How to fix 7 common household problems (according to a handyman)

Nifty DIY tips everyone should know.

shutterstock_555962293 Shutterstock / Andrey_Popov Shutterstock / Andrey_Popov / Andrey_Popov

THERE IS NOTHING more infuriating than arriving home to find that one of your essential appliances has given up the will to live or that you’ve plummeted into what feels like sub-zero temperatures.

We spoke to Ian Noonan, top-rated handyman on Fixers.ie for advice on how to solve some of the most frequent (and annoying) issues that you may have with your home.

Here are the surprisingly easy solutions…

Problem 1: My door won’t stop creaking

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Always waking your partner, baby or roommates with that stupid noisy door during the night or early in the morning? The answer may lie in your kitchen cupboard, says Ian:

A creaky door is generally caused by the hinge so you’d just oil the hinges. If you have some olive oil just put it on a rag and rub it back and forth over the hinge and it should do the trick.

Problem 2: The radiators are never hot enough

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Bleeding the radiators is a part of the winter that you may dread, and the AA advises that to avoid issues with them, it’s worth turning on your heating for a few minutes during the summer to clear blockages. If they’re acting up, here’s how to bleed them:

At the back of most radiators in the top right hand corner, you’ll find a valve which you should turn with it a radiator/vent key. Give the valve a half turn and if there’s air there, keep turning until all the air is gone. Once you see water, you just tighten the valve up again using the key.

Problem 3: I have problems with damp on my walls

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The most important issue with damp in your home is to prevent it from getting worse and doing more damage, says Ian, who shares the best protocol for dealing with it:

Find what’s causing it and get that fixed first. Then there are different treatments like Damp Seal which you should apply before giving it a fresh layer of paint. If it’s bad you’d have to replace the plasterboard before you do this, which is something a professional should do.

Problem 4: My bath keeps leaking every time I use it

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Can’t work out why the bathroom always ends up covered in water every time you use the bathroom? This is a problem that Ian deals with regularly, and usually indicates that your bath needs to be resealed:

To seal a bath, you just get a silicone gun, clean off the old silicone (just peel it off or cut off with a stanley knife or scraper) and reapply it in the areas where it previously was. It will take around 12 hours to set.

Problem 5: My dishes never come out clean

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When your dishwasher stops working, it could be a host of things affecting it such as water getting into the socket, though often it’s caused by something pretty grim, says Ian:

Generally with appliances the issue is usually caused by a blockage – with dishwashers food can build up and block it or there can be broken glasses in dishwasher that get stuck in the pump.

So, what can be done to get it unblocked then?

Take out the bottom tray, find the filter and twist it out. There’s a tiny hole to the drain pump so you can take out anything you can see blocking it. Food gets caught further down the pipe, so you’d have to disconnect the grey pipe behind the dishwasher and clear it. The pipe is ribbed so food catches in it over time – the key is to rinse your plates!

Problem 6: The house needs a serious lick of paint

shutterstock_518953912 Shutterstock / Kinga Shutterstock / Kinga / Kinga

Want the same smooth finish that you’d get on the walls of a brand new house? There are two things to remember, says Ian:

Don’t buy cheap paints – it will take three or four coats. You also need to give the wall a light sand with a fine grain sandpaper to get rid of dust. For wood, an undercoat should go on first, then a primer and then your finish of emulsion – one coat is fine. Walls need two coats of emulsion and roofs only need one because they tend to be white.

Problem 7: My oven won’t heat up properly

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Even though your oven acting up can be a massive pain, it’s relatively painless to fix, shares Ian:

If your oven isn’t heating correctly, change the heating elements in it. Open the oven and find the four screws in the back and pop that down. Go down to an appliance store with the model number and they can give you a replacement which you can easily insert with two bolts.

Need a bit of a hand with the bigger things? Fixers.ie is an easy way to find and hire handymen, fitness professionals, photographers and more. Just tell them what you need done, review free quotes and hire the right professional – with an app where you can book appointments. Click here the get the Apple app and here for the Android app.