Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This morning Lou debuted his new segment “Ask Lou” on the Today Show with Hoda Kotb and her guest Kellie Pickler. The fine producers at NBC chose a couple questions asked by viewers on Kathie Lee and Hoda’s Facebook page and had Lou answer them live. Find out how to hang a doorbell, how to rid your dishwasher of that nasty stench, what the best paint is for covering up stains and/or water spots, getting scratches out of your stainless steel sink and more!

Many of us are careful about taking care of our cars, but we completely fall apart when it comes to maintaining our lawn mowers. When we buy them new, we’re thrilled with how easy they start and the perfection with which they can keep the lawn trimmed. By the second season, however, they don’t start nearly so easily, and the lawn begins to look rough around the edges. By the third season, when the lawnmower fails to start at all, we inevitably junk the old one, and buy a new one. There are an estimated 90 million lawn mowers and other machines parked in garages and sheds around the country, and the average lifespan of these is a paltry three years or less. Yet no matter how mechanically inept you think you are, it’s possible with a minimum amount of effort to double the life of your yard equipment.

The first thing you can do each spring is to change the spark plug, which can corrode and wear out. This will guarantee you quick-starting as you pull the chain, or turn the ignition key of electric-start engines. To do this, make sure your read the manufacturer’s recommendation about the type of sparkplug, and especially about the size of the gap where the spark flies.

While the sparkplug is disconnected (to protect against your mower unexpectedly starting and injuring you), you should also remove the blade for sharpening. Usually this has one bolt that holds it in place, that can be undone fairly easily with a wrench. Take the blade to the hardware store, and have them sharpen it—which should cost you all of $5. A sharp blade will actually reduce the strain on the engine. Not only will the blade be sharper, the hardware store will balance it to even out any dings in the metal, which will further add to the efficiency of the engine and extend its life.

Another thing you should do is to lubricate the moving parts, with a silicone spray lubricant. I’d also spread a little light oil on the wheels where they turn at the axle, and also on any moving parts on the handle that have to be manipulated for safe operation.

Finally, too many of us simply park our lawnmowers over the winter, and hope they’ll start magically when we haul them out in the spring. But the gasoline in the engine has no doubt evaporated over the months, leaving a gummy deposit that can clog up the carburetor. If your mower shakes and shimmies more than a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, you can bet that this is the cause.

You can try adding gasoline treatments that may break the gummed up fuel apart.  If that does not work you’re only recourse is to take it to the local small engine repair service center, where they can clean things out with high-powered automotive detergents. This will probably cost you $120, but it will get you through the season. To avoid this in the future, make sure you run the engine dry before storing it for the season, or add a fuel stabilizer that keeps things from gumming up.

Follow these simple steps, and your lawn mower will be ready for action not just this year, but for many seasons to come.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This past weekend Lou visited the 2012 International Housewares Show in Chicago. Below are some of the coolest, most innovative products he found and talked about on the Today Show this morning.

Aquavista Fish Clock – World’s only clock that is a fish tank! Easy set up, just hang, add water and fish!

Neato Pet & Allergy Vacuum – Uses laser to map room and doesn’t bump into furniture. You can even schedule to run!

QOOQ – 3500 recipes, many of which produced in HD video by leading chefs, on a 10-inch tablet designed to resist water and messy fingers. Also offers functionality to allow users to browse the Internet, check email, listen to music, watch videos.

iBaby Monitoring System – Veridian healthcare – First baby monitor with unparalleled rotation and pivoting motion, controlled from your ipod touch, iphone or ipad. With 2-way audio capability you can see, hear and talk to your baby from anywhere your iOS device or computer can connect. Your baby’s movement or cry activates alerts so you can soothe or comfort your baby or just share a laugh

iHealth Blood Pressure Dock – Track and share features allow users to take their reading, monitor their results and share the history through an easy to use free app.

Bike Brightz – The newest big thing in biking accessories. Kids can impress their friends and be safe at the same time. Bike Brightz are affordable, easy to install, and guaranteed to turn heads.

Calibowls – A recently re-shored company, Calibowl’s innovative inner-lip guides food back into the bowl and onto your utensil, eliminating over-the-edge spills and creating effortless food control.

Yube Cube – These modular eco-friendly furniture storage system allows you to personalize to your needs/space.

Origami Wine or Champagne Tote – Built NY – Compactable wine coolers that are great for outdoor dining, picnics and/or camping accessories.

Fit & Fresh – Clever products give people the freedom to take fresh and nutritious meals with them. So whether it is a serving of carrots for baby, a cool snack for the kids at school, or a favorite meal while at work – Fit & Fresh has the perfect lunch solution for everyone.

Broksonic – These Japanese humidifiers are sleek in appearance and simple to use – sizes are “allonge” and “middle.”

WallPops Peel-and-Stick Wall Art – WallPops, the premier line of peel-and-stick wall art from wallcovering leader Brewster Home Fashions, has teamed up with decorating trendsetter Jonathan Adler for its newest collection, just launched in January.

Reisenthel – The original! Tear proof polyester and sturdy aluminium elegantly combined, can be folded up when required. Collapsible soft rubber handle, zip pocket inside. Optional accessories: carrybag cover, sight and weather protection.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hardwood floors are beautiful to look at but over time could take a lickin’. The above video gives tips on how to care properly for your hardwood floors so they will shine like the sun. While Murphy’s Oil and the standard vinegar and water solution can work great and do the trick – Murphy’s Oil could leave a residue on your floors causing unwanted slips and slides (we don’t want you falling down on your keester!) while vinegar is an acid and will dull the wood over time. I suggest rather giving the following products a shot:

Bona Hardwood Floor Mop
Swiffer Wet Jet
Shark Steam Mop
Holloway House Quick Shine

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We like to think of our “home sweet home” as our haven of safety and security. However, home accidents are responsible for more fatal injuries than any other cause except motor vehicle accidents. Although home accidents are often caused by human error and typically can be prevented, they amount to 18,000 deaths and nearly 13 million injuries a year.

The five leading causes of deaths that happen around the home are due to falls, poisonings, fires, suffocation and choking and drowning. In the above video I give some important and critical tips to Natalie Morales on the Today Show. A few simple precautions can save you and/or your child’s life!

View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.

Lou gave some great tips this morning to NBC 5 Chicago on how to clean your granite countertops. Check it out!

Products Featured:
SCI – Stone Care International
Begley’s Natural Stone Cleaner
Bayes Granite Cleaner and Rejuvenator
CLR Stone Cleaner
SCI Poultice

As we approach our homes with our endless to-do lists, it’s easy to imagine that we’re the only ones who have ever had problems getting things in order. Surely George Washington, of all people, never had to deal with a wet basement, right?

Wrong. Mount Vernon flooded constantly, and correcting the problem vexed the Commander in Chief even as he was off ridding the Colonies of the Redcoats. In fact, many of the Founding Fathers—that august group that won a war and penned the Constitution—left behind monumental homes imprinted with their virtues, as well as their quirks. Here’s a quick tour of three Virginia mansions, to give you an insight into housing problems then and now.

Mount Vernon. Washington really did sleep here, of course, and as a result this palace on the Potomac probably ties with the White House as the best-known home in America. And talk about distinctive! What other place, short of a Howard Johnson’s, makes such effective use of both dormers and cupolas, not to mention that two-story back porch? Mount Vernon was Washington’s childhood home, after which he spent the rest of his adult life renovating, re-renovating, and renovating again, right up until he died. “If Washington were not a better general than he was an architect,” sniffed Baron von Steuben after taking a tour of the place, “the affairs of America would be in very bad condition.”

Monticello. Unlike Washington, Thomas Jefferson never suffered any complaints about his skills as an architect. Modeled in part on the ancient Pantheon in Rome, Monticello exhibits more gadgetry than a Sharper Image catalogue. Jefferson invented the dumbwaiter, for instance, to haul food into the dining room and wine bottles up from the cellar. In his closet, he designed a rotating rack for displaying and choosing his clothes, and he may even lay claim to having built the world’s first swivel chair. Beyond this, Monticello was one of the earliest homes in America to employ skylights (there are 13 in all), and was also one of the first to feature indoor privies. All this proved attractive to his friends, which created a problem all it’s own for Jefferson. Overrun with houseguests, he was forced to build the more remote Poplar Hill in order to have a little time to himself!

Montpelier. While not as well known as Mount Vernon and Monticello, this brick palace is every bit as beautiful, especially now that it is in the midst of a massive renovation. Montpelier was the home of James and Dolley Madison, and was built by Madison’s father in the Classical and Federal styles. Madison himself re-built it by adding a 30-foot addition and a second front door, which turned it into a duplex of sorts. Later, he removed one of the doorways and added two new wings, before calling it a day. This was a couple that loved their home. James conducted his affairs of state from here; for her part, the ebullient Dolley served as hostess, where she began taking snuff, and wearing bright clothing and turbans adorned with jewelry or feathers.

Wise in so many ways, the Founding Fathers knew their characters were inseparable from the homes they lived in. They added to them, altered the styles with abandon, and worked to create distinctive places that suited their personalities, and the needs of their families.

These three mansions remind us that a home, no matter how humble, is more than just a bit of real estate. Instead, it’s a place that shapes us–every bit as much as we shape it.


The “electronics recycling law” is meant to protect the environment from deadly toxins and heavy metals contained in those “old” products, while at the same time preventing the loss of component materials that can be re-used. Violating the law could result in a fine of $25 for a first offense — and $50 for subsequent offenses.

 About 33 million pounds of electronics were recycled in Illinois in 2010, but according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, a lot more probably was thrown away. Their goal is to keep up to 60 million pounds of electronics from landfills by 2013.

 This means YOU, as a responsible consumer, will have to make a little more of an effort to recycle TV sets, computers, cell phones, video recorders, and other electronics. Some stores will accept the equipment, others will recycle it for you when they deliver new items like TV sets or refrigerators. And, the best part is that most companies won’t charge you for recycling your old goods.

The best advice is to call ahead, ask specialty stores if they recycle or call your village or township office to ask where you can go to drop these items off, so they don’t end up sitting in a landfill. You can go to this website: www.illinoisrecycles.org for a list of drop off-locations!

Good luck and happy recycling!

Brown patches on your lawn. If you have a dog then you know what I am talking about. Male dogs kill the flowers and bushes and female dogs kill the lawn. No matter what is causing the patches here is how you bring it back. Scratch all the dead grass from the area and loosen the soil a bit with a garden rake. Then apply a seed mixture that is right for the area’s condition – sunny, shade or part shade. There are now seed mixtures that hold more moisture that work great. Try Jonathan Green’s Black Beauty grass seed. Sprinkle the seed over the area and cover with peat moss. Water the area to moisten the seed and try and keep traffic off of it for about 2 weeks with a garden fence. Water every three days and your brown patch will be fixed.

Replace or repair a damaged piece of wood siding. Exterior improvements can get a lot worse if left unattended, fixing them now can cost just a few dollars but left unrepaired they can turn into hundreds and even thousands of dollars in repairs. If there are small areas that are rotted you can patch those with some exterior grade wood putty. First remove the damaged area with a scraper or putty knife. Be sure to remove any rotted or wet area. If wet let them dry, then apply the wood putty. There are many different brands – Dap, Elmer’s and Wood epoxy to name a few. You apply it with a putty knife to build up the area. Once dry you sand it smooth. Then you can spot prime the area with an exterior primer and touch up or paint the entire piece or section of siding. If the area is to big then you may want to replace the entire piece of siding. If you do not have extra siding (and who does) consider removing a good piece that may be on the back side of the garage or behind some bushes. Use a hammer and pry-bar or screw driver to loosen the good and bad piece. Swap locations and nail them into place using galvanized #6 or #8 nails. These are intended for outdoor use, once installed you can spot prime and paint. Make sure you align the siding with the rest of the panel. It’s easy – like putting together a puzzle.

Mildew or mold on the outside of your home. This one is easy with a product called Wet and Forget. This concentrate has been used down under for years and when mixed with water and applied with a pump sprayer the cleaner will do all the work. You can spray, brick, concrete siding, canvas almost any exterior surface. The cleaner works with the sun and the rain to eliminate mildew and mold from your home.

Single pane glass windows like those on a garage or basement window can be fixed for a fraction of the cost or calling a pro. First carefully remove the broken glass and any putty or clips that may have held the glass in place. Then measure the frames width and height. Subtract 1/8th of an inch from that measurement and then take that down to your local hardware store and they will cut you a piece of glass. That new piece fits into the frame and gets held in place with small metal push pins. Then it gets finished off with window glazing. You apply that with a putty knife on an angle away from the frame and against the new glass, it’s a lot like decorating a cake.