(Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.)
If youve weatherstripped and still have drafty windows and doors, or maybe just havent gotten around to it yet, youll love our "Plan B." You can use socks sewn together and stuffed with uncooked rice to create clever "draft dodgers." Just grab some CLEAN socks and sew the open ends together with a large needle and some heavy-duty thread, leaving just a small hole open to pour a box of rice into the socks. Use a funnel so you dont make a big mess. Then finish sewing the socks together to seal the rice inside. This long, fat tube can then be placed at the base of your door or window to stop the draft from coming inside.
Disposer recovery
The holidays seem to create a DIY nightmare sometimes. The handy food disposer system that many of us have built into our sinks is a common victim of holiday abuse, but its easily remedied, in most cases. Here are a few things you can try before replacing it altogether. Always make sure the switch is turned OFF before attempting any work. Freeing it and having your hand inside it at the same time is not something you want to do.
Most units will have a small RESET switch somewhere on the unit itself, so take a look under your sink and see if by pressing it, you can reset it and test it again. If the blade is stuck on something and cant turn, the unit will shut off again. Again, make sure the switch is turned off and see if you can remove the bone, fork or whatever is jammed inside the unit from the sink side. You may have better access by removing the rubber sink guard. Dont use a tool to force anything out. If you can grab the object and pull it with some pliers, that would be OK, as long as you dont force it. If your disposer unit came equipped with a wrench to turn it with, you can use this. Most will fit up into the base under the sink to turn the impeller from below. Sometimes this will free it up. You can test it to see if this worked. If not, or if you cant turn it from below, you can try
doing it from the top side. Just stick a broom or mop handle down inside the unit and see if you can push the impeller with this leverage. Again, test it to see if it did the job.
Since the unit runs on the houses current, you also might check the outlet to make sure you have power there. When you do get it running again, drop some ice and a lemon wedge down it to make it smell good. Also, always run water down it when its turned on. If none of these worked for you, it might be time to replace the unit.
Super hints
*Dont leave gas in your lawn equipment over the winter season. It will go bad and cause problems for your engine if left inside while sitting in your garage or shed.
