The kitchen is one place that gets used a lot—for meals, dishes, and even storage—so it’s common for many parts of it to break down occasionally. 

It might be a leaky faucet this week or a jammed drawer next week. Things can get frustrating real quick, especially when you’re worried about the cost of calling a professional to come fix it up. But in some cases, these minor repairs are easy to do yourself with basic tools, a little guidance, and some wit.

Here are four simple kitchen repairs that you can handle yourself.

Stopping a Dripping Faucet

No homeowner wants to tolerate or ignore a dripping faucet that wastes gallons of water in hours while increasing utility bills. However, in many cases, it’s an easy fix you can handle yourself.

Leaking faucets are usually caused by a worn-out washer or O-ring (these are small, inexpensive parts that can deteriorate over time). They can also be caused by a damaged faucet aerator.

If the faucet aerator is bad, you would have to get a replacement (you can get a quality kitchen faucet aerator on Aerator.com). To fix it, use a soft kitchen towel or cloth to unscrew the old aerator and replace it with the new one you bought.

If the O-ring or washer is faulty, here’s how to fix it. First, shut off the water supply and remove the faucet handle. 

Once you’ve exposed the inner workings, you should be able to see the washer or O-ring. Remove the old one and replace it with a new one of the same size. This repair doesn’t need any special equipment or tools. A wrench and screwdriver should be enough.

Sharpening a Dull Garbage Disposal

Your garbage disposal is likely to become blunt and emit unpleasant odors as you use it from time to time. Many homeowners don’t know how to sharpen it or make it stop smelling that bad, but this is an easy process that you can do in less than five minutes with the right cleaning solutions.

What you’ll need are:

  • Some household ice cubes 
  • White distilled vinegar 
  • An old toothbrush
  • Cleaning gloves 

With these materials in place, the first step is to clean the baffle, the rubber seal that keeps things like silverware from falling inside the garbage disposal. Put on your cleaning gloves and pick up the old toothbrush you’ve arranged. Next, turn on some warm water, apply dishwashing soap to the toothbrush, and scrub around the underside of the baffle. You can keep doing this until you’re satisfied with the result.

Now, it’s time to sharpen the garbage disposal. Pour the ice cubes with you into the disposal and add half a cup of vinegar. Turn on the cool water and run the disposal for a minute or more. 

If you want to take it another step further to remove the smell, get some citrus peels and run them through the disposal. The oils and acids from the peel will clean the blades and leave your garbage disposal smelling nice and fresh. But don’t put a whole citrus fruit into the disposal hoping to make it smell better; it will only damage the blades. Use only the peels, and not too many of them.

Fixing a Faulty Refrigerator Door Seal

Your refrigerator’s seals may not be grabbing because they are old, which can cause your fridge to run more and use more utility. It can even build mold around the door and ice up your frost-proof freezer (if you have one) because the door seal is not as effective as it used to be.

To change it, get the fridge’s model or serial number (there should be a sticker somewhere around it that has those details) and copy it out. Then, take the details to an appliance part store or an online vendor to get a replacement. 

Next, remove the old seal by peeling it off the groove of the refrigerator door. Then, take the new one, which must look exactly like the one you just peeled off, and pop it back in. You may want to do some cleaning before fixing the new one, but it’s all up to you.

Unclogging a Stubborn Sink

Your sink might be taking longer than usual to drain, and this may have been caused by a buildup of debris (food, soap, and even grease).           

Some YouTube videos recommend using a chemical drain cleaner, but many plumbers say that’s not the best DIY method because drain cleaning chemicals are expensive and can easily ruin pipes.

What you should be using are things you already have at home, like boiled water, white vinegar, baking soda, and a sink stopper. Boil around 2 -3 cups of water in a kettle and pour into the sink to loosen up the debris. Then, follow that with one cup of baking soda (pour it directly inside the drain) and let it stay for around a minute or two before pouring in a cup of vinegar. As soon as the vinegar is in, use the stopper to contain the reaction within the pipes.

After 15-30 minutes, flush the sink with boiled water again, and you should have your sink flowing properly.

Wrapping Up

You don’t have to keep calling professionals for everything that goes wrong at home. Like some of the repairs mentioned in this blog, you can handle things better on your own and save some money for more important and complex fixes. 

That doesn’t mean you should not know your limit. If a repair is beyond your capabilities, contact a pro to help you.