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Sep 26, 2023

Fix A Broken Umbrella With Dental Floss? 5 Strange Fix

Whenever you're on a time crunch, it seems like everything goes wrong. For

Whenever you're on a time crunch, it seems like everything goes wrong. For example, nothing's more irritating than finding out your vacuum is broken or your window screen has a tear when you're getting your house ready to entertain. Need a quick fix? Check out these expert tips for easily solving common, everyday problems so you can move on with your plans.

Ugh. You're giving the living room a quick vacuum, but you realize the crumbs, dirt, and dust bunnies aren't actually going anywhere. Before you spend upwards of $200 on a nicer, newer vacuum, check for hair — the appliance's sworn enemy. When stray strands get tangled around the rotating brush, the vacuum can lose suction. Instead of struggling to tug hair out of the bristles, grab a seam ripper from your sewing kit and run it horizontally across the tangle. The thin, sharp tool will pull out the knot easily — and your vacuum will work like new.

Nothing adds to the ambience like fresh flowers, especially in the spring. You gathered the most beautiful blooms from your garden and are arranging a centerpiece on the dinner table, when the stem on one of the flowers breaks. A quick fix: Using masking tape, attach the flower to a straw; trim it so the flower is the same length as the others, then place it in the middle of the bouquet — no one will see the straw, and the blooms will look flawless.

It's a beautiful spring day. When you go to open your window to enjoy the breeze, you realize there's a hole in your screen. You don't have time to run to the hardware store for a replacement. To fix it quick, grab some clear nail polish, advises how-to expert Aaron Green of Essential Home and Garden. "Dab a small amount over the hole and use a toothpick to spread it evenly. Apply two or three coats, and the hole will be secured — plus, with the clear polish, you won't even see it."

You grab your favorite pot to start a one-pot pasta primavera, and the lid's knob pops right off. Don't change dinner plans just yet — instead, grab a wine cork! "Slide a screw through the hole in the lid and twist the cork on from the other side, making sure it's tight," says Green. "This also works for a broken knob on a cabinet." Your pot is saved, and so is dinner. Treat yourself with a glass of wine, now that the bottle's open, anyway.

A sudden spring shower has arrived, so you grab your only umbrella in order to check the mail without getting soaked, but it has a malfunctioning spoke. To ensure your mail (and your hair) doesn't getting waterlogged, reattach the spoke fast with dental floss: Simply cut a few 2 inch-long pieces of the floss, then use a sewing needle to thread the string through the fabric, tying it back to the spoke. The water-resistant floss will hold the umbrella together through the drizzles.

A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman's World.