Coffee Troubleshooting
How do I make coffee less bitter?
Why coffee tastes bitter and the four variables that fix it — grind size, water temperature, brew time and dose — changed one at a time.
beginner10 min3 min read
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Cleaning
How do I remove mould?
How to remove black mould from walls, sealant and ceilings, and how to stop it returning by fixing the moisture causing it.
beginner45 min3 min readRepairs
How do I unblock a sink?
How to clear a blocked kitchen or bathroom sink in escalating order — plunger, trap, then drain snake — without resorting to caustic chemicals.
beginner30 min3 min readCooking Basics
How do I cook rice?
The absorption method for fluffy rice every time, with ratios and timings for the common varieties and what to do when it goes wrong.
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How do I fix a dripping tap?
How to stop a tap dripping by replacing the washer or ceramic cartridge, including how to tell which type of tap you have.
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How do I boil eggs?
Timings for soft, jammy and hard-boiled eggs, plus how to stop them cracking and how to make them easy to peel.
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- How do I make coffee less bitter?Why coffee tastes bitter and the four variables that fix it — grind size, water temperature, brew time and dose — changed one at a time.
- What do I do if I smell gas?The immediate steps in order, why you must not touch a light switch, and who to call.
- How do I remove mould?How to remove black mould from walls, sealant and ceilings, and how to stop it returning by fixing the moisture causing it.
- Is OneDrive, Google Drive or iCloud Drive a backup?No. Sync is a mirror and a backup is an archive. The difference decides whether a deletion, an overwrite or ransomware is an annoyance or a permanent loss.
- How do I unblock a sink?How to clear a blocked kitchen or bathroom sink in escalating order — plunger, trap, then drain snake — without resorting to caustic chemicals.
- Should I leave the heating on low all day?The honest answer to the most argued-about heating question, and the two situations where the usual advice is wrong.
- Is iCloud Photos or Google Photos actually a backup?Sync is a mirror and backup is an archive, and the difference is the whole reason people lose photos they thought were safe in the cloud.
- How do I know if a builder is any good?A staged process that narrows a list to one, with the specific verification that belongs at each stage — because this single decision determines how the whole project goes.
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- What order do I strip a room out in?Isolate, record, save what you are keeping, then soft strip, then linings, then structure last. Why the order matters, and the two steps everyone skips.
- How do I protect the rest of the house during building work?The barrier, the airflow that makes it work, and the protection that goes down before anything else. Plus what to do about the vents, the flue and the carpets you are keeping.
- How does a seal actually work, and why does tightening it not help?O-rings, gaskets and compression olives seal in three different ways. Which one you are looking at decides whether tightening helps, does nothing, or destroys the seal — and it is why so many leaks get worse after someone attacks them with a spanner.
- How do I solder electronics without making a mess of it?Tinning the tip, heating the joint rather than the solder, and recognising a cold joint. Plus lead-free, flux, extraction, and the handful of things that make the difference between a joint that lasts and one that fails intermittently.
Life hacks
See all life hacksSmall changes with a real payoff. Nothing here works only in a video.
How do I remove smells from a fridge?
Why fridges smell, how to clear it properly, and what actually absorbs odours afterwards.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I manage passwords without losing my mind?
How to move from remembered, reused passwords to a manageable system, without doing all of it in one weekend.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I make a room feel warmer without turning the heating up?
Comfort depends on draughts, surfaces and humidity as much as air temperature — and all three are cheaper to change.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I clean a kitchen as I go?
The habits that mean there is almost nothing to clear at the end, and why it makes the cooking better as well.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I declutter a whole house?
Working through a whole home without stalling, including the order that keeps momentum and what to do with the hard categories.
beginner8 hr2 min readHow do I organise cables?
How to tame the cables behind a desk or TV so it stays tidy, and how to store spare cables so you can find the one you need.
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