If an issue arises in your home, your first instinct may be to call a repairman or cleaning company. But, you may be able to fix more problems than you think, even when it comes to repairing your big appliances.
With a little dedication and patience, do-it-yourself home improvement tasks can save you a lot of money over time. The following are just a few of the tasks you can probably do yourself, and you never even knew you had it in you.
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| Home Improvement |
Repair Your Appliances
Over time, appliances can break down. Unfortunately, they’re also some of the things in our homes that we use most. Having one quit on us can seem like an emergency situation, but there are a few things you can do yourself before handing over hundreds of dollars to an emergency repairman.
If you have pretty good knowledge about how the specific appliance works, you can attempt to repair an appliance yourself. Make sure you take note of how everything comes apart, where screws go, etc., so that you’ll know how to put it back together. Read through the owner’s manual and research your specific model online to find the right parts and model-specific instructions or guides.
To keep your appliances in top shape, make sure you practice routine maintenance on them, as suggested by their manuals. Proper cleanings and inspections can make a world of difference in how long your appliances last without needed repairs.
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| Appliance Repair |
Clean Your Upholstery
No need to call a cleaning service to clean your custom or upholstered furniture. You can easily learn how to clean upholstery yourself by searching online for specific fabric cleaning guides.
If your furniture has a tag with information about its materials, use that as a guide. Tags will often provide cleaning codes, such as “W” for water-based cleaning agents, that tell you what cleaners are safe to use. If there is no tag, contact your manufacturer for more information about the material and proper cleaning methods.
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| Upholstery Cleaning |
Fix a Leaking Toilet
Although toilets may look a little scary inside the tank, they’re usually pretty simple machines to fix, especially newer models.
If you suspect that you have a leak coming from your toilet, you can check by adding some food coloring drops to the water tank. Check the bowl in a few hours for that color in the water, which indicates a leak.
In this case, you can go to your local hardware store for a replacement flapper made for your model. If the store doesn’t carry the one you need, search online. It’s usually a cheap replacement part, and almost anyone can easily replace it just by remembering how the old one came off.
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| Toilet Leaking |
Remove Stains
There are virtually endless combinations of stain removers you can make at home that can remove stains from carpets, bathtubs, furniture, and more. Before you call a cleaning company to get rid of your home’s toughest stains, try out a few stain-removing home remedies.
Good things to keep in stock at all times are baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and baby powder. Baking soda, when mixed with some water, creates a cleansing paste that can get rid of stains on a number of surfaces. Lemon juice and vinegar both act as bleaching agents for tough stains. And, baby powder can be used to soak up oil stains on a carpet or floor.
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| Stain Remove |
Fix Squeaky Floors
Squeaky floors and stairs are common in old homes, especially. But, they can become a nuisance after a while. Fortunately, there is usually no need to spend a ton of money to hire someone to repair your squeaky floors.
Instead, grab a hammer and some nails, and consider purchasing a stud sensor if you don’t have one. Locate the squeak in the floor, and use the stud sensor to find the nearest joist, if possible. Hammer a nail into the joist, and it should prevent that area of the floor from squeaking.
February 22, 2017
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