Common Home Repairs You Should Prepare For

When you become a homeowner, common home repairs just come with the territory. From leaky faucets to clogged drains, to unruly garbage disposals, common home repairs are simply part and parcel of owning a home. And as much as you might like them to, they won’t go away if you ignore them. Never fear; with the right tools and a little how-to, you can make them go away on their own.

Common Home Repairs You Can Do Yourself

At Moving Squad, we know a lot about how important it is to have the right tools and the right skills. Luckily, for most common home repairs, you don’t need much of either. Here are a few common home repairs that you can tackle on your own.

Clogged Toilet Drains

Let’s face it, when you have a clogged toilet drain, waiting for a plumber can really stink. Why not clear the air by using a plunger?

Before going in, make sure there is enough water in the bowl to submerge the entire head of the plunger. If not, you may need to add some more.

Give it 8-10 good downward thrusts and that should do it. If it doesn’t, you might consider using a toilet auger. While more expensive than a plunger, a toilet auger is tougher on clogs. Run the toilet auger into the toilet until the end reaches the clog, and start turning the crank. If you get a good grip, your drain should unclog.

Tools:

  • Plunger
  • Toilet Auger

Clearing Garbage Disposals

Most of us will agree, nothing quite encapsulates the phrase, “Don’t go there,” quite like a broken garbage disposal. Yet, if you want to fix the problem, “going there” may be the way to do it.

The first thing you’ll want to do is shut off the power. This will make the job safer, and hopefully, a lot less scary. While some units are plugged into an outlet in your cabinet, others may be wired directly to your wall. Once the contraption is powerless against you (lol), use an Allen wrench to adjust the flywheel. Do this by placing the Allen wrench in the bottom center of the bottom of the unit.

Next, use a wooden dowel or pliers to reach into the top of the disposal, and try to dislodge anything clogging the unit. Once you’ve done this, reconnect the power and run water through the unit to make sure the disposal is running smoothly.

Tools:

  • Pliers
  • Allen wrench
  • Wooden Dowel

Fixing a Leaking Pipe

A leaky pipe may be a waste of water, but calling a plumber to fix them may be a waste of money. When leaking pipes occur under the kitchen or bathroom sink, which they typically do, they tend to involve either a worn-out washer or a broken compression nut. To ace this common home repair, turn off the water first. The shut-off valve may be as close as the sink, or as far away as the basement.

Once you’ve got the water off, put a bucket underneath the pipe and twist off the compression nuts (these will be the big white piece that can be unscrewed).  You may also want to take this opportunity to clean out your P-trap (this will be the disgustingly dirty curved pipe that you’ll find once you unscrew the compression nuts). Once you’ve replaced the washers, or the whole P-trap, if necessary, screw it back on and let the water flow.

Tools:

  • Bucket
  • Replacement P-trap or Washer

Common Home Repairs You Should Leave to the Pros

No matter how handy you are, there are some home repairs that you shouldn’t touch, even if you have the right tools. Here are some of the common home repairs that you can leave to the pros.

Gas Problem Repairs

This is a job that can really blow up in your face. Anything related to gas, including moving appliances that rely on it, should be not be handled by an amateur. Even if you manage to fix the problem, reconnecting the system incorrectly can lead to a hazardous carbon monoxide leak.

Window Replacement

If you’re familiar with the old expression, “I don’t do windows,” make it your mantra when it comes to common home repairs. Removing and replacing your windows incorrectly can send your energy bills through the, well, windows. When windows aren’t set properly, they’re not keeping the heat in as well in the winter, nor will they keep the house as cool in the summer.

Roofing Repairs

What could possibly go wrong with this? A DIY leaky roof repair is ineffectual at best, and deadly at its at worst. Using caulk to plug the leak, the short- term fix, usually doesn’t work, and the longer your leak goes unattended, the more damage it will cause. If that’s not a good enough reason to keep you on solid ground, just remember this thought: one out of three of all construction-related injuries result from workers falling off roofs, and those are the professionals.

Moving To A New Home

Maybe not a common home repair, but certainly something that’s better left to the pros, is moving to a new home. If you’ve done it before or tried to do it before, you know how hard it is; if you’ve never done it or tried to do it before, we’ll tell you a little about what you can expect.

Moving is stressful. There are boxes to buy, vehicles to be rented, packing and loading to do; the margin for error is unthinkable. At Moving Squad, we say, “Don’t think about it.” Just get in touch with us and we’ll come up with a customized plan based on your needs and budget.”

Whether you need help with packing, transportation, unpacking, or storage, our full-service movers will tailor a package according to your moving requirements. We offer a free rate quote so you can see where all your expenses are going before signing a contract. We’re upfront with our prices, so you can budget accurately.

For more information about our packing and storage services, click here.

As for the common home repairs, we may not be around for those, but we hope this little primer will help you to handle them. Request our free rate quote today, and until then, do it smart.

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