Owning a house is not a small fete. After the first purchase, a lot more effort and money go into the maintenance of the house. You are always finding something in the house that needs to be fixed. It is not always fun to keep fixing stuff, but when you learn all the hacks that we have compiled, you’ll be ready to get stuck into some DIY!
Secure Loose Screws With Nail Polish
If you have a screw that won’t hold, coat it with a thin layer of clear nail polish. In this way, the nail polish will stick the screw to the crack and gap, keeping it firmly in place.
Clean The Tub With Dish Soap And A Broom
Bending your body to wipe the tub can be a real torture for the back and knees. Yet, with a broom, it’s a different story. Squirt the dish soap over the bathtub, and rub it with a clean broom until all the dirt comes off. Finally, rinse off the foam with water. Look! Your bathtub now looks brand new!
Remove Carpet Dents With Ice Cubes
It’s hard to believe, but you can take dents out of carpets with ice. Put some ice cubes in the dent, and let them melt naturally. The slowly melting ice cubes allow the carpet fibers to expand and regain their original shape. Finally, use the edge of a spoon to lift those downtrodden carpet fibers.
Patch A Window Screen With Clear Nail Polish
Clear nail polish can be used as glue to repair small holes and cracks in window screens. Apply a small amount of nail polish to the tears, and it will seal off the damaged area in a minute or two.
Hide Nail Holes With Crayons
When you take down the decorations hanging on the wall, those nail holes are an eyesore. Instead of painstakingly repainting the holes, you can use a crayon to make them disappear. Get a matching crayon and rub it over the holes as if you are coloring. The crayon will eventually fill these holes, leaving the wall smooth and flawless again.
Fix Creaky Doors With Cooking Spray
An aging door creaks easily and disturbs everyone in the family. To solve this problem, you can try cooking spray. Simply spray a little on the door hinge and there will be no more noise when you use the door again.
Unclog Drains With Salt
If you don’t feel safe letting an unacquainted plumber fix your clogged drain, you can solve the problem yourself with an everyday ingredient: salt! Pour salt together with a little baking powder into the drain and leave them overnight. Wash the mixture down the next day with hot water. With this trick, you can wash down anything that is blocked in the drain.
Keep A Door Open With A Rubber Band
An effective way to leave a door slightly open is to use a rubber band. Loop a rubber band around the doorknob, making an “X” with the intersection just enough to hold the latch down. This is especially useful when you’re coming home with a pile of groceries: you can just enter the room with a gentle push without struggling to empty a hand to unlock the door.
Remove Pet Hair From Carpet With Squeegee
Cleaning a carpet entangled with clumps of pets’ hair can be frustrating. Instead of spending a fortune on dry cleaning the carpet, you can do it yourself at home. Simply move the squeegee back and forth on the carpet, and the embedded hair can be easily loosened and removed.
Deodorize Garbage Disposals With Bread And Vinegar
Garbage, especially kitchen waste, can stink up your kitchen very quickly. To get rid of the unpleasant smell, you can put a piece of bread soaked in vinegar at the bottom of your trash can. In this way, the garbage won’t get stinky easily.
Make A Funnel With Aluminum Foil
Want to pour juice into a small bottle but can’t find a funnel? A piece of aluminum foil can save you from the dilemma. Just roll the flexible foil into a cone shape as a substitute, and you don’t even need to wash it after use.
Insulate Windows With Bubble Wrap
When you’re bothered by a drafty window during wintertime, why not try bubble wrap for insulation? Simply wet your windows with a bit of water and apply bubble wrap while they are still wet. That way, even if it’s cold outside, you’ll be warm and cozy at home.
Unscrew A Broken Light Bulb With A Potato
You can use a potato to safely remove the threaded base of a shattered lightbulb from its socket. First, switch the light off and put on protective gloves. Then cut the raw potato in half, wipe off any extra moisture, and press the broken bulb into the soft side of the potato as far as possible. Turn the potato counterclockwise until the base is unscrewed.
Get Clean Edges With Tape
It’s not easy to get a straight, clean caulk edge when you don’t have the skill. However, painter’s tape can help with that. Simply apply the tape above and below the area, apply and smooth the caulk, and remove the tape when the caulk is still wet. Otherwise, the caulk may be torn and the straight line will be destroyed.
Clean The Grout With Toilet Bowl Cleaner
If you are still struggling to clean grout with time-consuming conventional cleaners, try a toilet bowl cleaner instead. Pour a small amount of the cleaner over the grout, and leave it for about 15 minutes. Then clean the grout with a toothbrush, rinse the cleaner, and mop the tile with warm water. Voila, the floor shines up like new!
Clean A Showerhead With Vinegar
When a showerhead is partly blocked by scale, the joy of showering will be greatly reduced. To clean off the blockage, you can wrap a plastic bag filled with vinegar around the showerhead and leave it overnight. Remove the bag and turn on the water to rinse the vinegar out the next day, and you can enjoy a nice, hot bath.
Avoid Door Dings With A Pool Noodle
Scratching a car door on the wall in the garage can be annoying, but there is a way to avoid the damage. You can use a half-cut pool surface as a buffer and glue it to the garage wall at the right height. By doing this, you can make sure the door won’t hit the wall.
Remove Rust With Tin Foil
Clean rust with tin foil may seem crazy, but the material is known for bringing the sheen back to chrome. Clean the chrome surface with a microfiber towel and soapy water first, then place it in clean water and rub the rust with a piece of tin foil. When it’s all done, you won’t believe that the shiny chrome is the one you’ve been using for years.
Dissolve Bugs With Hydrogen Peroxide
Not only are the dead bugs on your car disgusting, but the acid in them can damage the paint. To clean off the bugs, you can wash your car with hydrogen peroxide. The chemical contains proteins that corrode the gut of bacteria without harming the car paint.
Unclog Drains With Baking Soda And Vinegar
The bubbly reaction of baking soda and vinegar helps loosen the drain clog. All you need to do is pour boiling water down the drain, add 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup white vinegar, let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, and flush it down with boiling water. Then you’ll get a clear drain.
Clean Your Car’s Interior With Hydrogen Peroxide
In addition to removing bugs from the car’s surface, hydrogen peroxide can also clean the car’s interior. Mix a large proportion of hydrogen peroxide, and a dash of white vinegar, dishwashing liquid, and warm water in a spray bottle, spray over the stains and gently wipe them off. Then you will have a clean car inside and out.
Perfecting A Caulked Ledge
Like paint, if you’re seeking to create a straight and near-perfect edge for any caulk-related applications, use painter’s tape to guide your process. However, be sure to remove the tape before the caulk is set and dry. Otherwise, you end up risking that perfect caulk edge when pulling up the tape.
Garbage Disposal Cleaners
There are two common hacks to keep your garbage disposal in tip-top shape. First, it’s recommended you grind ice cubes at your disposal to help keep them clean and sharpen its blades. Second, it’s further recommended that you grind some citrus fruits like lemon or orange to dissipate any funky smells that may occasionally show up. Therefore, why not combine these two hacks into one ideal solution? Simply cut up some small slices of your favorite citrus, throw them in some ice cube trays, fill in the gaps with tap water, and freeze those cubes overnight. Boom. You now have ready-to-use hygienic ice cubs for disposal cleaning.
Smelly Trash Can Aroma
Somehow, smells have a unique way of permeating into “things.” In other words, even if you invest in scented garbage bags, sometimes the smell of trash will find its way into your trash can once the bag is removed. If you suffer from this typical phenomenon, take a slice of bread, soak it in vinegar, and then place that slice at the bottom of your empty trash can for an overnight rendezvous. By the morning, that stinky slice should now be holding all the smells once held by your trusty trash can. Now, remove that slice, put it in a new bag, throw in your smelly slice, and all should be smelling right.
Avoiding Trash Can Suction
When trash bags are filled to the brim, there may be some hesitation when pulling that bag out of the can. A bag may break by the sheer weight of its contents but it’s also possible that suction at the bottom of the can may also cause a bag to prematurely break open. Rule out this concern by drilling two or three holes near the bottom – but not on the bottom – of your can. When a new bag is inserted, air pressure below and above the bag will be able to pressurize, ensuring equal and unstrained forces when it comes to lifting that bag later on.
Internal Toilet Leak Alert
If you suspect your toilet is slowly leaking into its bowl, this is a fun hack to try out. Purchase a dark-colored Kool-Aid flavor, like Cherry or Grape, and pour the packet into the toilet tank. Feel free to stir the tank ever so gently, if you so desire. Leave the colored tank water to sit undisturbed for half an hour. When you come back and the toilet bowl water color matches your Kool-Aid tank color, then you know you have a sneaky leak.
Cut The Tennis Ball
This one is a bit more “off the wall” than most of our home hacks. If you cut a tennis ball along its squiggly lines, you can use the odd-looking piece to help grip any obnoxious glass or canned jar.
Rubber Band Stripped Screw Remover
We hope you have luck with this hack. If you’re on the verge of stripping a screw or dealing with a recently stripped screw, place a rubber band atop the head. From here, slowly rotate your screwdriver over the rubber band. If you’re lucky, the additional friction provided by the rubber will help create a stronger/less slippery opportunity for you to finish your project.
Toilet Bowl & Grout Cleaner
The mystery behind cleaning tile grout is over. With toilet bowl cleaner in hand, follow the lines of dirtied grout. Let the cleaner sit for 15 – 20 minutes. Then, use a small brush, like a toothbrush, and a little elbow grease to thoroughly scrub each line. Finish by wiping or mopping the area with some warm water. Your grout should be looking crisp.
The Soap Color Corrector
Similar to our tiny nail hole/crayon-fill hack, this tip replaces the crayon with a bar of soap. The color of your bar will limit your options but this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re only dealing with white walls. Once you’re done rubbing the tiny wall holes with your bar of soap in a counter-clockwise motion, feel free to use a fingernail or Q-Tip with warm water to remove excess soap residue.
Crayola Color Corrector
Whether they held picture frames or diplomas, the tiny nail holes around your home will eventually need to be filled. Assuming they’re all pretty small, skip the complicated wall repairs. First, pick up a box of crayons (we’re looking at you Crayola) that best match the general color themes of your walls. Second, hold up the few crayons that best match your needed color and select your ideal “color corrector.” Third, with slight pressure, “color” in that tiny hole. If done properly, enough wax from your crayon will quickly fill in and hide that tiny hole.
Wood Floor Squeak Filler
If you notice any squeaking between floorboards, the issue is caused by friction between the two pieces. When you’ve located the two problem boards, take some baby powder and fill the gap between them. Use an old toothbrush or makeup brush to firmly pack in the power. Sweep away any excess. Your floor should be less squeaky and a bit better smelling.
Ironing Away Wood Dents
This is a tip you need to see to believe. If you find yourself becoming bothered with small dents found in wooden floorboards and even wooden furniture, we have a suggestion for you. Fill the dent(s) with a tiny amount of water, place a damp towel atop the dent, and then run a hot iron in circular motions above the dent. Check for process in 30-second increments.
Dishwasher Oven Cleaner
If you don’t have any special grease fighters at your disposal and your oven needs cleaning, don’t fret. Wet a dishwasher tablet and clean away. Remember to wear gloves, however. These tablets contain bleach!
Tea Bag Grease Fighter
Leftover tea is known to stain their ceramic mugs over time. Conversely, a chemical in tea, known as tannins, can also assist in fighting greasy grime. Therefore, if you’re washing greasy dishes or pots and pans by hand, throw in some used tea bags before jumping in. The tannins found in a few bags will help cut the greasy film on all your dishes.
Aluminum Foil Static Fighter
If you’ve run out of dryer sheets or simply don’t care to keep purchasing them, take 10 seconds to roll up a piece of aluminum foil and throw that in the dryer instead. Not only will this cut down on static inside the dryer (helping your clothes dry faster and more evenly), this ball of foil can infinitely be used over and over.
Save Pans With Foil
Carbon and rust build-up will eventually occur on cooking pans. Take charge of the issue by wiping down the cleaned surface with a wet and soapy microfiber. Take a second to dip a balled-up piece of aluminum foil into some clean water and then scrub rust and carbon deposits away.
The Utensil Magic Eraser
Even after a wash or rinse through the dishwasher, metal utensils may still suffer from stained surfaces. If the dishwasher doesn’t remove those nasty stains from your non-stainless steel utensils, we suggest wiping those surfaces with a magic eraser. Again, do not use a magic eraser on stainless steel utensils. You have been warned.
The Original Use Of The Magic Eraser
Expectedly, a slightly damp magic eraser will magically clean dirtied and stained walls, regardless of color. These erasers work wonders in their traditional use case.
The Rubber Band Anti-Lock
Have a door that easily locks itself back into a closed position, even when you’d like it open? This hack is perfect for homeowners that get frustrated with doors that close on themselves, requiring an open hand to push or twist the door open once again. The next time you’re bringing in groceries, create an “X” over the door lock using a rubber band by twisting a band over the front and backside of any doorknob. Not only will the band potentially keep the door from sliding into its locked position, but it will also guarantee that this door will never be able to lock.
Crystal Clear Nail Polish Glue
Blame the cats if you’re too embarrassed to admit that you made a small cut in the screen door. Thankfully, rather than leaving the cut “as-is,” clear nail polish will act as an invisible glue, bringing together the broken threads.
