Plumb It Right!

Plumbing problems are considered to be one of the major problems that each household can experience at least once in a lifetime. Although most would opt to call a professional plumber to do the dirty work for them, most plumbing repairs are actually minor ones that even you can do without having to pay a plumber some notable amount of cash.

Be Vigilant

One way to fix major plumbing problems is by prevention. Keeping a sharp eye for sluggish or slow drains is the key. It is way much easier to fix and unclog a slow drain than opening one that has wholly stopped from functioning.

If your drain is slow, you can fix this by simply pouring scalding water down the pipe. Do this to loosen any grease buildup. Additionally, you should clean the drain screen or stopper. This should do the trick.

However, if it doesn’t, then try to locate the problem by checking out other household drains. Do this to know whether the clog is present in only one fixture. If it turns out that other drains are clogged, then you may have a problem with your main drain pipe.

Sinking In

Fighting a sink clog automatically means getting a bathroom plunger. In picking a plunger, make sure it has a large enough suction cup that can completely cover up the drain. It should also be able to create an airtight seal around the urrounding sink.

Next, you should fill the fixture to completely cover the plunger’s suction cup. Do this by using water or coating the cup’s rim with petroleum jelly. You should create a vacuum by trying to seal off other outlets, like overflow drain in sinks. Then, push out any trapped air underneath the cup. After this, do 15 to 20 forceful up-and-down pumping blows to jerk loose the clog. It may take you three to five times of this cycle to do the trick.

Snake It Out

If using the plunger doesn’t work, then you would have to resort to another technique. In this remedy, you would need to have a plumbing snake. You can get one at your local hardware. These can work their way through your drain pipes and physically push out the clogs.

Plumbing snakes are considered to be one of the most dependable tools for fixing drainage problems. All you have to do is push the snake in until you hit the clog. Once you hit the clog, hook it up by twisting -your snake’s handle. After hooking it up, push your snake back and forth until you feel that the obstruction has broken up. Then, flush out the pipe using cold water.

Main Drain Cleanup

If you detect that more than one of your draining fixtures is clogged up, then your main drain line may be the problem. Thus, you have to clean it up. You can start off by locating the clean-out plugs of the large drain pipes. You can find these in your crawlspace or basement.

Main drain lines can also be found in your garage or somewhere outside, along the foundations of your house. You can see that each plug has a cap on it that has a square fitting on the top. Use a wrench to remove the cap.

Make sure that you have a bucket with you to catch some dripping water. Also, be sure that nobody will use the facilities while you the main drain line is open, or else some serious problem can come your way. Once you have everything in place, use a plumbing snake to break up any obstructions in the main line by running the snake in all directions of the pipe.

I ran a across a Consumer Report that tested out the new palm-sized cordless screwdrivers. They gave it “Thumbs Down” rating.

They tested B&K Li3000 and the Skill 2336-01 which both use lithium-ion batteries. Consumer Reports also tested the Sears Craftsman impact screwdriver. They compared these palm size screwdriver to their slightly bigger, more conventional cousins, the Ryobi HP472K and the B&D Pivot Plus PD600.

They tested speed, power, how long each ran on a charge, and how easy each was to use for both men and women.

Consumer Report conclusion: In with the old, out with the new. The new palm size screwdriver just could not cut it. Hop on over to Consumer Reports for their complete report.

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Depending on where you live, I live in north east US, you are familiar with the dreaded stink bug. They have that name for a very good reason, THEY STINK!

This would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous. I came home to find a swarm of stink bugs on the back side of my house and the pouch area. So, I grabbed the bug spray and started spraying them (I swear they were laughing at me). At some point I realized I was breathing in way too much fumes and had to leave the area to breath in some fresh air. As I was sitting in my back yard, taking in deep breaths the answer came to me.

What do you do when you catch a stink bug in your house? You get a tissue, fold it in half (hoping to keep the stink off your fingers) grab that sucker and flush it down the toilet. So I took this principle and applied it on a mass scale.

Step:

1. 1. Get a wet vac (anything over 1 or 2 gallons should work)
2. 2. Fill the wet vac with about 1/3 of water (the toilet part)
3. 3. Get yourself a 50 foot or larger extension cord
4. 4. Plug the wet vac in and start sucking up all those stink bugs
5. 5. Repeat every 15 minutes until they are gone or it’s time for bed, which ever comes first

An environmentally friendly and healthier solution to this problem.
GOOD LUCK!

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Well, there you have it, my non-scientific test results. Drop me a comment or email and let me know what you use.

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It is pretty common to confuse over voltage with over current.

Your household wiring’s specifications are established to handle a certain amount of electric current ( amperage).

When a device, let’s say a washer, is running well it draws 15 amps. The wiring going from your breaker to the washing machine  itself will be designed to handle at least 45 amps so the breaker is a 30 amp breaker.
The only way the dryer will draw more than 15 amps is if there is a short. Let’s suppose there’s a short in the washing machine and the electric current ramps up to 30 amps. The breaker will trip and protect the wires from catching fire.

The power company does send voltage ’spikes’ but they only last a few milliseconds and will typically be only a few hundred volts. Your MOV’s in your surge protectors are primarily to suppress high voltage ( thousands of volts) lightning strikes and should be replaced once you know you have had an strike.

In a nutshell, your household wiring will be all right because they’re protected by the circuit breakers. The wires can fail if they take a direct lightning hit. The electric company will not be able to send a surge that will place your wiring in danger of catching fire, and your surge protector will protect your devices from a spike.

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I’m going to take some time this week and next week to totally revamp this site.  So if the site look dishevel, that’s only because we are hard at work redesigning our look.

Our Handyman Store is OPEN

If your looking for great deals on your tools, click on the store link above.

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I came across this video that shows you how to repair stress cracks in sheetrock, drywall and plaster walls. This video will demonstrate how to make the repair on a texture wall.

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I can’t believe the summer is all most over. And I really can’t believe I need to put my pool heater on in mid August! I haven’t posted any new project around the house because as luck would have it, everything is in good shape so I’ve been working on my tan.

I do have some good news to report. We had a major storm come through a week or so ago, trees bending, rain moving horizontally, pool over flowing with all the rain and my emergency roof repairs all held, so I’m happy about that.

I’ll be working on building a list of winter projects soon. Off the top of my head, I need to restrain the steps going from the sun room into the kitchen. It’s just 3 steps about 15 feet or so long. Also, repaint and do a little work in the bathroom off the family room.

I should have knocked on wood! I start the draft for this post Saturday morning, and now it’s Monday morning. I would have finished it Saturday but family matters called me away. Saturday afternoon the mail lady must not have close the mail box lid, not sure how it happened but as she pulled away we herd the crunch and when we looked out there was my mail box lid (from my NEW mail box) on the ground. For those keeping count, this makes number 3. Three new mail boxes in less then a year. The snow plows are up 2 to 1 over the post office.

SO, now I have a new project. I’m going to get a 4 x 4 post, post hole digger and one of those indestructible mail boxes and put it to the test. If it survive a year then we have a winner.

Later…

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Below is a list of tool every handyman needs. These are the “bare” necessities.

1. Curved claw hammer
2. Screwdriver set
3. Slip-joint pliers
4. Utility knife
5. Level
6. Cordless drill
7. Combination wrench set
8. Tape measure
9. Hand saws
10. Corded circular saw

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