In the previous part, we looked at quite a few ingenious ways of repairing everyday household items. In the same spirit, we’re continuing our DIY journey from there, as there’s plenty more to cover where that came from!
Running Toilet
Sooner or later, you’ll have to face one of life’s biggest hardships – a toilet that doesn’t work as it should. But what if we told you that a running toilet only seems intimidating on the surface? In fact, plenty of big box or hardware stores sell toilet repair kits because of how DIY-able it is!
Running toilets can drive up utility costs by a considerable margin, which is why you shouldn’t waste time wondering if you’re meant to call a pro or not. Unless your toilet is the one-piece variety, you should be okay with giving it a shot on your own.
Your first likely culprit is the flapper, which you should replace if you notice it stopping. To do so, you must shut off the water supply, drain the remaining water, and unhook the old one. Assuming your problem isn’t related to the flapper, then you should check if there’s a fill valve leak.
Inconsistent Shower Stream
Only a handful of other things in this world are more annoying than an uneven water stream. If the pressure from your shower screen is not consistent, good luck trying to wash yourself in the early hours of the morning.
If you notice your shower head struggling, then your best bet is to focus your attention on the part that’s responsible for mixing cold and hot streams – the pressure balance cartridge.
Installing a replacement cartridge is relatively straightforward. Simply shut off the water supply, remove the various screws holding the handle, trim plates and cap together, and use a pair of pliers to remove the old cartridge. Just slide in the new one and rebuild the handle as you took it apart.
Dishwasher Drips
Readers with wooden kitchen floors will be especially thankful for this entry. Water leakage from your dishwasher can end up ruining the tiles and cause mold to appear, as it loves moisture.
Dishwashers have these specific rubber gaskets that are pretty thick but eventually wear out over time and become brittle. Assuming yours isn’t too damaged (based on comparison images online), you should gently pull it out and realign it.
Of course, if this doesn’t work (or you’ve already tried it), you should invest in a brand-new gasket. Soaking it in warm water will make it pliable, at which point you just have to align it and keep the door shut so that the material can conform for a few hours.
Malfunctioning Fan Switch
Ceiling fans are a classic interior element, especially in US households. Unfortunately, those chains we pull on can sometimes be quite flimsy, even if your ceiling fan is of top-notch quality. The chain can break the switch inside if yanked on too hard.
In most cases, replacement switches cost between four to ten dollars, so you know what to do. To replace the old one, make sure to shut off the power, remove the lower part of the housing segment, and note the wiring alignment before you disconnect it.
Connecting the wires to the new switch should be done in a way that matches the exact order of the old one. You don’t want to have to do this over and over, do you? After that, just reinstall the housing, and you’re (hopefully) good to go. Don’t yank on the chain too hard now, you hear?
Caved-in Driveway
While asphalt naturally sinks and settles over time, you know you have a huge problem on your hands when it starts to collect rainwater and snow. These worst-case scenarios need to be prevented before they become too large.
Fixing this problem is easy on paper but a bit hard on the labor side of things! Make a square indent with a diamond-bladed saw and dig down to the subsoil. After that, you need to refill the section with a bagged paver and pack the substance down firmly until two inches of space are left. Your final ingredient comes in the form of a blacktop (a mix of stone and asphalt binder), which you need to tamp out similarly.