I was whining to the clerk about a broken zipper on my 5 year old winter coat and he just said 'rub a candle on it.' I tried it on the pull tab and it slid smooth after 2 minutes. Has anyone else got a weird fix like that from a random stranger that actually worked better than any tool you own?
Was pulling a load of towels out last week and noticed they were still damp even after a full cycle. Took me an hour of digging through forums on my phone to figure out the lint buildup on the moisture sensor was from the anti-static coating on those sheets. Cleaned it off with a scrubby sponge and some rubbing alcohol and it worked perfect again. Anybody else run into this or have a better way to keep that sensor clean?
I was messing with my old Whirlpool fridge last weekend because it was running nonstop and not cooling right. Pulled it out to find the coils caked with dust and pet hair, like a solid 1/4 inch layer. Cleaned them off with a brush and the compressor cycle dropped from 45 minutes to about 15 minutes. Has anyone else seen that big of a difference just from cleaning coils?
Watched my neighbor try to yank out a stripped screw on his deck railing with channel locks last weekend and he just rounded it off more. If you can't get a grip with a proper screw extractor set for $15, why keep making the hole into a MESS?
Last weekend I woke up early and decided to tackle some broken stuff around the house. First I replaced the handle on my busted coffee maker with a part I found at Goodwill for 2 bucks. Then I patched a hole in my jeans with a iron-on patch from the dollar store. And then I tightened the loose screws on my nightstand so it stopped wobbling. By 11am I had hot coffee, patched pants, and a stable table. Best morning I have had in months. Does anyone else get that rush when you knock out multiple small fixes in one day?
Was picking up some sandpaper last Saturday and got talking to this older guy named Frank who said he's been doing drywall for 35 years. He told me to ditch the cheap tube caulk guns that cost under 10 bucks because they leak air and leave gaps. After he showed me his modified ratchet style gun with a 2 inch extension tip, I tried it on my bathroom baseboards and got a perfect bead in half the time. Has anyone else found that spending a little more on a caulk gun actually saves you money in the long run?
I was in my kitchen last Tuesday night, the zipper pull snapped clean off my Patagonia jacket right as I was about to head out for my evening shift. Figured I'd try to MacGyver something, so I grabbed a paperclip from the drawer and bent it into a loop, then threaded it through the zipper slider. It actually held for about three days before the paperclip bent out of shape, but it got me through the cold snap. Any ideas for a more durable temporary fix that won't require sewing?
I ran a bunch of cleaning cycles and bought those washing machine tablets but the musty smell just kept coming back in our laundry room in Austin. Last week I popped off the rubber gasket around the door and found a sock that had been trapped in there for god knows how long, plus a bunch of gunk. Has anyone else found something weird stuck in that gasket area that was causing their problems?
Dropped my old ThinkPad last February and the screen had a crack along the bottom corner. Kept using it with an external monitor like a dummy until last weekend I found a replacement LCD panel on eBay for $38. Watched a 12 minute tutorial on YouTube and got it swapped in under an hour. Has anyone else been shocked at how easy some laptop repairs actually are once you just try?
My favorite hoodie zipper kept catching halfway up, was about to toss it. Rubbed a #2 pencil tip along the teeth a few times and it glides smooth now, the graphite works as dry lube. Anybody else got a weird quick fix like this?
I grabbed the hair dryer because it was already in the drawer and after 45 seconds of waiting it barely softened the tubing, so I ran out and got the heat gun which worked in about 5 seconds flat, has anyone else had a tool that seemed like a good substitute but just didn't cut it?
I tried to save $8 on a generic drive belt for my Whirlpool washer last weekend at that parts store on Elm Street. The original belt lasted 15 years without a peep, but this thing slipped off after three loads. I spent six hours pulling the machine apart and putting it back together twice, cursing the whole time. Meanwhile, my neighbor just laughed and said he always buys OEM belts from the local appliance shop. I finally caved and ordered the real deal for $22, but I'm still annoyed I lost a whole day. Has anyone else gone cheap on appliance parts and instantly regretted it?
Last Tuesday I tried to fix a leaky faucet and ended up flooding the bathroom floor. But by Friday, after three trips to the hardware store and a YouTube tutorial, I had it working perfectly. Has anyone else had a repair go from nightmare to victory in the same stretch?
So last week I was heading out to work and my favorite windbreaker's zipper just split at the bottom. It's an $80 jacket I got back in September, so I was pretty annoyed. I looked online and saw people saying to use a paperclip as a temporary pull tab, so I bent one into a little loop and hooked it through the zipper slider hole. Honestly... it worked way better than I expected. The zipper still slides fine, just need to pinch the track together manually first. Has anyone else done the paperclip trick longer term or should I just break down and get a new zipper installed?
I always scrubbed oven racks with steel wool and elbow grease, took me a good hour per rack and I still missed spots. Last week I was out back and caught my neighbor saying he just puts his racks in a heavy duty trash bag with a cup of ammonia, seals it up, and leaves it in the sun for the afternoon. I figured it was nonsense but tried it yesterday with my gas range racks that were caked with baked on grease. After about 4 hours I opened the bag expecting nothing, but the grime literally slid off when I rinsed them with the hose. No scrubbing at all. Now I'm kinda mad at myself for wasting all that time and ruined sponges. Anybody else got a weird cleaner trick that sounds wrong but actually works better?
He fixed his washing machine drum with three heavy duty zip ties and it's been running fine for 6 months. I spent $40 on a replacement part that didn't even fit. Makes me wonder how many things I'm overcomplicating - has anyone else had a simple fix work better than the official solution?
He stopped by while I was fixing a loose board and told me I was stripping all the heads using a Phillips bit on those square drive screws. Has anyone else been making this mistake and just not realizing it?
I got it from a tiny hardware store in Portland after ruining two belts with a cheap punch, and now I use it for everything from watch straps to dog collars - has anyone else found one tool that just keeps paying for itself?
I stopped by the county recycling center last Saturday to drop off an old toaster, and I saw a Whirlpool dryer sitting in the metal pile. The drum was still spinning fine, but the belt had snapped clean off. A guy working there told me he sees people toss whole dryers just because of a $5 belt. Has anyone else saved an appliance with a simple cheap part like that?
Guy next door came over while I was fixing a hole in my hallway and said I was using way too much mud in one pass. Told me to do thin layers and sand between each one. Took me 3 coats instead of 1 but the finish is actually smooth now. Anyone else get called out for rushing a simple fix?
I was just leaning back during a boring meeting and the left armrest just gave way. Plastic bracket cracked clean through, no warning at all. Tried JB Weld but it didn't hold even after 24 hours of curing. Has anyone found a reliable way to fix these cheap office chair armrests or is it always a replacement part situation?