zelkraps

We moved into an older house and the furnace is in a bedroom closet. The people who had lived there had towels duct taped over the furnace. When I removed them the towels were wet, like the furnace had been producing moisture. There was also some possible mold around the doorframe to that closet that I wiped up with some bleach.

Can you tell me why there would be moisture on the furnace box, and what I can do to prevent it? Should I wrap it with towels again, or is there something else I can do?

We are renting an apartment of a former indoor smoker. They cannot change the carpet and won't pay to have them removed or anything so this is not an option. What I need to know is how can I neutralize the odor, but also the residue, to make it safe for my family. I have already had it steam cleaned but it seems like it just brought the stuff up to the surface. Over time I plan to purchase large enough carpets/rugs to cover the existing ones. I have also painted the walls to try and lock in the lingering stuffy smell.

I want to be clear - I'm not moving and not ripping out the carpet myself. So what are your remedies/tricks to making this a safer environment?

We won a television and it's 3 days old. As we're watching the Super Bowl, the screen keeps dimming and brightening randomly. The eco settings haven't been changed. Can someone offer insight?

We were late paying rent in September and so we were evicted. Now we are homeless, essentially. So far we have not found anyone to give us a chance. We have never been late on rent before this, and often times we had months of rent paid up at a time. So, unfortunately while it now LOOKS like we are a liability, in all reality we had one hard month and now it seems we are going to be homeless.

We have a 21 month old son and are expecting another child in January. We have to figure something out, and soon. Is there anything we can do to show we are not a liability? Do we need to find the homeless shelter? Are there services to help people find a place to live in our situation? Right now we are staying in an extended stay motel, but we are spending money we planned on putting down on a new place, so we are getting nowhere.

Aside from this, I have immaculate credit. So it is really very unfortunate that this is happening.

Are we screwed? Any suggestions?

I don't need anyone judging the situation or calling us a liability or saying we deserve this, because no one deserves this and we have never had anything like this happen before. So please don't comment if you're going to bash us.

Thanks for your help and any suggestions.

Is this good or bad? It falls on a different scale than the regular FICO score, is that correct? I guess I have never heard of VantageScore before today, I thought a 752 was great but it's out of a lot higher number than 800 I guess.

I opened my hp notebook today and discovered a) that the monitor only stays lit if it's in a certain position and b) the top of it is black, as if there was an ink pen spilled inside. what happened? is this an expensive repair?

We are going back to the vet tomorrow morning because I'm concerned about the incision site. It is swollen and hard, and looks like there's a softball sewn in under her skin! What could be the problem? There is no redness or puss or drainage, so I guess it could be infected but I'm not sure. She has not been licking at it, at all. I'm trying to research what could be wrong because I feel bad, and it seems to be getting worse. She does not act like it hurts her, but animals exhibit pain differently than we do sometimes. She is eating and drinking okay, but has thrown up twice today and thrown up a few times since the surgery, and has had a mixture of normal poop and diarrhea (in the same poop).

Like I said, she's being taken to the vet first thing in the morning. Just wondering if anyone knows what the problem could be. My boyfriend thinks it is a hernia. Thanks in advance.

Do all King size box springs come as one box spring, or do they also split them up into 2 like California King box springs?

I have a family emergency to tend to and I am going to be flying solo with my 1 year old for the first time on Sunday. I am reading up on flying with a toddler right now, but I was hoping to find someone who has done this and can share some tips with me.

Our almost 8 year old GD had a grand-mal seizure at 6:15 am yesterday. I phoned the 24/7 vet who advised us to call our vet at 8 am when they opened. We took Buddha in and had a full blood workup which determined her internal organs were functioning properly, with the exception of her hemoglobin and white blood cell levels being low. The vet thought this was related to the seizure she had. He wants to do a heart/chest x-ray Tuesday next week (the machine was down and we live in the middle of nowhere so it will take time to get someone here to repair it). He said he didn't hear a murmur, but he heard "something" which he thought could indicate decreased blood-flow to the brain if her heart was not operating properly or if it was enlarged. She was prescribed (1) 97.2 mg phenobarbital tab every 12 hours. I made the mistake of leaving her alone for an hour and while I was gone it appears she had another seizure, around somewhere between 3-4:30 that afternoon. Called the vet again, and was told to increase her next dose to 1 1/2 tabs every 12 hours. I went grocery shopping at 10 pm last night so that my boyfriend was here to tend to Buddha and when I got home at 11:30 pm she was just coming out of another one.

Unfortunately for the first 2 seizures we were not there to witness the way she acted leading up to either one. I woke up when I heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen for the first one...I thought there was someone breaking into my house! And I was gone for the (possible but the vet thought likely) second one. My boyfriend said that before the third, she was panting and breathing shallow and fast before the seizure.

We seem to have found a routine that works though, seeing as it has been exactly 24 hours since her last episode. Last night, when she started breathing shallower and faster or panting, we got her up off her bed and made her go outside and walk around for a few minutes. And instead of the 1 tab every 12 hours, we have increased the dosage to a 1/2 tab every 4 hours (our vet told us that for a dog her size, she could have as many as 3 at a time twice a day and he told us to use our discretion if we felt she needed more.) We made sure to get her up and moving every 2-3 hours and that really seemed to prevent the short, shallow breathing from turning into full on panting. After she walks around, we prop her up in her bed with pillows and padding because she just can't seem to get comfortable, probably because her muscles are so cramped up and sore.

One concern that I have is she has started occasionally crying/whining when she is laying down. I think it is because she can't get comfortable and because she's sore, but I don't know what it could be. We hadn't researched phenobarbital last night and didn't realize a side effect was increased eating and drinking so we were letting her eat and drink as much water as she wanted, thinking that was hopefully a good sign if she still had an appetite. So I was thinking maybe the whining was her just being uncomfortable from having a belly that was too full.

I also have a question about her being incredibly clumsy now...Is it from the seizures, medication, or both? I did read that another side effect of the meds is disorientation and balance issues. I am wondering if that's something that will level out once the medication has time to level out in her bloodstream, or if it's something that she will have to work out on her own or something she will always have now due to damage from the seizure.

She also is dragging her feet and exhibiting signs of "wobbles," which I researched also but came up with it being something that is diagnosed at a much earlier age (<1 year) and is genetic (she came from a very reputable breeder). So it doesn't appear to be that, even though it is the same symptoms...or can wobbles come about from seizures?

We are looking for advice on what's to come...do you think we are doing right by keeping her calm and relaxed and comfortable and then having her get up and move every few hours to stretch? Will she recover? Will she always be clumsy now? Any advice or similar stories or encouragement would be great. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this.

It is my opinion that the way we raise our son is perfect for him. He's such a sweet boy, rarely fusses, and is overall happy and healthy. Lately, I've been getting criticized for lack of consistent structure to his days (though not by his pedi, but I was going to bring it up to him at our 12 month appt. and see what he says).

For our son, I basically let him dictate what he tells me he wants. I feed him on demand, for the most part 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, though some days he eats 6 mini-meals (6 oz bottle and then an hour-2 hours later 1-2 jars of baby food). He gets naps when he is tired. We do 2 naps a day, and those don't have a set time. Sometimes he will sleep equally between the 2 naps, sometimes one will be short and the other really long. I just try to listen to him and go by what he wants and needs.

He has gotten slightly fussier this past month, but he has also popped out 6 teeth in one month, bringing his total to 8 in the past 2 months. So I attributed it to that. He's also to the point where he can't verbalize what he wants. I'm really good at deciphering his cries/whines but sometimes I can't figure out what it is he's saying.

He gets regular baths once a day, usually at night, sometimes in the morning, sometimes both :) The child loves baths/showers, and will throw a temper tantrum if you don't let him in with you!

So people are saying I need to get him on a predictable schedule. I find that ours is predictable, just not exact. What are your schedules and opinions on the subject? I'd like to try starting him on a firmer schedule to see how he responds but I guess I'm not sure where to start.

I was thinking of only doing the marshmallows on half of the casserole anyway, unless someone knows of diabetic-friendly mallows :) but I need a tried and true recipe that actually tastes good!!

My Michael Kors handbag got soaking wet (I'll spare the details). The fabric is okay, but mostly the leather is the problem. It bled a LOT and now the color is patchy/incredibly distorted/washed out. I don't know what to do!! Can it be re-dyed?? It looks awful and blotchy. Any suggestions would be great!

I forget the differences but there are a few key differences in a fake bottle vs. a real bottle of Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner...I can't remember if it's one click or two clicks to open it, and there's something with the bottom of the bottle too.

I'm a cosmetologist, please don't ambush me with not buying from chain stores like Walmart and Target, I know this. I'm trying to explain to someone why THEY shouldn't buy from there and how to tell the difference between counterfeit and real.

I was a stay at home mother this year, my son being born in January. I know I get some sort of tax credit for him, but since I stayed at home, do I need to have income in order to file taxes? I had been a cosmetologist, so should I file under that job that I had no income or expenses? There are similar questions on here but the answers are conflicting. Some people say yes you have to have had income to file, and others say no, you can file for the credits. Thanks.

Our landlords require us to use a particular paint for their interior walls, and we are getting ready to move and need to paint. They require we use a Valspar paint. We are concerned with the VOC emissions because we have a 10 month old baby. We will probably have to paint before we are able to move. Being that it's almost winter, leaving the windows open is less of an option for us. Does anyone know if Valspar has a high level of VOCs? I have read that Valspar is a relatively non-odorous paint. I am not sure if all VOCs are smelly or if some of them don't have an odor but are still harmful. Is there a safe way to paint? I will do what I can to try and move ourselves first before we paint but I don't believe we will be able to. Thanks in advance.

Someone told me they no longer make surfboards, but I think that sounds a little ridiculous.

Our pediatrician said it was safe to use fluoridated toothpaste on our (almost) 10 month old's teeth and that he recommended it to help prevent tooth decay. However, I have never heard of this. He said to use very very little, just a tiny swipe, and personally I think this sounds just fine. But is there a reason this could not be safe? If fluoride isn't safe for babies, then why does Nursery Water exist? That seems more dangerous than a little toothpaste that's not even enough to swallow hardly. I have read the effects of Nursery Water and excess fluoride consumption causing white spots on the teeth and doing more harm than good, so we don't use it. But the amount of toothpaste we use on him isn't close to being dangerous IMO. Thanks for your advice.

I bought a used purse from someone, though she claimed it was new I later discovered this wasn't true at all. I only spent $15 so I'm not devastated, just irritated. It has this horrible smell to it. It's just like "other people" smell. Idk, I am particular about smells and I will never use this purse unless I can get it to stop smelling. The material is just your average department store purse, fabric with "leather" detailing. I already tried washing it in the washing machine. It smells stronger than before I put it in! I also stuck it outside for over a week now. Any advice would be great. I also bought a used pack and play from someone with the same result...it had this weird other people smell to it. I ended up selling it and buying a brand new one. I'm sure my sh*t smells the same to other people, lol, so I'm not trying to be judgmental...I just can't stand how some people smell.

End rant. Thanks in advance!

I looked for "cord winders" but didn't find anything. I must not be using the right terminology. I have seen these on tv. The back of my computer and television looks horrible because there are so many cords plugged in. I am looking for something that winds these up or at least pulls them all together so they don't look so bad. I don't need advice on using zip ties or rubber bands - I've already done that and that's not what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance.