DIY Home Repairs: Home Ownership 101

Owning and maintaining a home isn’t that hard if you know the basics. Here’s our crash course on some DIY home repairs, from caring for your deck and lawn to replacing a faucet and fixing your toilet.

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Deck Maintenance

To keep your deck looking good requires periodic maintenance. Here’s how to go about it:

• Clean Deck: A pressure washer can be used to clean your deck if you’re careful not to damage the wood, but a deck cleaner—such as Flood Wood Cleaner—works great and is easy to use.
• Repair Deck: Once the deck is clean and dry, set any protruding nails and sand rough surfaces.
• Stain Deck: Apply a high-quality stain to seal the wood and keep moisture out with either a pump-up sprayer or roller. Back-brush the wet stain to force it into the grain.

Find out more at How to Clean and Finish a Wood Deck.

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Lawn Maintenance

Here are some tips to improve your lawn:

• Mower Blade: Keep the blade on your lawn mower sharp so that it cuts rather than shreds the grass. Have two blades, so you’ll always have a sharp one ready when you need it.
• Mower Height: Set your mower height to cut no more than 1/3 of the grass blade to keep from scalping your lawn.
• Mower Speed: Set the throttle on high, but keep the speed control at a moderate pace.
• Mower Clippings: Mulching requires less work and helps return nutrients to the soil while bagging gives your lawn a spotless manicured look.

Find out more at Lawn Mower Maintenance.

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Vinyl Siding and Gutter Maintenance

Apply a UV protectant like Armor All to protect vinyl siding and gutters from sun damage. Simply spray it on and wipe off the excess to restore shine and provide protection from harmful UV rays.

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Kitchen and Bathroom Maintenance

These are the two rooms in your house that require the most maintenance. Here are some common DIY home repairs to keep each room functioning at its finest.

Clean Showers

Showers are a magnet for soap scum. To reduce build-up:

• Apply automotive paste wax to fiberglass shower walls after cleaning.
• Use automotive windshield rain repellent on glass shower doors after cleaning.

Repair Toilet

Replacing the rubber flapper valve in the bottom of the tank will often stop a toilet from running. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Turn the cut-off valve under the toilet to turn off the water.
2. Flush the toilet to drain the tank.
3. Remove the old flapper valve at the bottom of the tank.
4. Attach the new flapper valve.
5. Connect and adjust the chain to the handle.

Find out more at How to Repair a Toilet.

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Replace Kitchen Faucet

Here’s how to go about replacing the faucet in your kitchen:

1. Clean out the cabinet under the sink.
2. Gather the tools and supplies needed (faucet, paper towels, bucket, flashlight, wrenches, pipe thread tape).
3. Turn off the water at cut-off valves under the sink.
4. Use wrench to remove supply lines.
5. Use wrench to remove nuts securing faucet in place.
6. Clean the sink under the faucet.
7. Attach the new faucet following provided instructions.
8. Wrap male pipe threads with pipe thread tape.
9. Reattach the supply lines to cut-off valves.
10. Turn on water and check for leaks.

Find out more at How to Install a Kitchen Sink Faucet.

Bathroom Vent Fan

To clean and oil a bathroom vent fan:

1. Remove the cover from the vent fan.
2. Vacuum out the fan motor, blades, and housing.
3. Lubricate the fan motor with silicone spray.
4. Reattach the fan cover to the housing.

Drain Hot Water Heater

To remove sediment and mineral deposits from plumbing:

1. Drain hot water tank once a year.
2. Remove and clean faucet aerators regularly.
3. Turn water off at street, remove aerator from faucet on far side of house, turn on faucet, turn water on at street to blast out any deposits in the lines.

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Clean Dryer Vent

Of the list of DIY home repairs, cleaning lint from the dryer vent is probably the most important.

Lint build-up in clothes dryer vents is responsible for thousands of home fires a year.

To reduce the chance of a dryer fire, clean the lint filter and vent pipe regularly. To do this, remove the outside cover on the pipe and use a special lint brush to remove any built-up lint in the pipe.

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Repair Ceiling Fan

To fix a wobbling paddle ceiling fan:

1. Check to see if the fan is securely attached to the electrical box.
2. Make sure all the screws on the fan and blades are tight.
3. Check for warped blades or bent metal brackets by measuring from the ceiling to the tip of each blade.
4. If the fan still wobbles, use a balancing kit to balance the blades.

Find out more at How to Stop Wobble and Vibration in a Paddle Ceiling Fan.

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Other Tips from This Episode

	Simple Solutions How to Dry Shoes Fast
	Best New Products Heath Zenith Solar Powered Motion Security Light
	Thinking Green Free Online Reuse Network

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Further Reading

• Gutter Guards: The DIY-Friendly Guide to Maintaining Rain Gutters
• 10 Home Improvements You Must Tackle This Summer
• 10 Home Improvements You Must Tackle This Spring