is ideal for showering. If this temperature is not correct, either because it has drifted or because it was not set properly on installation, you can adjust it to suit your needs.

Ask the Woodchucks: Basic heat transfer

Heating and cooling your house is basic heat transfer. In the summer, you are collecting the heat in your house with the air conditioning evaporator located in your furnace. The heat is then pumped outside with the air conditioner refrigerant and dumped into the outside air through the condenser.

Fix a Leaky Sillcock

You have two or more sillcocks on your house even if you don’t know the name sillcock. They are the outside faucets where you connect garden hoses and they often leak. If a sillcock leaks when the water is on you are in luck as the fix is relatively easy. This leak is caused by a loose packing nut.

Setting the water heater temperature

How to I correctly set the water heater temperature? I believe it should be set around 120 degrees.

Ask the Woodchucks: May 18, 2017

We’re new residents in Del Webb that are replacing our hardware. However, I’ve been unable to find a supplier of the garage door “spring” hinges (locally or online)!

Ask the Woodchucks: May 4, 2017

I have gotten several emails over the last few years about problems with various light bulbs in the outdoor light fixtures controlled by the 911 flasher switch. Everything works fine with incandescent bulbs, but when residents try to be environmentally sound by using florescent (CFL) or light emitting diode (LED) lights they see one of several problems.

How to Adjust a Sliding Glass Door

We have an original patio door on a Geneva home that is about 15 years old. It is getting very hard to open and close as we have a dog and use it more often than perhaps most people.

Repairing hairline cracks

What can I use to repair a small hairline crack in a Corian counter top?

Woodchucks furniture repair day: April 12

Each year the Woodchucks usually hold two furniture repair days for residents. One is in April and one is in October. 30-40 Woodchucks are available in the shop on these days to repair loose chairs, broken tables, broken picture frames and other wooden items needing repair.

Ask the Woodchucks: March 9, 2017

I am a new Del Webb resident and just read your article today on the Moen faucet warranty. In the article, you refer to the warranty for the windows in our homes here. I do not recall reading that article and would love to know about this warranty, and even what kind of windows are in our homes. Would you be so kind as to provide me with this information?

Ask the Woodchucks: Door Closer Adjustment

The door to the garage on a Del Webb home is supposed to close by itself. Over time the springs on the hinges no longer work as they should. Is there any way to tighten these hinges or must one or more of them be replaced?

Moen faucets

We told you about the manufacturer’s warranty on the windows in your house but did you know that if you have Moen faucets they are also warranted? Moen has a lifetime warranty on their faucets to the original owner, and not just in senior communities.

911 locator light switch

My neighbor’s porch and exterior garage lights won’t turn off (the emergency flasher is not engaged). Ace Hardware said they’ve had a number of requests for replacement switches, but can’t help.