One of the great things about living in an apartment is the maintenance man.

At no extra charge to you, he regularly saves the day with his microwave/dishwasher/air conditioner/[insert problem here] fixing skills and you can go on with your normal life pretty much uninterrupted.

You scoff? You’ve never even SEEN your maintenance man? Well, apart from putting in another maintenance request, here are a few simple repairs you can do on your own that aren’t too expensive or time consuming.

Unclog your drains

a cup of baking soda chased with a cup of white vinegar is the perfect solution to your clogged drain’s problems. Let them have their way with the drain for a few minutes, then flush it with about a gallon of hot water (mrsfixit.com/fixits).

Fix your toilet

whether your toilet leaks, won’t flush, or won’t stop flushing, the problem with it is probably small and easy to deal with. Do a little toilet research to learn how toilets work, assess what’s wrong with yours and fix it!

Deal with fridge/freezer woes

if your fridge or freezer isn’t doing its job of keeping your food cold, try some of the tricks listed here before calling in the maintenance man.

There are a few things to keep in mind:

1) It’s not your stuff. If you leave it worse than you found it, your landlord may be able to charge you the cost of fixing it.

2) Turn it off! Turn off the water before going after anything that has a drain and unplug anything electric. You don’t want a flood or to get electrocuted.

3) Know your limits. I’m sorry, but you are not the maintenance man. Don’t let successful simple fixes make you believe you now can tackle rewiring the outlet in your room.

Happy Fixing!

Repair Sites:

http://www.fixitclub.com/
http://www.howtofixyourstuff.com/
http://www.mrsfixit.com/fixits/
http://www.doityourself.com/
http://www.thistothat.com

Written by: Laura R. Aiuto