Home Repairs You Can Do Yourself
Hardware troubles are the pits. Tackle each task one at a time and check out all of your faucets, door hinges, light fixtures, doors, and showerheads. To fix a sticking door or lock, take off the handle and lubricate the moving parts with penetrating oil or WD 40 to dissolve rust. Spray graphite powder from a squeezable tube or bottle into the keyhole to keep all the parts moving. A sputtering shower is oftentimes caused by sediment buildup that clogs the showerhead. Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar, sealing it over the showerhead with a rubber-band and leaving it overnight.
You can also use CLR for the same effect. In the morning, brush off the deposits with an old toothbrush. For sticking sliding doors, vacuum the track channel. Use an old toothbrush to remove the stubborn debris. Tighten loose screws that secure the tracks to the wall frame, and coat the rollers and track with penetrating oil. For light bulb failure, replace them with more expensive shock-resistant or “rough-service” bulbs that absorb the vibrations from movement above and last longer than regular bulbs. If outlets or light switches are warm or hot to the touch, call an electrician. This may be an indication of unsafe wiring.
To get fantastic floors and doors, make small adjustments to solve minor persistent problems. To quiet a squeaky floor, clean out any debris trapped in the joint between the offending boards. Sprinkle talc or cornstarch between the boards to lubricate the joint. To tighten loose door handles, tighten the loose screws by holding onto the handle on the opposite faceplace and, at the same time, screwing them in with a screwdriver. If you want to reseal your vinyl tile, pry up the area where the tiles have come loose and clean out the trapped debris and old adhesive with a putty knife.
Apply new adhesive and press the flooring back into place. Weight the edges with a heavy object for at least 30 minutes until the glue is completely dry. For problem doorbells, check the circuit box for a tripped breaker. If the breaker is tripped, flip it to stop the electric current. Take off the doorbell cover and sand the corroded wires with sandpaper. Then reattach the cover. To fix carpet indentations left by heavy furniture, put an ice cube in the indented area and wait 10 minutes for the carpet to puff up. Vacuum the spot for the finishing touch.
Tidy up your walls and you will be amazed at the noticeable improvements. Get crayon, pencil, marker and furniture scuff marks off of your walls by making a paste of baking soda and water and wiping clean. For tilted pictures, put one side of a piece of velcro to the back of a frame and the other side to the wall to straighten crooked framed. For jammed windows, run a pizza cutter along the channel that’s painted shut. Tap the end of the cutter with a hammer if it’s being unusually troublesome. To hang a heavy mirror, find a stud in the wall using a stud finder. Use a cordless drill or screwdriver to anchor a screw or picture hanger into the stud.
If your furniture has been beaten up, give it some petting and love. Fix scratches with a wax stick or touch-up pen. For wobbly chairs, remove loose dowels and spread glue on the ends. Wrap the end with thread to create a tight fit, then put it back into the joint on the wobbly chair. For sticky drawers, sand the runners and then rub with wax. Non-gel toothpaste will smooth mirror scratches.
