The lock on my front door had become loose and wouldn't lock or unlock correctly, often deciding to keep the keys stuck in it once the door had become unlocked, or jam somehow. Assuming the lock was old and deteriorated somehow, I ignored it, assuming I would just have to replace it once it got really bad. Well, it had gotten bad and my roommate was having trouble getting in regularly. So, I took the lock apart to troubleshoot it and see if it was totally shot. I discovered two loose screws inside. Once tightened, the lock was good as new. A 5-minute solution to a months-long problem = awesome.
WD-40 is a landlord's (or handyman's-- since you can't find good tenants or evict bad ones with WD-40) best friend. I have a screen door that would close but not latch, and then fall into the latch later, making it sound like someone was messing with the door when no one was there. Creepy. Fixed with WD-40. Also, 90-year old interior doorknobs that stick, squeaky porch swing hinges, transom hardware that's not been used in decades, TOILETS that run because the pieces stick! Just good stuff.
My bathroom sucks. It's identical counterpart in the other side of the duplex was redone with beautiful vintage-style subway tile and black and white hex tile last year, and someday (hopefully sooner rather than later) my bathroom will get a similar makeover. Right now, it is pretty terrible. A while back, the shower handles stopped working and would spin but not turn the water on or off, depending in where it got stuck. Based on this one problem, I was ready to start gutting the bathroom down to the studs for renovation. My thought process is usually along the lines of "if we're doing this work anyway, now is the easiest time to do A, B, and C, that also need done at some point." And BAM! You got a full bathroom renovation based on one faucet handle that doesn't work. So my dad came over to look at it. He popped the tab off of the top of the faucet, tightened the screw inside, and the faucet worked again. Less than 5 minutes. Since I learned this, I've used this "fix" a few different times.
Also, my shower head has, over the time that I've lived here, slowed down to a gross trickle. It's only slightly better than the feeling of getting peed on. I assumed it was a problem with old plumbing and water pressure or something beyond my control that would have to be fixed in the imminent renovation. I mentioned this to my dad the other day and he suggested I just take the head off and soak it in vinegar to get the hard water deposits out. So I unscrewed it, and found a massive amount of small debris buildup on the screen. I removed that, sprayed some CLR through it, and put it back on. Totally fixed. Good water pressure, normal shower. Fantastic. Mr. Tickle agrees.
