Fix It Archives - Page 5 of 15

Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, Plumbing, repair

Fix a Leaky Faucet in 10 minutes

10 Minute Fix for a Leaky Faucet | Pretty Handy Girl

Drip, drip, drip! Is that leaky faucet keeping you up at night? I have a 10 minute fix that will bring you sweet dreams and a lower water bill.

Oftentimes the washers in faucets wear out after continuous use. Replacing them is actually easy and will only take about ten minutes (minus the time to run to Lowe’s to pick up the new ones.)

Materials:

Pliers
Needle-nosed pliers
Philips screwdriver
O-Ring (purchase after removing the old one)
Seat Washer (purchase after removing the old one)

Instructions:

Begin by turning off your water. You can locate the water shut off valves under the sink.

Turn on the water until the faucet runs dry.

Use the philips screwdriver to loosen and remove the screw on top of the faucet handle. Read more

January 12, 2015/15 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, energy conservation, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, Plumbing

Day 30 – Seal Gaps Around Pipes

Seal Gaps Around Pipes with GREAT STUFF | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you have an open door policy for drafts and bugs?

Of course not! Wait… you might and not know it. Have you looked under your sinks around the water pipes? If you have gaps around the pipes, you have the welcome sign up for cold air and bugs. Take a few minutes to seal around pipes with GREAT STUFF and you’ll stop them from entering your home.

Before GREAT STUFF approached me about writing a sponsored post for them, I was already a huge fan of their product. And between you and me, this post was already on the list of 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes! But, let’s keep that secret, because we don’t need GREAT STUFF to get an inflated ego. Ha, ha. Get it? Inflated. Oh yes, GREAT STUFF expands!

So much so, that I created a second head when I was working on my kitchen renovation. (I think my Halloween costume is complete, right?!)

But seriously, this is GREAT STUFF! It will fill in any gaps and holes in your home and foundation to prevent bugs and drafts from coming in. GREAT STUFF is easy to use, simply shake the can for 30 seconds. Add the spray nozzle. Don’t forget to put on gloves and eye protection. I created a super quick video to show you how to use GREAT STUFF.:

Spray GREAT STUFF into the gaps around your pipes. Do not overfill as GREAT STUFF expands as it cures.

Keep a wet wipe or paper towel nearby to wipe off the nozzle and wipe up any drips.

Once the GREAT STUFF has cured, trim off any excess with a serrated blade if necessary.

Here are just a few places you can use GREAT STUFF:

Around plumbing pipes under your sink:

In the openings and gaps in your floor vents:

Around pipes and wires entering your home’s foundation:

Have you checked under your sinks or around your foundation lately? Buy a can of GREAT STUFF and seal all the gaps. Then enjoy your winter draft-free and your summers bug-free ;-).

Check out the Dow GREAT STUFF Pinterest board for more ways to use GREAT STUFF.

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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by GREAT STUFF. I was compensated for my time. As always, I’m extremely picky about the products I promote. If I don’t like a product, you won’t see it mentioned. All projects and opinions are my own. I was not told what to write or say about GREAT STUFF.

Other tips in the 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes series:

October 30, 2014/11 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, caulking, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance

Day 29 – Caulk Cracks in Siding and Trim

One of the best thing you can do to save money is to prevent water from getting through your home’s exterior. Now is a good time to walk around your home and look for gaps and cracks around doors, windows, trim and siding. If you see any, I’ll show you super quick way to caulk and fill them.

Here’s a big crack over our front door.

Gah! Two more gaps:

Clean off around the crack with a wet rag dipped in mild soap and water. If there’s mold or mildew, a water and bleach solution should get rid of it.

Thanks to my reader, Susan Cole, for this tip. If you are caulking upside down or the tube keeps slipping out of the gun, slip a rubber band around the tube and gun to hold it in place.

Here’s a quick video tutorial to show you how I breeze through caulking cracks and gaps:

That’s all there is to it! Now our home is protected from water and insects.

In case you were wondering, I was able to lean out the dormer window while keeping my feet on the floor.

If I had needed to lean out any further, I would have used a sturdy ladder or hired someone to do it for me. Recently I’ve been leaning (pun intended) toward hiring out any task that involves climbing higher than one story. Falling from a ladder is just too risky for this DIY Mom. Just because I can do it doesn’t mean I always will.

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October 29, 2014/11 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, energy conservation, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, weatherstripping

Day 26 – Weatherstrip Your Garage Doors

Do you have a garage? Are your garage doors insulated or weather stripped? Or do you have big gaps in the sides like this:

If you don’t have weather stripping on your garage doors, you could be throwing away money on heating spaces above and/or next to your garage. Not to mention, making it uncomfortably cold for any of us Handy Peeps who work in the garage.

Day 26 – Weatherstrip Your Garage Doors

In an hour you can seal the gaps around your garage door. This could make a huge difference in the temperature of your garage. And you could improve the temperature in adjacent rooms. After installing the weather stripping we noticed a huge difference in the temperature of our bonus room that sits on top of the garage.

A Garage Door Side and Top Weather-strip Kit costs less than $20. Be sure to measure the sides and top of your garage doors and order enough to cover.

Use the nails included in the kit to secure the garage door seal against your doors.

For a time saving tip and more detailed directions you can follow my full tutorial for installing garage door weatherstripping.

These were the resulting temperature shifts after I installed the weather stripping on our garage doors:

Before Weather Stripping:

Outside Temperature	Inside Garage Temperature	Temperature Difference
45˚F	55˚F	10 degrees
30˚F	45˚F	15 degrees

After Weather Stripping:

Outside Temperature	Inside Garage Temperature	Temperature Difference
45˚F	65˚F	20 degrees
30˚F	58˚F	28 degrees

Go ahead and seal those gaps and enjoy a warmer garage and home this winter.

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October 26, 2014/14 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, energy conservation, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, repair

Day 25 – Do You Open or Close Crawlspace Vents

Do You Open or Close Crawlspace Vents | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you leave your crawlspace vents open or closed? The great debate ends now.

If you guessed open, you are right. If you guessed closed, you are also right!

Crawlspace vents should be opened in the spring and closed in the fall. The reason being that you want to preserve any heat in your crawlspace in the winter. This will help protect your water pipes from freezing and keep your home a little cozier on those cold days. Once spring arrives, go ahead and open the vents to allow better air flow in the crawlspace and to eliminate moisture build up.

Adjusting the vents should take you 5-10 minutes total.

Usually, they will slide freely open and closed with your own hand strength.

Occasionally you’ll run into a stubborn vent that might be rusty or stuck. Use pliers or a wrench to grab the vent tab as close to the base as possible and gently tap on the wrench with a hammer.

The only time you shouldn’t close your vents is if you have high radon; an appliance that can build up fumes; or excessive water and moisture problems. If you have these issues, you have bigger problems than worrying about your vents being opened or closed. Consult with an expert to remedy those situations immediately.

October 25, 2014/7 Comments/by Brittany Bailey