Comments on: How to fix 5 things around the house

By: danny

danny — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:42:32 +0000

to julie wood, I lived in an apt for eight years. While there I’ve always experienced the disposal quitting on me. So I depress the button one the bottom & before I turn on the power, I’ll use a broom handle, insert it into the disposal & give it a turn. Then turn on the power. Worked fro me in the eight years I’ve live there. Good luck with that

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:30:52 +0000

I’ve done most of these repairs, and they are really quite easy, especially working on the toilet. It’s even not too difficult to replace the whole toilet.

If you are a Los Angeles DWP customer, and you replace your high-flush toilets (using at least 1.6 gallons per flush) with low-flush toilets (using less than 1.28 gallons per flush), you can still get a $100 rebate per toilet from DWP (plus you’ll save water). I replaced all three of our toilets about ten years ago.
http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp000399.jsp
After you replace the toilet, DWP will send someone out to check both the old toilet and the new, so don’t throw out the old one right away.

By: Joe Simms

Joe Simms — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:00:33 +0000

I had a friend that was mentoring me in the field of electronic repair. I would mention something to the effect that I didn’t know how such and such came apart.

He would say, “look at the mechanics of it and you’ll figure it out.”

Ever since then, I can repair mostly anything from a watch, laptop to an air conditioner so long as it’s not major stuff.

My Grandpa did the same thing when he was teaching me auto mechanics.

By: Steven Rosenberg

Steven Rosenberg — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:01:25 +0000

Great post! I’ve done all of these things and saved thousands of dollars in the process.

And fixing an appliance yourself changes the way you think about it and treat it. You tend to keep an appliance longer since it can be cheaper that way, and fixing something once means you can more easily do it again.

And once you start fixing your own appliances, you know ahead of time when something’s going bad because you can usually hear it …

By: frugal dad

frugal dad — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:14:04 +0000

Julie, if your disposal won’t even grunt or groan, shut off the power and make sure the electic connections are OK. Then look for a tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse. Just remember that electricity is dangerous and handle careefully.

By: Julie Woods

Julie Woods — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:49:23 +0000

Yeah, thank you for this. Love it and intend on tackling some of these projects. First will be my garbage disposal, which for some reason will not reset with the push of the button you mentioned.

By: would be Ms. Fix-it

would be Ms. Fix-it — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:15:34 +0000

I love this and think it’s one of the most helpful things I’ve ever read. I know how to install door knobs but not the locks and I love the toilet, drain and garbage disposal fixes as I’ve experienced all of these and would prefer to try and do it myself. Now I know how so big thanks!

By: aicha

aicha — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:56:13 +0000

Go Dad!
nice job. didn’t know you were an essayist at heart as well as computer program writer. (kidding)
love,
your #2

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:20:26 +0000

Miss your blogs, so succinct.
Some of the guest blogs are so, so long…