Welcome to The DADvice's Fixes & Tips

If you have your own laundry room for the first time, and unsure what to do, here's a few quick tips to keep things working well. A call to a repair person is expensive and in some cases, not even worth it. Some simple, low effort maintenance can keep your washer and dryer working a long time.

First of all, make sure you're using the right type of soap for the washing machine you own. Chances are, if it's a front loading washer, you need to use the concentrated high-efficiency (HE) laundry soap. Liquids, powders, and single packs can be used in all water temperatures. Look for the HE symbol to make sure. Read the labels to ensure that you are using the correct amount per load of laundry. It really only takes one or two ounces of soap for the average load. Only load a comfortable amount in each time, don't shove it in and pack the washer full. 3/4 full is a good rule of thumb so you're not wasting energy or overloading and overworking your washer.

It is important to clean out the lint trap of the dryer on a very regular basis. That lint builds up quickly from your clothes and clogs the venting. Clogged vents will make your dryer have to work longer to dry your clothes. In really bad cases, too much lint in the exhaust can actually start a fire. Lint is actually extremely flammable. 

It's very important that your dryer is properly vented. There are 2 main types of dryer systems. The main style has a 4" flexible metal-looking pipe that is attached to the back of the dryer and should vent to the outside. Make sure this is attached firmly and has no gaps or holes otherwise you are venting very humid air directly into your home which can cause mold. If you're installing a new dryer, take the time to replace these flexible vent pipes with something more rigid and smooth inside that won't catch the lint. At minimum, vacuum out the vent pipe and make sure it isn't crimped to maximize air flow. You need to do this inside and outside. There are 4 inch brushes made specifically for doing this and this should be part of your spring cleaning ritual, annually.

Many smaller apartment size dryers have a ventless system. These still need a place to put the humidity of drying clothes so they'll have a drawer that you need to empty. It's actually a more energy efficient system but takes longer for the clothes to dry. Either way, it take seconds to empty these compartments and should be done EVERY time you do laundry.

We're going to tackle 3 things in the bathroom: changing a shower head, basic toilet fixes, and unclogging drains. 

CHANGING A SHOWER HEAD

This is the easiest and most satisfying fix that you can 100% do yourself. If you hate the shower head that you have, or its clogged up and won't come clean, even after soaking it in vinegar (vinegar dissolves all the hard water deposits that build up inside a shower head), this quick fix will impress yourself so much you'll be inviting friends over just to see it. Note: you do have to remove the shower head anyway if you want to soak it in vinegar! 

You will need 2 wrenches. We can talk for several hours on wrenches but really, any 2 wrenches will do (Not to assume anything, a wrench is something you squeeze that has a claw like grip). Put some tape on the teeth of the wrenches (I use black electrical tape because it grips) so that the metal wrench doesn't scratch the shiny shower head and shower arm (the arm is the part coming out of the wall). 

Now, grip the shower arm with one wrench to stabilize it (so you are not putting sideways pressure on it), and use the other wrench to loosen the shower head (counter clockwise). After one or two turns with the wrench, it should just unscrew easily by hand. Remember: "lefty/loosy - righty/tighty"

There should be some white stretchy tape on the end of the shower arm. Remove it and clean the threads and arm. Wrap new plumbers tape (the white stretchy tape) around the threads on the arm several times. This will seal the joint when you attach the new shower head. Many new shower heads come with a small amount of plumbers tape in the package.

Take the shower head and line it up with the arm to gently turn it / screw it on clockwise until it can't go any further by hand. Use your wrenches again to give it a few more turns so it's tight. You don't have to keep going as long as it's not leaking.

Turn on the shower and check to see that no water is coming out of the joint. If it is, tighten it a bit more with your wrenches. All done! 

FIXING YOUR TOILET

The clogged toilet

There is nothing more frightening that seeing the toilet water rise... it's worse than the scariest movie you've ever seen. Sheer panic as you pray to the porcelain gods that it doesn't overflow. Here's what to do:

Step one, quickly turn off your water. If you haven't noticed before, there is a turn off valve/tap behind the toilet at the wall. It controls the water going to your toilet and will shut off the water supply so the toilet doesn't keep flowing. 

Step 2, you'll need a plunger (every home should have one). With the water off, you can go buy one. The toilet will be in the same shape as when you left, no worries. Make sure you get one that makes a good seal (seriously, don't cheap out on a plunger, they are not expensive to begin with so get the best one Mr. Home Depot recommends). Personally, I suggest something that has a flange that goes into the hole and the rubber material is relatively flexible.

Step 3, put the plunger into the toilet at an angle to fill the end with water. Holding it upright, with a firm grip, push down hard so that the plunger pushes the water down hard through the pipes. With the plunger depressed into the toilet, and sealing the opening, pull up swiftly to use the plunger to suck water back into it. For 99% of clogs, doing this a few times should do the trick. IF not, then more extreme measure may need to be taken. I would use a plumbers snake next, myself, but if that's too daunting, give the plunger a few more tries before calling the plumber.

Assuming the plunger worked, clean up and turn the water back on.

A running toilet

A running toilet is annoying and wastes water. Here are some easy fixes before you call a plumber to do a major fix.

The bottom line, no matter what toilet you have, is that we need to figure out if it's the valve/stopper at the bottom of the toilet (the part that lifts so the water escapes the tank and runs into the toilet to flush it) or if its the bobble that floats and turns off the supply of water at the right height. On older toilets, the most common issue is that the chain that connects the handle either falls off or gets caught on something, leaving the bottom flap open. YES, this is a toilet but the top tank is all clean water... go ahead, get your hands in there!

The kitchen has a million things to use and to go wrong...but don't worry, we'll tackle as many as we can, starting with your stove.

When's the last time you cleaned it? What? You don't clean it? .... okay, here we go.  Most modern stoves have a self cleaning options built right in. There should be a button on the panel. It locks your oven and turns the heat up really high to burn off anything and everything that may have dropped or splattered. It takes a few hours so don't do it the day you have to cook for friends and family... when it's done, you still need to wipe down the inside of the oven with a wet cloth to get rid of any ashes. IF it's an older oven, without a self cleaning option... buy oven cleaner, spray it all over the walls and bottom (inside the oven) but not on the fan. Let it sit (read the label for times) and then wipe it clean.

There are 3 main types of stove tops, okay, 4... 5 if you want to be picky. Realistically you're going to have either a gas or electric stove that had either a metal top or a glass top. If you have a glass top stop, with the pre-printed on circles showing the "burners" make sure you know whether the stove top is induction heating or not. This is VERY important because induction means that the stove heats based on an magnetic current that reacts with materials in the pots and pans. You therefore have to make sure that the pans are meant for induction stoves or they won't work. The easiest way to tell is whether a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan. If not, it won't work. The better the magnetic sticks, the better the pot or pan will work and create heat faster.

Coffee pots and kettles

Did you know that your coffee pot and kettle use more power than almost any other device in your home... seriously. They suck power to heat that water up.... so, don't use both at the same time or you may blow a fuse, especially in an older home or apartment. Also, you need to clean the inside of these appliances from time to time. A cap full or two of vinegar is all you need, mixed with some water. Let it sit in the kettle for a while and even run that vinegar water through your coffee machine a couple times. Put a filter in and you'll see all the hard water deposits that get collected. Make sure you rinse them out a few times before making your next pot of tea or coffee.

Fridge and Freezer

The fridge and freezer are where leftovers go to die... you will be amazed what you find if you clean them both out once in a while. You can use vinegar and water to wipe down the insides to sanitize and clean it all out, so your new fresh food doesn't smell like chili from a month ago. In the meantime, buy a box of baking soda, open it, and leave it somewhere in the back of the fridge. The baking soda is fantastic for absorbing odors. 

Dishes

Once in a while, microwave your sponge or cover the sponge and or cloth in boiling hot water. These tools for cleaning, if not clean themselves, are just spreading very gross germs all over your "clean" dishes.

This past weekend, I was surprised to learn that my daughter didn't know how to pick out a new lightbulb. I realized that she had never been asked to do that at home. My bad. So here it is, the basic of bulbs.

As I am sure you know, most light bulbs now can be replaced with an LED equivalent of the older style "standard" light bulbs. LEDs have come a long way in brightness and options, as well as providing extremely low energy usage. 

Although LED bulbs may show standard bulb options of 40W, 60W and 100W (the power rating that standard bulbs use and directly relates to how bright they are... W means Watts, a unit of measuring power), LED bulbs don't actually use 40W (lower light) or anywhere close to 100W (brightest). Most LED bulbs use only a few Watts and can last for years. The ones I installed at her home are rated to last 15 years. 

So... what bulb should you use? Luckily, most home improvement stores have a lighting section that is really well laid out and separates the bulbs by use: appliances, outdoors, general lighting, chandeliers, dimmable, bathroom, etc... This takes a lot of the basic guess-work out of the process. Bring the old bulb with you (most just unscrew but some small chandelier style pull out).

One of the key things you want to look for are the Lumens and the colour. The lumens are describing the brightness of the bulbs and the colour is usually levels of white... soft white, bright white, daylight... many people prefer soft white but to each their own. If you are not sure, the bulb you removed should have the lumens and colour written on the bulb. 

Good luck! I hope I "brightened" your day ;-)