Cleaning - Page 6 of 10

Every fall, I face the same dilemma: cleaning a forest's worth of leaves from our rain gutters. Some of the gutters are two stories off the ground, in precarious spots…

A leaf blower modified with off-the-shelf parts makes quick work of a tedious rite of autumn

The drawing shows how I get rid of the 20 gal. of paint-tinged water that it takes to clean an airless sprayer. Of course, I could haul the sprayer through…

Q: I had brick installed at my home, and the bricklayer neglected to clean the mortar off the brick. I tried muriatic acid, but it doesn’t seem to work. What…

After painting, I clean my hands quickly by using granulated sugar. I wet my hands and rub 1 tablespoon of sugar between them. The grime and grease wash off, and…

This handy rig will save you cleanup time and effort.

My local auto-parts store sells a 6-in. dia. metal dish that has become part of my carpentry-tool library. Its distinguishing feature is a magnetic base, thoughtfully coated with a nonmarring…

During the winter months, I usually renovate basements. When I'm drywalling and painting, I can't wash my tools and brushes with the garden hose because it's so cold outside. If…

Q: A friend recently told me to use drain cleaner on my gummed-up circular-saw blades. I tried it, and it worked like a charm—even took the writing off the blade. A…

The right brush for the job and the right technique can make painting go more quickly and give you a better-looking paint job.