DIY

Is Ryobi a Home Depot brand? Not exactly. Ryobi is a Japanese manufacturing conglomerate. They introduced a line of power tools in 1968. In 2000, they sold their international tool operations to TTI and licensed their name to them. They retained the rights to make and sell Ryobi tools in Japan. They sold the Japanese tool business to Kyocera in 2018.

In North America, Home Depot and TTI have an exclusive agreement to sell Ryobi branded tools at retail only at Home Depot. The situation is different in other parts of the world.

Read More »Is Ryobi a Home Depot brand? It depends

The direction of an electrical outlet doesn’t matter to the electrons. Electricity will flow regardless of the way you mount the outlet on the wall, whether it looks upside down, right side up, or sideways. So whether the ground prong should be up or down is simply a matter of practicality.

Legally, nothing says which side of an outlet is up. But there is a practical safety argument for the ground going on top on an electrical outlet.

Read More »Does the ground go up or down on an outlet?

It’s pretty common knowledge that compact fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury and need to be recycled rather than throwing them in the trash. But what about LED light bulbs? Are LED light bulbs recyclable? And should they be recycled?

Read More »Are LED light bulbs recyclable?

I’ve been buying Ecosmart light bulbs at Home Depot since the summer of 2015. Ecosmart is Home Depot’s house brand. At the time I started buying them, they seemed like good bulbs for the money. The last time I bought bulbs, they had pretty much crowded everything else off the shelf. So let’s talk about Ecosmart light bulbs and whether they are any good.

Read More »Are Ecosmart light bulbs good? My experience

A common problem with tools, whether we are talking garden tools or hand tools, is the tools rusting in storage when we aren’t using them. Here’s how to prevent tools from rusting in your garage, your shed, or your toolbox.

Read More »Prevent tools from rusting

Walnut is an expensive hardwood, desirable for its durability, attractive green pattern, and rich color. But it has a relative that is well known for being less expensive while having a similar appearance. It’s called butternut, also known as the white walnut or the poor man’s walnut.

Read More »The white walnut: Butternut

I bought my house 20 years ago in October, and I remember telling one of my co-workers I needed to rake the leaves, and that was a first time I’d done that in years. And he gave me a puzzled look. You don’t mow your leaves, he asked. It felt a little like cheating, but it didn’t take him long to sell me on the idea. Here’s why mowing leaves works, and is actually a pretty good idea.

Read More »Does mowing leaves work? Usually

Unless they are something you use everyday, or at least every weekend, it can be difficult to know when to use silicone grease versus lithium grease. Here are their strengths and weaknesses compared to one another.  So let’s take a look at lithium grease vs silicone grease.

Although they are sometimes interchangeable, the important thing to remember is that lithium grease is not for plastics but it’s better for metals. Silicone grease is compatible with plastics.

Read More »Lithium grease vs silicone grease

Silicone grease sells side by side with lithium grease in hardware stores and auto parts stores. But what is silicone grease used for? Here’s when to use it and why, and when to use another type. Although it may seem like grease is grease, that’s not entirely the case.

Read More »What silicone grease is used for

How long does a refrigerator last? Is it cheaper to repair or replace a refrigerator? How much does a refrigerator cost to repair? Those are all very valid questions, and unfortunately, answer is it depends. But let’s dig in.

In the short term it’s usually cheaper to repair a refrigerator. But in the long run, the older the refrigerator is, the more likely it is to be cheaper to buy a new one.

Read More »Is it cheaper to repair or replace a refrigerator? It depends