Seeing everything you need to repair at home can feel overwhelming. But not every repair requires hours of work or help from professionals. You see, some of the most annoying household problems have simple solutions that take less time than your morning coffee routine. With that, we’re sharing with you the 9 household fixes that you can do in under 9 minutes.
9. Remove Furniture Scratches with Walnuts
It’s natural for furniture to develop scratches over time. Rather than replacing them, try fixing them with a snack of walnuts. Rub a walnut directly on the parts with wood scratches. It works thanks to the natural oils in walnuts, which help conceal minor damage and restore the wood’s color.
8. Fix a Squeaky Floor Under Carpet
Locate the squeaky parts of the floor with a stud finder. After that, drive the trim-head screws through the carpet, pad, and subfloor directly into the floor joist. Just make sure that the top inch of the screw doesn’t have any threads, and the subfloor won’t pull tight to the joist. Keep adding screws until the squeaks stop. If you see the carpet puckers, drive the screw again.
7. Stop Doors from Slamming
Slamming doors startle anyone in the house. Try to fix it by placing a few strips of felt pads or adhesive weatherstripping at the door frame where the door makes contact. This will soften the impact and prevent the slam from occurring. You can also loop a rubber band around both doorknobs, which will slow the door’s closing motion, allowing it to close gently.
6. Fix Small Holes in Drywall
For tiny holes or small dents, you can do a quick fix. Just clean the area of any debris and wipe down the wall. After, use a putty knife to press spackle into the hole. Let it dry and smooth it out with sandpaper. You can touch up the paint if needed until the hole is no longer visible.
5. Silence a Running Toilet
A kinked toilet chain will cause the toilet to run continuously. This may be annoying and wasteful of water. Remove the chain from the arm attachment and slide in a plastic straw over the flapper chain. Ensure it covers approximately two-thirds of its length. The straw will prevent a kink that you’ll never have a running toilet from a kinked chain again. Reattach the chain to an arm after.
4. Tighten Loose Cabinet Hinges
When your cabinet door won’t close properly, it means the hinges are loose. The quick fix is to tighten its screws with a small screwdriver. If the screw hole is enlarged, it can’t hold the screw. To remedy this, stick a few wooden matches into the hole with household glue. Tap it with a hammer and let it dry before you reinsert the screw. The match will fill the enlarged hole to give the screw something to grip.
3. Unclog a Toilet Without a Snake
Before you call a plumber or reach for the plunger, try this simple trick out. Squirt about half a cup of liquid dish soap into your toilet bowl and let it sit for a while. The soap will reduce friction, allowing everything to slide through without any plunging required.
2. Fix a Wobbly Toilet Seat
Another toilet problem would have to be its wobbly seat. To fix this, tighten the bolts underneath using a screwdriver. If the bolts aren’t holding tight, then slip a small washer in between the bolt and porcelain. This will create a closer fit and is more likely to stay secure.
1. Stop a Squeaky Door
A squeaky door is annoying since it announces every entrance and exit like a loud alarm. Just lubricate the hinges. To do this, cover the area under the door with a cloth and place a few drops of oil on each hinge. Open and close the door several times to work the lubricant. If the oiling doesn’t solve the problem even after dropping more, then your hinge pins need cleaning. Support the door with a shim and remove the pins one at a time. After scouring them with steel wool and clean the pinholes with a small circular wire brush before reinserting them.