In this post I talk about a power washer I recently bought. My backyard patio area was really dirty and a standard hose wasn’t cutting it, so I bought a power washer on Amazon for $120 to see how well it would work.

I was impressed how well it cut through dirt.

It was able to blast off the dirt on the concrete completely with usually just one pass. It came with four different nozzles of various widths. The wider the nozzle, the more area you could cover but also the weaker the spray. It was very easy to use, you just need access to a power outlet and a water outlet.

Overall I was very impressed with how well this inexpensive power washer worked and I would definitely recommend it to other. This exact model I bought can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLTRQWSQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

You can see more details on the washer in the following video:

One useful item I like is wood filler. It is like a cement which you can use to fill in cracks or gouges in wood. Application is easy, you just spread it around with a putty knife. Once it dries you can sand it and paint it.

Wood filler is very useful and easy to use. You can see more details in the following video.

This year I discovered something new, LED Christmas lights. I previously always used the traditional lights, like the ones in this photo.

It got increasingly frustrating using these lights, as the strands often stopped working. I tried looking for the broken bulbs and replacing them but it was really annoying having to do this every year. Every year I also ending up buying a few new strands to lights to replace the strands which no longer worked.

I wanted to try something new and come upon LED Christmas lights. These are the ones I bought, you can find them on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HZ5S8F3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

These lights are great for a few reasons.

1. The lights will work even if some of the bulbs break. The frustrating task of finding the malfunctioning bulb to make the lights work is eliminated.
2. They are a single strand of 150 feet, so one strand covers the whole house.
3. The lights only cost $25.

I would highly recommend these lights, they are cheaper than standard lights and also work better.

Watch the following video for more details!

I have been getting more into making trivets and in my latest project with them I bought a lot of species of wood to give the trivets more variety.

I thought it was interesting how different the woods looked (eight species in total), see picture below. Most of this wood is too expensive to use for projects outside of decorative projects.

In case you can’t read my writing, the eight types of wood were:

1. Alder
2. Birch
3. Poplar
4. Walnut
5. Mahogany
6. Red Oak
7. Maple
8. Cherry

I go into more detail in the following video:

Over time your car is guaranteed to get some scratches here or there.  In addition, as the car ages the paint will begin to oxidize, turning white and flaking off.  Finding paint that matches the car paint can be difficult.  However, from Amazon you can order touch up paint that will exactly match that of your car.

Simply do a search in Amazon for your car make (Honda, etc.) and the color and you can get an exact match.  I have a royal blue Honda Civic with fading paint.  I did a search on Amazon for the touch up paint and came up with the following.

The paint is around $16 and can be found here on Amazon:

Dupli-Color AHA1003 Royal Blue Pearl Honda Exact-Match Scratch Fix All-in-1 Touch-Up Paint – 0.5 oz.

The paint comes in a tube and is very easy to use. It has a pen like applicator and also a brush applicator.

Note that while the paint is the exact same type as what was used in the car, it might not exactly match due to the sun wearing down the color of the paint on the actual car over time. These car paint touch up tubes are a great thing to have! The following video provides some details:

Eventually during your DIY journey you will encounter a situation where you will need to use a razorblade. Maybe you will need to scrap something of a granite counter, scrap something off glass, or some other situation. The thing is holding a razor blade with your hand is a risky proposition, as it is very easy to accidentally cut yourself.

This is where a razor blade holder comes in. The razor blade holder lets you secure the razor blade, allowing you to use the razor blade while minimizing the risk of accidentally poking or cutting yourself. Also, often they come with a cover, further reducing the risk on an accidental cut. Lastly they are relatively inexpensive, usually $5-$10.

A good razor blade holder can be found here on Amazon here:

Titan Tools 12031 4-Inch Mini Razor Scraper | Includes 1 Extra Heavy-Duty Razor Blade

These razor blade holders have a lot of uses. One of the best uses is scraping things stuck on glass (things caked on your windshield or even your shower door). Also, you can use them to scrap of paint or other uses, basically anything where you need a thin but stiff edge.

In the following video I talk more about the razor blade holder and show how to use a razor blade to remove hardened soap scum on a shower door.

Growing up I always thought there were only two types of screws, flathead and Phillips. Turns out there are many types, as shown in the picture below:

Phillips is probably what you are most familiar with, they have a X shape at the head of the screw. Thing is, these screws are not very good for woodworking. Often when using an electric driver and a Phillips screw in wood, the screw would find some resistance and the screw will stop going into the wood. When this happens often the head of the screw gets stripped with the “X” getting ground out. Then the screw driver will no longer fit and a special tool is needed to remove the stripped screw (and often even that doesn’t work).

The screw I almost always use is a Torx screw. These have a star shape on the head of the screw as shown in the images below.

With more points of contact and a better fit the screw driver or power drill never slips out. Using these type of screws I have never had the screw get stripped. The only thing I have had happen is that if I use too much force or the screw hist too much resistance the screw head breaks off. These screws come in various lengths and sizes. Also, when you buy them the necessary drill bit is usually included. A good set of 100 torque screws can be bought on Amazon here: Hillman Available 48594 Power Pro Premium Exterior Wood Screw, 8 X 1 1/4-Inch, 1 Pound, 8″ x 1-1/4″, 10 Piece

Another screw a lot of people say is good is the Robertson screw. These screw had a square shape on the end of the screw. In the US these screws are not easy to find, they are mainly found in Canada. I couldn’t find them in Lowe’s so I had to buy them online. I had never used them before but wanted to try them out.

I made a video comparing Torx, Robertson and Phillips screws to see which could go the furthest in a four by four before stripping. Torx screws went through the furthest, Robertson screws were second and Phillips screws were last (stripped the earliest).

Which screw type do you like best and why? Please let me know if the comments or e-mail me at lifehackanddiy@gmail.com.

Similar to Velcro strips, zip ties are incredibly useful for attaching things, such as a cable to a wall. However, unlike Velcro strips, the zip tie is permanent or semi-permanent. For example, if you wanted to connect a power cord to a wall I would use a zip tie instead of a Velcro strip since I am unlikely to need to be re-position it anytime soon. Also, note that zip ties are usually cheaper than Velcro strips, with zip ties usually being less than a penny each. They come in varies sizes and colors as shown in the picture below.

Here is a link to assorted zip ties on Amazon, where you will find they are pretty inexpensive:

Cable Matters Combo Pack Assorted 200 Self-Locking 6+8+12-Inch Nylon Cable Ties (Tie Wraps, Zip Ties) in Black and White

Here is an example of using a zip tie in your house, I zip tied protective foam to my indoor trampoline to protect my walls from being scuffed.

Also I hung up my pickle ball racket by making a loop with a zip tie and threading that through the zipper as shown in the photo below.

In general, zip ties can be used for a lot of things around your house and they are cheap and disposable. I would recommend everyone get some for various uses around their house.

I discuss the uses of zip ties a little further in this video.

One of the issues I used to run into was my shower drains were constantly getting clogged with hair, resulting in a lot of effort to remove the hair or the need to call a plumber.

While my showers had strainers they were wide hole strainers like the one pictured below that allowed hair to get through.

To fix the problem I replaced all of the wide hole strainers with mesh strainers. The mesh strainers always catch the hair before it goes down the drain. Also, since they are mesh, you are able to mold the strainer to fit the size of the hole. The mesh strainers can be found in various sizes on Amazon and they are fairly inexpensive. One issue is that the mesh strainers will gunk up after six months or so, at which point you can either give them a deep cleaning or simply replace them. Since they cost $3 or so each I usually just end up replacing them. Since I have started using the mesh strainers I haven’t once had a clogged shower drain.

You can find three mesh strainers for $9 on Amazon on the following link: Arology 3 PCS Kitchen Sink Strainer – Stainless Steel Mesh, Large Wide Rim 4.5″ Diameter, Rust-Free, Prevent Clogging, Perfect for Garbage Disposals

In the following video I discuss mesh strainers in further detail.