Cleaning a Bathroom Drain

What you will need:

bucket or pail
paper towels
a long, slim, stick such as an old chopstick
pipe wrench and cloth(if your pipes are not plastic)

• Firstly, I emptied all the things that get stored under the sink; it's amazing how much stuff accumulates under there


• Place the bucket under the p-trap (the U-shaped pipe)


• Running your hands down the Tail-Piece (the straight pipe that leads from the sink to the P-trap), you should feel a straight metal rod attached by a nut.
  This is the rod which raises and lowers your drain stopper


• To remove, unscrew the nut and then, with one hand on the stopper, remove the rod from the pipe


• Remove the stopper from the drain


• unscrew the nuts which attach the P-trap (be sure not to remove the nuts from the pipes, unless you plan to change the washers) and place the P-trap in bucket


• Rinse/ clean out the P-trap while still in bucket (that way you can dispose of the gunk outside)




• If you are working on brass (usually chrome plated) or other metal pipes, wrap the cloth around the nut (this will help ensure that you do not damage or scratch the pipes with the teeth of the wrench)




• Take a paper towel and crumble it and place inside the drain


• Using the chopstick, push the towel all the way through the pipe


• repeat


• This should clean out all the soap scum that has been slowing down the water flow


• Once the P-trap and the tail-piece have been cleaned, reverse the process


• When you tighten the nuts, be sure to not over-tighten


• For plastic pipes, hand tight is usually sufficient


• For metal, hand tighten and then give maybe a quarter turn with the wrench (You can always tighten it further, if needed


• Replace the drain stopper and feed the rod through the hole in the bottom of the stopper and tighten the nut...again only hand-tight


• Take your paper towels and make sure the pipes are nice and dry


• With the bucket back under the P-trap, turn the water on and test for leaks


• Use your paper towels to make sure everything remains dry


• If there is a leak, tighten the appropriate nut until the leak stops

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Replacing an Oven Element

Some Symptoms...

• Food does not cook or takes much longer to come to temperature


• Oven will not heat


• Oven only heats partially

How to Check...

• Check to make sure you have power going to the oven


• Turn on the oven and watch and see if the bottom element comes on


• If the bottom element works, than turn the temperature setting to broil and check. If the top element (broil element) does not come on, then you will need to replace it.


• If they both work, check and make sure that the gasket/seal lining your oven door is still providing a good seal, if it has gaps or cracks, this may be your problem.


• If you tried all of the above and everything is in good order, you may have a faulty thermostat; However, for the sake of this article, we will assume that the heat element is defective.

Replacing the Element
Below are the instructions for replacing an oven bake element. They were written using a GE Truetemp oven as an example. If you are for any reason uncomfortable working on your oven, please contact a reputable service technician. As always, use extreme caution when working with any electrical appliance and make sure that the power is off.

• Using the make/model numbers obtain a replacement element




• If you are unsure of the numbers, follow the instructions for removing the element and then take the element to an appliance parts store and have them match the elements





• Turn off the power to your oven by removing the fuse or flipping the breaker to the off position




• It is a good idea to place a piece of electricians tape over the breaker and placing a sign on the breaker box notifying everyone that you are currently working on the oven and not to touch the breakers




• If possible, unplug the oven as well.


• Remove all racks


• Remove the door




• Open the door until you reach the first "open" position (where that door stays open by itself). Lift-up on the door to remove




• Using a screwdriver, unscrew the two screws located on either side of the element


• Pull the element gently towards you, exposing the wires


• Depending on the element,there will be two small screws holding the two wires to the element


• Unscrew both screws and remove the wires


• If your element does not have the screws, simply pull the connectors (pull by the connectors, not the wires) off the leads


• Reverse the process


• Once installed, restore power


• Test the new element

I would suggest that you let the oven run for at least 30 minutes at 350, as this will help burn off any packing dust that will be on the element. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will do the best I can to assist you.


Here are a few resources for you. I have used both of these and I have been very pleased with them...




RepairClinic.com







illustrations courtesy of...appliance411.com

Fixing a Squeaky Garage Door

So, how do you fix a squeaky garage door...

• Get a can of silicon lubricant, such as the one pictured here...

• I know you will be tempted to grab a can of your all-purpose WD-40, but try to resist the urge. WD-40 attracts dust and over time, tends to "gunk-up" what you are trying to lubricate.
• Spray the lubricant on the main spring (this is located in the middle, above the garage opening)
• Spray lubricant on all wheels and hinges
• If you have an automatic opener, pull the red cord to disconnect the door from the opener
• manually open and close the garage door 4-5 times. This will allow the lubricant to penetrate and do that thing it does so well
• If the squeaking still continues, you may need to re-apply in those areas
• Reconnect the garage door to the automatic opener
• At your favorite home improvement store, purchase the special lubricant that is applied to your opener's chain or screw

This is the type of product you will be looking for...

• If you do this during the summer months, be advised that the lubricant has a tendency to liquefy when it gets hot (90+ degrees), which can cause it to drip onto your garage floor or even worse, your vehicle

• Apply, as per manufacturer's instructions
• Open and close the garage door 4-5 times to allow the lubricant to work its way into the chain or screw
• This is also a good time to check and make sure that your tracks are level and plumb. Just grab your level, place it on the tracks, and adjust if necessary

This maintenance should be done at least twice a year. Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be more than happy to help.

My Mind Is in The Gutter

I spent a few hours on Saturday playing in the mud and getting wet. Was I gardening? No, I was cleaning the gutters around our house. It had been 9 years since they had been cleaned (Okay, we moved into the house 9 years ago), and I figured it was time for them to have a bath. Naturally, I had to pick a cold, misty day to do this. (I have yet to do anything outside this Fall on a nice day. Those usually come the next day). Anyway, I saw a bunch of eaves sticking out from above the edge of the gutter and I figured they should be cleaned.

Okay, 15-20 minutes tops to scoop-out the leaves and then back to my football game. You see, it was halftime and I wanted to get back in time to see the rest of the game. Two and a half hours later, I come back into the house wet and muddy. What started as a home improvement activity to keep me away from the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turned out to be a major undertaking that kept me from seeing the end of my football game. Here's what happened...

I grab the ladder and the trash bag-lined pail and climb up to grab my first handful of leaves. What I got was a handful of leaves and sludge. Yup, the entire 16-foot length of the gutter was coated with a 1/4"-1/2" layer of sludge. So, starting from the end nearest the downspout I began to scoop the sludge and leaves, slowly working my way down to the other end. Once completed and to make sure that everything was sparkly and shiny, I grabbed the hose and washed down the gutter and then sprayed the water down the downspout to unclog anything that may have been stuck there. I then did the same thing to the two other gutters that surround our abode. Sure enough, they each had a layer of mud or sludge coating the bottom.

The moral of this story is: you may have more than leaves in your gutters. The layer of sludge not only slows down the flow of water to the downspout, but it also adds an enormous amount of weight to the gutter. Please be sure and check your gutters and make sure that you have a clean and unrestricted flow of water to and through your downspout (make sure that the water drains away from your foundation). An overflowing gutter can create a source of ice dams (in colder climates) and can contribute to, among other things, leaky roofs and rotting wood.

Oh, I missed the rest of the game, but my team won!

Of Mice and Men

We were all sitting in the living room and watching television last week and Koko was doing his usual "patty-cake" routine on my daughter, when he suddenly ran off her and went running over to the heating vent. Naturally, I was curious, so I went over and looked through the grate and saw a little tail and a small brown butt. Great, the mice have gotten into the ducts.

I knew that we had mice under our house, but I had no idea that they had chewed through the ducts. This means that I am going to have to go down there, find where they chewed the hole, and then tape it back up. In order to do this, I'm going to have to invest in a good work light (it's always nice to see what I'm doing) and try to put a curb on my claustrophobia.

Luckily, it seems that they have only gotten into the duct that leads to the living room. Now, after I get the duct sealed, I will still be left with mouse problem. Here's the big question: short of a very expensive call to the exterminators, does anyone know how to get rid of mice?

Cleaning the Dryer Vent

This weekend I took it upon myself to do something that I had been putting off for quite some time: Cleaning the dryer vent. We have been living in our house for a little over 9 years and during that time, I have never once cleaned the vent. I had been hearing advertisements from companies offering to perform this very necessary service for $50.00 but, since I am thrifty (cheap), I decided to do it myself. What prompted this move to clean my dryer vent? In one word...Safety. I understand, but usually never think about, the fact that a clogged dryer vent can lead to a house fire. For example, "a January 2007 report by the U.S. Fire Administration indicates that dryer fires account for an average of 15,000 fires with an approximate $88 Million in property damage, 15 deaths and 400 injuries annually. “Failure to clean” was cited as the leading factor contributing to clothes dryer fires in residential buildings."¹

The three telltale signs of a clogged dryer vent are:

• Clothing is still damp at the end of normal cycle or requires longer dryer times (especially heavy items like jeans or towels).


• Clothes are hotter than usual at the end of the cycle.


• The flapper on the vent hood doesn't open when dryer is on.
²

The first step is to pull the dryer from the wall and detach the hose from the dryer. As I detached the hose from the vent pipe, I noticed that it was never fully attached, which could explain why we had lint behind the dryer. In our house the 4-inch vent pipe goes up through the wall and exits out the roof. Now, instead of climbing on the roof, taking off the cap and peering down through the pipe, I took a flashlight and a mirror and put the mirror at the base of the pipe and shined the flashlight on the mirror. I then angled the mirror so I could see the interior of the pipe, all the way to the top of the pipe. Luckily, the vent pipe was nice and clean, so I did not need to go on the roof and push my vent cleaner (stiff wire brush attached to 10 feet of flexible cable)down through the pipe and into the laundry room below, thus clearing out all the lint.

Now, to re-attach the hose. Firstly, I need to say that our old hose was one of those really cheap models, kind of like aluminum foil. These types of hoses are not only cheap, but they are not UL approved. So, I went and purchased a semi-rigid hose, which I could cut to fit. I then began to fit the hose onto the vent, but noticed that it still would not fit. Then it dawned on me, the hose was never meant to fit directly onto the vent pipe. I needed a coupler.
After purchasing the coupler and some duct tape, I attached the coupler to the vent pipe and taped the seam (not necessary, but still sound practice). I then attached the hose to the coupler and taped the seam with duct tape. I then attached the hose to the dryer and again taped the seam. Mission accomplished.

I highly recommend that you check this often overlooked, but very important item in your house. A few minutes spent ensuring that your vent is clear can save you thousands of dollars or even your life. If you do not feel comfortable checking the dryer vent yourself, then please have someone do it for you. The companies that clean vents, only charge about $50.00 to provide this service.

Another note: When you finish using your washing machine, do you turn-off the water? It would be a good habit to get into, because the hoses that you use for your washing machine are not designed to handle the continuous, 24 hour a day, 7 day a week pressure of your home water supply. Sooner or later the hose will wear and break, thus causing a serious flood. So, unless you go the Hardware Store and purchase Washing Machine hoses that are specifically designed to handle that type of pressure, you should make it a habit to turn-off the water to your washing machine once you are finished using it.



¹www.emailwire.com

²allgoneservices.com

Using Painter's Tape

When I decided to paint our living room as part of a home improvement project, I purchased some Blue Safe-Release Painters Tape from 3M. I researched the product and was really impressed by the safe release feature. I methodically taped-off all the rooms and proceeded to cut-in and paint the house. When I went to remove the tape several days later, I noticed that there was a significant amount of bleed-through. This meant we had to go back and cut-in all over again. Instead of saving time, it actually took us twice as long.

After catching a Home Improvement show on T.V. I discovered what went wrong: When using this tape you must remove it as soon as you finish painting the area (while the paint is still wet). You must also use caution and brush from the tape to the wall, not the wall to the tape. If you brush upwards toward the tape, some paint will leak through underneath.

It would have been very helpful to know this BEFORE I used this product.
If used properly, this product does work; however, if you do not know its secrets....look out.
Any questions, please let me know in the comments.
Happy painting!