Common Home Repairs You Can Easily Do Yourself
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There are everyday common home repairs that you can do yourself without having to call in a professional and pay high prices for the work. You may think you are incapable of doing home repairs, but you can easily do the following simple repairs on your own.
Clogged Sinks Clogged kitchen and bathroom sinks are two common home repairs that almost any homeowner has to deal with at one time or another. To fix a kitchen or bathroom clog, use a handy plunger. Prime the plunger until suction builds up over the sink opening. Once you create enough of a vacuum, push the plunger in a pumping motion until it removes the clog. Then run some hot water to clear the drain.
Another tool for unclogging drains in kitchens or bathrooms is a metal flexible snake. You put the snake into the opening of the drain and turn the handle that releases the snake. Push the snake into the drain until there is no resistance. Turn the snake towards the clog until it's dislodged and goes on through the line. Again, run some hot water through the drain to clear out any residue.
Smoke Detector/Alarm Smoke detectors are easy to install and take little time to do. They usually come in a kit that you can install by either screwing the base of the detector into the ceiling or wall by using a screwdriver or drill. Also, many kits today provide an adhesive backed mounting tape to adhere the detector directly to the wall or ceiling. Remember to test your smoke alarm at least once a month and replace the batteries when necessary to avoid those alarm low battery "chirping" sounds.
Circuit Breakers and GFI Outlets Checking your circuit breaker box and GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) outlets are two easy repairs you can do yourself. All it takes is checking your breaker box to see whether any breakers have been tripped and need to be switched back on or reset. The same is true for any GFI outlets in a kitchen or bathroom. Simply push the reset button to reactivate the outlet.
Weatherstripping When you see light coming through the bottom of outside doors and air is escaping, you know it's time to get some weatherstripping to fill those gaps and save on your energy bills. Weatherstripping is self-adhesive and you can easily put it within any doors that lead to the exterior of your home. You simply place the strips around the interior of the door's perimeter, but most weather stripping kits come with further instructions for installation.
Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaning With the preponderance of stainless steel appliances in homes today, there is an easy solution to cleaning them. Car wax seems to be one way to protect them, keep them clean and eliminate most smudges and fingerprints. Rub the wax on the appliance with the wax applicator, allow it to dry and finally buff out the area with a clean cloth. If you have scratches on your stainless steel appliances, use some light sand paper, go over the scratches and follow with rubbing compound to smooth and finish the area.
There are many common home repairs that you can easily do yourself. The ones given here are just a few examples to get you in practice for other repair projects that you can tackle on your own.
