Top 10 Gadgets That Make Home Maintenance so Much Easier
Maintaining your home can be a daunting task, but so can paying contractors to fix every little thing. And there’s nothing worse than turning to a professional in a panic, only to find out the problem was a simple, easy fix that you’ve now outsourced to someone else for hundreds of dollars.
But many home maintenance and repair jobs are actually pretty simple — if you have the right tools. Sure, it all starts with a simple toolbox, but beyond the basics like a hammer, screwdrivers, and a simple drill, there are plenty of gadgets and tools that make those tedious moments a little easier. I’ve accumulated quite a few of these little tools over the years, and whenever there’s a problem around the house that needs fixing, they allow me to get the job done with just a little effort. Here are a few of my favorites.
Electric plunger
Modern life has its constants. The internet will never be fast enough, the show you want to watch will always be on a streaming service you don’t pay for, and toilets will clog. That feeling of panic when the water level in your toilet keeps rising? It’s real. And it’s justified.
Chances are you have a plunger somewhere for emergency toilet unclogging, but old rubber plungers aren’t very effective. If your toilet clog is serious, you’ll have to wrestle with the old stuff and get nowhere. That’s why I like this power plunger . It uses air pressure to dislodge the clog, so instead of digging and digging (and digging), you can clear the clog in an instant and get back to your business.
Endoscopic camera
Do you know what’s in your walls, under your floors, or in your attic? Chances are, you don’t, and you don’t need to unless there’s a problem. But finding out what’s in your walls or behind heavy equipment requires moving things, tearing out drywall, removing floorboards, or doing some other nasty damage to your home, unless you buy an endoscope camera .
With an app on your phone or tablet, you can easily peer behind objects. Instead of tearing down an entire wall to see the wiring, plumbing, or whatever the hell is lurking there, you can drill a small hole, stick a flexible camera through it, and see everything in perfect detail. It’s saved me more unnecessary work (and sleepless nights) than I can count.
Wood Repair Tape
Wood is a strong, beautiful, and flexible material; my cats are demons with sharp claws who consider any wooden surface in the house a scratching post. There are many ways to repair scratches, but I’ve learned to keep a roll of wood repair tape on hand for larger or deeper scratches. You’ll need to match the tape to the specific item and take your time applying it so it matches the grain of the wood exactly. But if you follow these instructions, you’ll be amazed at how good this repair looks, and it only takes a few minutes.
Construction jack
A few years ago, I decided to do a quick update to my mom’s kitchen with new cabinets and countertops, and I learned the hard way that hanging wall cabinets alone is no fun. I also learned the value of a construction jack . These beauties not only hold cabinets and doors up while you’re unscrewing and reinstalling hinges, or support drywall while you’re driving a few screws, or lift heavy objects a few inches off the floor so you can clean, fix, or slide something under them. Any job that involves lifting and holding something up just gets a whole lot easier.
Magnetic bracelet
It looks silly and the concept is deceptively simple, but this magnetic bracelet has completely changed the way I think about home improvement. All those screws, bolts, drill bits, and nails that I have to keep track of just stick to the magnet, rather than rolling (inevitably) straight into the nearest crack, only to disappear into some shadow dimension, never to be seen again.
Retractable dust brush
Cleaning is an important part of home maintenance. A clean home is more efficient (and, of course, more enjoyable), but cleaning can be a real pain, especially when it comes to things like blinds, ceiling fan blades, or other places that are a) hard to reach and/or b) difficult to clean effectively with traditional cleaning products.
That’s where this retractable dust brush comes in handy. Without the need for a stepladder, I can easily clean window frames, ceiling fans, window trim, kitchen cabinet tops, furniture legs, and any tight spaces where dust can accumulate. It speeds up the entire process and keeps my home as clean as possible.
Stair stabilizer
Ladder accidents are common , with over 20,000 non-fatal injuries caused by ladders every year. If you’ve ever set up a ladder… creatively… while working around the house, stop. This leveling device makes using a ladder on stairs and uneven surfaces much safer and easier, and it also helps you store tools and materials. It can also be used to move the ladder away from a vertical wall, so you don’t end up too close to it and interfere with your work.
Profile tool
If you’ve ever tried to lay tile, carpet, or anything else on a floor, you know how difficult it is to cut around corners and obstacles, especially if they’re not just squares. I’ve ruined a lot of tiles trying to eyeball trim and pipes. But I won’t do that anymore because I’ve learned to use a cheap piece of plastic called a contour template . It’s incredibly simple: You press it against the area you need to cut, then trace the outline onto the material you’re laying. Now you can make perfect cuts without tearing your hair out of your hands.
Headlamp
I have no idea why it took me so long to buy a simple, cheap headlamp (like the one I bought), but it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made as a homeowner. As someone who spent my entire life hobbling around basements with a small flashlight in my mouth, suddenly being able to just see what I was doing without lugging around extra tools made my life a whole lot easier .
Sink key
Replacing a kitchen or bathroom faucet isn’t that difficult. Especially now that many store-bought faucets come with simple plastic mounting kits. But installing a new faucet requires removing the old one from the sink or cabinet, and that sometimes means wrestling with a metal nut that’s been stuck in place for decades in the tightest, most inaccessible space ever designed, a place where no wrench can open wide enough or where your hand can fit. I once seriously considered removing the entire cabinet and buying a new one because the faucet nut just wouldn’t budge.
Then I discovered the sink wrench . Suddenly, unscrewing a bolt in a hard-to-reach place became a breeze. If you want to be able to change the faucets in your home at will, this inexpensive tool will change your life.