22
votes
Prevent cables of kitchen appliances from breaking when you coil them
You're rolling them too tightly. Cables have a minimum bending radius: get below this radius and you damage the cable.
Make loops that are at least 10 cm in diameter. This also applies to the bend ...
- 6,274
17
votes
Accepted
Remove Broken Lightbulb from holder
Make sure there is no power going to the light, and use a potato. Cut it in half, jam it in and twist(unscrew) to remove.
- 1,783
15
votes
Remove Broken Lightbulb from holder
TURN OFF THE POWER FIRST!!!
Put the jaws of pliers into the socket and force the handles apart to grip the inside of the socket. Turn the pliers to back out the bulb.
If the friction is not strong ...
- 1,884
10
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
I am in a similar situation at home. I get up to go to work at around six in the morning whilst my wife and two very young children (2 and newborn) continue to sleep. If I make too much noise and ...
- 969
8
votes
How can I remove my dryer's lint filter without creating a mess?
Several things come to mind.
Put something under the filter to catch the falling dust, a piece of cloth will do, as will a sheet of paper like a part of a page of a news paper.
Have your vacuum ...
- 2,355
5
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
I'd suggest ensuring people close their doors while sleeping (they should anyway, for fire safety and privacy), and you may want to install a noise machine in the hallway, or play a CD of surf sounds, ...
- 9,790
5
votes
How can I carry a refrigerator with a Mercury Sable 2001 (aka Taurus)?
There is no safe way to do this. Please don't try. Either have a properly made hitch installed and rent a small trailer, or rent/borrow a suitably sized truck.
- 9,790
5
votes
Remove ice from freezer surface
I found the answer to my own question. However, it will only work on some brands and models of refrigerator-freezers.
LateralTerminal suggested using a brush on a drill. Instead I used what was on ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
Prevent cables of kitchen appliances from breaking when you coil them
Coil the cable separately (not around the appliance). You might try using a Velcro-like "hook and loop" tie on the cable to keep it wound. Use Over/Under Coiling so that it unwinds without any twists.
...
- 151
5
votes
How to remove glass cleaner stains from smart tv
Most sources I reviewed online suggest using only a microfibre cloth slightly dampened with a very dilute solution of mild dish-washing detergent in water.
Avoid any products containing ammonia or ...
- 14k
5
votes
Accepted
Damaged Gears from a Paper Shredder
I honestly doubt you'll find replacement parts for 2 reasons:
Most people don't bother repairing any appliances anymore because buying new is cheaper than paying for repairs.
Manufacturers don't want ...
- 2,976
4
votes
Accepted
Transporting a used fridge and washing machine
I don't think that you would need to wrap in cling film. If it is a hot day and you start to sweat this could become a nightmare. All of my experience (moving 5-6 fridges/ washing machines in my life) ...
- 333
4
votes
How to cover hair for a barber to prevent cutting that particular hair?
I suggest a different approach to covering or tying your hair before going to have it cut.You shouldn't have to go to that extreme.
Don't rely on a description to be understood the same way you ...
- 14k
3
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
If it is your appliance or if they are ok with it, you could remove
the bell from the appliances or have a technician do it, is pretty
simple.
Have a pair of slippers in your car or near the door ...
- 344
3
votes
Accepted
What is the best way to use a tower fan and an oil heater to heat a room quickly?
It takes a long time to heat your room because the heat from the static heater moves to the ceiling so that you don't feel it at the beginning. As you wait, there is more air being heated, and the ...
- 425
3
votes
What is the best way of cleaning the glass on a wood burning stove?
Soot is carbon particles that weren't burnt up, and will burn under the right circumstances. A good, complete combustion will burn the soot right off. Try making a fire that burns well (i.e. lots of ...
- 131
3
votes
How to remove dust from fridge coils?
Do you have a hair blow dryer? That would definitely help. An inexpensive can of compressed air could work too. (Both of those would be extremely messy; it might help to be running one or more ...
- 11.5k
3
votes
Cannot get blender carafe clean
From your description, "actually clean but it's cloudy," it seems that the carafe is scratched or crazed if it is plastic, or if it is glass, it is etched, corroded or covered with an adhering deposit,...
- 5,918
3
votes
Cannot get blender carafe clean
The soda-lime glass commonly used for blender jars is susceptible to being surface-etched by food acids. This effect is sensitively dependent on the chemical composition of the glass, and it is ...
- 1,317
3
votes
How to cover hair for a barber to prevent cutting that particular hair?
By far the easiest method to get the ponytail that's your goal is to simply stay away from all barbers for a year or more.
"But I'll have shaggy hair over my ears and collar!"
There are home ...
- 9,790
3
votes
Accepted
How can I unclog a sock in my vacuum cleaner hose, when I can't pull it out with a wire clothes hanger?
Perhaps the hook in the end of the wire became snagged in the hose interior rather than the sock. Ensure that the wire is free to move in and out smoothly.
Try twisting the wire after the sock is ...
- 14k
3
votes
Accepted
Opening a contact lens bottle
These bottles open a bit like the old style ring pulls on a can of drink, where there was a ring you lifted up and pulled kinda sideways, tearing the metal
You've managed to "pull the ring off&...
- 2,749
2
votes
How to Avert / Deflect refrigerator heat in room?
The question is: Do you need a freezer? Many people can live without one. Instead of using ice from a freezer, you can use cold water from the fridge. Since the fridge is only at about 4C, and not -...
- 121
2
votes
How to kill the stink in an unplugged refrigerator?
One more thing I want to add to the answer that was given by Bondoc.
Refrigerators have trays usually hidden underneath them. These trays hold all the melting water that may also include some ...
- 161
2
votes
How to avoid tripping a breaker
As you suggest, it is probably possible to rewire a standard current-sensing power strip so that the slave outlet is turned off when the master (microwave) outlet is drawing current. Most relays have ...
- 5,918
2
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
Walking around the house is probably loudest when placing feet heel-first to the floor. Walking front-first is a lot better (now it depends on the house: on the concrete floor, you should be inaudible,...
- 405
2
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
You could try sound proofing the kitchen and wash your hands in the kitchen sink.
Sheetrock can be used to sound-proof your kitchen.
As pseyfert stated with the folding doors this is indeed a good ...
- 409
2
votes
Remove Broken Lightbulb from holder
If you can't be sure which switch position turns off the socket (say, with a double switch that lets you control the light from two locations), locate and shut off the breaker for that circuit, or ...
- 9,790
2
votes
How to remove dust from fridge coils?
After doing a search for "whirlpool side by side refrigerator clean coils" there are some videoes suggesting variations over this procedure:
Empty out the refrigerator to make it easier to handle, ...
- 6,984
2
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
You have indicated the action that should be taken which is to isolate the kitchen (sources of noise) from the rest of the household or vise-versa.
Kitchen doors are problematic and are rarely used ...
- 14k
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