An owner has suggested sharing this article from This Old House magazine with advice about cleaning a bathroom fan.

She also includes some other tips:

If you have never cleaned it before, you’re going to find that it’s really disgusting behind that cover on the wall of your bathrooms. There is a list in the article of tools you may need to do this job. The list includes compressed air but you can do it with a vacuum attachment just as well.

This is a great time of year to get these things done. Think of the time change as a time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors, clean your bathroom exhaust fans, and change out the filters in your heat pumps; all measures that keep these items healthy and running smoothly. 

Lowell’s annual Kinetic Sculpture Race is this Saturday. This means there will be a parking ban on the street out front tonight and a section of Market Street will be closed for most of the day tomorrow (specifics from LPD are pasted in below). Access to and from the surface lot and the Roy Garage shouldn’t be seriously affected if coming from the Central Street end of Market, except perhaps between 11am and noon right as the race is getting underway. Allow extra travel time if driving anywhere.

That said, it should be a fun day of costumes, music, face painting, wildly creative vehicles, and lovely, cool weather. Consider checking it out!

LPD Traffic Advisory: Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race
Please be advised that a portion of Market Street will be closed to traffic for the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race.
Friday, September 18 at 8PM: No parking on Market Street from Palmer to Shattuck.
Saturday, September 19 at 3AM: Vehicles parked on Market St. from Palmer to Shattuck will be towed.
Saturday, September 19 at 7AM: Market St. from Palmer to Shattuck will be closed to traffic.
The road will reopen when cleared on Saturday night.

A resident dropped her mother’s wedding band in the parking lot last night and didn’t realize it until this morning. It’s a gold band of leaves inscribed with her parents’ initials. If you find it, please contact me so I can get it back to it’s owner.

NOT “High” Street. (Thanks to Pat for pointing that out.)

(Sorry. I hadn’t had my coffee yet.)

The Primary Election is today. We are in ward 4, precinct 2. Our voting location is Rogers School Gymnasium at 43 High Street (correction: HighLAND St.). Polls are open 7am to 8pm. Please vote if you’re able! More info here.

I’ve updated management info across this website and will continue tweaking it as I find more info and more time to do so. Please let me know if I’ve missed some spots or mucked up some links. The email address for our new property manager, Debbie, in the intro letter was wrong; the one on the Contact page is correct.

Realtors and newcomers can also find links to updated Welcome Packets on the Useful Links page. Updating the glass front bulletin boards near the elevators on the first floor is at the top of my to-do list for tomorrow.

Georgi’s trying to find a home for a tilting, low-profile, TV wall mount. She thinks it’s never even left the box. For more info, call Georgi: 978-764-5570.

Someone’s package went astray back at the very end of June and they’ve touched all the bases trying to track it down with no luck. If anyone accidentally picked up a package containing a brand new, with tags, wavy rainbow striped dress, the intended recipient would really love to have it back (style is no longer available), no questions asked. Just contact me and I’ll help get the dress home.

And a message from Georgi: Once is a while someone in the building needs a good box for any number of reasons. Please feel free to help yourself to the boxes I have on the top of my wooden shed in space #39 in our basement garage. I’ve saved them for just that reason.

Someone mistakenly bought and opened a HP63 XL black inkjet cartridge that they can’t use. A $50 value. He can’t return it so it’s free to anyone who can use it. Email me and I’ll connect you with him.

The Lowell Spinners game at LeLacheur Park tomorrow against Vermont is free. It’s live on NESN and they’d like to Pack the Park to show Lowell’s enthusiasm. Gates open at 6pm for a 7 o’clock game and seating is first come first served.

The Lowell Folk Festival begins at 6:15 Friday. It’s an amazing event with great music right outside our door. Keep in mind that skateboards, hoverboards, Segways, bicycles, and drones are NOT allowed at the Festival, so any of those items cannot go out the front way during the event. Leave extra time if you’re traveling to navigate the crowds and closed roads.

An owner has shared his experience replacing his toilet recently and has included some info about back outlet toilets (required by our plumbing setup). Here’s what he found:

I just had a toilet installed by Murphy Plumbing.  They charged me $1750 to install a Kohler toilet.  They also charged me $250 for a service call just to come out; something I feel they should have added to the total bill.  They didn’t tell me the price of a service call.  To be honest, I’ve never had a contractor behave in this manner.  Quotes and looks don’t cost anything.  They make it on the receiving end once they get the job.

I didn’t get an itemized listing of the price of the toilet but I thought the price was something like $1500 but I was way off.  The rear outlet toilet comes in two series:

– Wellworth K-4303 ($350) (about 15 inches tall to seat)

– Highline K-4304 ($350) (about 17 inches tall to seat)

These are paired with the top part, the pressure assisted tank.

– K-4484 ($330)

So combined, the cost is less than $800 total.

The difference between the Wellworth and the Highline is height.  Otherwise, they are identical.  If someone is wanting to match one of their existing toilets, it’s good to know the difference.  If they’re comfortable at one height, tell the plumber your preference.