Here’s a little secret; DIY isn’t as hard as some people make it out to be. Granted, there are some jobs you definitely shouldn’t attempt to do yourself, but there is no reason to call a repair person every time the kitchen sink gets blocked. Here are a few things you can easily fix around the house by yourself, no matter your experience level. It will save you money, and improve your DIY confidence.
Unblock the sink
Don’t use a chemical unblocker; they are abrasive and can damage your skin. Instead, use a solution of baking soda and vinegar to try and unblock your sink. The two ingredients react together to push the blockage out. If this doesn’t work, you can use a plunger, which won’t do any damage to your drains, and often immediately clears the blockage. It just requires a bit of elbow grease and patience.
Clearing the blockage yourself should be a last resort, but it is doable. Plastic traps are easy enough to remove, but metal ones may require some tools and muscle power. Once the pipe is removed, you can push out the blockage.
Change your car oil
Changing the oil in your car is routine maintenance which doesn’t require a mechanic. Even if you know nothing about cars, you can do this yourself with a little help from guides on the internet. You can find out the year, make, model, engine displacement size, and oil type of your car by looking in the manual. You might also find it useful to have a friend helping you when you first attempt this. If you’re still uncomfortable doing this on your own, pay extra attention when you contact a good-priced mechanic. You can discover the best jiffy lube oil change prices when you check out their website.
Light Switches
To fix a light switch, first, make sure the circuit breaker is turned off. Using a flathead screwdriver, remove the faceplate covering the switch, then use a voltage tester to make doubly sure the circuit is not active.
Next, use a phillips head screwdriver to pull the switch off the wall. You will see two wires still attached to the switch. Disconnect the wires, one at a time, and attach them to the corresponding location on the new switch. Now, simply put everything back together.
Small holes in drywall
Unless you’ve been driving your car indoors, holes in the wall should be easy to fix. First clear the area of any debris and wipe down the wall. Use a putty knife to press some spackle into the wall and let it dry. Once it’s done, sand it down with fine grain sandpaper until it’s nice and flat. Depending on how seamless you need it to be and what color you your walls are, you may need to apply a coat of paint.
WD-40
It’s amazing how many things can be repaired with WD-40. Lubricate stuck windows, silence squeaky doors, and even remove rust from garden tools.
3 responses to “Save Money On Home Repairs: Safe DIY For Beginners”
There are a lot of helpful hints you offer here! I need to learn to do some of this stuff.
I love getting helpful hints like this. I’ve been using the baking soda and vinegar trick on our sinks for yrs. I’m going to try it on mama’s as soon as I can get back there.
It’s amazing how many people won’t even try to do simple repairs around their homes. I remember my mom being shocked that I was able to change out the elbow pipe under my kitchen sink (just imagine what a plummer would have charged to come and do it). When my mom’s boyfriend, who always did all the repairs at their place, passed, she started trying to do them on her own. I can remember how excited she was when she changed the flushing mechanism in her toilet. It really pays to do many of the smaller jobs yourself. My dad gave me a nice toolbox with basic tools when I was in high school. I bought each of my daughters a tool set for their cars when they first got them. I also bought them each a small basic tool set. Everyone should have one!