It’s back-to-school time, and the perfect season to bone up on your home owner basics: standard DIY know-how that’ll keep your household running smoothly, day in and day out.
So here’s your course: Home Owner 101. Build a bookmark folder on your browser and add the web addresses of these videos so they’re only a click away when you need them. Review them when you can, and practice the techniques to ace the course.
Running toilets not only rob sleep, they waste water and jack up your bill. Here’s how to change a flapper — the usual suspect — and solve other likely problems.
The hardest part of drywall repair is making the patch flush with the existing wall. A “pumpkin patch” is an easy repair that cuts down on sanding.
Changes in humidity can make cabinet doors rub, refuse to close, or just look cockeyed. Adjusting them is easy and generally requires only a screwdriver.
Windows stick when paint, dust, or moisture builds. Use a utility knife (or a pizza cutter) to remove old paint. Be careful not to gouge the wood sash. If high humidity is making windows hard to move, run a humidifier that sucks moisture out of air.
A dripping faucet can waste 5 gallons of water per day. If you can’t replace the faulty part immediately, tie a string around the faucet and let it fall into the drain: Dripping water will silently flow down the string.
Take the squeak out of doors by lubricating top and bottom hinges with a little white lithium grease. If you don’t have any on hand, olive oil is a quick but temporary fix.
Don’t wait until water gushes into your house to search for the main water line. When things are calm and dry, locate and practice turning it on and off.
Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
