Customer Reviews

New Fix-It-Yourself Manual: How to Repair, Clean, and Maintain Anything and Everything In and Around Your Home

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I loved this book! I am a single female, and my dad bought it for me when I bought my first house. Now I'm going to buy it for a friend who just bought a house himself.

Just this weekend alone I fixed my ice maker and my garbage disposal using the book as a guide.

The pictures are great, and the language is easy to understand. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a great fix-it book.

First off, I do want to say that this is not a negative review - I think the book is okay, but fairly limited. A far better book is the do-it-yourself book (by the same author). My reasons for recommending this book are based on the number of times I have found useful information when needed. I often pulled the fix-it-yourself book off the bookshelf without being helped, while the do-it-yourself book frequently gave me what I needed to know. I very rarely pull the fix-it-yourself book out anymore.

Note - there is a new edition of the do-it-yourself book out, and amazon will not pull it up first. The new edition is even cheaper.

When an appliance breaks down, it can be tough to scrape up the money to repair it. As a single income family, saving money is the name of the game! This book allows you to troubleshoot the most common problems, and most of the time fix it yourself! It's got other great tips and tricks as well, but I got it mainly for the help on our major appliances! Books on home repair are a dime a dozen, but a book like this pays for itself in just ONE use! A must have on MY bookshelf!

This book is the best housewarming gift I ever received!

Your furnace blowing nothing but cold air? This book will show you how to safely relight your pilot light. KitchenAid mixer gone on the fritz? Inkjet printer no longer drawing paper from the paper cassette? Dishwasher broker?

A troubleshooting chart and gorgeous, clear diagrams will explain not only how to fix almost any household problem, but also gives the level of technical skill required to finish the job, as well any special tools required to do so.

Kudos to the folks at Reader's Digest for producing such an excellent book. This volume is now my standard housewarming gift to all my friends.

I am glad to see Reader's Digest has updated this essential book. I always, ALWAYS have a copy of this on my bookshelf.

There is information on care of water heaters, replacing this and that broken item, how to care for your furnace, what is seriously in need of repair, and how to do a lot of little jobs.

Most importantly, there is a lot about maintenance, which is most of the battle. House ownership is a never-ending stream of small jobs that need doing (the Honey-Do jar or in our house, the Honey-Won't jar.) It may seem niggling, but small maintenance tasks add up to a big saving when selling a house. My parents were extremely vigilant in how they maintained our childhood home and today, 40 years later, we had a chance to visit that house. It still looks wonderful because during the many years we lived in it and afterward, the owners took a lot of care. My dad gave me a copy of this book long ago and I keep an up-to-date copy on the shelf, ready to hand. My dad taught me to spend a portion of the weekend doing repair and cleaning and it always has paid off for me. I would recommend this book as a gift to any newlyweds, new home owners or anyone for Father's Day, Mother's Day or a birthday. This guide is lavishly illustrated and well-written. Don't be home without it.

I bought my first copy of this book over 20 years ago (Old Blue Cover ) after borrowing it from a friend. Myself and others have used it several times and saved hundreds of dollars . I myself have rebuilt a Dryer, serviced Washing machines, Refrigerators , Ranges, Dishwashers. After reviewing the newer edition and with the changes in appliances its time to replace it. More than pays for itself first time it's used. A must for any homeowner, Renter, unless wealthy and want to keep local appliance repair business in the manner to which they've become accustomed. Everyone that borrows mine has similar comments.

Great reference for someone handy. However it is fast becoming outdated. Even if "they" do publish a new book, you will want to keep this one around.

The Fix-It-Yourself Manual and the Do-It-Yourself Manual cover different areas. There is of couse overlap, but one does not compete with nor replace the other.

This book is full of clear, concise instructions, great diagrams and detailed pictures. We've used it to fix vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, washers, dryers and garbage disposals - and I'm no handyman! Our super handy friend admired this book so much that we got *him* a copy. It's an excellent reference guide to have in your home, with troubleshooting flowcharts and easy to follow explanations. I highly recommend this book!

This book is very easy to navigate. Quite a few of the *jobs* in this book are simply too big for me, however...I wouldnt want to be with out this reference. Most recently I was having washing machine filling problems. Going through this book allowed me to eliminate some things that I knew could not be the problem which was very helpful.

Calling for a repair can be nerve wracking to me. I never quite know if they are telling me the whole truth about what is wrong. In this case I went through the book and was able to eliminate quite a number of things that it couldnt be. The problem turned out to be intermittant and I didn't end up making the appointment. However I did get on the phone with the company that made the washer and was able to talk about the problem....tell them what I thought it was, what I thought it couldnt be..and ask how much the repairs would be to fix any of the possibilities.

I am sure the same problem will come up again. And that I will have to deal with it at that time. But by reading this book which has a lot of easy to read, yet detailed illustrations I was able to get a handle on the problem and feel like an informed consumer.

The book is a very good shape (a bit longer than wide) so it lies flat on all pages which is essential when you are trying to follow it for a repair. I think this is really a home essential even if you do not do repairs yourself.

I recently purchased this manual and was, unfortunately, disappointed with its content. It is actually outdated in many areas--who wants to repair a hooded hair dryer--who even owns one these days? Quite a few of the items addressed would be cheaper to replace than repair--you can pick up a good, reliable hand-held hair dryer at your local "dollar" store for $9.99. While the manual does cover many things you may have in your home, I felt the instructions for repair or maintenance assumed that you already have some knowledge that most novices just don't have. There were sections that I felt were not really necessary, as well. I own the Readers Digest "1001 Tips and Tricks", which I find to be more thorough in showing you how to "fix it" or "maintain it" around your home and yard. It contains shortcuts, tricks, and ideas that you may not have thought of as a novice. I am going to exchange the "Fix It Yourself" manual I just purchased for Black and Decker's "Home Repair Manual". From the reviews it received on [...], it should be a great companion and cross reference to the "1001 Tips and Tricks" manual.