Hot Home & Garden How-Tos
How To: Use green techniques to get rid of ants
If you don't want to use toxic or environmentally unfriendly ant poisons and bug sprays to control your ant problem, you can make a greener bug repellent using household items and natural ingredients. Salt, chalk, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, white vinegar, oranges and petroleum jelly can all be used to keep ants out of your house, yard, garden or picnic.
How To: Build an awesome hummingbird feeder with items from around the house
Having Hummingbirds in your garden and yard is always a fantastic thing, but paying for those already made feeders are a hassle. With this video you'll learn how to create your very own feeder with items found all over the house and for much cheaper than buying one from the store!
How To: Clean the exhaust duct on a clothes dryer
You never would have guessed, but you actually should clean your exhaust duct on your clothes dryer. Bet you didn't even know it existed! This video will show you the various steps you'll need to take to thoroughly clean and maintain your clothes dryer and its exhaust duct.
How To: Clean hard water deposits in your kitchen or bathroom using home remedies
Hard water deposits suck, but have no fear, this video is here! This video is filled with some great home remedies, mostly involving white vinegar and lemons as a main ingredient. Clean off the sink, the dish washer, toilet and more!
How To: Accurately measure your windows for curtains and drapes
Before taking on any big interior design project, you always want to make sure you have the right information. Especially with purchasing new drapes and curtains. This video will show you an easy way to obtain the correct measurements for different styles of curtains and drapes.
How To: Grow climbing roses in your garden
If you want to add a fresh touch of elegance and beauty to your home garden, consider planting a few climbing roses along your yard walls or fences. Learn the proper techniques for training, pruning and supporting your climbing rosebush.
How To: Improve your door's deadbolt lock
Deadbolts are a security lock which are usually put on exterior doors. Many saftey experts recommend increasing the strength of your home deadbolt lock. This quick tutorial teaches you how to make your deadbolt extra secure and increase the safety of your house.
How To: Turn newspaper into starter pots for seedlings
Green gardening is using things you find around the house for your planting. Recycle your old newspaper to create small seed pots that will biodegrade in the surrounding soil after you transplant them. This is an easy technique for starting your plants from seeds.
How To: Make dried flowers
Drying a bouquet of flowers is an inexpensive way to give an elegant gift from nature or to make your home more beautiful. You can pick the flowers in spring and then press the blooms in a journal, or save the leaves and petals in a potpourri jar.
How To: Make your home's exterior more attractive
Trying to sell your house? Increasing its 'curb appeal' is critical to making a good first impression on potential buyers. Update your home's exterior, give your front yard, lawn or garden a facelift and clean the sidewalks.
How To: Preserve absorbency in cotton towels
Tired of your bathroom towels turning threadbare? Here's a helpful household hint: use diluted vinegar when you do laundry instead of fabric softener! This tip will keep your cotton towels absorbent and extend the life of the fabric.
How To: Add a drainage hole to your gardening pot
Is your favorite garden pot or planter just not draining water properly? This gardening tip shows you how to add an extra drainage hole to your container with a drill and nail. Now your plants and flowers will really thrive!
How To: Grow yucca and get them to bloom at any time
Yucca blossoms are quite beautiful, but it's tough figuring out which seasons you can get them to bloom, and also having to raise them in those right seasons. But if you want it to bloom all year round, watch this video to get the hidden trick to making your Yucca bloom!
How To: Use a voltage multimeter to check for faulty circuit breakers
Checking your circuit breaker is so easy, a cave man could do it! (I smell a lawsuit) With this easy to follow video, you'll learn how to check the voltage with a multimeter to determine if there is a problem regarding your circuit breaker.
How To: Use an adjustable hip square to frame a residential hip roof
If you're not a carpenter, you may be completely overwhelmed by the information in this video. They have a tough job. Just like electricians, there's a lot of math involved in carpentry, and one of the calculations laborers struggle with is constructing a hip roof. If you're not sure what a hip roof is, you should just stop right here… don't go any further…
How To: Prevent burglars from breaking into your house through the garage door
If your home has a garage with a fairly standard garage door opener, that garage door is probably the easiest way for a burglar to gain entrance to your house. If you want to secure your home against such breakins, watch this video. It offers tips for securing your garage door so that thieves cannot gain access to your property and your family.
How To: Make gardening tomato stakes out of cedar or redwood fence boards
Keeping your garden tomatoes free from pests and insects is no easy task. Luckily you don't have to spend a lot of money to help your tomatoes grow to be their best. Staking your tomatoes will lift them off the ground, away from pesky insects, and protecting them from pests. In this video you'll learn how to make your own garden tomato stakes with cedar or redwood fence boards, which will save you a lot of money in the long run!
How To: Mend Wall Holes Bigger Than Nails
Do you know how wonderful toothpaste is? Here's the scoop. If you've hung pictures or other thing on the wall that required a molly or anchor bolt, and you have to move them and you have holes exposed in your wall. Well "FEAR NOT", toothpaste to the rescue. You will need household items like - toilet paper, or paper towel, or paper napkin, or Kleenex tissue, a utility knife, hammer putty knife, sponge, primer/sealer, paint of your choice and of course the toothpaste.
How To: Change a shower head and install a hand shower system
If you've been thinking about replacing your old shower head with a new model, or maybe even adding a hand shower, you'll be glad to know it's a pretty simple process. To replace the shower head, you don't even have to shut off the water supply. You just twist off the old one, replace the thread tape and twist on the new one. The hand shower system is a little more complicated, but Lowe's and Delta show you how.
How To: Install a new Delta single handle bathroom faucet and pop-up
Once you've removed your old faucet, it's time to install the new one. Many single handle faucets allow you to install them as either a single-hole mount or as a three-hole mount using an escutcheon plate, which fits into the two outside holes. This video from Lowe's and Delta shows you how to install the faucet with the three-hole mount. You'll need a channel lock pliers, adjustable wrench, thread seal tape, silicone caulk and a wrench.
How To: Install a new single handle Delta kitchen faucet with Diamond Seal Technology
These days, faucets are incredibly easy to install (removing old faucets is the hard part). And if you have a Delta brand single handle kitchen faucet with DIAMOND seal technology, this video will show you the steps to installing it. This is also very similar to other brands of single-handle faucets. This video from Lowe's and Delta will help you with your installation. You'll need a screwdriver, adjustable wrench and allen wrench.
How To: Completely remove an old bathroom or kitchen faucet and pop-up
The hardest thing about putting in a new bathroom or kitchen faucet is getting the old one out. For the most part that's true, only because today's faucets are so easy to install! Before you remove that old faucet, make sure you clean out the bottom area to prevent any unnecessary water damage. You'll need a paint tray, adjustable wrench, channel lock pliers, penetrating oil, putty knife, damp cloth and some old towels. This video from Lowe's is by Delta.
How To: Clean and replace an aerator on a faucet or filer screen on a shower head
The aerator on your faucet serves a very important function: by adding air bubbles, it helps to fuse the water and give it a softer feel. It also helps reduce the amount of water you use. So if you're faucet's water stream is acting funny (like a drop in pressure), it might be time to either clean or replace your aerator. If you're having trouble with your shower head, too, a little vinegar might do the trick.
How To: Flush the lines on a Delta kitchen faucet to stop unwanted noises
One of the main causes of noise in a kitchen faucet (when turned on or off) is from obstructed lines. And the only way to stop the noise is by flushing them. Lowe's brings you this video from Delta on just that: flushing your Delta kitchen faucet to silence the noise. You'll need a cloth, towel, 1/8" allen wrench, adjustable wrench, bucket or mixing bowl, white vinegar, channel lock pliers, screwdriver and an extra set of hands.
How To: Flush the lines on a Delta bathroom faucet to stop unwanted noises
If you're faucet is making noise, it might be time to repair it. Does it make the noise when you turn it on and off? The answer could be as simple as flushing the lines. Lowe's provides this video on flushing the lines of your Delta bathroom faucet to silence the noise. You'll need a cloth, towel, 1/8" allen wrench, adjustable wrench, bucket or mixing bowl, white vinegar and an extra set of hands.
How To: Repurpose ordinary rubber bands in extraordinary ways
Rubber bands are an ordinary, everyday, common household item, right? Their hidden in your desk, wrapped around your bills, holding your pencils together at the office, but what else can you do with rubber bands? What are some extraordinary uses? Woman's Day Magazine tells you how you can repurpose those rubber bands!
How To: Prune rose bushes with bypass pruners
If you're looking for tips on how to prune roses bushes, there's no one better than rose expert Muriel Humenick to show you how it's done. First, she shows you the proper pruning tools you'll need for the rose garden, and the main tools are bypass pruners, but there are others, like loppers, goatskin gloves and an elbow and arm cover. Now that you know the pruning tools, watch and learn the rose pruning process
How To: Create a lovely indoor floral basket bouquet
This is a great way to liven up your home! A basket bouquet can bring any room to life. To get started, you'll need a basket of your choice, liner, some moss and an assortment of plants. Get some simple advice for choosing your basket and how to get the right plants to compliment your basket.
How To: Create makeshift laundry detergent from a bar of soap and boiling water
If you need to save your money for bills, then this laundry tip will help keep the costs of laundry to a minimum. It's a really simple and cheap tip if you happen to be out of laundry detergent during a load. Simply grab a bar of soap and cut a third of it off. Then place it in a pot of boiling water and let dissolve for about ten minutes. When it's done, transfer it to a large bowl and stir for about thirty seconds. Then it's ready! Makeshift laundry detergent!
How To: Make a simple garden fountain with flower pots and cobble stones
Forget about buying a garden fountain. You can make a DIY one for your garden. You can even make a small on for a tabletop! You just need to get the right pump for the job. The base of you fountain just needs to be big enough to completely submerge the pump under water. Watch to learn the rest, which involves flower pots and cobble stones.
How To: Decorate a picture frame using decoupage
Not sure what decoupage is? Then watch this video to find out! It will show you how to turn an ordinary, drab wooden picture frame into a decorative wood picture frame using decoupage (gluing different kinds of paper onto unfinished wood).
How To: Decorate your walls, furniture… your car with vinyl stickers
Over at Kitcsh-Nitsch, they have awesome artistic stickers you can use to decorate your home's walls, your grungy furniture or your soon-to-be hip car. You can do this with pretty much all vinyl stickers, so watch and learn… the same rules apply. Let your creativity drive you, and let this be inspiration!
How To: Build an adirondack chair
If your yard is lacking any kind of furniture, adding chairs to the landscape can be a great way to fill any void. Buying one can be easy, but making it yourself can be a great way to use some of your tools and be a fun project to tackle.
How To: Install a power shower in your bathroom
If you want to bring a spa like atmosphere to your bathroom, the shower is the best place to start. There are so many ways that you can do this and one way is by installing a power shower in your bathroom. There are many different kinds that you can choose, depending on your style and what you can fit.
How To: Remove a stuck drill chuck
If you have a stuck keyless drill chuck and need help on to repair it, check out this next video tutorial. In it you'll find out what tools you'll need for taking out the drill chuck. It can be a difficult job if you lack the right tools and are not careful. So check out the video tutorial above and good luck!
How To: Install a fan in your home to save money
If you're looking for a way to save some money, the best area to start may be your own bedroom. A ceiling fan is a great and smart chouce for helping save energy and money. It's not too difficult to put together and can be a great addition to your home.
How To: Stop Bed Bugs from Entering Your Suitcase
To prevent bed bugs from entering your suitcase, you will need to pre-treat it, with diatomaceous earth. Bed bugs often hitchhike home with you when you stay overnight in hotels or on long trips. They will normally stow away in your suitcase. To prevent that from happening, dust your suitcase with a diatomaceous earth (DE) compound. For this, you will need a paintbrush, diatomaceous earth, and a large plastic bag. Sprinkle a little onto your suitcase, and use a dry paintbrush to spread the di...
How To: Use Phantom Insecticide to kill bed bugs
In this Home & Garden video tutorial you will learn about Phantom Insecticide for bed bug control. You cannot buy this pesticide over the counter. You will need a license to purchase this. It is very effective in bed bug control. While evaluating a pest control company, check out whether they use this pesticide. It can take seven to fourteen days to kill a bug after it is exposed to this pesticide. So, if you are bitten by a bed bug after applying the pesticide, don't think that it is not wor...
How To: Kill bed bugs with a PackTite unit
A Pack Tite Unit is used to treat items that may be infested with bed bugs. It can be used to treat suitcases and other items that can't be easily washed in hot water. Be careful not to allow any items to touch the heating unit. Place your item in the center of the rack. Place the metal safety rack on top of your item. There are also side racks available. Zip it closed. Make sure it is zipped as far as it will go. This will kill bed bugs and eggs, because it will heat items up to 140 degrees....
How to Kill bed bugs: Climbup™ Insect Interceptor
The Climbup Insect Interceptor is a new monitor for the use of detecting bed bugs. This is a new monitor. It's a passive monitor. You can place the monitors underneath one of the legs of a sofa or bed or other suspicious piece of furniture. This will not rid your home of bed bugs. This is a way of letting you know where the infestation is or isn't. It is a monitor, but it does not control them. Once the bugs fall into the trap, they can't get out. You will need to properly dispose of them, af...