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Have you ever returned from vacation to a house that smells like a raw sewer? Or ruined a perfect wall trying to drill a single hole? Stop making home repairs harder than they need to be. Here are seven ridiculously clever tricks that border on absolute genius.
If you leave your house for a few weeks, the water trap in your pipes completely evaporates. That lets disgusting, raw sewer gas float straight into your bathroom. Pouring a splash of cooking oil down your drains creates a floating seal that stops evaporation entirely. Your house will smell perfectly fresh when you get back.
A massive rat king of tangled cords looks terrible and makes finding the right charger impossible. You can easily fix this with a few cheap plastic zip ties. Fasten one tie around the whole bundle, then weave extra zip ties between the cords to space them out perfectly.
Using a spirit level on slippery bathroom tiles is incredibly frustrating. The smooth metal slides all over the place the second you try to draw a line. Just stretch two thick rubber bands over the ends of the level to give it instant, non-slip grip on any surface.
If you use a jigsaw often, the metal base plate gets scratched up and starts destroying your expensive wood projects. You don't need to buy a brand new tool. Slap some basic masking tape over the bottom of the saw to instantly protect your materials from nasty scratches.
Drilling into drywall usually coats your floor and furniture in fine white powder. You can completely avoid the heavy vacuuming with a single piece of paper. Fold a piece of paper into a little pocket and tape it directly under your drill spot to catch every single spec of dust. Just peel it off and toss it in the trash.
Measuring a massive wall with a flimsy tape measure is an absolute nightmare. You usually have to make pencil marks halfway across, permanently ruining your expensive wallpaper. Stick a piece of masking tape on the wall, write your measurements right on the tape, and peel it off when you are done.
Drilling a clean hole through thin sheet metal is notoriously difficult. A standard drill bit will violently wander off-center and chew up the edges. You can grind the tip of a regular bit down to create a custom 1/16-inch center point. This traps the bit in place and cuts a perfectly smooth circle.
Have you ever completely destroyed a DIY project because you didn't know one of these simple tricks? Drop your absolute worst home repair disaster in the comments below!
1. The Pre-Vacation Drain Hack
If you leave your house for a few weeks, the water trap in your pipes completely evaporates. That lets disgusting, raw sewer gas float straight into your bathroom. Pouring a splash of cooking oil down your drains creates a floating seal that stops evaporation entirely. Your house will smell perfectly fresh when you get back.
2. The Zip-Tie Cable Tamer
A massive rat king of tangled cords looks terrible and makes finding the right charger impossible. You can easily fix this with a few cheap plastic zip ties. Fasten one tie around the whole bundle, then weave extra zip ties between the cords to space them out perfectly.
3. The Rubber Band Grip
Using a spirit level on slippery bathroom tiles is incredibly frustrating. The smooth metal slides all over the place the second you try to draw a line. Just stretch two thick rubber bands over the ends of the level to give it instant, non-slip grip on any surface.
4. The Tape Trick for Saws
If you use a jigsaw often, the metal base plate gets scratched up and starts destroying your expensive wood projects. You don't need to buy a brand new tool. Slap some basic masking tape over the bottom of the saw to instantly protect your materials from nasty scratches.
5. The Zero-Mess Dust Catcher
Drilling into drywall usually coats your floor and furniture in fine white powder. You can completely avoid the heavy vacuuming with a single piece of paper. Fold a piece of paper into a little pocket and tape it directly under your drill spot to catch every single spec of dust. Just peel it off and toss it in the trash.
6. The Damage-Free Measuring Hack
Measuring a massive wall with a flimsy tape measure is an absolute nightmare. You usually have to make pencil marks halfway across, permanently ruining your expensive wallpaper. Stick a piece of masking tape on the wall, write your measurements right on the tape, and peel it off when you are done.
7. The Custom Metal Drill Bit
Drilling a clean hole through thin sheet metal is notoriously difficult. A standard drill bit will violently wander off-center and chew up the edges. You can grind the tip of a regular bit down to create a custom 1/16-inch center point. This traps the bit in place and cuts a perfectly smooth circle.
Have you ever completely destroyed a DIY project because you didn't know one of these simple tricks? Drop your absolute worst home repair disaster in the comments below!
