(Part 2) Best products from r/homeowners

Draino has never once worked for me.

Your plumber is somewhat correct that the blockage is not necessarily in the sink, but somewhere past where the sink and tub drains connect.

I highly recommend thrift drain cleaner, this stuff is seriously awesome and definitely worth a $20 gamble to see if it takes care of your problem before paying the plumber.

I use about 1/4 or 1/3 of the 2lb bottle. Shake it down the drain as well as you can, then follow it up with about a quart of boiling hot water. Not just hot tap water, boiling. After it's done its job run the hot tap for a minute or so to make sure it's all rinsed down.

Don't buy a Swiffer, they're shit. Get this instead, and use it to mop with this no-rinse solution.

You'll just have to trust me, I've tried everything because we have crawling babies, and the above combo is by far the best. Also, don't use Bona products unless you're going to buff it every couple of days. If you don't, you'll just end up with a pasty, cloudy mess, especially on dark floors. Then you'll have to strip it down; no bueno.

If you can afford it, a robotic vacuum also helps a great deal. I prefer the Neato over the Roomba, because it's an actual vacuum. As such, it is significantly louder, but does a much better job, particularly with pet hair.

For spot cleaning before a friend pops in, you can't beat a cordless vac. They're actually a blast to use and you can sprint around the house with them when needed. If guests are dropping in last minute, my wife will run with that cordless and I'll chase her with the mop. Pristine house in under 5 minutes! Lol

Get low voltage old work brackets like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-Gang-Non-Metallic-Low-Voltage-Old-Work-Bracket-SC100RR/100160916

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Trace a rectangle on the wall and cut out with a drywall saw. Pretty easy to keep within the trim on the bracket, but the wall plate will cover more as well. From there, it's up to you. You could get a normal wall blank and drill a hole in it to run a wire through. You could get something like these that allow an assortment of wires to come through:

https://www.amazon.com/Wi4You-WI1007WH-2-Bristle-Voltage-Through/dp/B07F3TFMZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523692&sr=8-2&keywords=decora+insert+low+voltage+wires

Or you could do it proper and get an ethernet wall plate like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Port-Ethernet-Wall-Plate-ESYLink/dp/B072J2RS43/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523753&sr=8-4&keywords=ethernet+wall+plate

Or decora style like this:

https://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-Decorative-Gang-Port-Plate/dp/B00ODFR6CS/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1541523792&sr=8-20&keywords=ethernet+wall+plate+decora

For just a single outlet they're a bit overpriced. But if you have multiple you can get something called a keystone plate and it allows you to put any assortment of low voltage connections in.

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I actually did speak with our town water department, allegedly new wells should be going online in about 6 months, but in the meantime, it is just painful to deal with the smell. I was wondering if it would be possible to take a filter like this (hhttps://www.amazon.com/Culligan-HF-360A-Standard-Housing-Filtration/dp/B000BQUPZ8) ,
but instead of the carbon filter, put in some slow release chlorine tablets like these https://www.amazon.com/CLOROX-Pool-Spa-22005CLXW-Chlorinating/dp/B00PZZFBUO/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Chlorine+Tablets&qid=1551383674&s=gateway&sr=8-3) so that I am not massively shocking my water to the point where it is dangerous to drink.

I already have one of the filters mentioned before fitted with a carbon filter, but could easily put in another one either before or after the existing one. All of my piping in that part of the house is PEX, and I have all the tools to work with PEX, so another filter would be easy to install, and available at the local hardware store for about $50. I figure I could put in a total of about $100 if all I need is chlorine tablets and a filter housing, along with some chlorine test strips to make sure I am not over-chlorinating.

Any idea if my idea would work, or are the tablets too imprecise to be safe for drinking water?

Yeah, it totally makes sense to me now, especially now that I'm looking at your photos more closely. I had the same experience, 100%. My opinion is that if the missing color on the backs is not repaired before installation, you will always see it. How could you not?

Your installers are saying "that's how it is" because they're not being careful enough.

If you have any extra pieces of tile, you can try cutting new pieces yourself to see how it goes. Score the tile from the front using a glass tile cutter like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075W8WZYY


Then place a thin piece of wire on a flat surface and place the tile on top of that, front side up. Make sure that the wire and the scored line are in alignment. Then press down on the tile and it should easily snap along that line.

I had a lot of extra tiles so I did it many many times, probably successful 25% of the time.

If that doesn't work, see if there's a place who can cut the tile for you with a water jet. I had good luck with that for the pieces that I couldn't snap.

I moved into a home over a hundred years old. I started prepping the walls halfway thru the after realizing all the bumps and cracks didnt even out with just a coat of paint. I spent probably 3x the time prepping as I did painting. The difference is night and day, the walls that were prepped look like fresh drywall even though they are plaster and old AF. The non-prepped ones looked well worn.

My process was: A large flat blade like this: https://www.amazon.com/Warner-790-4-Inch-Scraper-12-Inch/dp/B000DZGIXU run over every square inch of the walls, this gets all of the little dust pieces aint paint globs to even out, and if needed, I use a 1" razor scraper for the fine work and for any spots where there are bulges or uneven plaster/drywall: https://www.amazon.com/Warner-790-4-Inch-Scraper-12-Inch/dp/B000DZGIXU

After removing all the protrusions, I come in with spackle and fill any dings or indents in the wall. A good putty knife and an inside/outside edger works wonders. After this I sand every square inch to get a nice and smooth surface in case I missed anything with the scraper. This is the hardest step in terms of time and effort IMO. Then I vacuum the floor up with a shopvac and wipe down the walls with a damp rag/microfiber towel. After this I personally started painting. But if I did it again I would make sure to prime before painting. I used some high end sherwin williams paint that does a great job of covering up the underlying color but unfortunately it cant beat physics and with light at certain angles I can still see where I had to patch holes in the wall. (hallway mainly) primer would have solved this.

Hope it helps

How will it lower the value?

I purchased 8 Amrest wifi HD cams and put them around my house in various places. The only thing needed is an outlet to plug them into.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZHOILC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I01Z1M2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are not GREAT, but they are good enough. I would prefer a 1080 camera, but their 1080 offerings are not that good.

I also purchased Blue Iris software and have it running on a PC in the house. It's pretty cool, although takes a little time to setup.

The only "gotcha" I ran into was that having all 8 cameras on wifi made my entire wifi run really slow. I happened to have an old wifi router, so I just plugged it in and setup a second network and ran all the cameras through that, and then into my regular network via CAT-5, and all my other wifi devices on the original router, and everything is smooth as can be.

Not sure if this will help your situation or not, but a few weeks ago I pulled a toilet out and the flange was super rusted but glued into the drain pipe so I didn't want to start messing with it. I saw this ( https://www.amazon.com/10672X-HydroSeat-Durable-Toilet-Flange/dp/B00KBBAN5K/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=toilet+flange+repair&qid=1566179731&s=gateway&sr=8-9 ) at home depot and gave it a shot and so far it's been working really well - basically takes the old flange out of the equation and can make it easier for non-plumbers to make a repair.

I’ve been using a Schlage ZWave deadbolt lock for the last 3 years and it’s been pretty good overall. I had it paired with Wink but it initially had problems with battery life that they had eventually fixed.

The lock uses a touchscreen keypad and also has a key for backup that you can change the core. Installation was easy for me since he previous deadbolt was also Schlage.

You can program custom codes and set up automations in Wink. The only caveat is you need to make sure you’re in close range of the wink hub when adding the lock.

So far I have to change batteries once or twice a year or so depending but I have notifications set up for it. I live in a temperate climate so no jamming or issues like that.

I’m not sure if I recommend Wink anymore since their support is having issues lately. However you can use the lock with any zwave compatible hub like SmartThings etc.

It’s not has fancy as some Bluetooth or NFC type lock but has been reliable and easy to use.

Edit: For those asking, the specific one I bought is below but there’s likely a newer model available since I bought mine 3 years ago.

Schlage Connect Century Touchscreen Deadbolt with Built-In Alarm and Handleset Grip with Latitude Lever, Bright Chrome, FE469NX LAT 625 CEN, Works with Alexa

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1M5ZMW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_gqw5CbA4349NC

Went through the same thing this past summer. Here's what I bought:

Pump: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X07GMW/

Hoses: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UH2SZLC/

5 gallon bucket from Home Depot

Vinegar from Costco: https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/Four-Monks-Distilled-White-Vinegar%2C-1-Gallon%2C-2-ct.product.11073510.html - came in a 2-pack in store. I think I ended up using both. Didn't dilute with anything.

I'm guessing you're probably watching some of the same videos that I did. Instructions were pretty easy to follow. Hardest part for me was nailing down the gear I had to buy to make my own kit. Everything mentioned above did the trick though. Hope that helps!

Some are poorly designed and don't last long, but I've had great luck with this one by Smith that's sold on Amazon.

I would be more concerned about making sure its cleaned out. There is this cleaner you can get that will clear out the jets and remove grime from the piping. https://www.amazon.com/Ahh-Some-Cleaner-Clearer-Efficiently-Clarifier/dp/B0030MYGXW/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1E6AKXTRWDK91&keywords=hot+tub+cleaner+for+the+jets+and+the+tubes&qid=1568212796&s=gateway&sprefix=hot+tub+cleaner%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFMUlA2OVlOUjRVR1AmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NjI0NzExTU1INjZBVjJFMUw0JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzNjQ1MTIxWDJRQkxaVjI5QkM5JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== . I moved into my place 2 years ago and it came with a hot tub from the 90's. After using the cleaner, there was a ton of nasty buildup in the pipes. Once that's done, drain it and give it a good scrub down. Then change the filter.

Download the manual for your hot tub and read it to make sure you are performing proper weekly maintenance and using the correct chemicals. For example, some tubs take bromine tablets, some don't. There may also be some other cool features that you might not know about.

Get some hot tub test strips https://www.amazon.com/Poolmaster-22211-Swimming-Chemistry-Strips/dp/B001E6E9PG/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=hot+tub+test+strips&qid=1568212610&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Use them once or twice a week depending on hot tub usage. Then add any chemicals as needed. Make sure you fill up your hot tub once a week at least to make sure your jets are covered.

Yeah, it was much bigger than I thought. I don't know if that is the max capacity or what and probably not super likely that I'll ever need/want that much? The amazon link is the burner that the landscaper recommended, if you look at the user submitted photos, the flame is huge. My landscaper said that the flames get pretty high when he's hooked it up directly from the meter OR from within the house.

The second link is another brand that was recommended, but they are super expensive. If you look at those videos, the flames are also massive.

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https://www.amazon.com/American-Fireglass-Stainless-Burner-30-Inch/dp/B008DZVAN0

https://montanafirepits.com/product/250000-btu-warming-trends-crossfire-burner-21-5-x-21-5/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OM6EI6/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pldnSite=1


This is a non toxic spray that absolutely works, very well. I had ants for years. I didn’t care that much, my wife did. I didn’t want to kill them just wanted to make them go away. This will kill them, but what you can do is wipe away the ants with a dry towel them spray this stuff around all your perimeters they will not come back for a long time. So much better for all parties involved. Smells good too.

These are more spotlights for plants/trees and such, but when I first bought my house last year I bought two sets of these and they are amazing https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EMK3UH8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They'll still be kicking at like 2-3am in the morning long after the sun is set.

Just buy an assortment, from super coarse to super fine:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075BL68QP

A lot of the homes in my area are on well water. The quality of the water is not necessarily bad, but we do get some sediment (sand) in the water. I used this and it worked great and filters are inexpensive.

They are extremely helpful, and they sell the same stuff the pros use. Make sure you get a nice sprayer.

I use this one for quick spraying around the house:
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YNSAGM/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can buy the one Lowes rents for about $300. I like mine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00450U6CS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1