Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [maintenance]

Preventing things from becoming damaged, broken or unusable.

For questions about preventing something from becoming damaged, broken or unusable by proper upkeep. Can be used for any questions about how to keep things in good repair, whether they're part of the home or tools used to work on the home.

Related tags

for questions about fixing something after it gets damaged or broken.

165 questions
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What are the "must do" tasks before winter hits?

I've had my furnace serviced in time for winter, but what other things should I consider doing before the snow and the ice come?
Jeff Yates
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Humidity Levels

What is a healthy and safe humidity level that I should try to keep my house at?
SamErde
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How can I repair rusty tools?

Should I use sandpaper to clean the rust from the tools (e.g. Needle-nose pliers), or can I soak them in vinegar or lemon juice? Would I be better off just buying new tools (which can be an expensive choice for expensive tools)?
Larry Morries
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How can I stop a toilet seat from rapidly loosening?

The seat on my toilet always works itself loose. It has plastic thumb-screw-style nuts that tighten on to bolts on the underside of the toilet. The left nut works itself loose over the course of a few days of normal use. I can tighten it again…
Jean-Paul Calderone
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Should I run the tap while dumping boiling water?

It seems to be common advice to run the cold water while dumping boiling water down the drain (for example, when draining pasta). A variety of reasons are cited for this, one of which is that it is bad for your plumbing. I assume the reasoning is…
browly
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When should I replace a circular saw blade?

Is there a rule of thumb for how often a circular saw blade should be replaced? Is visually inspecting the blade condition enough?
Doresoom
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What kind of nut is this

what is the name of this nut, I need to find a way to loosen it . From the top
Charm_quark
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What is involved in DIY swimming pool maintenance?

We moved into a new house last year and when cleaning out the pool shed last weekend I stumbled across a report that was done by a business that handles swimming pool maintenance. It checked different chemical levels and recommended adding certain…
going
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How do you sharpen a knife?

Just got done sharpening a few knives, and thought it could be useful to post a question about it here. So lets say I have one of these guys. With a coarse stone, a medium stone, and a fine stone. What is the proper way to sharpen a knife with a…
Tester101
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How do I handle significant snow and ice dams on a 4/12 gable roof with ridge vents?

It is our first winter in a new-to-us house, that has a pretty flat roof (3/12-to-4/12 pitch), and a ridge vent along the entire top of the roof. We just had the snowiest December on record (Minnesota), which put a good 36" of snow on the roof,…
MarkD
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How do I balance a ceiling fan?

About a year ago I installed a new ceiling fan in my living room and when it was installed it was balanced nicely, but it has a little wobble. How do I bring it back in to balance?
fryguybob
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What are some routine home maintenance tips?

We just built a new home, and I'm wondering what routine things need to be done to keep everything working, well maintained, and happy. I can think of a lot of things, but the problem with any question like this is you never know what you don't…
Scivitri
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Is there a home made solution that will clean drains?

Not sure if this counts as "Home Improvement", but it's worth a shot: I'm currently in an apartment where I'm not supposed to use chemicals to clear drains, like in the sink/tub. I've cleared out the tub drain before (obviously hair buildup) but…
anonymous coward
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Is it OK to use powdered graphite to lubricate a garage door opener?

I am about due to lubricate my garage door opener and related parts, and while I have some silicone lubricant, I was wondering if I could be doing better. The can I have says it's good for all parts (springs, tracks, rollers, chain and screws), but…
Hugo
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What type of regular maintenance should I be doing on my central air conditioning unit?

I have not done any maintenance on my central air conditioning system since I bought my house five years ago. Everything seems to be running fine but is there some sort of maintenance I should be doing regularly?
Jeff Widmer
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