How to Not Ruin Your Stuff

This is a general-purpose thread a la the cleaning thread:

I was talking to my sibling today, and the discussion came around to the fact that our parents never taught us how to take care of, maintain, or repair practically anything we owned. In my case this is because my parents never did any maintenance to start with, but I suspect there are plenty of other people who have similar dilemmas for a variety of reasons.

So, anyone have stuff they want advice on how to not ruin?

(One to start out with: I have a really nice real-leather purse I found at Goodwill for ten bucks. However, in the past, I've sometimes had leather stuff crack and peel eventually, especially in areas like straps where it's thinner. What's the best way to make sure my nice purse stays nice for the maximum amount of time?)

 

i had the exact opposite problem as my mom used sis and I as servants so i'd love to help out
house maintenance, laundry, yard and gardening, item care, wiring, plumbing, coupons, finances, you name it i can do zat so hit me with it
(just dont ask about social stuff or relationships)

leather items: do not clean with soap (unless its saddlesoap), wipe down with a wet rag at most, to make it last as long as it can try rubbing mink oil, leather oils, or leather conditioners into the leather to replace the natural oils and moisture. thats the most you can do other than keep it dry when you can and generally not being rough with it

the peeling thing sounds like it was pleather or faux leather, most genuine leathers just crack or dry out without proper care
if it is pleather theres not much to be done about it because its hard to care for the plastic or whatever its made from

Was this helpful? anything else youre curious about?

 

Me and sibling got used as servants a lot, it's just... my parents never take care of anything. My mom gets the car in for mandatory annual inspections, and that's about all I can say. (The highest my dad clears is "usually doesn't leave power tools out in the rain.") Everything gets used with no additional care until it physically cannot do the job anymore. The creation of this thread was partially inspired by my sibling's grim determination to, for once in our lives, have a kitchen where the knives are sharp.

And yes, that's helpful. Any idea where the best place to get leather conditioner is? Online? A shoe store?

 

those are both good options yes
if you dont want to run all over town id say check amazon, if not try walmart, target and the like

sharpening knives is easy. want me to explain?

 

I go through shoe soles like they're made of paper. Does anyone know how I might be doing that and how to stop?

 

Nah, I think Sibling's got that locked down. I know how to use those honing rod things, but those just maintain an edge, not get a dull knife sharp in the first place. (My parents own an electric knife sharpener which lives in the cabinet and comes down like every 3 years when someone notices that you couldn't draw blood with the kitchen knives if you tried. But it doesn't particularly work and is hellish to use because it sounds like nails on a chalkboard.)

 

I would love to know how to sharpen knives, personally.

 

@ChelG do you drag your feet when you walk maybe? Unfortunately the only thing I've come across that makes shoe soles last is buying expensive shoes

Anyone know how to look after a bicycle?

 

what kind of 'looking after' are we talking here
like, do you want basic information on keeping it clean and stuff, or do you wanna go the whole shebang and do it like my dad did, where you change the tires and bike chain and everything all on your own

 

From Sibling's research: to get it sharp in the first place, you have to take off some of the metal. You can either have them professionally sharpened, use whetstones, get a decent electric knife sharpener, or for overachievers with power tools, rig up something like this.

Here's an in-depth tutorial on sharpening with whetstones (though since it's sponsored by a knife company, he's of course using the most expensive high-end ones):


(And, just for the lulz, a video from Jun's Kitchen of him buying a knife at the dollar store for one buck and then sharpening it so much he can cut three water bottles in half with one swing:)


Once they're sharp, you maintain the edge by giving them a few swipes with a honing rod every time you use them, which realigns the edge to smooth out nicks and dings and stuff. Here's an inaccurately-titled video on it from Gordon Ramsay:

 

Well I had to google how to use a bike pump (it's a weird bike pump I swear) so absolute basics would be great

 

how do you know what kind of clothes/blankets/stuff will be ruined in the laundry? for example, i recently learned that stuff like cashmere sweaters basically get killed by the washing/drying process

 

Most clothes and whatnot you buy at a store will have washing info on a tag somewhere. So if it says "hand wash, lay flat to dry" you know it's probably not a good idea to toss it in the washer with your other stuff.

 

Most fabric objects have a tag with specific washing instructions, which can help guide you, like so:



But this site has some good general advice for different types of fabrics, if you want some more specifics about particular types.

 

thank you both! :3

 

okay here is thing

1. Keep the tires inflated to close to the maximum level. Get a good floor pump if you don't have one yet. You'll have less flats that way and the tubes and tires will last longer. Check your tires periodically as well--this guide is a good one to know if you should replace a tire.
2. After a wet or dirty ride, clean the chain and cogs. Use a hose for a quick rinse or a water bottle with water in it to squirt the biggest stuff off. Then spray with a solution of half simple green (inexpensive and can be found most anywhere in large gallon sizes) and half water. Then wipe the chain and cogs off with an old t-shirt or a cloth rag. Then lube the chain (Google or YouTube should be able to give you tutorials on doing this). If you don't ride in the rain, then just do it every two weeks if you're riding the bike a fair bit.
3. If you bought it at a bike shop, take it there after a few weeks riding it. They should tune it up for free if you bought the bike there. If not, finding a bike shop and spending the money to have the bike checked over and adjusted and have the riding position checked to make sure it's adjusted properly to the person riding is a good plan, it'll save you money in the long run.
4. You can learn to adjust brakes, shifters and shift cables and other simple things on parktool. Lots of good information on the site in general. You would need some basic tools to do these things yourself as opposed to paying someone else to do them, but if you really get into riding or you bike a fair bit, it's worth it to buy the tools and do it yourself, saves you money.
5. At least once a month, check all the nuts and bolts to make sure they are tight. Not too tight but you don't want them loose at all. Hand tighten using wrenches and allen wrenches, etc. (See #4 for tools, there'll be suggestions on the site, and a comprehensive list of what you should be checking.)
6. You can find pretty much anything you want on parktool or Google--if you need to change the bike's tire and you aren't sure what to do but you'd rather not ask a bike shop to do it because money, Google can tell you how. parktool is great for recommending the really good tools for any job. But everything above is basically the "basics" I could think of.

 

Thank you so much! This is all actually really useful and that website looks really good

 

They make sole sticker things that might help https://www.amazon.com/EUBUY-Anti-s...id=1500409695&sr=8-1&keywords=shoe+sole+grips

apart from the things that are mentioned above: wash in cold water, cool dry, and sort the laundry into groups (towels, whites, dark colors, light colors, etc) and wash those groups seperate to prevent the dyes bleeding together. also when in doubt: hand wash fill a sink with cool water and mild detergent (following the other guidelines) agitate or rubb gently to clean! wrinse them out in clean water to get rid of the soap, squish most of the water out (no twisting or yanking!) then dry them by hanging them up on a clothes line or hanger, or, if its a heacy item that might stretch out because of its own weight: place it flat and in shape on a dry towel near a fan or airflow, flip or move it occasionally

its a good idea to handwash delicate fabric and items like wool, cashmere, lace, underwire bras and the like (check to make sure they arent dry clean only tho!)

machine washing and drying is rough on clothes so hand washing is a good alternative
the machine might stretch, tear, warp, shrink, shred, of otherwise destroy things. its the heat and extreme agitation and jimmyjangling that wrecks things

 

There is so much information here I didn't know I didn't know. I feel like I should have been told half of these things when I bought my bike. :|

 

that's one of the very few perks of having grown up with my dad. guy was a bike nut, I could ask all the questions I wanted, and he's the only reason I ever learned how to actually ride a bike. I actually do appreciate it, I like bikes. I'm glad this is coming in useful to someone else too, though, since I don't have a bike right now, and honestly, I'd be way too terrified to ride it around Seattle, and I don't know any of Washington well enough to ride around here anyway.