Category: In The Home

  • Repairing A Toilet Silent Fill Valve

    Repairing A Toilet Silent Fill Valve

    Preface This post describes: How to repair a Toilet Silent Fill Valve. Basically that’s how to replace the rubber diaphragm within the valve. Introduction I recently heard my cistern overflowing. On investigation I decided to adjust the float level to stop it by reducing the height to which the water in the cistern rose when…

  • Unblocking A Bathroom Wash Basin Drain

    Unblocking A Bathroom Wash Basin Drain

    Introduction I recently noticed the waste water leaving my bathroom wash basin was taking more time than usual to drain away. Realising this meant a total blockage may be imminent, I set to work dismantling the waste pipe and bottle trap so that I could begin unblocking my wash basin drain. Boy was there some gunge to…

  • Fixing Shelf Battens To Old Walls

    Fixing Shelf Battens To Old Walls

    Preface This post describes: How I spent a day fixing shelf battens for two shelves in a house. The walls were old and not solid brick as expected. The walls crumbled when I drilled into them so I had to repair them and drill again.

  • Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns

    Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns

    Preface This post describes: Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns to maintain the inlet valve and flushing mechanism.

  • Preventing Steel Rusting on My Carport

    This post describes the methods used to prevent steel rusting on the frame of my car port. I used two part epoxy resin paint when I repainted rusty sections after 19 years.

  • Dripping noise from a rainwater spout

    Dripping noise from a rainwater spout

    Preface This post refers specifically to downpipes with a square cross section. It shows how to modify a rainwater downpipe spout (shoe) to stop a dripping noise when the drip starts within the outlet shoe. Introduction For drips that drop off the guttering outlet and fall all the way down to the bottom of a straight downpipe and hit the…

  • My Easily Positioned Bed Headboard Wall Fixings

    My Easily Positioned Bed Headboard Wall Fixings

    Introduction This post describes a method for DIY readers to make and mount bespoke wooden Bed Headboard Wall Fixings, to my design, so that no bolts are visible and so the headboard can be removed by just lifting it vertically to allow for cleaning or horizontal adjustment. It gives a specific example. Other headboards will be different, but I hope anyone wanting to use this…

  • Laundry Symbols

  • Household Measures

  • Gas Oven Settings

  • Dyson Slim DC18 Upright – Undercarriage Repair

    Dyson Slim DC18 Upright – Undercarriage Repair

    Introduction This post gives a detailed description, with photos and reference to a Parts Diagram, of how to replace a Dyson Slim DC18 Undercarriage. The Undercarriage would require changing if part of it broke since parts cannot be obtained individually. I changed mine when the Air Input Changeover Valve Actuator broke. “Since I first published…

  • How Many Parts Make A Shower Head?

    How Many Parts Make A Shower Head?

    How Many Parts? You may be surprised to learn that the shower head that came with my Mira Sport Thermostatic Shower is made from 22 separate parts. If you count them in the featured image above you will see 21 but take note that the main body of the shower head, on the right, is made…

  • Keeping Birds Off TV Aerials

    Keeping Birds Off TV Aerials

    Introduction In my previous post “Freeview Aerial Direction” you may have noticed something unusual about my Yagi TV antenna/aerial. Yes, amongst the array of directors in front of the dipole and on the reflector at the back there are some Zip Ties (Cable Ties – often used for anchoring a cable to something else). In this…

  • Terrestrial Freeview TV Aerial Direction

    Terrestrial Freeview TV Aerial Direction

    Introduction In November 2012 I had my terrestrial TV aerial relocated to another corner of my chimney stack so that it doesn’t overhang my solar panels. Birds were perching on it and making a mess on them. Consequently I needed to check my TV aerial direction to be sure it points to the transmitter. The aerial engineer (Martin…

  • Removing A Bra Wire From A Washing Machine

    Removing A Bra Wire From A Washing Machine

    Preface This post describes: removing a Bra Wire from a washing machine when it has come out of a bra and penetrated the inner drum of a front loader. These wires tend to come out of badly maintained bras while being washed. They don’t necessarily damage the machine immediately but always have the potential to…

  • I’ve Spilt Paint On My Patio Slabs. What Will I Do?

    I’ve Spilt Paint On My Patio Slabs. What Will I Do?

    Introduction “Oh dear! The spilt paint on my patio slabs created a 20cm dia. puddle when my tin of mahogany paint blew over. It was tipped up by a gust of wind which lifted the cardboard it was resting on.” “There would have been photos but I had to swear first and then get on…

  • Should You Worry About Your Bath Overflowing?

    Should You Worry About Your Bath Overflowing?

    Introduction Bragging bath owner, “Me, worry about my bath overflowing? It’s got an overflow pipe. I shan’t worry.” Plumber, “Oh! Has it? Well I would still worry.” Why you DO NEED to worry about your bath overflowing? I know someone who has had a bad experience with a bath overflowing, but it wasn’t their bath…

  • Cleaning Mouldy Washing Machine Parts

    Cleaning Mouldy Washing Machine Parts

    Introduction Every two weeks I am reminded that I should be cleaning the washing machine filter and every four weeks I am reminded to attack any mouldy washing machine parts. Well today (Tuesday when the machine is not usually required) was the day for both. So you’re in for a full description.