30 Quick Fixes For Everyday Disasters.pdf

A solve-it-fast guide for home, car and more. Because--sometimes--duct tape just

isn't enough.

The world is populated by two kinds of guys: the ones who

know what to do when something goes bust, and the ones

who are always asking the first guys for help. Here's your

secret manual for staying on the right side of the divide. It's

filled with experts' shameless shortcuts for dealing with

everything from flooded basements to mysterious oil leaks

to flat mountain bike tires. These down-and-dirty repairs

won't all last a lifetime, but they can certainly save the day.

INVADING ARMY: Ants are having a feeding

frenzy in your kitchen, and you don't want to use

a toxic brew to defeat them.

HE QUICK FIX: "A 50/50 mix of peppermint oil

and water will get rid of ants," says Amy Devers,

co-host of the DIY Network's "DIY To The

Rescue" show. "Fill a spray bottle, and spray

wherever you see them comi

ng out of hiding."

AR FACTOR: A weed-ridden asparagus

as you about ready to give up on your

crop.

THE QUICK FIX: Add salt. "Asparagus is the only

vegetable that can withstand salt," says Penny

SPE

patch h

favorite

Griggs, an organic farmer in Vermont. "Spread

salt around your plants will kill the weeds but

leave your asp

ing

aragus unharmed."

r la

xpe

known drain on laptop batteries. "If you can

ptop is

cted.

are a little-

disable your wireless networking and still get your

work done, do it," says Andy Hooper, owner of

Intelligent Systems, an IT security company.

"Some wireless cards can eat up half of your

laptop's power."

Photo by HP

FROZEN OUT: Cold weather has stiffened the

mechanism of your garage door opener, causing

it to lose powe

THE QUICK FIX:

Most garage door openers

made in the past 15 years have pressure

adjustments for both raising and lowering. Chec

and adjust these settings seasonally to keep

things running sm

oothly.

SCREW LOOSE: You're trying to replace a

woodscrew, but the hole is stripped and the screw

won't grab.

HE QUICK FIX: Insert two short lengths of thin,

TRAPPED BELOW:

bas drain dried up-and now your cellar

smells vaguely of nasty, nasty things.

THE QUICK FIX: Pour nontoxic plumbing

The water in the trap of your

ement floor

antifreeze down the drain to fill the trap. You can

use water in a pinch, but it evaporates faster than

antifreeze, so you'll need to repeat the process

more often.

SPILLED JUICE: The battery in you

losing its charge much faster than e

THE QUICK FIX: Wireless operatio

insulated wire in the hole before adding the

screw. They'll allow the screw to bite.

HOT WHEELS: The temperature gauge on

car is headed for the danger zone, but you'v

no time (or place) to park and cool your jets

THE QUICK FIX: Turn the heater on full bla

pening the windows so you don't fry). The extra

your

e got

volume of the heater core and its hoses, as well

as the airflow of the heater fan blowing across the

core, may dissipate enough heat to get you

home--or to the garage--without a meltdown.

Illustration by David J. Pullman

ICE RAGE: Your car doors freeze shut in cold

weather.

THE QUIC

K FIX: "Spray the weathers

silicone," advise

ipping

around the door frames with

s Al

Toutant, a technician at Heath Auto Service in

Greenwood, Maine, where they know a thing or

two about

collecting and freezing your doors shut in the

winter, and it keeps it from drying out and

cracking in the summer."

cold weather. "It keeps moisture from

POWER INTERRUPTION: You need t

your car's battery, but don't want to los

settings on the car's radio, alarm, GPS

computer.

o remove

e the

and

THE QUICK FIX: A 9-volt battery adapter can

plug into your cigarette lighter to keep those chips

powered up. Result: No more auto amnesia.

Illustration by George Retseck

DAMPNESS AT NOON: Your clothes dryer

seems to have lost its zip.

THE QUICK FIX: Clear the vent duct by removing

the vent pipe and pulling out any accumulated

debris from the pipe and duct. It's a 3-minute fix

that can save you a $75 visit from a technician.

Illustration by George Retseck

UNPLANNED POOL: A big rain has flooded your

basement. And, since it knocked out the power

too, your usually reliable sump pump won't pump.

THE QUICK FIX: If you live on a slope, try

making a siphon. First, fill a garden hose with

water from the outside spigot. Seal one end with

your thumb and have a friend seal the other.

Place one end through the cellar window and into

the standing water. Then, have your friend carry

the other end as far downhill as possible (the

outlet has to be below the intake). Release your

thumbs and let gravity do the rest.

SHAGGY LAWN: You need to cut the grass

before the in-laws show up but your mower won't

start.

THE QUICK FIX: Before you give up and take it

to the repair shop, try this. First, take out the

spark plug and empty the gas. Then, get a new

plug, add some fresh gas to the tank and, more

ften than not, the mower will start right up.

CRACKED TEETH: Someone--not you, surely--

has broken a key off in a door lock, which is now

jammed shut.

THE QUICK FIX: Use a grinding wheel to shape

an old hacksaw blade into a harpoon-like point.

Then, slip the point into the lock over one of the

key nubs and use the hook to fish it out.

Illustration by George Retseck

BLURRED VISION: The zoom shots from your

fancy new digital camera are fuzzy.

THE QUICK FIX: Only use your optical zoom.

Most digital cameras have both optical zoom, in

which the lens moves (just like a zoom on a film

camera), and digital zoom, which manipulates the

image electronically. The digital zoom can

compromise the quality of the image. If you want

more magnification than the optical zoom can

handle, it's better to achieve it on a computer after

the fact.

Illustration by George Retseck

RISING WATERS: The toilet is about to overflow,

and you know that your usual tactic of slamming

the lid and crossing your fingers won't work.

THE QUICK FIX: As soon as the water level in

the bowl starts rising, reach into the tank and prop

up the fill valve (the ball or cylinder that floats on

top of the water). That will stop the flow to the

toilet, thwarting an overflow. The plunger,

however, still awaits.

Illustration by David J.

Pullman

IMMOVABLE OBJECT: A stubborn nut on an old

lawnmower or pickup truck refuses to budge.

THE QUICK FIX: The standard tactic since the

dawn of the acetylene torch has been to heat the

nut until it glows red. When heat alone won't cut

it, touch a candle to the glowing nut. The wax will

melt and flow into the threads, acting as a

lubricant.

Illustration by George Retseck

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