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10-Minute Home Repairs

Updated: Jun. 30, 2017

Simple solutions to household headaches

FH13JUN_TENMIN_01-2Family Handyman
Water leaks? Wobbly chairs? Peeling wallpaper? It seems harder than ever to find the time to take care of the ordinary repairs every home needs. You're certainly not going to hire someone else to do them—that's not how we “handy” folks roll. Here are some common repairs that won't break your weekend bank.

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Easy fixes for common household problems

Not every home repair has to consume your whole weekend. We asked our staff editors and Field Editors for ideas for quick fixes to ease the home repair burden. Most of these fixes can be done with inexpensive products and basic tools; many can be completed with stuff you already have around.

Cheater’s chair fix

Screw those chair repairs

Drill a pilot hole and drive a screw for an ugly but sturdy chair. Be sure to use a long enough screw.

Jeff Gorton

Jeff Gorton is an Associate Editor at TFH and former general contractor.

I know this isn’t the proper way to repair furniture, but I had this ugly, rickety kitchen chair that was almost worthless. There was no way I was going to spend hours disassembling and regluing it. So I just drilled pilot holes and drove trim head screws through the bottom of the rungs and into the legs.

I didn’t expect this crude fix to last long, but 15 years later, that chair is still in my kitchen, still rock solid and still ugly. If you want to cheat at a chair repair, be sure to use screws that are long enough to run through the rungs and well into the legs.

Lube a sticking vinyl window or door

Lubricate vinyl doors and windows

Sticky vinyl windows and doors? Try spraying dry lubricant on the contact points and wiping it off with a rag. Don’t use oil lubricants; they can attract dirt, and some can damage the vinyl.

Alena Gust

Alena Gust is a Field Editor from Deer Park, IL. She and her husband, Ray, refer to themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Fixit.

When vinyl windows and doors don’t operate smoothly, it’s usually because gunk has built up in the channels. But sometimes even clean windows and doors can bind. Try spraying dry lubricant on the contact points and wiping it off with a rag. Don’t use oil lubricants; they can attract dirt, and some can damage the vinyl. Pella recommends Teflon Dry Lubricant. Our daughter was getting quotes to replace her 10-year-old patio door when this “one-minute fix” saved her a lot of money.

Fix a shutoff valve

Remove, clean and replace

Remove the packing nut and unscrew the stem. Clean grit out of the washer valve body and pop on a new washer.

Shutoff valve parts

Shutoff valve handle assembly. The washer is the part you’ll replace. Replacement washers are available at hardware and plumbing supply stores.

Max Lemberger

Max Lemberger is a Field Editor from White Bear Lake, MN. He’s a self-employed handyman specializing in minor interior repairs.

There’s nothing worse than starting a sink or toilet repair only to find that the shutoff valve won’t shut off. Some shutoff valves are easy to replace. For those that aren’t, I turn off the main water valve, remove the packing nut, and then unscrew the stem and take it to the hardware store to find a replacement washer. I clean any grit out of the washer valve body and pop on the new washer. Then the valve works like new.

Foam a loose showerhead

Tighten it up

Fix a wobbly shower head—or any wobbly pipe—with a few shots of expanding foam. The foam encases the pipe in the wall and eliminates the wobble.

Gary Wentz

Gary Wentz is a Senior Editor at TFH. He still lives in that dump he bought many, many, many years ago.

Years ago, I bought the cheapest house I could find, a real dump. One of its many problems was a wobbly shower arm. With so many other house troubles, I wasn’t willing to tear into the wall and refasten the plumbing. Instead, I shielded the wall with plastic and injected a few shots of expanding foam. The foam encased the pipes in the wall and eliminated the wobble.

Hide a hole with a smoke detector

Cover ceiling holes and safety

Instead of patching a hole in the ceiling, just cover it with a smoke detector. No more hole, and added safety to boot!

Kevin Lind

Kevin Lind is a Field Editor from Northport, AL. He started a handyman service in 2002.

I’m a professional handyman, and some of my customers don’t have a lot of money for home repairs. Recently, an elderly lady had me remove a hanging planter, which left a large hole in her ceiling. She was shocked when I told her how much it would cost to repair the hole and repaint the ceiling.

Luckily I had just come from a job installing smoke detectors, which gave me the idea of covering the hole with the spare detector I had in my van. She was thrilled, especially since she didn’t already have a smoke detector in that area.

Keep cabinet doors closed

Keep cabinet doors closed with a magnetic catch

Install a magnetic catch to keep your cabinet doors closed. It’s easier than installing a roller-style catch.

Mark Petersen

Mark Petersen, a Contributing Editor at TFH, enjoys projects that have nothing to do with house-training a dog.

There’s a cabinet door in my kitchen that wouldn’t stay shut. It’s on the cabinet where we keep the junk food (it probably broke from overuse), and it didn’t take long for our new puppy to discover this easily accessible new source of food.

My 10-minute fix was to install a magnetic door catch. I bought a magnetic catch because it’s easier to line up the catch with the strike than with a roller-style one. No more midnight snacks for Roxy. Now I need to figure out how to stop her from eating our books and my shoes.

Silence a squeaky floor

Drive a screw and fix a floor squeak

Locate the joist nearest the squeak and drive a screw. Keep adding screws until the squeak stops.

Joe Jensen

Joe Jensen is the go-­to carpenter in the TFH photo studio. If he’s done remodeling his basement, he’s in the middle of something else.

To fix a squeaky floor under carpet, locate the floor joists with a stud finder, then drive in a trim head screw through the carpet, pad and subfloor, and right into the floor joist.

Be sure the top inch of the screw doesn’t have threads or the subfloor won’t suck down tight to the joist. I like trim screws because screws with larger heads pull down and pucker the carpet. If that happens, back out the screw and drive it back down. Keep adding screws until the squeak stops.

Bleach away a water stain

Spray stains away

Spray water stains with bleach and water solution (10 percent bleach), and wait a day or two. If it doesn’t disappear, then call a drywall finisher.

Scott Pauly

Scott Pauly is a Field Editor from Shakopee, MN. When he’s not slinging mud, he’s chasing a little white ball around with a club.

As a professional drywall finisher for 25 years, I get tons of calls from customers wanting me to fix a water stain on their ceiling. Before I go see it, I tell them to spray it with bleach and water solution (10 percent bleach), and wait a day or two. If it’s an old stain, I recommend Tilex Mold & Mildew Remover. You’d be surprised how often I get a call back saying, “Problem solved.” It works on both flat and textured ceilings.

Wear safety goggles, and make sure you protect the walls and floors with plastic. I hate giving away work, but guess who they call back for their bigger projects.,/p>

Fix a wallpaper seam

Fix peeling wallpaper seams

Hold a rag soaked in warm water over the peeling seam for a minute or two, and then carefully open the gap a little larger so you’ll have more room for the sealer.

Bob Rowland

Bob Rowland, a Field Editor from Minneapolis, has been a professional paper hanger for 45 years.

If you have a wallpaper seam that’s coming apart, reactivate the paste around the gap with a rag soaked in warm water. Hold the rag over the area for a minute or two, and then carefully open the gap a little larger so you’ll have more room for the sealer. Squeeze seam sealer (Elmer’s Glue works in a pinch) into the gap, and press the paper to the wall with a roller. Clean off the excess sealer with a sponge.

Restore free flow to a faucet

Clean the aerator

Soak it in vinegar and scrub it with a toothbrush. An old toothbrush that nobody uses anymore.

Kelly Scott

Kelly Scott is a Field Editor from Lake Oswego, OR. He got the handyman gene from his grandfather.

When our kitchen or bathroom faucet loses pressure because of a dirty aerator screen, I hear about it from my better half. Luckily, cleaning a screen is an easy job. Start by closing the drain plug (so you don’t drop parts down the drain). Then remove the aerator using a rag or masking tape so you don’t mar the finish with your pliers.

To remove the sand and other deposits, soak the aerator in vinegar, then scrub it with a toothbrush. This usually solves the problem and puts a smile on my wife’s face. If you have to disassemble the aerator to clean it, lay out the parts in the order you removed them so you can reassemble them correctly.

Unclog a toilet with dish soap

Clean out toilet clogs with dish soap

Lubricate the clog with half a cup of dish soap.

Shannon Mecham

Shannon Mecham is a Field Editor from Salem, OR. A recent home buyer, she’s busy doing repairs and improvements.

When my teenage son told me the toilet was clogged and his plunging attempts were futile, I told him: “Thanks for the info—let me know when you get it unclogged.”

He poured in about 1/2 cup of liquid dish soap and let it sit for a while. He reported that it worked like magic. Apparently, liquid soap reduces friction and allows the contents of the bowl to slide on through. Perhaps he should have written this tip!

Flush without hang-ups

Yet another use for straws

Slipping a straw over the flapper chain greatly reduces your chances of having a running toilet.

Adam Breen

Adam Breen is a Field Editor from Phoenix. He and his father recently gutted and remodeled his entire house.

Every time I get a new house or toilet, I take 10 minutes and cover the flapper chain with a plastic straw. I remove the chain from the arm attachment, and slide the straw over it, covering about two-thirds of the chain. I then reattach the chain to the arm. It’s that simple, and you’ll never have a running toilet caused by a kinked chain again.

Stripped screws? No problem

Using a screw extractor

You know you’ll need it. Just buy one.

A screw extractor

One side of the extractor bit reams a hole into the screw, and the other side has reverse threads that dig into the screw as you turn it out.

Dana Blouin

Dana Blouin is a Field Editor from Broadview Heights, OH. He wired up his house with CAT5e so he could put all his connected media devices on a separate network.

A stripped screw can turn a 10-minute fix into a two-hour nightmare. One of the best investments I’ve made is the screw extraction kit I bought last summer. It came with three different size bits and cost me about $20. I’ve already used it several times. One side of the extractor bit reams a hole into the screw, and the other side has reverse threads that dig into the screw as you turn it out.

Reinforce a drawer front

Quick drawer fix

Use quarter-round as a corner block to repair broken drawers quickly.

Melanie Ternes

Melanie Ternes, a Field Editor from Wichita, KS, recently “mentored” her teenage daughters on painting their own bedroom.

My most recent quick fix was to a drawer front that one of my kids pulled off. I cut a couple of lengths of quarter-round the same height as the drawer sides. I held them in place while I drilled a couple of holes through the sides and front of the drawer box. I dabbed some polyurethane glue (wood glue doesn’t stick well to finished surfaces) on the pieces of quarter-round before screwing them into place. Once the drawer front was screwed back on, all that was left was to wait for my kids to break something else…I didn’t wait long.

Cover up a ceiling stain

Spray on a little Upshot to remove ceiling stains

The spray bottle is designed by KILZ to be sprayed straight up.

David Plumber

David Plumber is a Field Editor and works as a professional handyman in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

I’ve had good success hiding ceiling water stains with a spray-on product called Upshot by KILZ. It’s blended to match an aged ceiling and even has a vertical spray tip, which makes installation a breeze. Lay a drop cloth on the floor and tape plastic on the walls before you spray. A can costs less than ten bucks at home centers.

Straighten a bent blind

Unmangle mangled mini-blinds

Just slide the mini-blind slat straightener over the damaged slat and squeeze.

Travis Larson

Travis Larson is a Senior Editor at TFH and former builder.

On my way out of my insurance guy’s office, he threw me this gizmo with his company’s name on it. I asked him what it was and he told me, “You’ll figure it out.” Eventually I did (with a little help from my wife). It’s a mini-blind slat straightener. I wasted no time and took the bends out of five slats. All you do is slide it over the damaged slat and squeeze. There was still a small crease on a couple of them, but they did look a lot better. The product, called the MiniBlindRx, works on 1-in. metal slats and is available for about $10 at amazon.com. Check out the video at miniblindrx.com.