Table of Contents
Hour 1
Wrinkled Carpet Repair
Ann has carpeting in her Texas home that has become loose and consequently has wrinkles and ridges all over it. She wants to know if there is a way to correct this without having to remove the carpet and replace it.
The solution to this problem is “carpet stretching” which is a service offered by many carpet installers. They un-hook the carpet from the tack strip on three sides of a room and pull out the wrinkles before they stretch it back over the tack strip with a tool called a “knee kicker.” In some cases, they may have to remove some excess carpet along a wall or seam.
Weatherize Your Windows
Reducing the influence of outside air is one of the best ways to save energy in your home. One of the easier ways to accomplish that is by Installing window film over drafty windows and the Duck Brand Max Strength Rolled Window Insulation Kit is the way to do it.
First you apply clear double-sided tape around the perimeter of the window so you can attach the film around the opening. Don’t worry if there are a few wrinkles as it un-rolls. Once you heat the film with a hairdryer, it tightens up and the wrinkles disappear creating a clear pocket of air to insulate your house.
Hour 2
Moldy Grout Fix
Nancy has moldy spots in the bathroom grout of her Virginia Beach home. She’s heard of a formula to clean grout using hydrogen peroxide, but she doesn’t remember the other components of the mixture or how it works.
The magic mixture for grout cleaning is hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. When you mix the two materials into a paste it becomes a bubbling abrasive. After the paste sits on the grout for a few minutes, scrub it gently with a brush before wiping away the dirt.
Cracked Concrete Repair
The driveway to Michelle’s Illinois home has several superficial cracks in the surface. Because she has recently remodeled the exterior of the house, she want’s to know if there’s a way to cover up the cracks without replacing the whole concrete slab.
The solution to this problem is a product from Quikrete called Re-Cap Concrete Resurfacer*. When mixed with water it creates a bonded coating that can cover concrete surfaces from one sixteenth of an inch up to half an inch. The mix is simply poured on the surface and spread out with a squeegee to the desired thickness.
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Simple Solutions
Easy Overhead Storage—Here’s how to make an overhead rack for your garage, workshop, or shed for storing small-diameter pipe, narrow moldings, and even fishing rods. Cut two 5-in.-long pieces from a length of vinyl downspout and screw the downspout pieces to an overhead ceiling joist, spacing them about 4 ft. apart. Now, simply slide moldings and pipes into the downspouts. They’ll be up and out of the way, but easily accessible when you need them.
Recipe Reminder—Here’s how to keep recipes in sight, but off the countertop. Drill a small hole in one end of a wooden clothespin and screw it to the back of the face frame along the bottom of a wall cabinet. Tighten the screw just enough to create a little friction. Then, clip your recipe card to the clothespin while preparing the meal. When you’re done, remove the recipe card and pivot the clothespin up behind the face frame.
