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

How To: Hang Curtains Without Making Holes in the Wall

For anyone who lives in a space that may frown upon making holes in the walls, or for anyone who may not want to take on such a task, there's a simple alternative to hanging curtains or drapes. And the answer is brilliantly simple.

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: Save Your Tomatoes From Rats And Rot

Every summer my husband and I plant a tomato plant. We do this to enjoy the plump red tomatoes right off of the vine.

How To: Get Rid of Plant-Eating Pests Using 100% Natural Solutions from Your Home and Garden

Navigating through row after row of plants, my tiny fingers would reach into the leaves to pluck all the vile little creatures from their homes and deposit them into a can of gasoline. Potato bug duty, my least favorite gardening chore. Growing up, my family had a small garden every year. And every year, I was recruited to help plant, maintain, and eventually harvest the vegetables from it. There were some tasks I didn't mind, but the ones I hated most usually involved bugs (have you ever see...

How To: Apply TEFLON TAPE. The EASY WAY!

How to use Teflon tape for plumbing applications. I know it sounds simple but there are a few tricks to applying the Teflon tape. Teflon tape is also known as PTFE Tape.

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: Clean a 2 cycle engine carburetor from a Ryobi trimmer

If you own a Ryobi trimmer and wish to perform some regular maintenance work on it, you may want to check out this next video. In the tutorial, you find out how to clean a 2 cycle engine carburetor from the Ryobi trimmer using some simple pieces. It's not too difficult to do and can be really handy when you want to make sure your machine is working at optimal capability. So check out the video above, pay attention, be careful, and enjoy!

How To: Fix a GE oven that is not going over 100 degrees

If you're experiencing some problems with your GE oven, don't call a service person just yet. Sometimes the fix is so simple that when the homeowners realize it, it may already be too late and they'll need to fork over a ton of money.

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: 10 Reasons Why Your Freezer Is Perfect for Doing Laundry

Your freezer is no one-trick pony. While it does excel at keeping your food fresh for as long as possible, it has a few secret talents it doesn't want you to know about. Like making soda slushies and pyro-friendly smoke mix, as well as reviving dead hard drives. Even better—it can help you do laundry.

How To: Identify the switched live wire in a lighting circuit

Before undertaking any electrical project, it is imperative that you know precisely what it is you're doing and to keep in mind that electricity can kill. With that said, this electrical tutorial presents a guide to identifying the switched live wire on a lighting circuit and also explains how to rewire a ceiling rose. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on completing this home project, take a look.

How To: Install Laminate Flooring on Stairs

Installing Laminate Flooring on Stairs Laminate flooring can be installed on a flight of stairs, and this process can also be used when installing laminate on a floor and having to drop down a step to a sunken room.

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: Distinguish different types of bulbs

In this tutorial, Scott Atkinson shows us how to identify different types of bulbs. Common types of bulbs are: tulip, daffodil and lily. These are most easily identified but there are many that appear in flowers. A core looks similar to a bulb but it is a solid tissue and doesn't have an leaves, just a hard core with a protective covering. There is also tubers which are what potatoes and other foods grow from. These cause eyes to form and create different types of things to grow. You will now...

How To: Inflate a wheelbarrow tire

Wheelbarrow tires are a pain to inflate. They are tubeless, the rim hardly holds a seal, and they just fight with you every step of the way. This how-to video shows you how to use an adjustable strap to inflate a tubeless wheelbarrow tire.

How To: Work on your roof without falling off

In this roofing video Bob Schmidt shows you how to use the foam padding from a sofa cushion to say secure and not fall while doing roof repairs.

How To: Fold sweatpants

In this how to video, the Beverly Hills Organizer, Linda Koopersmith demonstrates how to fold a pair of sweatpants for neat and compact storage. The way you store your clothes makes a huge difference in the appearance and longevity of your garments. Watch this organizing tutorial and you will be properly folding and storing your sweats in no time.

How To: Use a rototiller to level a yard

Tim Carter of AsktheBuilder.com demonstrates easy ways to level a yard or dig a hole with a rototiller. Watch this video to learn how to do it too.

How To: Hate Ugly-Looking Power Strips? Make This Sleek DIY Power Outlet Box for Your Desktop

One of the biggest downsides to having so many gadgets is that you never seem to have enough outlets to power them all. Most of us have a power strip or two to solve this problem, but Instructables user dlewisa wanted something a little nicer looking, so he built this DIY desktop power outlet. For the housing, dlewisa put together a small wooden box using a nail gun and wood glue. He used a sander to round off the corners, then filled in the gaps with wood filler and painted it. You could als...

How To: Select the right disc for your angle grinder or cut-off tool

Angle grinders (or cut-off tools) are great for all sorts of major construction and repair projects. One of the reasons for this is that you can put all types of discs on them for different jobs. This video tell you all about the different types of discs and which ones you should use for different kinds of jobs.

How To: Patch a hole in a hollow core door

Ron Hazelton shows you how to fix a hole in a hollow core door in less than an hour. 1) Make a bevel around the hole.

How To: Plant and grow pumpkins

In this how to video, you will learn how to grow pumpkins. First, you must pick an area with plenty of sunshine to place your seeds in. Make sure there is enough room for vine and pumpkin growth, and that the area will not freeze. Build a mound of dirt about three fit in diameter with compost and soil. Next, plant two seeds per mound. Plant them in the middle about 8 inches apart. Cover the seeds with an inch of soil. Give them plenty of water once you have planted them. The pumpkin vines gro...

How To: Remove A Very Tight Lid

How to... Remove A Very Tight Lid? Use Items You Have Around The House! Step 1Want to remove a very tight lid? Do you have a weak grip or arthritic pain in your hands? Have you already tried tapping the lid with a spoon? Thumping the bottom of the jar with the palm of your hand, and it still won‘t come off? An easy, quick way to remove a very tight lid is to put on rubber gloves! Yes. Ordinary household rubber gloves. Hold the jar in one hand, then use the other hand to twist the lid off. Thi...

How To: Install a ceramic soap dish in your bathroom shower

This video shows us how to install a ceramic soap dish in our bathroom shower. In this demonstration the instructor already had a slot in the shower tiles for the soap dish to go. Attach a long strip of masking tape on the edge of the soap dish. Mix some grout and place this on the part of the soap dish you are attaching. Be generous with the amount so you know it will stay. Place the soap dish in the slots and use the tape that you attached to be extra security that your dish will not fall. ...

How To: Create a beautiful window treatment by styling a draping waterfall valance

It's easy to create eye-catching window treatments with draping waterfall valances. So easy, in fact, that this home decorating how-to can present a complete overview of the process in two and a half minutes. For all of the details, and to learn how to style a draping waterfall valance yourself, take a look!

How To: Grow Cold, Hardy Running Bamboo

Bamboo is easy to grow, but there are a few things you should know before starting. There are hundreds of species of bamboo and they can be roughly divided into either running or clumping bamboos. Almost all cold hardy bamboos are runners and almost all tropical bamboos are clumpers. Running bamboos send out root like rhizomes underground and can spread many feet each year. Clumping bamboos slowly expand and stay in a tight clump with canes close together. We grow dozens of cold hardy bamboo ...

How To: Reinforce a ceiling fan

In this tutorial, we learn how to reinforce a ceiling fan. If you are hanging a ceiling fan, you need to make sure the electrical box is reinforced and can carry the weight. The ceiling fan can weigh 20 lbs or more. First, remove the existing ceiling box and push the wiring through. Next, push the bracket through the hole until it's completely in. Next, twist the brace until it's tight. After this, put the bracket in and then take your electrical box and line it up to the bracket so you can s...

How To: Kill bed bugs with Diatomaceous Earth

Have a sneaking suspicion that bed bugs are sneaking around house? Unfortunately, bed bugs is a common problem amongst households and it's even more common to have trouble getting them to leave! In this video presented by Bed Bug Central, learn how to kill bed bugs by using Diatomaceous Earth - a naturally occurring, soft sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white powder.

How To: Replace the filter and lightbulb in a Neff cooker hood

Watch to learn how to replace the filter and lightbulb in a Neff cooker hood. You'll remove and replace a Neff cooker hood filter and a blown cooker hood bulb. Replacement bulbs and replacement filters are common cooker hood spares that need replacing. Banish cooking smells and give your hob light with this cooker hood maintenance video clip.

How To: Level your deck or beam in construction at a low cost

Use a transit, or not. Use a plain level, a string level, or a hose. Yes, a hose. Watch and find out how to level your wooden project.

How To: Soften the look of a stone walkway with creeping thyme

Stone walks can look a bit intimidating. But by planting small plants you can make a stone walk both welcoming and beautiful. You want to plant something that is hardy and still attractive. You shouldn't plant on a heavily traveled area, but this technique is perfect for a lightly traveled path. When planting in between stones, dig a small hole for the plant and place it gently between the stones. As with all plantings, you will want to immediately water after you put the plant into the soil....

How To: Install a glass vessel sink or countertop

This video tutorial shows you how to install a glass vessel sink or countertop. First you need to make sure that the glass vessel sink or countertop has all of the pieces needed and that none of the pieces are scratched or broken. You then need to place the mouthing ring on the countertop where the sink is going to go. Make sure that the rubber side is facing down. Then carefully set the sink on the mouthing ring. You must then take off the tail piece of the pop up drain. Take off the ridge a...

How To: Build a fire pit out of cinder blocks

In this how-to video, you will learn how to build a fire pit. This will be useful if you want to enhance your backyard. You will need the required fire pit tools such as 55 york blocks, 25 wall caps, two tubes of masonry adhesive, ten 50 pound bags of crushed rock, 6 50 pound bags of decorative rocks, and one metal fire ring. First determine the layout of the pit. Lay the blocks to the layout and adjust for a tight fit. Use a shovel to mark where the soil and grass will be removed. Remove the...

How To: 5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Bathroom Mirror from Fogging Up

Getting hot and steamy can be awesome, as illustrated in the 1997 smash hit Titanic. But having the bathroom mirrors fog up during a nice hot shower can be very annoying. Getting ready in the morning can already be rush, and having to wipe down your mirrors after your shower is time wasted. Since most people like to shave or clean up after a shower, the need for a clear mirror is prime.

How To: Separate two glasses that are stuck together

Learn how to separate two glasses that are stuck together with this Howcast video tutorial. You nested two glasses when you put them away – and now they’re stuck! Gently pry them apart with this system.

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: 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.