Comments on: 10 Money-Saving Home Repairs

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:11:20 +0000

I agree – consumers can find many ways to save money on a month to month basis when it comes to their home repairs.

By: Felicia

Felicia — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:07:59 +0000

Good job recommending the 3 month air filters. The standard fiberglass filters are great for the power bill, but they have to be replaced to often. The higher quality pleated filters actually clean the air while protecting your unit.

Less allergies=less money on Benadryl

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:36:35 +0000

@Money Reasons, your dog dug a hole while she was alseep? DANG – that’s a serious dream…

Thanks for the congrats. :-)

By: Money Reasons

Money Reasons — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:41:05 +0000

Congrats to the both of you!

I’m sure Crystal will be a great staff writer!

Ironically, I just replaced my carpet about a month or so ago. Our dog dig a hole in it while she was sleeping one night.

@ Money Beagle – Thanks for the tip about the bulbs and dimmer! I didn’t know that!

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:02:39 +0000

@Jenna, oh, no surprise here. A fresh coat of paint just makes things seem new and fresh! Great point!

By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:25:11 +0000

@Little House, If there are ants, use ‘Terro’ liquid ant baits (which you can find at any hardware store — even WalMart). Works every time. Feeds the ants a poison that they end up taking back to the nest…ultimately decimating the nest. Just be sure to put them in a place (i.e. outside behind a bush or up high) where kids and pets won’t access it (toxic!).

By: Jenna

Jenna — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:53:36 +0000

You’d be surprised how much a nice coat of paint can improve anything from the inside / outside of the home (and home value) to smaller tables, chairs that have been dinged up, or miss matched, or you got for cheap at Goodwill or a garage sale.

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:34:19 +0000

@Nicole, I have heard of air purifiers but not “Austin” air purifiers. We are actually VERY interested in finding a good brand. Do you use one? Is it easy to clean or do you have to buy new filters every set amount of time? I’ll have to look into it more when I get home, but thanks for the idea!

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:31:53 +0000

@Invest It Wisely, thanks!

I checked the bathtub caulk that I put in a while ago and so far, so good. I also prefer regular light bulbs but it’s not a fight worth having with Mr. BFS…

Yes, programmable thermostats are fantastic and I wish all the places we lived had one…we could have probably saved almost $1000 just because we are both forgetful…

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:27:33 +0000

@myfinancialobjectives, I haven’t used this since I have double-paned windows, but it would have been awesome in our old apartment! I’ll keep it in mind for my friends, thanks!

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:25:51 +0000

@Squirrelers, I’m hoping so. I usually just bought the cheap blue crappy ones, but Mr. BFS just bought a much nicer one that should last 90 days for less than $5…we’ll see if it helps. I usually don’t have problems indoors unless I’m dusting, but the pollen in Houston can be a killer on my allergies and asthma when the seasons change.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:49:00 +0000

If you’re addicted to claritin, you might want to consider getting an Austin Air Purifier. They’re pricey but worth every penny if you suffer from seasonal allergies.

By: Invest It Wisely

Invest It Wisely — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:42:51 +0000

That caulk can become pretty ugly after a few years. I’ve noticed this in the apartments that I’ve lived in, but since they were apartments, I never bothered to change it.

Dimmers are pretty nice, but you have to be careful if you use them with CFLs. Many CFLs are incompatible with dimmers and go whacko if you use them together. Not only that, but I hate the quality of light that CFL’s give off, so I stick with incandescent bulbs, preferably halogen.

Programmable thermostats are pretty cool, and what’s really great is that you can time it to lower energy use while you’re out of the house, and then crank things up again when you’re home and you need it! Also, you can just let your body get used to warmer temperatures, that way you don’t need to use as much AC.

Nice post!

By: Squirrelers

Squirrelers — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:28 +0000

I totally agree with changing the air filter often. I have never understood how anyone could accept inferior air quality indoors, particularly folks with allergies (like yours truly ). When buying them, I tend to buy higher quality ones. They may cost more, but they work quite.a bit better than the very inexpensive ones.

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:31:48 +0000

@Financial Samurai, thank you so much Financial Samurai! I’m not sure if I ever want to paint again, so how about you take care of my top floor and I’ll buy you a few pizzas? :-)

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:21:04 +0000

Hey Crystal, congrats on being a staff writer!

I like to caulk stuff and paint :)

By: myfinancialobjectives

myfinancialobjectives — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:48:27 +0000

Question along these lines. Has anyone every used that product that is perfectly clear and you put it over your window during the winder to keep heat in? Instead of buying whole new windows, you can just use this product. My Gf’s roommates used this, not too sure how well it worked however. Just throwing it out there!

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:33:44 +0000

@Little House, I’m going to try the Ortho Home Max for $10 that Money Beagle suggested in his comment. I’d think it would be perfect for you and may be what we end up using long-term instead of Terminex as well. :-)

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:30:54 +0000

@Everyday Tips, great point! Renovation dust is a killer…

Um, for anybody who may know…we have a central air and heating unit. Does that mean we have a furnace I don’t know about with a filter I haven’t changed in 3 years? I check the outside part of the unit occasionally for ants or crud buildup, but I RARELY go into the attic to check that part…is that a furnace?

By: Little House

Little House — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:14:19 +0000

I rent a house and every year we make sure we get the carpets cleaned, if only for my own sanity. I wish we had hardwood floors, but for now we must live with carpet. As for pests, they really creep me out. However, our rental is definitely invested! We’ve tried a few different things and I’m not willing to pay a monthly fee for Terminix since it’s not my house. Any suggestions on how to inexpensively fend them off?

By: Everyday Tips

Everyday Tips — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:54:56 +0000

I am with Jackie – I hate carpet too, but I digress.

Just have to stress the importance of changing filters. Our house has an air filter attached to the furnace, I think it is electro-static or something like that. Anyway, the filter is huge and shaped like a weird accordion. We had some home repairs done that involved a lot of drywall dust and we did not remember to change our filter right afterward. Huge mistake. Our furnace got so screwed up and ended up needing a 700 dollar repair. So any time you have home repairs done, change those filters frequently!!

Great post!

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:03:49 +0000

@Jackie, LOL on the carpet. Yes, that counts as cleaning it in my book. :-)

I didn’t know garage door openers needed to be adjusted…ours quit working last year, so I kicked one of the sensors and it works again. I’m assuming that’s not the best method?

By: Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:35 +0000

@Money Beagle, thanks for bringing up the point on dimmers being bad for CFL’s. I’m glad we don’t have dimmers! :-)

This is the second time someone has recommended The Ortho Home Max to me, so I will definitely check it out. I’m fine with spiders, I just can’t stand cockroaches or ants or fleas or ticks…okay, pretty much anything other than spiders and june bugs…

Thanks for the recommendation again since that could save us $280 a year if I use the Ortho package every three months!

By: Jackie

Jackie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:37:45 +0000

We’re planning on just ripping our carpet out because I hate it so much. Does that count as cleaning them?

I’m usually pretty good at minor home repairs — things like fixing a leak, patching holes, etc — but one thing I’d really like to learn to do is adjust our garage door opener. We need it adjusted about once a year, and despite watching the repair person the last couple of times, I can’t seem to do it.

By: Money Beagle

Money Beagle — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:37:40 +0000

In the item about Dimmers, you also mentioned energy efficient light bulbs. Keep in mind that if you want to use both, a ‘standard’ CFL bulb is not compatible with a dimmer. They do make them but they’re much more expensive. If you try to use a regular one with a dimmer, I think it can quickly ruin the bulb.

You might want to consider doing some of the pest control yourself. The Ortho Home Max is about $10 for a jug that lasts an entire season or more and I’ve been told that it’s pretty much the same as what the Terminix people use. I’ve been using the Ortho stuff for the last couple of years and it seems to work pretty good. The only thing I really see inside is the occasional spider, but I’ve never lived in a house where that hasn’t been the case.