Category Archives: House and Home

Cheap mattress

We are still looking for a comfortable and inexpensive mattress until now. We started hunting for a mattress last year and actually set on buying the first one we saw on sale. But we ran into some financial issues a few days before the sale period expires so we were not able to purchase the mattress. Well, we just have to wait for another mattress sale before the year ends. Furniture shops normally give out promotional discount or conduct clearance sales around that time.

Fresh coat painting

Hubby and I are thinking of painting our boring-looking wall with light blue or green coat to bring our house to life. But Iâ€™m quite worried about the effect of paint to our health. The kids and I have allergic reaction to the strong odor of paint. We are easily irritated by the strong smell causing us to sneeze and cough. There are water-based paints that are odorless or nose-friendly, but we canâ€™t manage to squeeze in a budget for that as they are expensive. With a minimal budget, we have to settle for cheaper alternative. Apart from painting, we are also planning to change the rusty window screens in the bedroom. I guess the more I think about house repair and maintenance the more I worry about the growing household expenses. This means we have to scrimp our budget some more and strike out line items that we can live without such as a brand new tv set with da lite screens.

Plumbing for Dummies

You swear that you can almost compose a sonata with the endless pitter-patter of water dripping from the faucet in your bathroom. If youâ€™ve had sleepless nights because you had to endure listening to that leaking faucet, you definitely have a plumbing problem. But if you happen to be the only adult in the house, with your handy hubby out of town for God knows how long, and you arenâ€™t too keen on spending a lot for a plumbing repair guy, you might have to do some DIY plumbing.

When dealing with water leaks, the first thing you must do is shut off the main cutoff valve, and turn on the faucets to drain any water left.

Take off the cap on the faucet with the use of a flat-head screwdriver. Remove the handle by unscrewing the handle screw. Before replacing any parts, try to tighten the retaining nut, aka. packing nut. This is what holds the stem in place. If that doesnâ€™t do anything to stop the leak, itâ€™s time to move on to replacing the washers and O-ring. You can get these when you buy a repair kit from the hardware store.

Unscrew the retaining nut, stem and brass screw (this holds the stem washer in place). Remove and replace the stem washer. Remember to rub some silicon grease on the stem before replacing the new washer. Also coat the new washer with grease.

Remove the stem from the retaining nut. Replace the O-ring which sits just below the stem.

Reassemble the faucet handle, and youâ€™re done!

(I am participating in a blogger campaign about plumbing repair and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.)