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I just bought this John Boos maple cutting board. Expensive but not super expensive. I've slathered it with mineral oil because it seemed pretty dry. I just noticed a tiny, barely perceptible hairline crack, about an inch long. You can feel it more than see it. Is this a problem? Will it grow and spread and should I try to return it? I've had the thing three days and have cut on it once.
posted by swheatie at 11:41 AM - 6 answers

We are renters who have an interior door with a french handle whose latch scrapes across our washer, which butts up against the door. Right now, our solution is to try and tape the latch down, which doesn't work well and eventually the tape breaks anyway. How do we fix this? [more inside]
posted by rachaelfaith at 9:24 AM - 14 answers

We just moved and now have two showers. The shower head that I love is following us to one shower, but currently unavailable so I can't but another. Help me find another one that I'll also love! [more inside]
posted by Carillon at 11:10 AM - 11 answers

What advice do you have for tidying cables on a small desk? [more inside]
posted by unicorn chaser at 8:01 AM - 9 answers

Is there something I can do to tame this annoyance? [more inside]
posted by RisforKickin at 7:44 PM - 4 answers

What are my best practices for capitalizing on sunny days with our large south-facing (northern hemisphere) windows? [more inside]
posted by obfuscation at 8:24 AM - 4 answers

Any ideas removing plastic funk from floor mats? [more inside]
posted by rochrobbb at 4:43 AM - 5 answers

I have a standard front yard that has become a parking verge. What are some ways to prevent this. [more inside]
posted by diode at 1:38 PM - 21 answers

We have a wormery like this. Especially over winter while it's cold, the worms aren't keeping up with the amount of food waste we produce. We'd like to put on a new layer, but the bottom layer isn't fully composted yet. [more inside]
posted by snarfois at 5:24 AM - 4 answers

Have you bought new stainless flatware recently? Was it made well with smooth edges? What brand was it and where did you buy it? I am trying to avoid flatware that has bad quality control/scratchy edges and from reading reviews I'm not sure brand is a reliable indicator of this these days (or maybe some sites are selling knockoffs that are made more poorly.) I am also looking at some used options on ebay but this question is about buying brand new.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:04 AM - 25 answers

Help me attach thread guides to a cone stand that I am building. The catch is that the pigtail thread guides have M4 machine screws for mounting, but it’s impractical for me to use anything but wood for the structure. What do I do? Is there some sort of machine-to-wood sleeve like a drywall anchor? Just drill a right-sized hole and hope for the best? Offend all of my forebears and use glue?
posted by janell at 8:38 PM - 6 answers

I live in a snowy climate, and I have wood floors. What foyer mat should I use? [more inside]
posted by vanilla.extract at 7:38 AM - 16 answers

Husband and I have very different opinions about what could be causing our heating problems. He is much more informed about home maintenance. Should I abandon my theory and let him deal with it? [more inside]
posted by lgyre at 7:57 AM - 21 answers

I recently got a new storage heater from the Warmer Homes program, and it's too small for the room it's in. [more inside]
posted by Chenko at 12:54 PM - 8 answers

I need a short piece of pipe (Schedule 40 PVC would be great) with 1-3/8" inner diameter. Is this common, or should I find another way to solve my problem? I would like to keep this under, say, ten bucks. [more inside]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:10 PM - 11 answers

TLDR: had bedbug treatments, lease lapsed, not sure they're gone but the landlord-hired exterminator won't hear it. Is there a way to request a city canine inspection if I don't have a current lease? Will cashed checks/historical leases suffice? Other agencies to ask for help? Is there a reputable inspector/exterminator to go to? I do not trust the one that was hired by the landlord. Can I deduct the treatment cost from my rent? An immediate move isn't really feasible, but my roommate and I have our eye on listings and have applied for housing lotteries. My ideal would be to find a way to rectify the situation and not be forced to move. [more inside]
posted by anonymous at 12:15 AM - 4 answers

My entryway has stupid sliding doors that get off track all the time. Maintenance shrugs and says it's fine. (It is not fine.) I think the problem has something to do with this, but I a: have no idea what it is called and b: no idea of how to fix it. Help, please? Thank you!
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 12:56 PM - 6 answers

We just got a whole-home ducted heat pump. Should we schedule temperature changes or just set and forget? [more inside]
posted by msbrauer at 11:59 AM - 10 answers

I recently had my bathroom faucet switched from two knobs to one center handle. It seems to work OK, but it’s different from what I’m used to seeing. When the handle is at 6 o’clock, it’s off. At 5 it’s cold, at 3 it’s warm, and at 1 it is hot. At 12 o’clock it is off again, but if I keep going to 11 it’s comes back with pure hot water. Not sure why it would do that, or what it’s for. Does anyone else have something like this?
posted by bashos_frog at 9:45 PM - 7 answers

I'm a long-time renter in Capitol Hill, Seattle and want to stay in this neighborhood or another similarly dense, walkable one, but I'm getting fed up with management companies. I could buy a condo, but I think a co-op aligns more with my values. How does the process of finding and joining one work? [more inside]
posted by Cogito at 3:40 PM - 3 answers