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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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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