Yes, there are many household repairs that are NOT so easy: broken pipes, shattered windows, leaky roofs, and on and on. But that doesn’t mean that you should just put every household repair in the “ignore it and hope it goes away” category, or in the “I can’t afford it and it is too hard to fix” category either. There actually are some pretty easy solutions to some household problems. Here we will share seven of those.
1. Fix Hardwood Floor Scratches With a Walnut
Hardwood floors are prone to scratching, but most of these are not especially nasty, and can be repaired with a new, miracle object: A walnut! Don’t believe me? It won’t cost you much to see for yourself. Just buy a bag of shelled walnuts. Rub a nut or two over the scratch and watch it fade away. See here for a little article about that. And by the way, even the deeper scratches can be helped quite a bit by this same method.
2. Easy Way To Get a Dent Out of a Hardwood Floor
Another common wood floor problem are dents caused by dropped objects. Do you have a washcloth and a clothes iron? Then you are in business. It may seem odd to iron a floor, but this is a way to get dented wood to absorb moisture and bounce back to its original shape. Read about it here.
3. Easy Ways To Get Unwanted Paint Drips Off of Wood
Well, water-based paint drips, that is. The tips discussed here go in a logical progression, and do not involve any power tools or toxic paint strippers. In many cases, this method works 100%. In others, it may only do part of the job, but it is worth a try.
4. It Ain’t Pretty, But Man Is It Useful: Gorilla Tape (or, Duct tape 2.0)
Everybody knows about duct tape, right? It is really strong and versatile for doing all kinds of repairs. Now there is Gorilla Tape, which is the new Super Hero tape in town. In this link here, you can see it holding together a broken bed frame (I told you it wasn’t pretty). For those of you looking for elegant solutions to household repairs, this is NOT for you. But if you are all about making a broken something-or-other functional again, Gorilla Tape might be for you. You can read Amazon reviews here. 87% 5 stars. But read the one star ratings too. Sometimes even Gorilla tape does not work.
5. Fix Irritating Cabinet Problems
Misaligned cabinet doors, bad latches, worn out door sliders, and more. Kitchens and bathrooms get a lot of use, and therefore need upkeep. Often, it is some simple, but very irritating, little thing that needs attention. In this article, read about no less than nine easy cabinet repairs you can do yourself.
6. Fix a Broken Toilet Handle
So you try to flush the toilet, and the handle kind of flops around and does nothing. Time to call the plumber of $100/hour, right? Or call your landlord or property manager, right? Not so fast. Watch this YouTube video to show how to fix that handle. You can save yourself a lot of time and/or money. You might not even need to buy a cheap new handle at a hardware store. You may just need to reattach the chain that connects the handle lever and the flushing mechanism. Anyway, check out the video. It is super clear.
7. Unstick a Stuck Window
Sometimes old wood frame windows get grumpy, and refuse to open. There is a potential fix for that. Check out this YouTube video, where two women show you how to unstick a stuck window. Spoiler alert: You will need a pizza cutter and some WD-40. With luck, a minute or two later, you will be breathing fresh air as it pours in from your open, and no longer grumpy, window.
Interested in more DIY projects? Check out our whole collection.
