Ready for some Spring cleaning but don’t know where to start? Thanks to Art of Manliness here are a few suggestions to get you started up!
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DIY Home Upgrades
Trey Burke Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Yesterday, the NBA announced that Trey Burke, the Utah Jazz guard and defending champion, has been selected to take part in the 2015 Taco Bell Skills Challenge, as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on February 14. Burke will also be taking part in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge tonight in Brooklyn.
TNT will be exclusively televising the Skills Challenge. The event will be featuring a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament format for the first time. The eight-player field consists of three-rounds in an obstacle-course competition, which shall be testing dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills. The Skills Challenge format calls for two players to compete simultaneously on an identical course with the fastest finisher reaching the next round. In the first round, he eight players have been paired to participate in four head-to-head competitions. Burke will be matching up against Brandon Knight of the Milwaukee Bucks. The four winners will then advance to the second round, where the finalists will be determined by two more head-to-head showdowns.
Burke will be making his second appearance in the Skills Challenge, after having teamed with Portland’s Damian Lillard to win the competition last year in New Orleans. As the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Burke has appeared in 48 games (41 starts) this season, averaging at 13 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 32.1 minutes. The 6-1 guard has scored in double figures in 34 contests, including 20-plus points on six separate occasions. Burke has also registered three double-doubles of 10-plus assists and 10-plus points. Burk is the second person on the Utah Jazz to compete in the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday Night. Back in 2008, Deron Williams won, and competed again in 2010. As well as Burke vs. Knight, the other Skills Challenge matchups will include Kyle Lowry of Toronto facing Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Atlanta’s Jeff Teague and Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, and Philadelphia’s Isaiah Thomas against Washington’s John Wall.
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Quick Plumbing Fixes
1) Ever have a clogged drain and instinctively reach for a bottle of drain cleaner? Not so fast. Maybe the cleaner will work, but you get a lot more mileage out of it if you do some preliminary cleaning done first. Stick a snake down the drain (or a straight wire hanger), and give it a few turns. Pull it out, discard the gunk, then use the cleaner.
2) Ah, sometimes you need to flush the toilet, but the handle is broken! What could be wrong? If it’s on the outside, then you will need to find a replacement part, which is pretty inexpensive. Until then, just lift the tank lid and pull the chain manually. If it’s an internal issue, chances are the arm that should be connected to the chain has fallen off. Just reattach it and flush away!
3) Drop you cell phone in water? Don’t worry, get it out as fast as possible, remove the battery, and pat it dry. Then stick them in a Ziploc bag full of uncooked rice (be sure to keep the phone and battery in separate containers!) and let it sit for at least 24 hours. The uncooked rice absorbs the water!
4) Ah, the overflowing toilet. Gross, messy, and worrisome. But fear not. In dire circumstances, look behind your toilet for your water cutoff valves, and twist it into the off position. This will stop water from coming to the toilet. If it’s not overflowing, but definitely rising, open the tank and lift that little float to a horizontal position. Both methods cut off the water, and give the toilet time to drain.
Be sure to head over to DIY Network for other awesome tips!
Cleaning the Jets
Here’s a quick hack for those of you with jets in your bathtub. The tip comes courtesy of Apartment Therapy
It’s time to get those jets cleaned.
, and purports to be simple, fast, and effective. Be honest with yourself, and if it’s been a while since you’ve given the ol’ jets a deep cleaning, give this method a whirl!
What you’ll need:
- Dishwashing liquid (a low sudsing kind)
- Bleach (or white vinegar)
- Bottle Brush
- Dental Floss
Before you begin, read that users manual to learn which settings configuration the manufacturer recommends during cleaning.
Fill up your tub until the jets are completely covered by about two or three inches of hot bathwater. Next, add in two tablespoons of the dishwashing liquid (or powdered soap, if no liquid is on hand), and one half cup of bleach. However, if you’re feeling green, go ahead and sub out the bleach for one cup of white vinegar. Another thing with bleach- on some models it can dry out the internal gaskets, so consult the manufacturers or manual to give yourself the clear to use it. Anyway, after the bleach/vinegar decision has been made, run the jets for 15 minutes. Next, drain the tub. Refill it with cold water, and run the jets again for another ten minutes. Drain it out, and rinse well to remove excess gunk and grime. If the jets are super gross, feel free to go at them with a bottle brush. After all this is done and dirt still remains in the ring behind the jets, use dental floss to get behind it.
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Tony Rickards Utah: Fresh off the (Word)Press 