I'm certainly not a professional or an expert on home improvement or repairs, but I have learned some things over the years. Here is a review of some simple DIY home hacks that I have used over the years.
The estimated cost of minor home repairs is said to be about 1% of the cost of your home per year. So, as the value of your home increases so do your repair costs.
Some of these hacks may save you a little money and some may save some time. These are just some tips that I have used myself over the years.
DIY Home Hacks:
If you have a slow-running drain try some baking soda and white vinegar. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain, have a stopper or washcloth handy. Then, pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the drain and quickly cover with the stopper or washcloth.
Wait about a minute and then flush with boiling or hot water. To keep my drains running free I do this about once a month. This really works for slow-running drains. If your sink is completely clogged you are going to need a drain cleaner or plunger.
Are you planning some interior painting? Painting around windows can be tedious work. Personally, I like to free-hand paint around windows. But, if you don't have a steady hand you can really make a mess on the windows, and create some extra work to remove the paint.
Applying masking tape takes some time, and is also a real pain to do. Try this, use a stick of Bees Wax and apply it to the window. Be careful not to get any wax on the wood that you're going to paint. Now, paint around the window, and after the paint dries wipe off the Bees Wax. The paint will not stick to the wax.
This is another painting hack. If you are painting your walls and accidentally drip some onto the finished wood trim and you don't see it until it dries.
Denatured alcohol will remove latex paint without affecting the finish on the wood trim.
Just gently rub the paint spots with a rag wet with the alcohol.
One more hack that I have is removing old window glazing. This one applies only if you have old-style windows. The new windows today do not have window glazing. I don't have a photo because I haven't used this hack in years.
If you happen to have old windows, the glazing over time will dry out and crack. It's not difficult to apply new glazing around the window, but removing the old glazing can be a pain.
To make this job easy use a heat gun or propane torch, the heat will soften the old glazing to make it easy to remove. A word of Caution: Be careful not to overheat, too much heat will crack the glass. After removing to old glaze, clean the area with a brush, and then brush on some linseed oil before applying the new glaze.
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Very clever ~ and helpful ~ DIY tricks to use around the house. Thanks so much, Sam. I've actually used the one about using baking soda & vinegar for a slow running drain. Used it in a tub drain and it really worked well. Also MUCH cheaper than hiring a plumber. LOL.
ReplyDeleteYou know I love a good DIY hack! running to buy some bee wax for my upcoming project! love it :)
ReplyDeleteThese are such helpful DIY hacks, Sam! I’ve used the baking soda and white vinegar drain clearing hack, too. I was particularly fascinated by the tip that denatured alcohol will remove latex paint without affecting the finish on wood trim!
ReplyDeleteroflol! I just realized I neglected to leave my comment here earlier! I started talking to my husband about your Bees Wax hack and closed my browser without even thinking about it. While I am familiar with the vinegar & baking soda drain cleaning/clearing tip, I had never heard the suggestion to use bees wax and got really excited about it. Not having to scrape the windows with a razor would be awesome! Thank you for that wonderful idea. We will be trying that for sure!
ReplyDeleteSam, great tips! I love the beeswax tip - excellent idea. Also your suggested use for denatured alcohol is excellent. But I really appreciate your drain cleaning tip, I'll have to try that one.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Sam and some that I'm sure will make homeowners happy to know. Thanks for all your "expert" helps and hacks!
ReplyDeleteSome great hacks. Thanks Sam. I have used the vinegar and baking soda on drains and it works great.
ReplyDeleteWonderful hacks, Sam! I'm going to immediately use that beeswax tip. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThese are really great DIY home hacks. Love the vinegar and baking soda tip for the drains. Denatured Alcohol sounds really useful. I had not heard of using beeswax before painting, so as I always find applying masking tape a bit of a pain, I will be trying that one. Thank you so much!
ReplyDelete