Showerthought: I used to laugh at the idea of using a heat lamp to warm a panel before applying filler, but after trying it on a cold garage door in Detroit last winter, the stuff went on like butter.

What other old-school tricks have you guys found that actually work?

4 comments

4 Comments

Ever notice how the simplest fixes are the ones we ignore until we're desperate? My grandpa swore by using a bar of soap on a sticking drawer, and I finally tried it last month. It's like we have to rediscover common sense every generation.

wendy1313mo ago

Totally get what you mean, @ninaowens. It's wild how we overlook the easy stuff. My old apartment had a door that would stick every summer, and I fought with it for years. A friend finally told me to just rub a pencil lead on the hinge pin, and it worked like a charm. Felt so silly for not trying something that simple sooner. We really do have to learn these little tricks all over again.

tara6423mo ago

Read something similar about using a candle stub on a sticky window track (same basic idea, really).

murphy.mason1mo ago

Is it really that hard to just rub some soap on a drawer though? Makes me wonder if all those fancy drawer slides and lubricants are just a scam to sell us stuff our grandpas could fix with a bar of Irish Spring. I swear every time I try the "modern" solution first, I end up wasting an hour on something that shouldve taken thirty seconds. But hey, at least now we get to feel like geniuses when we finally remember the old trick.