31 Days of Handy Home Fixes Archives - Page 5 of 7

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, cleaning, cleaning paintbrushes, Home & Auto Maintenance, Paintbrushes, painting, Painting & Antiquing Techniques

Day 11 – Easy Clean Up Paint Tray Liner

Easy Clean Up Paint Tray Liner | Pretty Handy Girl

I love to paint rooms! It’s one of those meditative tasks that leaves you with instant gratification when you are done. But, I don’t like the clean up afterwards. Several years ago I came up with an Easy Clean Up Paint Tray Liner that costs next to nothing!

All you need are two plastic grocery bags and two strips of painter’s tape.

Day 11: Easy Clean Up Paint Tray Liner

Make sure your grocery bags are clean and don’t have any holes in them. Turn the bags inside out if there is printing on them. (Sometimes the ink is water soluble and can mix with the paint.) Observe as my sister gives her best Vanna White impression and shows you how to invert that bag:

Slip the first bag on from the top of the tray and tape it at the bottom.

Slip the second bag over the bottom this time:

Tape the opening of the bag across the entire paint tray width.

You’re ready to rock and roll, errr roll and paint!

When you are done, carefully remove the plastic bags and throw them away. If you are pitching your roller, you can grab the roller through the bags and pitch it too.

No need to clean the tray (unless some paint seeped inside.) Unfortunately, you’ll probably still need to wash your paint brushes. But, if you clean your paint brushes correctly, they should last you a decade or more!

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October 11, 2014/10 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, painting

Day 9 – Easy Tricks to Remove Wall Scuffs

Easy Tricks to Remove Walls Scuffs | Pretty Handy Girl

Do you have a ghost in your house? I do! Want to know how I know? Because we have scuffs that magically appear on the walls. It doesn’t bother me because I know a few easy tricks for removing wall scuffs.

Day 10: Easy Tricks for Removing Wall Scuffs

My number one tool in my arsenal against wall scuffs is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This guy is tough on scuffs! Before you start using that new eraser, cut it into fourths. That way you only dirty one small section at a time.

Rinse the eraser under water and ring out as much water as you can.

Locate your wall scuffs:

Gently rub the wall with the Magic Eraser until the scuffs disappear.

Instantly gone, invisible and no more ghost evidence.

Recently I accidentally marked my wall with a Sharpie marker.

The Magic Eraser worked a little too well in removing the mark. I accidentally rubbed down to the old paint color.

For true paint touch ups, I use the Shur-Line touch up painter. I poured this paint in the tube a year ago. Then stored it in the garage.

I snapped a new roller into the top. After a year, the paint clogged at the release hole. But, I was able to poke a pin though to start the paint again.

Then I rolled over the “oops” until it had good paint coverage.

And the mark/scuff is gone.

Do you have any tips or tricks for removing wall scuffs? I’m anxious to hear your tips.

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October 10, 2014/13 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, bathroom, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, kitchen, laundry room, Plumbing

Day 9 – Replace Water Lines with Braided Metal Hoses

Replace Water Lines with Braided Metal Hoses | Pretty Handy Girl

Welcome to Day 9 of my 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes. Would you believe that a burst water line can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home? It’s true! If one of your water supply lines is not braided metal, you could be putting your home in danger of a massive leak; leading to a flood; which can lead to rot, mold and termites! Yup, termites love moist wood.

Day 9: Replace All Water Lines with Braided Metal:

Take a few minutes to look behind your toilet, behind your washing machine and under sinks to see if you have water supply lines that look like these:

If you do, it’s time to change them out for braided metal water lines:

And if you are purchasing a new washer, dishwasher or refrigerator, request braided metal water supply lines instead of the basic lines that are sold with the appliance. The cost difference is literally a few dollars in some cases. That extra dollar or two could save you tens of thousands of dollars!

Replacing the water lines is as easy as attaching your garden hose. To replace your washing machine hoses, locate the water shut off (usually it is behind the washer.) Turn the knobs off. Then remove the supply line from the shut off and the back of the washer. Have a towel underneath to capture any drips.

Tighten the new braided hoses onto the washing machine and the water shut off valve. Turn the water back on and look for any drips or leaks. You might need to use a wrench to tighten up to half a turn more if you notice any drips after you turn the water back on.

Replacing the water lines to your toilet and sink is almost as easy, usually the shut off valve looks like this:

Replacing the dishwasher water line can be a bit trickier if it is behind your cabinets. You might need to call in a helper to help you remove the dishwasher.

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October 9, 2014/8 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, laundry room

Day 8 – Replace Foil or Plastic Flexible Dryer Duct Hoses

vacuum out your dryer duct | Pretty Handy Girl

Welcome to Day 8 of my 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes. Today I have a VERY IMPORTANT tip to prevent a fire from starting in your laundry room. I’m going to show you how to replace your flexible foil or plastic dryer vent duct with a much safer semi-rigid ductwork. Before we go any further do you know what type of dryer duct hose you have? Go run and check. I’ll be waiting right here when you get back.

Day 8: Replace Plastic or Flexible Foil with Semi-rigid Dryer Duct:

Does your vent hose look like this semi-rigid type:

Or the shiny foil flexible type:

Which do you have? If your dryer ductwork is semi-rigid or solid metal ductwork you can skip the rest of this post and come back tomorrow.

What’s the difference? Well, let me show you what each of these ducts look like after one year of use:

Which one do you think is safer? Exactly! The semi-rigid doesn’t collect lint as easily as the flexible duct! Therefore, you have less of a chance of the lint catching fire.

To replace the duct hose, measure the length of ductwork you need to replace. You can order semi-rigid flexible aluminum duct from Amazon or head to your local home improvement store to purchase it. Be sure to pick up any dryer vent adjustable elbows and hose clamps you might need as well.

Remove the flexible duct and replace it with the new semi-rigid. For more detailed directions you can follow my tutorial for installing semi-rigid dryer hose.

Don’t forget to continue to clean out your dryer vent ducts 1-2 times a year! It’s an easy maintenance task you can do yourself (once you get the dryer out from the wall…which may be the hardest task.)

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October 8, 2014/5 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, cleaning, Home & Auto Maintenance, laundry room

Day 7 – Clean Out Your Dryer Vent Duct

Welcome to Day 7 of my 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes. We’re sticking with the laundry room theme for a few days. Today I have a tip to help protect your home from a fire. Cleaning out your dryer vent duct is an extremely important home maintenance task. The good news is that you can do most of this maintenance yourself. I recommend cleaning out any lint build up at least once a year (preferably in the late summer before the drier and static filled air sets in.) Twice a year is best.

Day 7: Clean Out Your Dryer Vent Duct:

Pull the dryer away from the wall and disconnect the vent duct tube from the wall and the dryer. Normally the duct is held on with a hose clamp. Use a flat head screwdriver to loosen the bolt attached to the clamp.

Remove the duct and use your shopvac to clean out both the dryer and wall ports.

Then clean as far as possible in both ends of the duct hose.

If your duct is long or difficult to clean out, you can purchase a long dryer vent duct cleaning brush like this one:

While you have the dryer pulled out, vacuum off the back of the dryer, the washer, and the wall behind both. Eliminate as much lint as possible. A clean laundry room is less prone to fires.

Re-attach the ductwork to the wall and the dryer. Tug gently on the hose to make sure it is secure. Gently push the dryer back towards the wall being careful not to crush the tube.

If you can reach the exterior vent, go ahead and clean it out also. Make sure the vent closes properly when the dryer isn’t running. Otherwise you may get birds, rodents or bugs in your vent. That reminds me when we had our new dryer delivered. As the delivery guys were removing the old one. I heard the sound of the dryer crashing down, followed immediately by squealing and screaming. Apparently a mouse had made his way into the dryer but electrocuted himself. His dead body dropped out on the floor just as the guys were picking up the dryer. I’m telling you, that guy was the size of a line backer and he was terrified of a dead mouse! I tried so hard not to laugh, but couldn’t control myself. Needless to say, I double check the exterior vent more often now.

Tomorrow I’ll be showing you one more way to keep your laundry room from becoming a fire hazard.

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October 7, 2014/2 Comments/by Brittany Bailey