You’re in the middle of a party, enteraining a houseful of guests, and the toilet acts up. Are you ready to spring into action? Here’s a game plan.
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Listen to BOB VILA ON UNCLOGGING A TOILET or read the text below:
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Want to replace your vintage cast iron bathtub? You may be surprised that a comparable antique tub, or even a period-style reproduction, can easily cost thousands of dollars.
Sure, $30 will get you a refinishing kit at the local home improvement center. But while that may sound like a deal too good to pass up, understand that bathtub refinishing is no modest undertaking.
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There is nothing like a long, leisurely soak in a luxurious hot bath to soothe away the stresses of the day—that is, unless your dirty tub is one of the things that you’re stressed about!
Bathtubs seem to be magnets for soap scum, mildew, and grime, not to mention stubborn stains. We all know that a dirty or stained tub makes the whole bathroom feel grungy. Luckily, with just a few simple household ingredients and the following helpful hints, you can keep any tub sparkling clean:
Delta's Cassidy Faucet
In the overall scheme of a bathroom, the sink faucet might seem like an incidental detail, but its design can set the tone for the whole space. If it’s been a while since you last shopped for a faucet, you’ll be amazed by the broad range of styles, finishes, and state-of-the-art functions available today.
Related: Bob Vila’s “April Showers” Give-Away
Buying only one from a field of so many options may seem daunting. Allison McKinney, a product manager at Delta Faucets, says that “the three main considerations when choosing a new faucet are style, function, and fit.” Indeed, zeroing in on these criteria helps simplify the selection process.
Replacing your shower head is a simple fix that can spruce up the look of your bathroom, save water, and even add a little massage action to your daily shower.
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Listen to BOB VILA ON HOW TO REPLACE A SHOWER HEAD or read the text below:
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It’s always a challenge to clean shower doors, but that doesn’t mean you have to use powerful cleansers made with ammonia, bleach, and other harsh chemicals. Without much trouble, you can effectively clean shower doors in ways that are much safer for your family.
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Without a major renovation, it might not be possible to create the minimalist, modern bath of your dreams, but you can get pretty darn close by making these low-effort, big-impact changes.
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Harbor Breeze bathroom fan in brushed nickel with light from Lowes.
Indoor air quality can be problematic at any time of year, but it is especially a concern during the winter months when all of the windows are sealed up tight…and nowhere is this more evident than in the bathroom. Stale air, humidity, mold, mildew and—to put it delicately—foul odors can wreak havoc with your indoor environment. The solution: install a bathroom exhaust fan.
If you’re thinking about a bathroom remodel, there’s no better time or place to think ahead. Something as simple as the right shower design could be what allows you or a loved one to stay in your home as you get older.
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Listen to BOB VILA ON BARRIER-FREE SHOWERS or read the text below:
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Average Americans are flushing money down the drain. Oh, maybe not literally money—but most US homes still have one or more older models that waste a phenomenal amount of water compared to today’s new low-flush toilets.
Toilets use more water than any other appliance or fixture in the home, with older toilets using between 3.5 and 7 gallons of water per flush, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program.
The EPA estimates that if all of the inefficient toilets in homes were converted to WaterSense high-efficiency models, Americans could save more than 640 billion gallons of water per year—the equivalent to 15 days of flow over Niagara Falls.
