Routine home maintenance and taking care of those little items that need some attention can be a real-time sucker around your home. It can feel increasingly daunting to take some time out of your busy schedule to fix these items especially if you have learned to coexist with them.

Sometimes we ignore these tasks because we’re just not sure how we can handle the problem or fit the time to learn how to do it into our schedule and actually execute the job. And in other cases, it’s just pure procrastination as there are many other things we would rather be doing.

Whatever the reason for common little annoyances these items can turn into much bigger issues if we leave them unattended. It is always best to take care of routine maintenance around the home with a preventative mindset and tackle little fixes as soon as possible.

Here are some quick fixes you can do around your home on your own to get rid of those pesky annoying common problems in your home

Fixing a running toilet

Most often a leaky toilet is caused by a leaking rubber flapper. When the rubber flapper is leaking it allows water to flow from the tank to the bowl when you flush. It is very simple and inexpensive to fix the rubber flapper but you want to make sure that this is indeed the problem first.

You can check how the rubber flapper is working by dropping food coloring into the toilet tank at the back of the toilet. Wait for a few moments and if you see the food color bleeding into the bowl this tells you that you have an issue with your flapper. All you need to do is replace it with a new one.

Damaged window screens

Here in southern Maryland, we have our fair share of pesky insects especially mosquitoes in the summer. It is no fun to deal with a window screen that is not doing its job to keep elements outside while you try to bring in some fresh air by opening up your windows.

It is surprisingly easy to fix a small snag or tear in your window screen. For the smallest of tears, all you need to do is glue it back together with an application of clear nail polish. For a larger rip or tear you can use some window screen repair tape which is easily found at home repair stores or online. You can also make use of a repair patch kit.

If the issue is so large that the mesh needs to be completely replaced you can simply purchase a new screen for your existing window frame. Or you can purchase a new mesh and put it in the existing screen frame with a kit you can purchase from the hardware store.

Filling holes in the wall made by hanging pictures

This might possibly be one of the most annoying things that happen in your home. You hang up a picture on the wall only to decide that it needs some updating or to be moved to a better location. It then leaves behind some tiny holes in the sheetrock on your wall which is just as unsightly as the picture hanging in the wrong spot was.

It is actually pretty simple to fill in these holes by using some premixed spackling that you apply with a putty knife. After the spackle has dried you can give it a quick smoothing with a sanding sponge. Finish it off by patching it up with a coat of paint to match the rest of the wall.

A squeaky door

As doors age, the hardware can become sticky or begin to make an irritating squeaking noise. Most of the time people will grab the WD-40 to quickly fix the problem. This may work to calm your nerves for a little while but it is not the best idea for an actual fix. It is better to grab some silicone spray for your squeaky doors. It will hold off your squeak a lot longer.

Low water pressure

If the water running through a fixture in your home seems to have slowed down and is giving you less than it did before you have low water pressure. There are many different reasons that a plumbing fixture can be experiencing low pressure. All that matters, in this case, is the simple solution of adjusting the pressure-reducing valve.

This is a bell-shaped valve near where the main water line enters the home. You want to loosen the lock nut before making any adjustments and then simply turn the bolt on the valve to adjust the water pressure. Turning it clockwise will increase the pressure and counterclockwise will decrease it. First, try a half turn and then check your water pressure. If this is not enough turn it another half turn and check the water again.

Homeownership comes with a lot of home maintenance. Some jobs are quite simple to do while others require the help of a professional. For those jobs that are simple around the house that can be done on your own, you want to make sure that you can get to them as quickly as possible before they turn into bigger problems.