Basic Household Issues You Should Be Able to Fix

When you live on your own, it can be tempting to ask for the services of a handyman every time something goes wrong. However, the fees for this can quickly add up. It might be a better idea for you to instead learn some basics so that you are able to take good care of your home. Here are some of the basic household issues that you should be able to fix so you can get things working without a potentially expensive handyman fee.

Slow Drains

You need to keep a close eye on your drains – especially if you are one for washing food down your sinks. If you don’t have a garbage disposal, you can end up blocking the pipe really easily, and it can cause a lot of trouble for you. Drains can also be blocked through a number of other reasons, and it can quickly render your sinks or bathtubs unusable.

If your bathtub won’t drain, you need to make sure that you know how to fix it – especially if it is your only bathtub! Learning how to unblock your drains is never going to be the most pleasant of jobs, but it will really help you manage your home more effectively. You don’t want to be left without a way to wash properly because your bathtub won’t drain, and the fix might be a lot simpler than you might think!

Fuse Out

If a light goes out in your home, it might not always be the lightbulb that is the root of the issue. More often than not it can actually be something linked to your fuse box. For this reason, you should make sure that you know your way around it.

Make sure that you know where to find your fuse box in your home, and make sure that the circuits in it are all properly labelled. It can be really annoying to be trying to fix an issue somewhere in your home but have no clue where the circuit might be in the box because they are improperly labelled. A small bit of setup will help exceptionally well.

Lightbulbs

Speaking of lightbulbs, you need to make sure that you know how to change them yourself. It can be really frustrating to have a bulb blow and be left waiting for some help to get it changed. This is one of the easiest household tasks that you could hope to complete, but you do need to make sure that you are going about it in just the right way.

The first thing you need to note is the fitting of your bulb. Some click into place, others screw in, or you might have another type that you need to track down. You also need to make sure that you are paying close attention to the luminosity of the bulb. This will dictate how bright it is. Obviously, a ceiling light should be bright enough to illuminate the whole room, whereas a table lamp will cast a much softer glow. You need to know which bulbs each of your lamps requires so you can always have a few in stock.

Stains on Light Materials

Whether it is carpet or furnishings, finding a dark stain on a lighter material can be incredibly frustrating. Ideally, you should be able to take care of the stain as it soon occurs, but you can also sometimes come across one long after the fact. Either way, you need to make sure that you know some ways to get rid of the stain without damaging the fabric underneath.

There are so many different schools of thought when it comes to lifting stains. Some people swear that white wine is the best way to get red wine out, and there are many other similar home remedies that some will promise to work. Whether you are using a store-bought stain remover or a home remedy, you need to make sure that you are using the right materials to lift the stain gently rather than scrub it further.

Painting and Basic Decorating

You don’t need to be able to complete a full renovation, but knowing how to paint and do some basic decorating is going to be incredibly important. When you first move in, knowing how to paint the walls and change some of the decoration will help you to put your own stamp on the place.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that they can just throw some paint on the wall without any care. However, this is only going to create something of a mess. You need to make sure that you are choosing the right type of paint for the walls, and you need to pay close attention to the edges of the walls, such as where they meet the ceiling. Though painting is one of the easiest types of decorating, there are plenty of ways to do a sloppy job if you do not pay attention to what you are doing.

Take Pride in Your Home

It does not matter whether you own your home yourself or whether you are just renting – you need to make sure that you have the skills to properly look after it. Just as you have learned how to cook and exercise to keep yourself in the best possible condition, so must you learn how to perform some basic maintenance around your home to keep it in good working order.

Take the time to pick up some of the skills mentioned above. You never know when they might be able to help you out. These are some of the basics of property maintenance, but they can really help you to make a difference.

It can be really satisfying to fix a job yourself rather than rely on the help of someone else. Get to know your property, and know what it will take for you to pick up the skills needed to keep everything in good condition. We hope you enjoyed this post from one of our partners. Check out some of our other related blog posts below. 

• Tips for furnishing your home
• 10 home improvement tips to reduce stress