Home & Garden — How-To Videos, Articles, & Inspiration « Home & Garden

How To: Refill an extended reach camping Bic lighter

This video shows you how to take an extended reach Bic lighter (the kind you would use to light a camping stove, charcoal or something similar) and add more lighter fluid to extend it's life. As long as the spark is still good, you can refill your lighter, and this tutorial shows you how to take apart your extended reach lighter and replace the drained lighter. You will need a flathead screwdriver, and maybe a bit of glue to seal everything back up.

How To: 10 Ways to Whiten Clothes Without Using Any Bleach

Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months' time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before you reach for the bleach, the ultimate chemical cleaner, try some a few of these safer, less-toxic DIY solutions out instead.

How To: Remove and repair a Neff oven door

Watch to learn how to remove and repair a Neff oven door. You'll remove and replace parts on an oven door, as well as how to remove the oven door. This oven maintenance video demonstrates removal and replacement of the oven door outer glass, oven door inner glass, door hinges and door handle. Use a professional oven cleaner and ceramic scraper to remove burnt on stains from the oven inner door glass.

How To: Swap an old ceiling rose with a modern light fixture

Modernize your home with a new ceiling light fixture. That old, traditional ceiling rose with the decorative chandelier or light fitting might just not look right anymore, with all of your modern furniture and appliances. The best thing… replace it.

How To: Remove Almost Any Stain Using Alcohol

There are countless methods and cleaners aimed at eliminating stubborn stains from everything to clothing, carpet, and furniture. But completely removing every last trace of a stain doesn't require an arsenal of chemical cleaners and repeated cycles in the washing machine. Most stains can disappear in a matter of minutes with a dose of alcohol.

How To: Replace a Dryer's Thermal Fuse

The thermal fuse in your dryer is a safety device designed to prevent the dryer from overheating. The fuse is heat sensitive and when the dryer becomes too hot it will blow. If the fuse has blown then the dryer will either stop working or there will be no heat when the drum is turning. A blown thermal fuse is simple to replace. With a few tools, a do it yourself warrior can save valuable money from being wasted on a service call. Here is a detailed set of instructions on how to replace a ther...

How To: Use your broiler drawer on a GE oven

Have you ever tried cooking a meal and came across a recipe that asked to broil something and had no idea what it was? Well then, this video should make things clearer.

How To: Connect flexi-tails properly

In this video, we learn how to connect flexi-tails properly. First, take your flexi-tails and grab one with a female end that will screw onto the end of a male. After this, use an isolating valve to fit the compression onto the valves and then tighten it up. Screw the flexible tail onto the end of this. Be careful buying this off Ebay, because a lot of fittings will not screw onto a compression knot. It is very simple to make this, you just have to connect the two tails and make sure they are...

How To: Read a Tape Measure

If you don't work in construction or are a woodworking master, you probably aren't entirely sure what all those marks are on a tape measure. Sure, you likely know the basics, like there are 12 inches to a foot, but what are all those little tick marks for? Don't let all those little lines dissuade you from using a tape measure. Follow these guidelines to help you read all those little ruler marks.

How To: Avoid having stains on your clothes with your dryer

You may not realize it, but there are ways that stains can be avoided with the use of your dryer. Even though the washer does most of the grunt work in getting those nasty spots out, a dryer can help with the process as well.

HowTo: Remove a Stripped Screw With a Rubber Band

Apartment Therapy posts a simple household hack on removing a stripped screw without an extractor. For all our WonderHowTo Home & Garden DIYers, you never know when you might accidentally strip a screw clean. Here's how to remedy the problem.

How To: Make a Homemade Cat Repellent - Home Remedies for Repelling Cats

Are you searching for a homemade cat repellent solution? This article will cover natural indoor and outdoor deterrents for every scenario where cats are causing trouble. The first part will cover home remedies for training cats to stay away from furniture and other restricted areas inside your house. The second part will cover outdoor repellents for keeping cats away from your garden, plants and yard. Step 1: Indoor Repellents for Training Cats

How To: Install the last row without a pull bar

When you end your last row, there are occasions where you can't use a pull bar. The alternative to using a pull bar is to modify the groove side of the plank that's on the floor. Shave the groove and remove the debris, making sure that there's none in the track. Next, take a small bead of glue and run it down the groove side of your plank. Engage the next plank as close as you can get. Set the plank in place with the pull bar. Finally, tape the plank to its neighbor to secure it until the glu...

How To: Build and install a cheap dumbwaiter in your home

Home improvement expert Danny Lipford shows how to build and install a cheap dumbwaiter in your home in this video tutorial.

How To: Remove a Shark Bite Fitting Without a Special Tool - Adjustable Wrench Trick

Here's a fast easy way to remove and disconnect your Shark Bite quick connect fitting, without a special tool to do it. We'll show you a awesome little trick using an adjustable wrench. This will work an all different size Shark Bite fittings.

How To: Replace an Oven Thermal Fuse

If your oven will not heat, you will probably have to replace your oven thermal fuse. You can follow the steps in this video to help you do this easy repair.

How To: Use Dryer Sheets to Clean Soap Scum Off Shower Doors

How often do you fight with your shower doors? Maybe not literally (although my elbow has smacked the hard glass many times), but when it's time to clean the bathroom, getting a few weeks' worth of soap scum and grime off the shiny, clear surface becomes an insurmountable task. Whether you use a special cleaner and squeegee or a carefully selected wipe, chances are you still battle the streaks and grit left behind. Although it might not make sense to steal cleaning supplies from the laundry r...

How To: Replace a Rear Dryer Drum Felt Seal

If clothes have brown marks on them or heat escaping from rear of dryer drum, you will probably have to replace the rear dryer drum felt seal. You can follow the steps in this video to help you do this easy repair.

How To: Laundry Symbols Deciphered! Here's What the Care Labels on Your Clothes Really Say

Frankly, I never cared about the care labels on my clothing. They supposedly held some secret key to keeping clothes clean and bright, but who wants to look at little icons and a bunch of fine print for every single garment they wash?

How To: Tighten radiator valves

In this video you will learn how to tighten radiator valves using a spanner and water pump pliers. If you find that your radiator valves are leaking, follow these simple steps to remedy the situation: If you take a look at your lock shield valve, you may see signs that it has been leaking. Grip the valve with a pair of water pump pliers. This will prevent you from breaking the copper pipe. Tighten in a clockwise direction. Feel with your fingers to make sure there are no more leaks.

How To: Transplant Papaya Trees

Papaya trees are very vulnerable to transplantation shock. Seedlings tend to recover slowly and poorly after replanting in a new location under a sunny sky. Many internet articles advise that papaya trees should be transplanted without injury to their root systems. Keeping the root systems intact is next to impossible if the papaya seedlings are too close to each other. However, you would be surprised to learn how a papaya tree with serverely broken root systems can survive a transplantation ...

How To: Easily Replace a Damaged Laminate Floor Plank

Laminate floor planks look beautiful and add elegance to a home. However, if a plank gets damaged, it detracts from the beauty of the flooring. Do you call in a professional and pay tons of money to replace the plank? Thankfully, no. There actually is an easy way to replace a damaged laminate plank if you are ready to spend some time and have a little bit of patience.

How To: Cut the perfect inside corner with a miter saw

This video, from Superior Building Supplies, demonstrates the proper technique for cutting the inside corners of crown molding. The presenter suggests downloading several diagrams from the Superior Building Supplies website. These diagrams show the correct position of the miter for several different cuts. When using a miter saw think of the fence as the ceiling and the table as the wall. Cuts for inside corners will always be made using 45 degree angles on your miter saw. Using these techniqu...

How To: Create sunken or recessed ceiling panels

Want to turn an old ceiling into something new? Why not try a sunken or recessed ceiling look? Otherwise known as a coffered ceiling, create a more spacious feeling enviornment with this ceiling tutorial hosted by DIY home guru Ron Hazleton.

How To: Use PTFE tape (Teflon tape) on threads

PTFE, which stands for polytetrafluoroethylene, is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, most commonly known as Teflon. Teflon tape is a very thin, white tape used to wrap around the threaded ends of pipes to improve the watertightness of a joint. Though PTFE tape is fairly common thing to use, not many people know how to actually use it properly, or where to use it. A lot use it on compression joints, but you really don't need to unless it leaks. You would use it on a radiator va...

How To: Remove and change out a hose bib (threaded faucet)

If you want to replace a hose bib outside of your house make sure you take a look at this guide to learn what tools to use and how to prepare. For example, you will need to make sure you turn off the water in your home beforehand. So grab a crescent wrench and a set of pliers and install your new hose bib.

How To: Build an industrial size BBQ smoker from an old refrigerator

You can take an old, stainless steel refrigerator and turn it into a vertical smoker. Weld steel plates to make a fire box with a door and a removable ash tray, then reconstruct the frame to make yourself a new addition to your barbecue pit!

How To: Build a simple beam bridge

Stuck on one side of a river or ditch? If you are stranded with no other way to get to your destination you will need to build a bridge! Without many supplies, your best bet is a beam bridge which can be made with just a single piece of wood. This video will show you how to get from one place to another.

How To: Change the fan oven element on an AEG cooker

Is your AEG oven on the blink? Never fear: In this video, you'll learn how to replace a fan oven element in a typical AEG cooker. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions on the fan oven element replacement process, watch this home DIY tutorial.

How To: Repair an Old Wooden Chair

Unscrew chair and knock apart gently with a rubber mallet. To fix a broken stretch, use quick dry polyurethane glue, using plenty (better to have too much than too little)

How To: Clean Your Dirty Electric Stove Coils with Tinfoil

Learn how to clean the dirty electric coils on your kitchen stove with aluminum foil.

How To: Turn an Old Washing Machine Drum into an Awesome Outdoor Fire Pit

If you want to put a fire pit in your backyard, but don't want to spend a lot of time or money on it, this $10 DIY Upcycled Fire Pit designed by Sarah and Joe over on House & Fig is the perfect weekend project. It's simple, looks great, and shouldn't take much more than an hour to put together. You can pick up a washing machine drum from a used appliance store, and you'll also need a few pieces of steel for the legs and a can of high-heat paint.

How To: Keep a portable generator quiet by building an enclosure

Having a portable gas-operated or diesel-operated generator available for your home can be very helpful, but can also be very noisy. If you want to quiet a loud electric generator, take a look at this video to soften that sound on a budget. With a little wood and a few other materials, you can build a fan-cooled 'doghouse' to keep a generator quiet.

How To: Clean a Flag

We hang flags to proclaim our patriotic spirit. This is especially true for retired veterans or those who have loved ones serving in the military. Others hang flags representing the seasons, important events, favorite teams or just a cute and whimsical design as decoration. An American flag can be particularly tricky to wash. Red, white and blue all lying together in one inseparable panel can cause the blue or red dye to bleed onto the white. This is not just a problem with an American flag; ...

How To: Replace the washer in your shower faucet to stop a leak

Before you pull out your phone book (okay, pull up your laptop and start up Google) to find a number for a handyman, why not attempt to fix your broken shower faucet yourself? Yeah, we know it's kind of annoying to find your tool box and remove your entire shower faucet unit, but it's actually quite easy to fix a basic leak in your shower.

How To: Install a T-Mold Transition Between Laminate & Ceramic Tile

Installing a T Mold Transition Between Laminate and Ceramic Tile There are several different types of laminate transitions that you may need when installing laminate flooring. Each one is used specifically for where the laminate flooring ends, such as where the laminate stops at ceramic tile. Other transitions are used where the laminate ends at carpet, vinyl flooring, a threshold or a step down such as a sunken living room or stairs.

How To: Fit door handles to a door properly

This is a video tutorial in the Home & Garden category where you are going to learn how to fit door handles to a door properly. The first thing to do is to insert the spindle in the door and check if it is of correct length. Quite often it might be longer. So, cut it to the correct size with a hacksaw. Next fit the handle over the spindle and make sure it is straight. Take measurements to ensure this. Holding the handle in place with one hand, drill holes with an electric drill and insert the...