Quick Fixes for Your Home

As homeowners, we’re all guilty of becoming a little complacent at times when it comes to maintaining our homes.  Day-to-day life gets in the way and we tend to neglect certain aspects of  a healthy home.  But there are ways to take care of your home that won’t take up all weekend or break the bank.  Here are some quick fixes for repairing common household problems, inspired by a recent Today Show segment:

• Clean/change your showerhead.  If you notice your shower’s water pressure is low, a dirty showerhead may be to blame.
  

  Remove your showerhead and soak it in a bucket of a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water or a cleaner like CLR or LimeAway.  Scrub well with an old toothbrush or scrub brush.  If that doesn’t improve the problem, perhaps it’s time for a new showerhead! You can find a good one for less than $50.00 and it only takes a few minutes to change out yourself.

• Unclog your drain.  Slow drainage in your bathroom sinks is usually due to a build-up of hair and gunk (gross)!  Take a few minutes and snake all that grossness outta there.  The Today Show recommends a product called The Drain Claw, which retails for about $5.00.  This sounds like a job for the hubby.

• Re-seal your granite countertops. 

Granite (as well as all natural stone materials) is porous, allowing stains such as grape juice, wine, etc., to set in.  Clean your countertops well, caulk any joints, and take 15 minutes and $15.00 to spray on a sealer and let it soak in. 

Other quick-fixes include:

• Unstick stuck windows. A little silicone spray lubricant (sold at hardware stores) will grease the skids. Spray it onto a rag, then wipe along the tracks, whether they’re metal, wood, or plastic.
• Fix peeling wallpaper. With a knife, smear wallpaper paste onto a piece of writing paper. Rub the paper against the underside of the peeling section. Press the wallpaper against the wall. Slide the writing paper out and smooth away bubbles with a clean cloth.
• Clean a stained tub. Combine equal amounts of cream of tartar and baking soda with enough lemon juice to make a paste. Rub the mixture into the stain with your fingers or a soft cloth. Let sit for a half hour, then rinse well with water.

• Clean your dryer lint trap. Take the lint trap out of the dryer, remove the lint either with a damp cloth, a used fabric softener sheet or wet your fingers and scoop it up.  Now you can either vacuum the mesh part with the brush attachment, or you can rinse the whole lint trap in the sink with liquid dish soap.  No matter what you choose to do in step two, make sure you use a damp cloth on the plastic edges of the lint trap. Make sure you use a small amount of liquid dish soap on the cloth.

So what are you waiting for? Get busy!  Take a few minutes each weekend and before you know it your home will be in tip-top shape!

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