Today's Feature

RES Additions Complete.

City Attorney David Mouton gave an update on the status of the City’s lawsuit against Renewable Environmental Solutions (RES) at a recent Council meeting. Mouton said that new equipment has been installed in the plant to help reduce odors.

This equipment includes a permanent ozone generator which is said to have twice the capability to handle odor as the previous temporary ozone generator. Other precautions include a street sweeper and the construction of a mineral building built around the plant to catch roll-off. RES officials have agreed to use the sweeper on the floors of the plant at least three times per week.

Mouton expressed concerns due to the continued odors and lack of notification or explanation from RES officials and said that the Missouri Attorney General has suggested that the plant add even more odor control measures. City officials mentioned that the complaints had lessened but agreed that odor problems still exist.

The next meeting between City officials, the Department of Natural Resources and RES is scheduled for January 6. The meeting will not be open to the public.

Stench Report:
Friday,
12/16/05

No Stench Reported

That means that out of ever’ hunderd folks, six of ‘em don’t eat pizza. That may be an even more surprisin’ statistic. What in the world are they thinkin’? What could they be eatin’ they couldn’t put on top of a fresh baked pizza crust? They must just not like crust. Then it could be they are just the rebellious type that don’t like to follow the crowd. I’m guessin’ if that’s the case, no one in the crowd of a hunderd would notice the six not joinin’ the pizza party anyway.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Cleaning Rust Stains From Concrete

Q: My front concrete porch has rust stains on it from a bench and railings. What is the best way to remove these stains, or can the porch be painted over to hide them? Any advice would be appreciated. — Richard M., via e-mail

A: Try to clean the rust from the concrete first, before painting, just in case the rust shows through the new coat. A few different methods can be used to scrub away the rust, starting with the mildest cleaner and working your way up to heavy-duty stuff.

Don’t use chlorine bleach to remove rust stains from concrete: Chlorine will actually "set" the rust. Patio cleaners sold at the hardware store should also be avoided when dealing with rust.

First, try fresh-squeezed lemon juice on the stain — and by fresh, I mean, squeeze the lemon right over the rust stain! Scrub with a nylon cleaning brush, let the juice sit for a few minutes, scrub again, repeat.

Vinegar is the next level — usually, plain white vinegar, applied as above. You can try cider vinegar too, as the difference in acidity might have an effect on the stain.

General-purpose concrete cleaners may also do the trick; scrub the area with cleaner and a wire brush.

The next, more drastic, cleaning method is to use oxalic acid. This is typically sold at the hardware store as wood bleach, and is packaged as a powder. Because oxalic acid is toxic, wear rubber gloves and eye protection when working with it, and follow the instructions on the back of the package exactly. It’s a good idea to test an inconspicuous area of the porch first, because the acid could leave some unsightly marks (especially if the porch is already painted). Let it sit for several minutes, then rinse the concrete well.

If cleaning fails, two other methods may work. Concrete can be buffed, using a hard stone, or sanded down, smoothing the surface and grinding away the rust. This is usually a professional job, although you could try using your own power sander and increasing grades of paper to buff the concrete. That would be more effective on a small area than a large area of rust (such as rust streaking down a driveway).

If all that fails, go ahead and paint — you’ll have given the porch a pretty thorough cleaning, at any rate.

HOME TIP: Rust stains can be caused either by water runoff from rusty iron fixtures, or by weed- and moss-killing sprays containing ferric acid. Use caution when spraying weed killer near concrete.