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DIY Tip of the Day!

127K views 561 replies 158 participants last post by  KRV4Lee 
#1 ·


What tips have you learned in your DIY experience that you wish you knew earlier? Let's learn from each other and share our tips! To keep this thread going come back each day to share a tip and read the latest posts. :yes:
 
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#328 ·
i was watching a gardening show that had some actual gardening tips and 0.0 commercials. Being spring gardening is upon us, in the N. hemi, one tip was how to make paper seed starter container of news print. Then this gal did one i could possibly do. She cut T Tissue cardboard tubes in half packed with potting soil to plant seeds in. Sure beats plastic when the container can be planted.


I need to do something as my last years crop of peppers and tomatoes was a disaster. First complete failure in about 40 years. I'm serious, i do believe the miracle grow potting soil i purchased had a Nematode infestation.
 
#329 ·
I used to use those little Dixie Cups made for the old bathroom dispenser of long ago, that dispensed the little paper cup.

They were unwaxed, and degradable, plant your seed, get it started, when the seedling was big enough, place it in your garden.


ED
 
#330 ·
2 Simple DIY Home Maintenance Tips & Ideas

1. Toilets
Water leaking from your toilet tank will not only cost you money when it comes to your utility bill, but it can also cause water damage to your bathroom floor and premature wear of your toilet’s internal workings. To find out whether your toilet tank is leaking, add some red food coloring to the water in the tank. Come back in about an hour and see if the water in the bowl is pink. If it is, you have a leak.

2. Plumbing
In order to keep water flowing freely through your pipes, keep the following things in mind:

Accumulating fats and oils are the main cause for clogs, so never pour fats or other oils down your drains. This includes oils that are not solid at room temperature. If you accidentally spill oils or fats down the drain, run hot water down your drain along with a healthy serving of dishwashing liquid. The soap will emulsify the fat or oil and move it on down the pipe, preventing a clog.
Get a hair strainer for the bathtub drain. If fats and oils are the main source of clogs in the kitchen, hair is the primary culprit in the bathroom. If you have a strainer, make sure that you remove any accumulated hair from it following each shower. This will reduce the amount of hair that finds its way through the strainer and into your plumbing.
Skip the Drano. Though the acids it contains can help unclog a drain, they also cause significant damage to your plumbing, including premature leaking. This can lead to costly repairs later on. If your bathtub or toilet is completely clogged, use a small drain snake – which you can purchase at any hardware outlet – to pull the offending clog to the surface. If your kitchen sink is clogged, try plunging it before trying to snake the drain. If you cannot remove the clog using a drain snake, call a professional.

I hope it helps! Keep posting everyone :)
 
#331 ·
Many of us do not have the room to put in a dedicated miter saw station. Turns out you do not really need one.

So, to help me when I have to cut long pieces I made this simple block out of some scrap plywood in about 30-40 minutes. (I made this one about 20 minutes ago)

It is exactly the height of the miter saw table. I can place it anywhere along my workbench depending on the length of the piece I am working with and clamp it in place.

I have an idea to implement a flip up stop block for when I need multiple pieces of the same length.
 

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#332 ·
Tip of the day:

Wear a face shield.
Sure, you might not need a face shield for 90% of DIY from a protection standpoint; glasses and a dust mask suffice for, say, sanding drywall overhead or pressure washing. But a face shield—all of $8—keeps dust off your face in these situations. It makes the uncomfortable and icky barely noticeable, and the impossible (like spraying deck stripper overhead, for example) eminently doable.
 
#345 · (Edited)
When I bought my Silverado, I did not realize the difficulties of washing a 4x4 most notably the roof and middle of the hood area near the windshield.

At first I used a step stool, but it did not help much.

One day I was working in my garage and my eyes fell on the equipment I used to wash my bay windows and the proverbial light-bulb came on.

The next time I washed my truck, I used the window washer microfiber pad on the extension pole and it worked perfectly for reaching all areas of the roof, hood and tonneau cover with ease.

All the supplies are available at Lowe's.

Extension pole.



13" microfiber pad



Squeegee bucket

 
#350 ·
Roller stands are great when you do not have an out-feed table.



It does get a little frustrating finding the right height adjustment each time you have to set it up. To make this easier, after setting it to the correct height for a particular tool, mark a line at that spot with a permanent marker. On the opposite side of the mark, indicate the tool it corresponds to, for example, TS for table saw or DP for drill press.
 
#351 ·
I have 2 table saws that are nearly identical but they have different stands of slightly different height. I'd like to put tape on the stand to label for each saw so i ask what tape would be best so it could be removed if necessary after a period of time. From experience - -Masking tape - -can be a bear to remove after aging and / or exposed to certain conditions.
 

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#352 ·
There is a tape in the first-aid section of the store.

3M micropore bandage tape. I use the 1" wide tape for a lot of things other than bandages.

It is White, paper tape with an easily removed adhesive.


ED
 
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#364 · (Edited)
A receptionist hand sanitizing tip.


Exiting the office after a Dr check up i ask the receptionist if there was hand sanitizer available and she provided a useful tip after advising where the station was.








Place the sanitizer in the palm of your hand, open the knobed door






with the other hand. After exiting that door sanitize your hands. The remainder of the doors from the building were auto or push open and we can handle that.












Edit: Edit:
 
#369 ·
Dents in wood surfaces can be annoying. Here is a method to remove them.

Soak a washcloth in water and ring it out a bit so it’s not sopping wet. Put the damp washcloth on the affected area. With the iron on its highest setting, place it on the damp washcloth over the affected area, and make small movements back and forth and in circles. Press down firmly and continue until your wash cloth is dry. At this point, the wood fibers are absorbing the water and should expand back to where they were originally. If needed, repeat this process until the dents rise up flush with the rest of the material.
 
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