{"id":5687,"date":"2018-09-28T06:43:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T13:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=5687"},"modified":"2024-03-21T10:08:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T17:08:06","slug":"home-maintenance-for-dummies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/home-maintenance-for-dummies\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Maintenance for Dummies: 10 Everyday Issues You Can Handle Without a Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a homeowner comes with a sense of pride. But when you panic at the first sign of trouble (a mysteriously clogged drain, broken appliance, or weird noises from the garbage disposal), you can check that ego at the door.<\/p>\n

The good news is that many of your everyday, common home maintenance troubles are ones that you can tackle yourself with a little motivation and knowhow\u2014and giving your home TLC<\/a> throughout your years of ownership will pay off.<\/p>\n

“A well-kept home is going to require a lot less upgrades and repairs when it comes to the time to sell,” says Flash Shelton<\/a>, a 35-year veteran of the construction\/handyman business and founder of the United Handyman Association<\/a>.\u00a0“A little attention will extend the life of most things.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“The life expectancy is based on the average person letting things go untouched and only getting attention when they need to be repaired,” Shelton adds. “A little cleaning, oil, filter changes, weather sealing etc. can extend the life and even help some items last forever.”<\/p>\n

You Googled \u201chome maintenance for dummies\u201d for a reason\u2014so bonus points for your humility, and eagerness to learn.<\/p>\n

With the help of real estate and maintenance experts who could snake a tub and change out an HVAC filter backwards, in their sleep, we put together this list of 10 common home maintenance demands, with tips and step-by-step tutorials to get you through them.<\/p>\n

\"home-maintenance-for-dummies\"<\/a>
Source: (Ellen Auer\/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kitchen<\/h2>\n

Rescue and tune your garbage disposal.<\/h3>\n

I once discovered that someone (looking at you, wonderful husband) had put potato peels down our garbage disposal.<\/p>\n

Word to the wise: Don\u2019t do that. Ever.<\/p>\n

Your garbage disposal can be a wonderful tool; it can also be smelly and clogged if you put the wrong things down there. Don\u2019t panic and call a plumber just yet!<\/p>\n

Home improvement expert Bob Vila has a great step-by-step for safely unclogging your garbage disposal<\/a> and keeping it smelling fresh. His most important tip? Turn off the circuit breaker that your disposal is on so that you can unclog safely.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re dealing with broken glass or dishware, you can use an Allen wrench to dislodge the material by twisting the hex-shaped hole at the bottom of the disposal. This trick alone can save you from a 5-minute handyman visit that costs you $85.<\/p>\n