Q We have a glass coffee pot that has been around forever, and we use it constantly. We had a mishap. The water boiled out of it, and I caught it just in time. However, I dumbly took it off the stove and put it on a towel to cool. That pretty much cemented the towel to the bottom of the pot.

Can you help me? It was my mother-in-law's and has a lot of sentimental value.

A The only thing I can think of is to soak the pot and towel in a sink of warm water. That should release the towel, which I suggest you throw away. The pot will remain pristine.

If that doesn't work, try paint thinner. Water is a reliable solvent, and running water is better. Next best is paint thinner, then rubbing alcohol. The rest follow in a descending ability.

Sometimes it is a matter of luck combined with a spirit of adventure.

Q I spilled Super Glue on my Corian counter top, which is almost impossible to get off. My daughter removed some of it with nail polish remover, but quite a bit remains.

How can I get the rest off? So far, the work has dulled the Corian. How can I restore the shine?

A That glue holds with a death grip. I spilled some on an oak kitchen table a year ago, with little change. I will let it be, and it will outlast me.

For you, it will be easy. Buy emery cloth at any hardware store. It is the finest-grit removal paper you can find, but it is cloth and will last a lot of rubbing, which will remove the glue.

Don't worry. Sanding is the way Corian is cleaned, and the more you rub, the shinier it will be.

Q My second-story bathroom floor is made up of old-fashioned black-and-white mosaic ceramic tile with the grout in good shape. Spilled water somehow is leaking through the floor and dripping through the ceiling in the room below. How can I waterproof the ceramic floor?

A You can treat the floor with tile sealer, which might work, or put down sheet vinyl with a waterproof adhesive. Trouble is, the tile will ghost through the sheet vinyl, so choose a busy pattern to disguise the ghosting.

Is the toilet leaking, or is there a lot of spillage from showering and bathing? Sometimes it can be from outside, where faulty gutters allow water to run down the side of the house, where it can come in through a window or defect. Even heavy condensation of water vapor in a closed bathroom without an exhaust fan can cause water on the floor.

So before you tackle the floor, find out how so much water is getting on the floor.

Q The two faucets of my upstairs shower don't work very well. I turn on the shower, and it works well enough for a few minutes, but then it fades away to nothing, returning later. How can I fix it?

A It may be a faulty washer, which swells up from the hot water, plugging itself. Try replacing all washers. It also might be variations in pressure. Have a plumber put in an anti-scald, one-handle shower. It will save water and last years.

Q My 50-year-old gambrel house with wood clapboard siding is uninsulated, so I called an insulator. He said he can do some of the house but will not be able to do the front, or he will have to drill holes in the clapboards to blow in insulation. Why would he suggest that?

A Why, indeed. I suggest you find another insulator, because that one should not touch your old house. Usually, when blowing insulation in a house, individual clapboards are removed and holes drilled in the sheathing, then the clapboards put back.

Sometimes the clapboards are split to remove and later returned, but it's just as easy to un-nail them to take them off and just as easy to put back. To drill holes in the clapboards is to destroy their good looks; plugging the holes with wood plugs is not good because the plugs will stand out.

Q My Andersen double-hung double-glazed window exploded recently into a whole bunch of pieces. What can I do?

A Regular glass, even insulated glass (with two panes of glass) in a regular position (not floor-to-ceiling or in a slider) rarely break into bits and pieces, but it can happen. So, call an Andersen dealer to replace the sash, not the whole window.

Some windows, in floor-to-ceiling positions and sliders where it's possible to walk right into them, are made of tempered glass, which explode into hundreds of small, dull-edged shards when hit or cut or abused in any way. It's a safety feature.