DIY: How to Replace a Toilet Flapper Replacing a toilet flapper sounds harder than it actually is. In fact, most homeowners can replace the toilet flapper themselves, and save money in the process! This Blankenships’ Universal Supply guide gives you DIY step-by-step instructions to replacing your toilet flapper. Learn how below! What is a toilet flapper?  A toilet flapper is a piece inside of a toilet tank that lets water go out of the tank and into the bowl when the toilet is flushed. Follow these step by step instructions to replace your toilet flapper: Remove tank lid Remove the tank lid and set aside. Turn off water supply First, turn off the water by closing the shutoff valve. This can be found on the water supply line; turn the handle clockwise until it comes to a halt.  Remove water in toilet tank Flush the toilet to remove the majority of water from the tank. Soak up any remaining water using a cloth or sponge.  Remove old flapper Disconnect the lift chain to remo...

  UNWANTED HOUSE GUESTS It’s that time of year again.  Your home feels different.  It is full of holiday decorations, ridiculous amounts of food, and houseguests.  While the holidays are a joyous occasion for most, they do not come without a price.  In the spirit of giving, you must include everyone on your invite lists including unwanted house guests.   It may be your in-laws, a judgmental grandparent, a kooky aunt, a creepy uncle, or some bratty cousins.  Most of us have some small percentage of invites we include out of obligation.  Unfortunately, I cannot help you with those.  However, I can help you with some uninvited houseguests which can be just as pesky.  These holiday crashers are coming in to get out of the cold and help themselves to whatever holiday food scraps they can find.  Like your creepy uncle, they will likely get into the cookies you were saving for your party the following day.  Like your kooky aunt, they ...

  FOLLOWING UP ON PAINT: THE EXPERT ASKS THE EXPERTS The last time I wrote to you about paint , I made a comparison between paint and beer.   Just as cheap beer is nothing but watered down premium beer, cheap paint is watered down premium paint.   Cheap paint doesn’t last as long, just as the buzz quickly fades from a domestic light beer.   Cheap paint also doesn’t cover as well.   You have to use more of a cheap paint to do the same job you can accomplish with less premium paint.   Beer is the same.   It takes a lot of cheap beer to get that warm fuzzy feeling whereas you can get that same fuzzy feeling with less than a sixer of good beer.   However, if you are like me, you like to test theories yourself so you know for sure.   How would you know I’m not just trying to sell you expensive paint when you could get by just fine and save a few bucks using cheap paint?   I can certainly think of plenty of products where the cheap alternative...

I have loved to cook since I was a kid.  I have used many knives over the years and received many as Christmas gifts.  People would buy me what they swore to be the best knife they ever used.  Though I’ve owned some pretty nice knives, none of them stood out as a knife that I loved.  Each one had a noticeably sharper edge right after sharpening.  But half way through cooking, they’d lose it.  Another thing all these knives had in common is that they were all stainless steel.  I had never known of anything different.  It wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I tried my first high carbon, steel knife.   My wife and I were moving in together.  While unpacking the kitchen stuff, I noticed a couple of old looking knives in a box.  I recognized the name “Old Hickory” branded into the knives’ wooden handles and realized that these were the same knives I sell at the store.  However, I had never used them.  I thought the appeal wa...

I can remember as a teenager when my family first heard that a minor league baseball team was coming to Mobile.  We began to discuss what the mascot should be.  I said, “It should be something intimidating that Mobile is known for.”  It didn’t take long for the brainstorming to start.  My mom said, “The Mobile Mosquitoes.”  My sister chimed in with a mascot that to her was, and probably still is, the most intimidating creature on Earth, “The Mobile Cockroaches.”  I’m sure if the family dog Gretal could have had a say, she would have argued for, “The Mobile Fleas.”  Why were all of our suggestions insects?  When you think about it though, insects really are the most prevalent terror in our city.  As we enter into our hottest and most humid months, the environment becomes so inviting to these prehistoric creatures that we begin to wonder whether we humans actually belong here.   Until we are ready to surrender this Earth to the insects, he...

Well it’s March.  We are on the verge of longer days and warmer weather.  It’s time to get outside, plant your garden, and enjoy some porch time with your neighbors.  We are not the only ones excited.  Mosquitoes love this weather too for it marks the beginning of their mating season.  But before a female mosquito can lay her eggs, she needs your help.  Don’t worry about reaching out to her.  She will find you.  The carbon dioxide in your breath will lead her to you.  Once she finds you, there is no need for you to offer her what she needs.  She will take it.  She wants your blood.  In return she will leave you with a sting, an itch, and a little red bump to remember her by.  Next thing you know, you will find yourself running indoors and wishing the cold weather back.  But have no fear.  Sparty is here.    Last time I wrote to you about mosquito control in your yard, I told you that the only optio...

     The hardware store can be a great resource for arts and crafts supplies.  Our store is frequently visited around Mardi Gras by the guys who design stages for Mardi Gras balls.  We have helped our local celebrity drag queens design props for their performances.  But we are not just a resource for these high profile artists.  We have a lot of supplies that you can use at home.  Supplies you may already know we have include; glue, glue guns, staple guns, wooden and metal rods, tie wire, and paint.  However my favorite medium for craft projects is one that may not occur to you in your creative brainstorming; galvanized pipe and fittings.   Galvanized pipe is normally used to transport water or gas through your home.  It is a waterproof, metal pipe that comes in diameters ranging from ¼ inch to 2 inchs.  Lengths of pipe can be as long as 21 feet, and we can cut them to any size you want.  The ends of each pipe are t...