The scariest DIY mistakes that homeowners make

The scariest DIY mistakes that homeowners make

Research by property maintenance solution provider, Help me Fix, reveals what the scariest home improvement mistakes are, based on the financial repercussions of DIY disasters within the home.

It is estimated that the average cost of making a home improvement mistake in the UK is just under £4,000. However, for Londoners, a DIY screw up results in a far more terrifying average repair bill of £5,838. In the Midlands it’s £4,453 and the cost is £4,272 in the North East. But what are the most common mistakes that people are making?

Always going for the cheapest option
When it comes to buying DIY tools, you can pay for anything from wildly expensive premium equipment to basement price budget options. While doing the former is rarely necessary, doing the latter is never a good decision. The cheapest gear is likely to break or complete the job to a poor standard which often means you have to do it all over again. Go for mid-range products when and where you can.

Lack of planning
Spur of the moment DIY is common. But lack of planning is a fast-track to DIY nightmares. If, for example, you’re hanging pictures but fail to check exactly what’s happening behind the wall you’re hanging on, you can easily end up driving a screw into a water pipe or the electrics. The result can be a disaster.

Underestimating costs
Even simple tasks tend to cost more than you first expect. When you pay a tradesperson to complete a job, they bring all of the necessary tools with them. With DIY, you have to buy the tools for yourself and specialist equipment can be pricier than you think. Make sure your tools costs don’t end up costing you more than it would to hire a professional.

Inaccurate measurements
Whether it’s wallpaper, wooden flooring, or carpet, accurate measurement is essential. If you get it wrong and cut too short, you can end up wasting a lot of expensive materials. The best thing to do is always cut too long to give yourself a buffer – you can easily trim things to fit, but you can’t extend them.

Taking too much on
It’s important to know and accept your DIY limitations. Don’t take too much on if you don’t have solid experience. You might be able to put a shelf up perfectly, but that doesn’t mean you can tile a bathroom or lay a hardwood floor. Be honest with yourself and if something feels a little bit above your skill set, get a quality tradesperson in to do the job properly. It could end up saving you buckets of cash.

Sloppy paintwork
Painting a wall should be easy, but if you don’t make the effort to properly protect surfaces, it can end up costing you a fortune. For example, painting a skirting board without laying down some kind of carpet protection can result in a stained carpet that can’t be cleaned – the price of a full carpet replacement is too much to pay for simply wanting to paint a wall.

Lazy shelf work
Putting up new shelves is, or at least should be, one of the more straightforward DIY tasks a homeowner can do. Perhaps this perceived simplicity is what leads some folks to get lazy and attempt to gauge the level of the shelf by eye rather than using a spirit level. More often than not, you’re left with a sloping shelf and ugly looking holes in the wall when you eventually straighten it.

Ettan Bazil, CEO and Founder of Help me Fix said:

“Some people take on DIY projects for fun – it’s a hobby they enjoy doing – while others do it to try and reduce costs which has become increasingly more common with the spiralling cost of living.

Either way, you’ve got to be smart and savvy if you want to avoid spending more money than you need or want to. Bad DIY often leads to unsightly flaws dotted around the house, be it a series of wonky shelves, a loose and ragged carpet, or even cracks and holes in the wall.

In many cases, this leads to the hiring of professional help to rectify these issues, costing you far more than you may have anticipated.

Don’t overstretch yourself, don’t rush, and don’t forget to do research and planning. If there’s even the smallest chance you could end up costing yourself an arm and leg, get the professionals in.”

Rugged Hank

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Education Technology Day must be extended to prisons

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Typically thought of as being an easy to clean area of the home, hard floors have risen in popularity in recent decades. Globally, hard floors are the most common floor type,2 and research released today by Dyson has uncovered poor cleaning habits that mean hard floors are likely to be harbouring an array of hidden nasties. This comes as 32% of Brits – equating to 21.6 million people in the UK – will use the same dirty mop head for six months or more before replacing it. What’s more, one in 20 also admit to keeping the same mop for a year or longer, and one in 10 think it is acceptable to use the same mop 100 times, spreading dirt around their floors every time they use it. Cross contamination is a primary issue for most common and traditional mopping methods with germs and bacteria further being unknowingly spread around homes as Brits use dirty water to clean floors.3 45% only change the water to new water between rooms, whereas 41% wait even longer until it looks dirty. This could mean that floors are being washed with dirty water, adding more dirt rather than taking it away. Surprisingly, almost one in 10 (9%) even admit to not changing the dirty water at all when mopping. Over a quarter (28%) admit to mopping their floors once a fortnight or less while over half (53%) admit they don’t regularly clean behind appliances and leave dirt to build up for as long as six months at a time. image002.jpg On how to achieve a perfect barefoot clean feel after mopping, Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert offers their top tips for eliminating dirt around the home: 1. Create a cleaning schedule to stay on top of dirt build-up. In the last year, there has been a 15% global reduction in the number of people who maintain regular cleaning schedules. 47% of the British public admitted to only being motivated to clean when they spot visible dirt or dust.4 Regular floor cleaning with a wet hard floor cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ removes more stubborn dirt than vacuuming alone. It is important to have a debris free surface, clear any clutter from the floor or other surfaces. Choose the right machine: Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes. Some machines will be engineered with hard floors in mind and will struggle on thick pile carpets, for example. Choosing the right machine for your home will make a big difference to the ease and speed with which you’re able to clean your home. Clean your floors ‘little and often’. Washing your floors frequently in areas that receive more foot fall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Using a dedicated wet floor cleaner on hard flooring such as the Dyson WashG1 is helpful for this, as the versatile format means it vacuums and washes the floor simultaneously. Cleaning schedules have also become less regimented. In recent years only 41% of people claim to have a regular cleaning schedule, and 60% admit to cleaning reactively; being motivated to clean only when there is visible dirt or dust5. It’s perhaps not surprising, that a fifth of people are still concerned their floors are dirty after they’ve mopped them (22%) and one in four6 feel extremely worried about indoor dust at home. Geli Lee, Dyson Engineer and Home Cleaning Expert reveals why it is important to change the way we mop: “Cleaning your hard floors properly and regularly is important for maintaining a healthy environment around your home. Without a proper cleaning routine, dirt may unknowingly build up and spread around your home. It is evident from our research that current mopping habits mean British households aren’t cleaning their floors as effectively as they should. “From ignoring problem areas where dust and debris build up, cross contamination with dirty water to not replacing mop heads or inconsistent cleaning, current mopping behaviours may be making floors dirtier as opposed to cleaner. Moving away from traditional methods, wet floor cleaners like the Dyson WashG1 simplify the floor cleaning experience and provide a modern efficient and hygienic solution” To help take the guesswork out of mopping, the brand new WashG1 is Dyson’s first dedicated wet floor cleaner that tackles wet and dry debris in one go. Engineered for hygienic cleaning and maintenance, the WashG1 is revolutionising wet floor cleaning, removing the need for multi-products and multi-steps to achieve a barefoot clean feel around the home. To put the product to the test, Dyson have cleaned one of London’s most iconic landmarks The Victoria and Albert Museum. From cleaning the grand marble floors housing the most prestigious exhibits, to cleaning up leftover food in the Gamble Room Cafe, the WashG1 had a dirt busting tour of the museum leaving it spotless. Images can be found here. The WashG1 introduces Dyson’s engineering expertise to cleaning hard floors. With a 1 litre clean-water tank to cover flooring up to 290m2, the Dyson WashG1 uses a combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies to remove wet and dry spills and stains simultaneously. The Dyson WashG1 is available to purchase now from Dyson.co.uk, retailing at £599.99.

Housing shortfall calls for public-private collaboration

Housing shortfall calls for public-private collaboration

Seven ways to decorate your home when renting

Seven ways to decorate your home when renting

65% of Brits are concerned about marine life

65% of Brits are concerned about marine life

Muntada Aid – Landmark 50th Mission to Take Place in Tunisia this September as Little Hearts nears 3,000 Lifesaving Operations

Muntada Aid – Landmark 50th Mission to Take Place in Tunisia this September as Little Hearts nears 3,000 Lifesaving Operations