Repairing anything in your home can be costly, especially if it means having to hire someone to do it for you. Most of the time, though, the repairs you hire people to do are actually rather easy to do yourself. You’re just overwhelmed because you believe that the people you hire are pros for a reason. Of course, there are some jobs that do need certain tools and skills that you may not have and those are the ones that you’re going to want to hire the pros for. Little repairs here and there, though? You can save money by doing them yourself. Here are some tips.
#1 Stinky dishwasher
It’s just the leftover food scraps that got stuck in the tub! To get rid of the odor, clean out your dishwasher, making sure to remove any food scraps that got trapped in the tub, and then give it a good scrub down from the inside out. Watch out for any buildup, especially around the edges. Wipe it down, throw in some detergent or disinfectant and then run a full cycle with no dishes and you’re good to go!
#2 Loud cabinet doors
Sick of hearing your cabinet doors get slammed shut every time? You have two options for this problem. You can either get some of those peel-and-stick drawer bumpers and place them on the top and bottom edge of your cabinet doors or, if you’re a bit more handy, you can replace the hinges with soft-close ones instead. These solutions are cheap and easy and they take less than an hour to do.
#3 Dented wood
How did you even manage to get a dent on wood? Anyway, just take an iron and a damp cloth, put it over the dented area, and start ironing and you’ll see the dent vanish right before your eyes!
#4 Drafty doors and windows
Drafty doors and windows can lead to a higher gas and electricity bill so make sure to get right on fixing it as soon as you notice the problem. Buy self-adhesive rubber foam weatherstripping and simply stick them around those drafty doors and windows. If you already have some installed and yet it’s still drafty, strip the old ones down before you install the new ones.
#5 Clogged drain
A clogged drain in the kitchen is usually caused by greasy grime while a clogged drain in the bathroom is usually due to hair stuck in the drain. Instead of calling your friendly neighborhood plumber and spending thousands, why not try to repair it yourself first? Forget about chemical drain cleaners and get a plunger instead. You can also try snaking your drains if you feel that there is a bit of hair, food, or grime stuck in your drain.
#6 Drywall damage
A lot of homes use drywall because it’s cheaper and more convenient. The bad news: drywall is easy to damage. The good news: it can be just as easy to repair. Patch cracks and small holes with joint compound that you can easily get from your local hardware. Paint the affected area after and it’ll be good as new.
#7 Repainting
This job is one of the easiest DIY projects you can do. It’s also one of the more expensive ones to pay for, should you decide to hire someone else to do it for you. Afraid of patchy and uneven results? Use a paint roller to make the whole job easier and look like it’s been done by a pro.
#8 Fixing faulty appliances (dealing with fault codes)
So you start doing the laundry and, suddenly E998 flashes on the little display and the cycle stops. What do you do? Most appliances these days have fault codes that appear when a problem arises. These are often included in the manual -- what they mean and what you can do to fix the issue. If you can no longer find your manual (let’s face it, you probably didn’t read it earlier either), you can simply Google the make and the model of your unit and add “user manual” to find a copy of it online.
#9 Smelly carpets and upholstered furniture
Your house can stink up real quick if your carpets and all other things upholstered start releasing a funky smell. Before you stress out draining your bank account and replacing everything, do this: sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the surface area of the carpet, rug, or whatever it is you’re deodorizing, let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then vacuum it up. The baking soda will have absorbed the odor by then, leaving you with fresh carpets, rugs, couches, and more. You can also add a few drops of essential oil with the baking soda to help with strong odors.
#10 Wobbly furniture
Don’t throw them away! Get a piece of cork, slice off a piece that’s just big enough to level the gap and glue it in place.
With a bit of research and some elbow grease, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by doing minor repairs around your home instead of paying someone else to do it for you. Some of them may be tedious and time-consuming, but nothing beats that sense of achievement you get at the end of a successful project.