Maintaining a home, and all it holds, is an important part of being a homeowner. Keeping your house is good repair not only protects your investment, but ensures you a living space that you can enjoy to the fullest. But, keeping ahead of all the tasks that can pile up on your to-do list isn’t always easy.
Here are 20 hacks that can make home maintenance and everyday repairs a bit easier:
1. Clean bathroom tile grout with a bleach pen. You’ll not only brighten things up, but get rid of stains and bacteria.
2. Clean your bathroom exhaust fans with the same canned air you use to clean your computer keyboard. Dust and dirt can accumulate and reduce efficiency, while this trick makes cleaning a breeze.
3. Use ketchup to polish silverware. It will remove tarnish and other spots from silverware and other silver items.
4. Remove scratches from wood floors by rubbing them with walnuts. The oil and soft walnut will fill in scratches and scuffs, making them unnoticeable.
5. Avoid harsh chemicals and unclog your drain with water, baking soda and vinegar. First, boil water and pour it down the drain. Follow this with a half cup of baking soda and then a half cup of vinegar.
6. Run lemon rinds and ice through your garbage disposal to sharpen the blades and freshen the drain.
7. Repair a dent in your wood floor by wetting the indentation, then placing a damp towel over it. Next, press a hot clothes iron over the wet towel. Move the iron in a circular motion for a few minutes. Those floor dings should be barely visible.
8. Line refrigerator shelves with plastic wrap to make cleaning easy. When it’s time to clean, simply remove the wrap and replace it with new.
9. Suspect a leaky toilet? Sprinkle a single packet of bright-colored Kool-Aid into the tank. Wait 30 minutes and don’t flush the toilet. Check the bowl. If the water has taken on some of the color, you’ve got a leak. Most likely culprit? A worn flapper.
10. Once you’ve cleaned your baseboards, wipe them with a dryer sheet. The residue will resist pet hair and dust.
11. Get out that can of compressed air again to clean all the tiny cracks and crannies along window sills and window hardware.
12. Slip a sock over a pair of tongs to quickly and effectively clean blinds.
13. Garden hose sprung a leak? Use a spot of super glue to plug the holes. This trick also works with swimming pool inflatables.
14. Toss a handful of clean tennis balls into the swimming pool. The balls will soak up the sunblock lotions and natural body oils left behind by swimmers.
15. Wrap a pantyhose around your pool filter’s skimmer basket. The super fine mesh will collect fine debris from the water.
16. Repair small drywall holes with a makeup sponge. Cut the sponge to size, push it into the hole, spackle over it, then paint. Looking for a quicker fix? Choose a crayon that most closely matches your wall paint and rub it only over the hole until it is no longer noticeable. The same trick can be done with a bar of soap.
17. Clean residue from your dishwasher with a vinegar cycle by placing a glass on the top rack containing two cups of vinegar. Let the dishwasher run through its cycle.
18. Grout in your tile floors can be brightened and whitened by applying toilet bowl cleaner and letting it stand for 15 minutes. Then, scrub the grout with an old toothbrush. Mop with warm water.
19. Use a dishwasher tablet to clean the unsightly baked-on grease on the inside of your oven door. Wear gloves, since the tablets contain bleach. Wet the tablets, then scrub the murky build-up away.
20. Fix a sticky drawer by rubbing the drawer guides with a bar of soap.
Unlisted Homes For Sale
Off market homes you will not find anywhere else. Get access to incredible deals.
