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Home Maintenance Tasks & Repairs Every Person Should Know How To Do

Home One Services is more than happy to help with any handyman tasks or repairs you have in your home.  We can do everything, from simple painting and flooring to renovations and remodeling.  We can tackle any job no matter how big or how small.  That being said, you would be surprised at the number of tasks that you could do yourself that may end up saving you money and maybe even some time! 

We have come up with a list of the top 6 home maintenance tasks that every person should know how to do.  How many of these have you tried?

1. Resetting a Tripped Circuit Breaker

Whether you are rushing to get ready by blow-drying your hair, or are simply trying to use a kitchen appliance, nothing is more frustrating than blowing a fuse.  While this seems like a very simple thing to resolve, many people can be intimidated by it. 

Follow these steps to learn how to reset your circuit breaker:

  • As with any home maintenance task, safety first.  Make sure when examining or touching your breaker box that you do not have wet hands or any water nearby on the floor. 
  • If your breaker box is already labeled, the battle is half over.  With any luck, the labeling on your breaker box will tell you which areas of the house each breaker is assigned to.  It may even be tied to a specific outlet or appliance.  Find the breaker that is switched to the “OFF” position. 
  • Your breaker may even have a red marker when it is in the “OFF” position to let you easily spot which circuit has been tripped.  Some breakers may require you to switch the breaker fully off before resetting. 
  • Once you have determined which breaker is tripped, flip the breaker back to the “ON” position.  If the lights, outlets, or appliances tied to that breaker are now on and functioning, problem solved!

2. Fixing a Squeaky Door

Almost everyone has a squeaky door somewhere in their house.  The good news about squeaky doors is that they are an easy fix.  To prevent a door from squeaking when you open and close it, spray WD-40 on each hinge as you continually open and close the door.  This will allow the substance to get into each part of the door hinge and lubricate it.  If you do not have WD-40, you can substitute petroleum jelly to stop the squeaking.  Keep in mind that you will want to wipe off any excess petroleum jelly once you are done.

3. Unclogging Drains

Clogged drains always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times.  You should always be mindful of things you pour down a drain.  When you find yourself with a clogged drain, there are many simple methods to try.

First, try using a plunger (much like you would for a clogged toilet) to do the trick in most cases.  You could also try pouring one cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of white vinegar.  This will create a bubbling and fizzy reaction.  Allow that to sit for about 30 minutes and then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.  If all else fails, a cheap drain snake can be bought at almost any hardware store to manually unclog things like hair or other semi-solid obstructions in a pipe.

4. Shutting Off Your Water Supply

If you are ever working on the plumbing in your home, it’s always a good idea to know how to turn off the water in your home.  This task might be a little more difficult to do on your own.  The hardest part is simply finding the main shutoff valve.  If you do not know where it is, you may want to ask a neighbor who has a similarly built home, as many of them will be located in generally the same place. 

Once you have located the shutoff valve, you will simply want to turn it to the off position.  Some valves have a round handle, while others may have a lever to turn off the water.  Always remember, “righty tighty, lefty loosey!”  Generally speaking, turning the valve to the right will shut off the water, while turning the valve to the left will turn it back on.

5. Hanging a Painting or Shelf

Hanging a painting or pictures is pretty straightforward.  Simply find an empty spot on your wall, put a small nail in the wall and hang the painting or picture.  But what if you want to hang a painting that is substantially heavy?  What if you want to hang a wooden shelf? 

Luckily the process for either one is relatively the same.  First, find the studs in the wall where you want to hang your painting or shelf.  Studs are found behind drywall in nearly every building and are spaced an equal distance apart.  They can be easily found using a store-bought stud finder.  Once you find the stud in the area you want to hang your painting, place your nail or screw in the drywall and hang your picture! 

If you are hanging shelving, you will need to find multiple studs to secure your shelving.  If there are no studs in one or more of the areas where you need to hang something, you can use a drywall anchor to secure a screw in place. 

6. Patching Drywall

Patching small nail holes from pictures or paintings that were hung in drywall is a simple fix.  All you will need is some spackle, a putty knife, sanding paper and paint.  First, clean the area gently with a wet rag or paper towel.  Once it is fully dry, apply a small amount of spackle to your putty knife and place it on the hole.  Use your putty knife to scrape the spackle over the hole, leveling it out as much as possible.  Scrape off any excess spackle.  Once the spackle is completely dry, lightly sand the area to remove any rough edges or bumps.  Lastly, use paint to touch up the spackled area and you will never even know there was a hole there!

We here at Home One Services certainly hope this gives you the knowledge you need to take on some of these common home maintenance tasks.  You do not need to be a handyman to complete most of them. 

For help with anything home improvement-wise, including some of the tasks listed above, check out our services page by clicking here.