Questions tagged [maintenance]
Preventing things from becoming damaged, broken or unusable.
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Best way to de-scale my home (gas) water heater?
I recently did the recommended yearly draining of our home (gas) water heater. I opened the pressure relief valve to bleed air into the tank so that it could drain. After putting everything back, I ...
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How can I clean my black glass cooktop surface?
I missed a step when I got my new Cafe range; the manual says...
BEFORE USING THE APPLIANCE...
Use ceramic cooktop cleaner and a non-scratch cleaning pad to clean
the cooktop. Wait until the cooktop ...
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What are the regrading maintenance materials & technique for around home's perimeter? [closed]
Last year I moved into a new home, and I think I need to do some regrading work around the front and side of the home to bring the grading back to an acceptable standard. It appears to me like over ...
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New apartment: this weird matte bathroom flooring stains constantly. What do I do? Should I cover it up or wipe it down with something specific? [closed]
enter image description here
Dark matte bathroom flooring (not sure if it is tile or what).
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How to clean and maintain composite sinks?
Our kitchen was fitted less than one month ago. Everything runs very smoothly and is still very shiny, but our composite sink is staining very quickly. I have read that they should be very simple to ...
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How to bleed central heating in a bungalow with pipework going into the loft?
I am planning to change the radiator in the bathroom for a heated towel rail, but before I do, I want to be sure of the air bleeding procedure as I am only used to central heating in 2 storey homes.
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Ideas for humanely removing rodents from entering home under this fireplace bumpout in garage
I have a fireplace bumpout into my garage. It sits 5-6 inches above the floor. Mice have chewed a hole through the foamboard at the foundation & gotten inside my walls (& wherever they want!). ...
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How to tell when/if brick foundation needs to be repointed?
My house's foundation is circa-1900 brick with lime mortar over a fieldstone base.
Should I consider repointing the brick a periodic maintenance task -- and if so, how can I tell when it should be ...
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Viessmann Vitodens water temperature and pressure are inconsistent [closed]
We have a five year old Viessman Vitodens 100-W. We have noticed that this year the temperature of the hot water is not behaving as it consistently did before. There is an issue especially with the ...
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Sound from gas fired heater, sounds like rotary equipment
Video
I am not very familiar with the system, it's my mom's and my dad used to clean it out and test it every year. The noise doesn't bother us too much in the house, but I am more concerned with a ...
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Washer/Dryer Maintenance Services?
I do regular use maintenance of my washer (cleaning door gasket and liner, detergent drawer) and dryer (making sure lint filter is cleaned after every drying session). However, I see that there's lots ...
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Thermador Pro Harmony PRG305WH/04 oven not heating properly
I have a Thermador Pro Harmony range (PRG305WH/04) that's just about one year old. The oven takes an extraordinarily long time to preheat and exhibits some other odd behavior as well. The worst of the ...
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How do I fix this dripping Delta/peerless 1-handle bathroom faucet?
We have a pair of the delta/peerless one-handle type faucets in a bathroom. They're the ones where you remove the handle after loosening the hex-key worm screw, then the metal bonnet unscrews (flats, ...
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Does our home heating boiler need to be inspected/serviced?
We have hot water heating (that is the boiler heats water and pumps it to different parts of the house) and the unit is about 12 years old. It is a Utica gas boiler. As far as I can tell, it is ...
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Do I really need to flush my hot water heater?
I've seen a few posts on the internet that say that water heaters should be flushed every year and "I bet you never knew you should be doing this!" After searching around most of the ...
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How to protect fixed cupboards from termites
I have a cupboard which is made of plywood and it's permanently fixed with the room wall and floor.
My neighbour has expressed that his cupboard got affected with Termites so I just want to be taking ...
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What is the correct way to clean/maintain sink bathroom drain?
Some research says boiling water, other research and people I know warn against boiling water (too hot, bad for pipes or the glue or something). I am of the opinion to avoid boiling water. I also ...
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Diagnosing food particles in dishwasher spray arm
I have an AEG F55310VIO dishwasher (manual). I noticed that the top rack wasn't cleaning well, and started doing some investigation. I was surprised to see that several of the spray arms ports were ...
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How do I fix a sink that became slow to drain after pouring polyurethane down it?
Situation and problem
My buddy has a woodworking shop which he graciously allowed me to use for a woodworking project. I am a total novice in these kinds of areas, which will be doubly clear in a ...
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Bandsaw tyre jumps off
I have a small 250W table-top bandsaw.
I was doing quite a long cut the other day, and after a a while there was a sudden noise, and the tyre on the upper pulley jumped off.
I put it back on again, ...
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Rust on outdoor ac fan motor? Tech recommends replacement?
I had my annual ac inspection. House has two units and one runs about twice as long each day as the other because it cools much more of the house, and had its capacitor fail two years ago.
Tech ...
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How do I fix this countertop with a permanent solution?
I've never worked with countertops before. I want to provide a permanent fix to this problem. Any suggestions?
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How to clean (and maintain) oxidation off powder coated steel
I just bought a used powder-coated steel rack that has some signs of wear and oxidation. I was wondering how best to clean/restore it, without damaging the coating. Is using water/vinegar potentially ...
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How important is it to completely flush a water heater?
Doing my 2nd annual water heater maintenance with the objective to flush out the entire electric tank. I expected a gradual reduction of sediment from the start to the end (completely empty tank).
...
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Preparing for steam boiler maintenance
I've just moved into a new house with radiator heat/steam boiler, and there seem to be a few issues (loud banging noises on startup, one radiator leaking). I have a maintenance person coming out next ...
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Getting rid of ants in exterior wall
While doing maintenance on an exterior wall near an inside corner, I pulled off rotted cedar shingles and the backing underneath to find scurrying black ants. They were small, not like I imagine ...
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Help me identify: Mold or fungus or Moss?
I live in a rental house and I see this growing on roof.
What is it: is it moss mold or some fungus/algae?
Should i be worried for my health?
The clear line where it grows is likely because it has ...
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Can I drill access holes so that I can change a front load washer door seal without unstacking dryer
I have a GE front-load washer (wcvh6800j1ww) with a dryer mounted on top. I need to change the door seal, and the default instructions (linked below) involve removing the top and control panel in ...
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Shocked O3 pool system with calcium hypochlorte, but free chlorine at 0. Is this expected? Cause for concern?
My understanding is that swimming pool water should be kept at around 1-3ppm free chlorine level. However 1.5 days after shocking small 2000 gallon pool with 2 pounds of 56% calcium hypochlorite (good ...
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What should I use to cover shower framing behind tile in a bathroom?
I have this repair I have to do at work. I have an idea on what to do but I am not entire sure. My thoughts are to start with installing a wood board than drywall mud and than tile. Of course there ...
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How to properly refinish & maintain exterior siding behind circuit panel
I have a cabin in a four season climate.
The exterior siding is western bevel cedar (horizontal, overlapping boards).
The circuit panel is located on the exterior of the house, mounted against the ...
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Snow blower : 0w30 or 5w30 [closed]
My snow blower manual recommends 0w30 oil but every store recommends 5w30.
Which would be better for the longevity of my snow blower and why?
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Lennox gas furnace maintenance
I bought brand new Lennox HE natural gas furnace 3 years back. It has been running perfectly. My dealer recommends to do a preventive maintenance because of 3 years time span. I regularly change the ...
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Filling the gap between deck boards
We have two gumtrees over a largish deck - 10 x 4 m with 120mm Merbau. I had 80mm before it was redone. The gumnuts and sticks and leaves are a total pain! The trees are nice but all year they make a ...
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Filling a Viessmann Vitodens 100W that has dropped to minimum pressure
I have a Viessmann Vitodens 100-W that heats my house, and I presume delivers hot water too.
I must confess I have been negligent, and never had it serviced. The unit is 8 years old. I will get it ...
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Cleaning electric heaters
I own a home heated with the wall mounted wall heaters that need to be cleaned every year. The way it's recommended to clean them is just simply remove the cover and vacuum out to the insides, if not ...
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What is the best way to ensure new air conditioning units stay level?
We live in Northern Illinois (-20F in Winter + 1-2 ft snow to 100F summer) and have two a/c units which are now 30 years old and it is time to replace them.
They are located on the north side of our ...
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Why does an air-conditioner need maintenance and a fridge does not?
Does anyone know why an air-conditioner needs regular maintenance while a fridge doesn't?
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stats on *total* cost of high-efficiency boiler?
Not trying to start a subjective debate here, just looking for some objective statistics.
I get that high-efficiency boilers are much more efficient, and will save big bucks over their lifetime in ...
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Caulking wood panels at bottom of bay window configuration
A contractor doing some other work around the house noticed a small section of wood on the panel of the bay window in this picture was starting to soften. He recommended caulking the bottom to keep ...
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Fastening stone stair treads to a CMU base in a removable manner
I'm designing a very, very low set of landscape stairs (really more like a wide stoop) to transition two areas of my yard. My plan is to pour a concrete base slab, build a core with CMUs on top of ...
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HVAC Preventative Maintenance
Is it necessary to add bleach or vinegar monthly to HVAC line when system is not in use, mainly when air conditioning and heat are not necessary.
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Clean or replace aerators in Kohler 1261404-VS spray head?
I have a Kohler pull-down kitchen faucet with a Kohler 1261404-VS spray head. Recently the water stopped flowing as strongly through it. We had a similar issue with some bathroom faucets, and ...
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Tell if hardwood floor is oiled or laquered
From what I understand on the internet, there are two main types of finishing for hardwood floor, oiling and lacquering / painting, and the two kinds require different maintenance.
I have a bedroom ...
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Where is the lint filter?
For months now, my washer/dryer combo has become less and less effective at actually drying anything I put in it.
I've gotten the advice from some friends to check (regularly) and clean the lint ...
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is this due to termites? any idea what's causing the wood to turn to sawdust?
Pics below.
I had this gouge on some wood paneling. The area inside the gouge seemed to be crumbling, and there was always a pool of sawdust below it. I covered it up with some caulk (brown caulk). ...
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How to further disassemble cordless drill/driver chuck?
I've completely disassembled cordless drill/driver Black&Decker EGBL188 H1 10mm, except this chuck, as seen in the pictures.
I've tried pulling out the plastic piece: I've put the chuck facing up ...
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What kind of nut is this
what is the name of this nut, I need to find a way to loosen it .
From the top
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Do I really need to replace the anode rod?
Whenever I look online for information relating to anode rods in a water heater, they most often say they should be replaced regularly (4-5 years). However, every single plumber I have talked to has ...
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Why is my tablesaw whining?
I have a Craftsman 113.298031 tablesaw. Recently it has started making a whining sound and the blade is easily bogged down. Previously the blade bogged down without the noise and I had to tighten ...
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