|
|
Post by Gingerbread Man on Sept 29, 2014 18:17:03 GMT
Ok, my dish washer wasn't draining. I looked at the schematics and disassembled the filter part in the bottom. Some crap but no blockage. I looked the tubes coming out of the back, appeared clear. I went under the sink where it hooks up to the garbage disposal. Well, well, well a candle stick holder from my daughters 10th birthday had made its way into the outlet tube and was blocking it. Well, it and some Damn onions.
I blamed my daughter. But seriously, look at stuff yourself before calling some dood that's gonna charge for a service call.
What's your tip?
|
|
|
|
Post by LowKey on Sept 29, 2014 20:41:55 GMT
Do you remember how your grandmother did Spring Cleaning? Dragging everything out of a room, taking everything out of the dressers, closets, trunks, and off the shelves, cleaning the individual items as they came out, then cleaning the room and it's flooring/carpets, then putting everything back? All of this with every window in the house wide open to get a good breeze through all the rooms?
Took all of a weekend if you really worked at it or it would drag into a 2 weekend chore, right?
Do it. Get old school and do it.
You'll find stuff you swore was lost or you'd forgotten you had.
You'll unearth and/or disturb any pests that may have taken up residence and you can address them before they destroy more of your stuff.
You'll catch maintenance issues before they get expensive.
And if you have kids it will give you a chance to reminisce to them about the people who gave you so many of those family heirlooms and hand-me-downs.
It's a weekend folks. Life is busy, but not so busy that you can't take a weekend to dedicate to the care of your home and possessions which you spend so much of your life working to pay for.
|
|
|
|
Post by LowKey on May 2, 2015 14:32:02 GMT
If you have a largish hole in drywall that you need to patch, say one about the size of your open hand or larger...
Cut a piece of moderately stiff cardboard thats at least 1 inch bigger than the hole.
Cut out a small hole in the middle of the cardboard, and put an uninflated balloon throigh the hole in the cardboard
Now, go to the hole in your wall. Fold/bend the cardboard just enough that you can get it inside the hole. Once you've done that, blow up the balloon, tie it off, and push the little tail end of it through the hole in tbe cardboard.
The pressure of the balloon will hold the cardboard in place as backing while you apply DAP or your favorite patching compound withoit javong to shovel in several containers worth to compensate for how much drops behind the wall.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gingerbread Man on May 3, 2015 14:23:59 GMT
The front porch of my house where the carolina jasmine has been climbing had an infestation of carpenter bees. Lil bastards bored into the wood so I used Sevin dust and a yoga ball pump and blew the dust into the holes. Killed them dead, in the meantime I found a birds nest with little birds which were cute until my killer cat found them too. One flew off and the other was lunch. I filled to holes with wood puddy and now have to paint the wood underneath the veranda. Should be loads of fun!
Then I cut the jasmine back to find very think black mold! Yes! Hit it with a pressure washer, then scrubbed it and used a oxy clean based mold remover. NO DICE. I then used another product with chlorine that made my hands itch but it made the mold just go away. Good times for about 8 hrs on a Saturday.
Next weekend I get to paint! The joy!
|
|
|
|
Post by nxp on May 3, 2015 15:04:52 GMT
Washing the house is this summers project. I'm dreading it already.
|
|
|
|
Post by LowKey on May 3, 2015 15:59:00 GMT
The front porch of my house where the carolina jasmine has been climbing had an infestation of carpenter bees. Lil bastards bored into the wood so I used Sevin dust and a yoga ball pump and blew the dust into the holes. Killed them dead, in the meantime I found a birds nest with little birds which were cute until my killer cat found them too. One flew off and the other was lunch. I filled to holes with wood puddy and now have to paint the wood underneath the veranda. Should be loads of fun! Then I cut the jasmine back to find very think black mold! Yes! Hit it with a pressure washer, then scrubbed it and used a oxy clean based mold remover. NO DICE. I then used another product with chlorine that made my hands itch but it made the mold just go away. Good times for about 8 hrs on a Saturday. Next weekend I get to paint! The joy! Oxyclean is simply Sodium percarbonate. Buy it online cheaply (janitorial supply stores have it in bulk) Mix the powder with warm water and go to town. Great stuff. Also works well as a color safe bleach in the wash. If you happen o have a pair of footwear that reek from being worn without socks. this is your answer. |
|
|
|
Post by LowKey on May 3, 2015 16:00:41 GMT
The front porch of my house where the carolina jasmine has been climbing had an infestation of carpenter bees. Lil bastards bored into the wood so I used Sevin dust and a yoga ball pump and blew the dust into the holes. Killed them dead, in the meantime I found a birds nest with little birds which were cute until my killer cat found them too. One flew off and the other was lunch. I filled to holes with wood puddy and now have to paint the wood underneath the veranda. Should be loads of fun! Then I cut the jasmine back to find very think black mold! Yes! Hit it with a pressure washer, then scrubbed it and used a oxy clean based mold remover. NO DICE. I then used another product with chlorine that made my hands itch but it made the mold just go away. Good times for about 8 hrs on a Saturday. Next weekend I get to paint! The joy! Oxyclean is simply Sodium percarbonate. Buy it online cheaply (janitorial supply stores have it in bulk) Mix the powder with warm water and go to town. Great stuff. Also works well as a color safe bleach in the wash. If you happen o have a pair of footwear that reek from being worn without socks. this is your answer. Just off the top of my head - www.amazon.com/Pro-Supply-Outlet-Sodium-Percarbonate/dp/B00HEX7UP4/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430668534&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=sodium+percorbonateThere may be better deals out there, but this should give you something to compare with the price of oxyclean. |
|
|
|
Post by red on May 3, 2015 19:16:22 GMT
When we did mold remediation we scraped/ power washed, then sanded with bleach spray , then topped it off with a heavy coat of Kilz oil based. Ok so back ground on me. I grew up with parents that did not like to spend money and we did everything we could our selves. Went to vo tech high school and am a certified carpenter, took classes at local community collage and am certified small engine mechanic. Worked on cars since i could walk and have built a few race ( 1/4 mile track) cars and trucks with my brother and a few friends. Worked for a fire and water damage clean up and restoration company,a few door building , window and mill work companies,and a hardware store.
|
|
|
|
Post by redeyes on May 3, 2015 19:46:34 GMT
This is more for your car than your home but whatevs. Before working on Hondas or any transverse engine vehicle from Japan, it is advisable to offer a burnt sacrifice of a pack of Malboros and pour out a libation of sake or Asahi beer to appease the spirits of the engineers and factory workers who committed karoshi while building and designing your vehicle. The factory worker spirits aren't too bad, they just kind of laugh and point while you try to reach bolts with (to them) cartoonishly large American size hands, but the engineers are fucking malevolent. Their extreme hatred for mechanics is apparent already in the design of their vehicles. Imagine experiencing poltergeist phenomenons on top of that! One of their favorite forms of torture is in a situation where only one type of tool will do the job, say, for instance, a 14mm long socket. They will cause the socket to disappear for a good half hour and when you finally decide "Fuck this, I am going back to the Auto parts zone on the slim chance that they have restocked the socket I just bought from them a couple hours ago." They will cause the tool to reappear in your back pocket just before you sit down in the seat of your car. I have heard that a blessing from a Shinto priest is effective too, but how often is one of those around when you need them? Pack of Malboros+can of Asahi, both available at Publix.
ETA Oh snap, the But Seriously part got cut off.
But seriously, Youtube videos on how to fix your car will SAVE YOU MONAAAAAAAAAY! So far I have replaced the serpentine belt and tensioners on two vehicles, and changed the brake pads, spark plugs, transmission fluid and filter, cabin air filter, the brake fluid, coolant (didn't need video for these but they exist) oil, air filter, battery, and damn near all the brake lights on one. Depending on whether you take it to a decent shop or a stealer I just saved new Glock to new Agency Arms Glock money.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gingerbread Man on May 3, 2015 20:36:22 GMT
You guys think kilz would work outside?
|
|
|
|
Post by scbrian on May 3, 2015 20:47:38 GMT
Kilz makes an exterior paint. I ditto red's mold remediation. get rid of the mold, clean & sanitize, then seal with Kilz. That stuff is the shit...
|
|
|
|
Post by AngelOfWar on Jun 4, 2015 2:49:10 GMT
90% of dryer failures is a small $8-$10 part, known as the Thermal Fuse (usually found right behind the tub). This little doo-hickey basically "shorts" when the temp get's too high, preventing the dryer from functioning. Swap it out yourself for 30 minutes of your time and $8.
Washers: Tub Fills but won't rotate? Most likely, a small piece of fabric went over the edge of the tub and got tuck in the motor. Again, a quick easy fix, saving yourself $100.
Swap out your incan bulbs for LED's. It's a little costly up front BUT, it's MUCH cheaper in the long run, and they pay for themselves quick. Not only do they not really ever brun out, but, there' no fire/mercury risk associated with the CFL's. Also, LED's are much more reliable.
Oven not working? Again, 90% of the time the heating element cracked. You can't see this usually, but, a quick test with a Multi-Meter will tell you it's bad. Touch one end to the other where it plugs in, if you have no continuity (ohm's), the element is bad. Replace it your self for ~$25 and 2 minutes of your time!
|
|
