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POLISH CHANDELIER, THEN POWER BUFF IT

The Boston Globe (Boston, MA) March 8, 2001 | PETER HOTTON Q. I have a fine old crystal and brass chandelier that I would like to clean and polish. I can clean the crystal all right, but how can I polish the brass, which has a lot of nooks and crannies and is evenly tarnished to a dark brown. I do not think the brass has been lacquered. website ammonia and bleach

JOHN TRAVIA, Watertown A. The evenness of the tarnish indicates that it has not been lacquered. The standard polishing process is to apply Noxon or other brass polish and buff with a power buffing bonnet attached to a power drill. The nooks and crannies of an embossed surface may make this difficult, but it is worth doing because you can leave some of the deeper parts of the embossing unpolished, giving the brass more character.

A homemade brass cleaner and polisher also works: Mix 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup flour. When it becomes a paste, wipe on metal, let dry, and wipe off.

If polishing doesn’t work, check the Yellow Pages under “Metal Cleaning” and “Metal Finishers.” Q. My kitchen exhaust fan is in an interior wall going 18 inches in one direction to a solarium, then 5 feet to the outdoors. It smells. How can I clean it? I know there may be some oils collected in the duct since it exhausts the stove.

HUGH PENNEY, North Easton A. You can clean it this way: Buy a long-handled duct brush; such brushes are usually used for dryer ducts but can work for this exhaust duct as well. Wrap a cloth around the brush and soak it with bleach and water, and shove the brush into the long part of the duct. Do this several times, renewing the bleach and water. Wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach. The bleach will dissolve the grease. Or, soak the cloth in ammonia and water; the ammonia will also dissolve the oil. Do not mix ammonia and bleach; combining the two creates deadly chlorine gas. To get to the short part of the duct, which is probably the most oily and the smelliest, try opening the hood outlet.

You can buy the brush in the Improvements Catalog, 800-642-2112.

Q. My mother-in-law’s floor-to-ceiling fireplace is made of off- white bricks. A little adhesive is left from hanging Christmas stockings. How can I remove that adhesive? And is the brick painted? If so, can I paint it again? The mortar is gray and in good shape.

ROB LUCIVERO, Burlington A. Don’t paint it, it is a natural glazed brick and fine the way it is. It will reflect light and is virtually maintenance-free. Remove the adhesive with Goo-Gone, Goof-Off, rubbing alcohol, rubber cement solvent, or any kind of oil. To make the oil work, apply it to the adhesive, wait 15 minutes, and rub off with a rough cloth.

Q. I plan to install acoustic blankets on my house to try to reduce the sharp sound of dogs barking. A friend said this would reduce sound transmission by 20 percent, which to me will not be enough. Is there a better way? I already tried window quilts.

TIM ILINITCH, Templeton A. If by acoustic blankets you mean some kind of covering for your windows, or even Window Quilts, they can work if they are done right, and that means they are secured to the window casing (the frame around the window opening, indoors) on all four sides of the frame: top, bottom, and sides. This will also reduce heat loss, and they only have to go on the side of the house where the yapping mutts are housed. Standard Window Quilts will darken the room, but you can get translucent ones that will let in some light. web site ammonia and bleach

Another good sound deterrent is inside storms, or outside storms, or both. The added layer of glass will retard sound considerably.

If the walls are insulated and reasonably tight, that should be enough of a sound deterrent. Putting sound-absorbing board on the walls would help, too, but would look pretty awful.

Q. Help! My house is invaded by house flies. They seem to be coming from the fireplace, and they tend to gather in rows, and are quite sluggish. How can I get rid of them and keep them away?

MARK CARUSO, Milford A. Ah, yes, it’s an age-old plague and no reflection on your housekeeping. They are not house flies, but rather cluster flies and do not carry disease as house flies do. They breed in the ground in summer, emerging in August, the wrong time for an insect to be outdoors because it is starting to get cold. When it does get cold, they seek warmth and find their way into every nook and cranny of your house, including the chimney. Indoors, they tend to cluster around attic windows and other sources of heat, hence their name.

To get rid of them, sweep them up and throw them away. Maybe you could put up fly paper, which could make your chore easier; there is no use in using pesticides indoors.

To keep them away, try sealing every window, door, and any other areas where you suspect they are coming in. You can cover the fireplace opening with a screen or an airtight cover. If they come in next year, then you know you have not sealed all entry ports.

Call in your questions to 617-929-2930. Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is available from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer telephone questions on house repair. Hotton also chats online about house matters from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, g PETER HOTTON