Caris Corner

Water runs into the toilet tank

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:34:18 +0000

Sometimes water runs into the toilet tank continuously. You’ll get tired of the hissing. This also wastes many gallons of water. Lift the tank lid. See if the bell-shaped rubber or plastic stopper covers the drain at the tank bottom, where water goes to the bowl. For stoppers suspended on a rod, lubricate the rod with petroleum jelly. Jiggle the handle and the bell should drop, covering the drain. Raise the rod and bell several times. Each time, it should fall easily back into place. For stoppers lifted by a chain, examine the connections. The chain may have slipped loose; rethread it. If the stopper ball or bell no longer is flexible, or has cracks in the rubber, replace it.

The tank may overfill with water. If so, the excess continues to run out the overflow pipe. Unscrew the float bulb. Shake it. If you hear water inside the float, buy a new one. If the float is empty but the tank still overfills, that indicates a sprung float arm. Correct it by bending the float downward so it pushes the arm and valve sooner as the water level rises. Continuous-running problem still not solved? As a last resort, adjust the screw on the fill-valve end of the float arm. Or replace the washer at the base of the plunger on the ball-cock valve. To get at this washer, remove the whole float arm. You can replace the whole ball-cock assembly. It’s not expensive and the job is not difficult. You probably don’t need a plumber yet.When a toilet doesn’t flush, it’s usually because someone has jerking the handle enough to unhook the rod or the wire chain ok from its slot on the flush-lever arm. Lift the tank cover. If you find the chain lying on the bottom of the rank, thread it back where it belongs on the arm. Pinch its hook ghter with the pliers so it can’t jerk free so easily in the future. Examine where the chain or rod connects to the stopper. Replace I torn or worn stopper. Some newer toilets have a plastic flush cylinder in place of the er stopper ball. This promises fewer repair problems, but don’t expect “forever” cures.

Kitchen cabinets

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:15:03 +0000

Kitchen cabinets hide a myriad of useful but often unsightly items. Think of the beauty your kitchen would lose with storage areas stripped to nothing but bare shelves. Sometimes, cabinets themselves become hazards and eyesores.
Mechanical problems pop up from time to time. Usually it’s a twisted hinge (caused by someone swinging on the door) or a sprung closure. Removed damaged hinges and take one of them with you to shop for replacements. Some are difficult to duplicate, especially the adjustable type. Find an experienced salesperson to help you decide on a suitable alternate, If screws won’t hold the new hinges Ni the wood, patch the holes with wood putty.
When doors have been damaged, or just won’t hang correctly, contact your mobile home dealer as your most likely source of replacements. With a new door in hand, center it over the cabinet frame and align it with the other doors. Let the indentations left by the old hardware guide you on where to place the new. Attach the hinges to the door and then to the cabinet.
P.S. A quick, easy way to redecorate your kitchen is to change all the cabinet hardware.

The garbage disposer

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:12:45 +0000

Use your garbage disposer correctly to keep it working well. Always flush with cold water, even when there’s grease. It enables you to flush the grease completely. Leave the water running 15—30 seconds after you turn the disposer off. Keep metal implements soft- drink tabs, wire bread fasteners, and tea-bag staples out of your disposer; they jam the motor. Chop large pieces of garbage down to size before putting them into the disposer. Do not overfill. Deodorize the drain every week or so with a lemon or two, or use a commercial deodorizer. Baking soda overnight helps too. When your disposer doesn’t run, turn it off. With metal ice tongs, if you have them, remove garbage from the hopper. Certainly make sure no one can turn on the disposer while your hand is in the hopper. With garbage out, turn on the switch and look under the sink for a reset button, usually in the bottom center of the disposal unit. Press it three or four times.
If the disposer still doesn’t start, turn off the main switch. Insert the wooden handle of a plunger, broom, or mop through the mouth of the disposer. Force the blades to move counterclockwise. One or two full turns backward usually dislodges whatever might be jamming the blades. Withdraw the plunger handle. Look in the hopper for the loosened bone or glop and extract it. Turn on the cold water, and then the disposer. Press the reset button again if necessary. If your disposer still doesn’t start, call a technician.

Porcelain appliances

admin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:47:03 +0000

Your porcelain appliances can look new for many years if you wash and wax them regularly. Do not use harsh abrasives or scouring pads; they scratch the finish. Soak hardened food with water for a while before you try to remove it. Clean with detergent and wax with a kitchen wax.
Use appliance touchup enamel to repair chipped porcelain. You’ll find it in most hardware stores or home centers, in all the popular appliance colors. First clean the damaged surface and let it dry thoroughly. Apply the paint. That should dry overnight.
As with other porcelain, do not clean a sink with harsh cleansers. A finish worn down by abrasives is not very resistant to stains. Use either a spray cleaner or a fine powdered cleanser. Foods such as mustard, fruit juices, and tea all stain porcelain. Rinse the sink with cold water immediately if they spill on it; that may avert the need for hard scouring.
Mustard, mayonnaise, catsup, and salt can pit stainless steel sinks. Flush spills off with cold water and wipe away any residue. Keep stainless steel sparkling: clean it as you would porcelain, and then wipe water droplets away with a sponge. Wring the sponge. Wipe the sink again and wring. Continue until you’re wiping the sink with a dry sponge. This takes less than a minute and clears away all watermarks.

Your dishwasher promises many leisure hours but often falls short. To get proper cleaning, use only dishwasher soap. Don’t use old soap, or soap that has gotten wet. Keep water temperature between 1400_i 60°. Verify that by running the hot water over a cooking thermometer. Rinse dishes before you load the machine, and then load it properly. To clear one source of damage, make sure no silverware falls through the rack to the bottom of the tub.
Remove the racks and clean foreign matter from the tub drain or filter screen weekly. Tighten the mounting screws then if they’re loose. Inspect the tub liner for damage. Liner repair or replacement demands a technician. Failure to correct the problem immediately lets the dishwasher walls rust through and damage kitchen cabinets and floors.
If your dishwasher doesn’t operate, try closing and locking the door again. Reset the control to Wash. Check the electric fuzebox - for a tripped circuit breaker. Overloaded circuits may cause breakers 3 trip. Shut off a few other appliances on the circuit. If the breaker opens again, call a repairman.
Dishwashers in mobile homes left vacant without heat in winter niay freeze. Call a technician before you go away and have the lines drained. One last dishwasher tip: In some mobile homes, the dishwasher rains into the garbage disposers. A full disposer makes the dishwasher overflow. Clear the garbage before and after each dish washing.

The refrigerator

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:37:53 +0000

Your refrigerator delivers a great deal of service. Yet it demands very little preventive maintenance. Possibly your main responsibility to it is defrosting. If you do that whenever frost accumulates to about ¼ inch, the whole procedure takes only 15 minutes or so. Clean the coils every 90 days. For coils underneath the refrigerator, remove the grille and use the crevice tool on your vacuum cleaner. Use the vacuum cleaner’s dusting brush in coils hung on the back of the refrigerator. Keeping the coils clean improves cooling efficiency and saves electric energy. If the interior bulb won’t light, change the bulb. Clean around the light switch in the door frame; sometimes it gets gummed up. No light arid no cooling: Turn the refrigerator control on. Examine the power cord and plug. Reset circuit breakers in the main circuit box.
When your refrigerator doesn’t cool enough, check the thermostat setting. If you open the refrigerator door often, set the control a bit colder. Too much food packed in a refrigerator hampers cooling. Throw away or use leftovers. Leave space around each item for circulation. The gasket seal around the door may be worn or damaged; if so, replace it. If none of these steps remedies the poor operation, call a technician. Your range, whether gas or electric, works better clean. Boiled- over and spilled foods left on burners and reflector pans not only give off smoke and odors but also waste gas or electric energy. But don’t use metal implements to clean gas burner ports. They can alter the ports enough to create a safety hazard. Use a round wooden toothpick instead. Never clean the porcelain on your range while it’s hot (next page). If you have a range hood, clean its filter weekly to prevent grease buildup. Major repair to your range or oven takes a qualified technician. However, you can change heating elements in some electric ranges. Lift the forward edge of the element and tug gently to unplug it. Don’t try to unplug elements with visible wires. If your local appliance center doesn’t have replacements, contact your dealer or the manufacturer. Seals around the oven become worn in time and also need replacing. The methods to adjust gas range and oven calibrations are too numerous for you to mess with. Phone for service when calibrations are necessary. If you happen to smell escaping gas, don’t look for the leak with a match. Open the windows immediately and call a repairman.
Oven manufacturers don’t agree on commercial oven cleaners. Many say it clogs ports, damages thermocouples, and causes shorts and arcing in the light bulb socket. If you use an aerosol oven cleaner, rinse the oven afterward with a solution of one cup vinegar to a gallon of water. If you doubt commercial cleaners, try this trick. The night before you plan to clean, set a cup of undiluted household ammonia in the oven. The next morning, remove the cup of ammonia and you can wash the oven with a mild soap-and-water solution.