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Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Even if you re diligent about cleaning year-round, when winter s over there s always another reason to roll up your sleeves. But you can make spring cleaning less of an onerous chore if you use the right tools. Here are some suggestions. Get a year s worth of grime and mildew off your deck and your home s exterior in a few hours by using a pressure washer and an oxygen-based bleach solution or natural cleanser. For windows, a solution of white vinegar and water is as good a cleaner as any, and old newspapers make great lint-free window wipes. Finish the outside with some rain protectant made for car windshields and lengthen the time between cleanings. There s nothing better than a long-handled ostrich feather duster for getting rid of cobwebs and dusting those trim details up high that you never think about. A damp cloth with a little vegetable oil will work on wood surfaces. Microfiber dustcloths work on any surface, especially electronics. For cleaning lampshades and popcorn ceilings, use a lint roller. Rubber gloves will rub pet hair off the upholstery. And white cotton gloves, one wet and one dry, can help you clean the chandelier. Mop hard floors with a good self-wringing string head mop; save the sponge mop or disposable cleaning pad type for lighter everyday jobs or laminate floors. If you have wall-to-wall carpet, a steam cleaner s a great tool to have. While it might not seem like a cleaning tool, using a timer will keep you from burning out or getting sidetracked as you work. And a rolling cart to store and haul your tools will lighten your load during spring cleaning and beyond. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

Bob meets up with Fred Giuggio in the former barn where the crew is installing QuickStep wood laminate flooring. QuickStep is a glueless flooring. It's engineered using an 8-millimeter board. The boards just click together on all four sides. It has a 25-year stain, fade, wear, and moisture warranty and comes in 25 different colors including the "bianco" selected for the barn/studio. The crew puts the QuickStep Unisound 1/16 sound attenuating floating pad on top of the concrete slab and lays the QuickStep on top of that. It's quick and easy to install and since its uses no glue, post-installation cleanup is a breeze. During installation spacers are placed around the perimeter allowing 1/4-inch for expansion. Boards are staggered to prevent joints from lining up. A board is locked in on one side, positioned as close as possible to the next board, locked in and then tapped from the end to secure the mechanism. If a board is damaged it can be easily removed and replaced. The product has a vapor barrier on top with removable tape on the edges. The installers peel away the tape and stick the edges together so that they butts rather than overlap creating a uniform vapor barrier throughout the space. The product can be cut with a crosscut saw for installation around columns, etc. It cleans up with a damp or dry mop.

Bart Cox of Hanson Roof Tile and Dave Peck of D. Peck Roofing explain the roof covering system to Bob as they tour the Punta Gorda storm-ready site. Cox explains how Hanson Roof Tile has improved their design and now manufactures extruded cement barrel tiles at four plants in Florida. The tiles are made of cement, sand, and pigment, and are extruded, cut, and pre-drilled for fasteners at the factory. Cox explains that tiles were once laid directly on top of the roof paper with no fastener or adhesive. In Florida, high winds later forced roofers to apply cement adhesive to the tiles. When fabrication shifted to a less-permeable cement product, the tiles no longer adhered to the cement. Now they are mechanically fastened into the roof decking through the pre-drilled holes. Dave Peck, who has been roofing for the past 15 years, explains a system that has evolved over the years in response to hurricanes, water, and wind damage. Their crews now mechanically attach the 30 pound felt paper, then hot mop each course of 90 pound roll roofing with asphalt and nail it in place along the upper edge of each course. At the final point of susceptibility, the hip or ridge line, the roofers now use a metal hip and ridge nailer board. The cap tiles are nailed to the board with additional foam adhesive underneath to keep them in place. Experience has taught the roofers that hip and ridge tiles must be firmly affixed to prevent blow-off and damge to field tiles and other property.