Category Archives: Household Tips

Household Tips for Cleaning and Organizing

Have a bathroom exhaust fan or heater?

Posted on by September 13, 2013avatar
Have a bathroom exhaust fan or heater? The DIY Girl

I have two words — CLEAN IT. I recently purchased a foreclosure that had two bathrooms with a fan/heater/light. One was brand new. One was an original antique from when the house was built in 1987 and had a non-functioning heater so I ordered a new unit from Amazon. In preparation for the arrival of the new unit I started to disassemble the old one. This was after vacuuming the old unit out trying to see if I could get it working. Once I got it apart the thing was beyond disgusting, beyond belief. I didn’t think dust could cake … Read more…

Packing tips part 2 – All the things the movers won’t take

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar
Packing tips for a long distance move - TheDIYGirl.com

I read all the advice online about long distance moves where they say throw out and give away all the stuff the movers won’t take. Forget that. I had no interest in starting out with a blank refrigerator, no cleaning supplies, no automobile fluids on arrival at my new home. Oh please, who wants to take all your partially used crap? I am totally against waste and throwing things in landfill, so I needed to figure out how to take the stuff with me. Packing the “not allowed items” I had a friend with a pickup truck and trailer who … Read more…

Packing tips for a long distance move

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar
Packing tips for a long distance move - TheDIYGirl.com

The image to the left is what it feels like. Having recently completed an interstate move I have some thoughts on successfully packing. I need to mention that I tend to be anal retentive about organization and that I lucked out and had an absolutely awesome driver who knew how to pack a truck so everything arrived in good condition. I have felt a big move coming on for a couple of years so I spent considerable time going through the house I had resided in for 17 years and deciding what needed to go with me and what needed … Read more…

Replacing hatch struts on vehicle

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar

Symptoms of the problem I drive a 2006 Xterra and noticed this past winter the struts that hold the rear hatch door up were wearing out after I whacked my head on it a few times. The weather warmed up and the struts started doing a better job of holding up the door, but on cooler mornings I was slamming my head again so it was time to figure out how to change them. Research I started looking on the internet for my specific vehicle model and year and found several forum posts on the subject. I was interested in … Read more…

Easy way to clean refrigerator coils

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar
Easy way to clean refrigerator coils - TheDIYGirl.com

No how-to pictures for this suggestion. On my Whirlpool refrigerator the coils lay pretty much flat and close to the front grill of the refrigerator. They are not easy to get to. With two hyper-shedding dogs in the house, coil cleaning is something I need to do fairly regularly and about all I could reach with the crevasse tool on my vacuum was the very front edge of the coil. I could see all the crud that I couldn’t get to. I needed to figure out an easier and more effective way to clean them. Enter the can of condensed … Read more…

Insulated cover for whole house attic fan grate

Posted on by September 3, 2015avatar
Insulated cover for whole house attic fan grate - TheDIYGirl.com

The pull chain switch in my whole house attic fan broke and I ended up replacing it on a fairly hot day. While working on it I could not believe the heat coming down through the ceiling grate for the fan.  I got online to look for an economical and easy solution. What’s a whole house attic fan? In case you’re not familiar, this fan is mounted on the ceiling joists in the attic after a hole has been cut out of the ceiling drywall. An aluminum grate is then installed on the ceiling side. The grate has louvers that … Read more…

Replacing pull chain for whole house attic fan

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar

One evening I pulled the chain on my whole house attic fan to turn it off and thought at the time it sounded a little funny. The next morning I went to turn the fan back on and found out why — the switch for the pull chain had broken. I am not a big fan of getting up in my attic since I live alone, so I got a ladder and checked to see if the switch was accessible from the house instead of the attic. It was. I had to reach through the grate and it required some … Read more…

PVC cots for dogs

Posted on by September 13, 2013avatar
PVC cots for dogs - The DIY Girl

Nikki and Ellie aren’t the first Labrador Retrievers I’ve had so I am aware of the ongoing genetic issue of hip dysplasia in their breed. I wanted my girls up off the floor with their hips cushioned. Both were crate trained for the first 2 years of their life — meaning if I wasn’t home they were in the crate. I loved it because I missed the whole having my home chewed phase. When they hit 2 years old the crate was removed and a cot put in its place. Since they are 2 years apart in age, that means … Read more…

Sprite Industries Shower Filter – Product Recommendation

Posted on by September 10, 2013avatar
Sprite Industries Shower Filter - Product Recommendation

I’ve had one of these for a while and I think they’re great. Who wants to douse their hair and body with chlorine every time they shower? It’s very drying for your skin and your hair. The filter assembly is pictured left and the replacement cartridges are on the right. The assembly comes in white, chrome, or gold and the filter inside is supposed to last a year — you reverse it after 6 months. You simply install it before your current shower head. I suggest you use Teflon tape on the threads. After 6 months you screw it open … Read more…

Removing soap scum – great article!

Posted on by September 13, 2013avatar

As part of my shower repair project I wanted to do a really good cleaning to remove soap scum and hard water accumulation. A job I absolutely dread — partly because it’s such hard work and because I’m never sure what’s the least painful product to use. I’m always worried I’ve missed some great product that would make it really easy. Enter the Manly Housekeeper. He explains why soap scum and hard water become such a problem and then tests 6 well known products to see which works best. He taped off 6 sections of a glass shower wall and … Read more…