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" Imagine this: You&amp;#039;re late for an appointment, and as you pull open the front door, the doorknob\u2014which has been loose for weeks\u2014falls off in your hand. Uh-oh. You examine. It looks simple enough to fix, just a matter of reattaching and tightening the knob. But with what tools exactly? And where&amp;#039;s the screw gone to? You&amp;#039;re not going anywhere. Actually, I don&amp;#039;t need to imagine, because this happened to me\u2014on the morning of a job interview. If I had known better, I would&amp;#039;ve grabbed my toolbox with a few different-size pliers and assorted screws, twisted a screwdriver and hex key (a.k.a. Allen wrench) a couple of times, and added a dab of hardware oil for good measure. Ten minutes, tops. Instead, three hours later, I paid a locksmith $140.  Why do you need to be handy? There&amp;#039;s one overarching rule of households: The longer you wait, the more expensive it is to fix. Always. That clogged drain you&amp;#039;ve been ignoring can burst your pipes; the always-running refrigerator can quit altogether. In the long run, DIY fixing can be the difference between having money in your savings account and spending all your cash.  In the next two pages, you&amp;#039;ll find the basic around-the-house repairs you can do on your own to prevent these scenarios, plus must-have tools and a few surprising extras to save you tons of time, stress and money.  1. The Constantly Running Refrigerator  How you know you have one: It&amp;#039;s chugging more than 10 minutes at a time, day and night.  What&amp;#039;s really happening: In a healthy fridge, the air is cooled by refrigerant, a chemical that surges through two pairs of coils: One absorbs heat inside your refrigerator; the other releases it outside your refrigerator. But your coils are so clogged with lint and dust, they can&amp;#039;t cool efficiently.  What to do: Unplug the refrigerator. Get down on your knees and look for a vent, which will be on the bottom of the unit (front or back). You may need to push the fridge away from the wall. (If you&amp;#039;re on a delicate floor, push it onto scrap wood boards.) Remove the filter cover in front of the coils. You&amp;#039;ll see grimy coils. Gently vacuum them using a vacuum extension brush. Also clean off the filter cover with your fingers, just as you&amp;#039;d clean your clothes dryer filter.   2. The Sticky Lock  How you know you have one: The key doesn&amp;#039;t slide in and turn smoothly.  What&amp;#039;s really happening: The lubricant that the manufacturer added years ago has long since dried up, so metal is grinding against metal, and your key is sticking. Your lock will eventually become inoperable and/or break the key.  What to do: Lubricate the lock. First, look at the brand stamped on the lock, call the company and ask what kind of lock oil they&amp;#039;d recommend (every manufacturer has its own preference for its metals). Or, if you have multiple household and car locks to lube, head to the hardware store and purchase Poxylube, a Teflon-based powder made to lubricate metals without harming them. Follow the instructions\u2014it comes in a little pressurized container, and you just squeeze it into the lock, insert your key, and turn it back and forth in the lock 20 times.  Tip! Never put graphite in a lock! Though the key will slide smoothly for a couple of weeks, graphite can damage some locks.    3. The Grimy, Lopsided Showerhead  How you know you have one: The showerhead is visibly caked with gray grime and/or the water flow is lopsided.  What&amp;#039;s really happening: Years of water, particularly hard water, leads mineral deposits to build up, which will eventually damage the showerhead.  What to do: Remove the showerhead by wrapping the top and bottom of the showerhead arm with masking tape, and holding a pipe wrench over both tapes. Hold the top wrench steady while loosening the bottom. On a flat surface, disassemble the showerhead (keeping parts in order); soak them in white vinegar for 15 minutes. This loosens the mineral deposits so you can brush them away with your fingers, a nail brush or toothbrush. Use a toothpick to unplug the holes. If you clean it every four months you can skip the vinegar and just use your fingers. (Watch this video to see how it&amp;#039;s done.)   4. The Jammed Window  How you know you have one: Opening or closing the window is such a struggle that you prefer to leave it permanently open or closed.  What&amp;#039;s really happening: Between the shifting structure of your house and years of paint jobs, the window corners are no longer at 90 degrees, and the window jams easily.  What to do: Lubricate the tracks on either side. For metal, use silicone spray; for wood, use candle wax (rub the end of a plain candle along them). If the window is stuck in place, hold a block of wood along the sash (the top edge of the lower window frame) and whack it lightly with a hammer. Also, examine the tracks: They may have warped, making the track slightly too narrow. Put the block of wood inside the tracks and gently whack outward. If the window still sticks because of layers of paint on the tracks, use a rag and paint thinner to remove.    5. The Sluggish Drain  How you know you have one: Water pools around the drain rather than going immediately down.  What&amp;#039;s really happening: Debris\u2014 sometimes inches, even feet of hair and soap\u2014has attached itself to the sides of your drainpipes 5 to 20 feet down the line.  What to do: Boil a kettle of water and pour it down the drain. Then seal any overflow drains (the holes on the side or back of the sink/tub that let out excess water if it gets too full) with rags or duct tape, and plunge for a full minute. Repeat three times.  Tip! Don&amp;#039;t use chemicals. They can get stuck in clogs, and spend weeks happily eating through your pipes. As for homemade solutions like baking soda and vinegar, they work on some clogs but won&amp;#039;t cut through hair, and baking soda can actually make clogs worse.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/home/crafts-projects/advice/a1382/5-easy-to-do-household-repairs-104671/>