There are lots of ways that you can improve upon your home by figuring out the best way of doing it yourself rather than spending a ton of money on a professional. The key is to know what is and isn’t outside of your capabilities so you can make sure that it’s done properly and that you don’t mess anything up even worse.
Here are a few do-it-yourself projects that you can do around your home:
- Toilets: A leaking toilet can lead to a leak in your floorboards, and in a worst-case scenario, it can also lead to your floor collapsing (or a ceiling collapsing if your bathroom is on a second floor). It’ll also make your utility costs increase because you’re still paying for the increased water bills. One way that you can test it and see if you have a leak in your toilet is by adding a food coloring to your bowl and seeing if the water looks watered down after an hour or so.If you need to change the flapper in your toilet, you need to first shut off the water valve before you can do any repairs (usually the water valve is located behind the toilet, and you just need to turn it for the water to go off). You’ll then remove the lid to the tank and flush until all the water is gone from the tank. Mop up any remaining water using a paper towel or sponge. You can remove the flush chain from the lever and put the old flapper over the overflow tube. Then put the new flapper over the old one on the overflow tube. From there, you just need to reconnect the chain to the lever, and you’ll be all set with your new setup.
- Faucets. Most faucets end up leaking because they have old washers that have become worn out. These washers are made of rubber, which can wear out quickly and easily and lead to a leak in your faucet. To repair them, you’ll want to again turn off your main water supply by turning whatever lever off. Then unscrew the leaky handle that’s controlling water flow to the leaking spout. Then you just need to take out the old, worn out washer and replace it with a new one before replacing the entire system. Make sure you turn back on your water after you’ve finished.
