Even More Top Tips for Handy Home Repairs

1. Close your sink stopper whenever you are repairing the faucet. It will prevent any small parts from falling down the drain. Extra tip: Get a little mesh drain cover (one of the ones that goes partly down the drain) or covers over the hole to stop any items from getting washed down and to help prevent clogs. Put one in your kitchen sink, and you will be shocked at how much debris collects each time you wash the dishes. Shake the debris out into your trash can and/or scoop it out with a spoon. Rinse and replace.

2. To prevent hitting your thumb or hand with the hammer, hold the nail in place with a pair of pliers with one hand, and hammer with the other. Do this when nailing into hard wood to help avoid bounce-back injuries. Holding it in position firmly in this manner can also prevent the nail from going in crookedly.

3. Pushing the tips of your nails or screws into a bar of soap or candle will lubricate them and make it easier to drive them into wood.

4. If the flames of your gas stove are uneven, the burner is most likely clogged. Turn off the stove, turn off the gas connection, and use a Q-tip with some baking soda and vinegar to clean around and inside each hole. Use a new Q-tip as needed until you’ve removed the cooked-on food and residue to clean each pore of the burner.

5. Save the handles of old brooms. They make great extension handles for paint rollers, or paint stirrers.

FURTHER READING:

How to Get Started as a Do-It-Yourself Mom

Your Greener Energy Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Energy Production

How to Paint Your House Inside and Out

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More Top Tips for Handy Home Repairs

1. To minimize the need for repairing the toilet, flush a cup of baking soda into the bowl once a week. Baking soda controls the pH level in the septic tank that aids the flushing process.

2. Consider a tool that can do more tasks when deciding what power tool/s to buy. Consider cordless tools if you live in a large home.

3. If there is no penetrating oil available for emergency repairs, use soda or vinegar to loosen a stuck screw. Let the soda or vinegar seep into the hole for about 2 minutes, then try to turn it. If that does not work, sprinkle a small amount of baking soda and add a teaspoon of vinegar. The explosive foaming action will loosen it in no time. (Hint-Baking soda and vinegar is a very convenient home cleaning solution, but do NOT use on old pipes. You can blast a hole in them or make the pipes come apart at the seams.

4. To remedy a hole in a window screen in order to keep out insects, cut a piece of screen an inch bigger than the hole on all sides. Position the patch over the hole, unravel some of the wires from the piece you have cut the patch from, and weave the metal wires through both sets of screen openings until the patch is attached securely to the main screen and no bugs can sneak through.

5. Storing small pieces of chalk inside the toolbox can not only help you have some handy if you need to mark doors or walls when you are measuring or doing DIY projects. They can also absorb moisture which can rust tools over time, and therefore help you protect and preserve your investment.

FURTHER READING:

How to Get Started as a Do-It-Yourself Mom

Your Greener Energy Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Energy Production

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Tips For House Repairs

1. Have a tube of all-purpose strong glue on hand for minor repairs. Also keep Teflon tape, electrical tape and sturdy double-sided tape on hand for piping, wiring and general repairs.

2. If you are working with wood and mis-judge your sides and cut it too short, cut the piece you have made in half and then make up the mismeasurement with a different piece of wood. If you wish, you can use a different shade of wood to create a decorative accent, or just stain the wood all one color so that few people will ever see your mistake.

3. To prevent paint from spilling all over the edge of the top of the paint can, punch holes all around the cover rim. When you swipe the brush against the rim, any excess paint that bubbles onto the rim will automatically drip back into the can.

4. When painting the house, wrap doorknobs with plastic bags and cover plate switches with masking tape to keep them free of paint splatters when repainting walls and doors. If you remove them, put them in separate plastic bags with their screws and any other fittings in order to avoid confusion. If you have a lot of these fixtures, consider writing the location where the items came from on an envelope and putting the plastic bag inside the envelope.

5. Old plastic shower curtains make handy protective drop cloths while working/painting to protect the floor from splutters and drips. After all, you are only going to throw them away anyway, so spray them with Lysol or another disinfectant and hang them for a day or so to be sure they are completely dry. Then fold them away and store them until your next paint job (which will usually be about every 3 years depending on the quality of the paint you use.

FURTHER READING:

How to Paint Your House Inside and Out

How to Get Started as a Do-It-Yourself Mom

How to Become a Do-It-Yourself Mom: A Guide for Simple Home Decorating Ideas for Smart Women

Your Greener Energy Guide: A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Energy Production

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Easy Home Repairs with the Help of Your Appliance Manuals

Let’s face it. We usually get so excited about buying a new appliance that we rip open the package and want to set it up right away. Most of us rarely even look at the manual that comes with it. In some cases, it might even get thrown away with all the packaging material or thrown in the recycle bin with the rest of the paper waste.

But the instruction manual for your new appliance is a very valuable item which can save you a good deal of money and time—IF you know where it is.

The first step is to not throw the manual away once you have set up your new item. We recommend that you CAREFULLY open the box and all packing materials. The main reason for this is in case the item does not work correctly, or you change your mind. Many stores will be reluctant to take back an item if the box has been shredded. They will certainly want to charge a re-stocking fee even if they do.

The other reason for being careful is to give yourself a chance to thoroughly check the box to see what is inside. In addition to the valuable instruction manual, their might also be small parts, batteries, fact and tip sheets, a warranty card, and more useful bits and pieces that you might overlook in your haste (or your children’s haste) as you try to get the item set up and working.

You will want to avoid tearing any of the papers and booklets that come with the appliance you have purchased. They will often contain valuable instructions, your warranty, instructions on what to do if you wish to return the item (for example, if you ordered it online and it was shipped to you) and troubleshooting or easy set-up guides.

The easy set-up tip sheets or guides might be printed on a sturdy card, or a piece of paper. They can be one of the most valuable items in the box if you are in a hurry to get your new TV, fridge and so on working. However, just because you read that set of instructions doesn’t mean you can throw the manual away.

The instruction manual will contain a wealth of information, often in a number of languages. It will give you contact information, warranty information, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and troubleshooting tips.

If you only find a piece of paper in the box with instructions to visit a particular url to download a copy of the instruction booklet, do so at once. Download a copy onto your computer (it will usually be in PDF) and also print out a copy. This may seem wasteful, but models are often discontinued and then the booklets are taken off the site, which will leave you stuck. It is also more convenient to grab a copy and read through it as you are troubleshooting the appliance rather than having to go back and forth from your computer.

Once you have located your instruction booklet in the box or printed it out, file the manual in a folder or in a drawer with all of your other instruction booklets. Keep all of them in the same place, and return them there when you are finished with them.

If it is a more complex item like a DVD, you might want to keep the instruction booklet close to it for at least a couple of weeks after you buy it, until you get used to it, and then file it with the other manuals in a safe place.

You can file the manuals alphabetically by item, or keep them in one large folder or drawer. If you suddenly start having trouble with one of your appliances, be sure you have the manuals handy to refer to first before enlisting the aid of a serviceman.

Instruction manuals are produced to help you get the most out of your new appliance and troubleshoot the most common problems that owners have experienced with the product. If you want to save time and money, and make the most of your appliance, take a few moments to read through the manual and file it away safely for future reference. It could save you a great deal of money on simple home repair jobs.

FURTHER READING:

The Smart Woman’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to a Greener Home

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How to Change an LG Refrigerator Filter

Skill

Moderate

Things You’ll Need

LG refrigerator manual
Old newspapers
Plastic 1-quart jug
Plastic trash bag
Calendar
Pen

Introduction

The water filter is a key component in your refrigerator if you make ice or drink water from the in-door dispenser.

ice cubes image by Piter Pkruger from Fotolia.com

If you have a fairly new LG refrigerator, chances are it has an in-door water and ice dispenser. When it was delivered, a special water line would have been plumbed to provide water for the dispenser and ice maker. Each refrigerator should be fitted with a water filter to keep your water and ice tasting fresh. The filter should be replaced approximately every six months.

Step 1

Lay newspaper down on the floor in front of the refrigerator.

Step 2

Locate the water filter compartment, which is at the top left corner of the refrigerator in many LG models (it will usually be somewhere in line with the water line from your sink and your water and ice dispenser. Look at the manual if you are not sure where it is located). Once you have located it, grip the handle of the water filter firmly and turn it slowly counterclockwise. Have your water jug nearby in case water gushes out of the filter compartment.

Step 3

Slide the old water filter out of the filter compartment and place it in the plastic bag for future disposal.

Step 4

Grip the handle of the new filter and slide it carefully into the filter slot. You may have to twist and turn it slightly to get it to go in straight. Once you have pushed in as far as it will go, turn the handle slowly clockwise until you hear or feel it click into place.

Step 5

Position your jug at the opening of the water dispenser. Press the button and fill the jug to the brim to prepare the filter and flush out any unwanted factory residue on the filter.

Step 6

Make a note on your calendar of when you changed the filter. Count forward 6 months and jot down a reminder to buy a replacement filter again then.

Tips

Use a plastic jug in case it becomes slippery when wet and you drop it.
Take this opportunity to dust around the refrigerator, front and back. It will help improve performance.
Check to see if there are any special recycling or disposal instructions for your old water filter.

If your water or ice still tastes bad even after changing the water filter, put a box of baking soda into both the refrigerator and the freezer to absorb food odors.

Warnings

Do not force the filter in any direction, in or out, clockwise or counterclockwise.
Clean around the filter dispenser if you see any dirt, debris, or encrustation.

Key Concepts

  • LG refrigerator
  • LG refrigerator filter
  • ice maker filter

References

  • LG: Refrigerator Models [

Resources (Further Reading)

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