SUN-DRIED TOMATOES: You need a way to water sensitive tomato plants during your summer vacation, without asking your neighbor to take care of them (again).
THE QUICK FIX: Collect some liter-size plastic soda bottles and punch a few small holes in each one. Then, bury a bottle up to its neck next to each of the plants. Before you leave, simply fill the bottles; they'll slowly release the water over the next four or five days and keep your plants from wilting.
STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE: A broken tent pole is threatening to ruin your annual family camping trip.
THE QUICK FIX: "As long as you don't need it to hold up to serious weather, you can splint a tent pole with a branch," says Michael Hodgson, author of Camping For Dummies. (Use medical tape, dental floss--or, yes, duct tape.) "Heck, you can even pitch a tent entirely with branches if you need to."
BLANK SLATE: You've lost the stylus to your PDA.
THE QUICK FIX: Use a toothpick. It works as a replacement--and does double duty after dinner.
CHILLY DEPTHS: There's a puddle of water under your refrigerator, and it's growing.
THE QUICK FIX: "I see this all the time," says Jeff McKinney, owner of JEM Plumbing and a member of ServiceMagic.com. "Usually, it's because the icemaker line has sprung a leak. People don't realize that there's a shutoff valve. Typically, it's under the sink. If not, look in the basement, beneath the fridge."
SNEAK LEAK: You can't find the source of oil leaking from your engine.
THE QUICK FIX: First, spray the area with Easy Off kitchen cleaner. (It's cheaper than automotive cleaners.) Then, hose the area down, let it dry and spray on aerosol foot powder. The oil will stain a path in the powder, which you can follow back to its source.
NOTE: Easy Off can corrode aluminum, but the damage isn't instantaneous. Make sure to rinse it off with a hose both promptly and thoroughly.
POLTERGEIST DOOR: Every house has one, a door that slowly drifts shut every time you try to leave it open.
THE QUICK FIX: Rather than resetting the hinges or propping it open with a potted plant, remove one of the hinge pins, lay it over a nail atop a hard surface, and strike it lightly with a hammer until the hinge pin has a slight bend. Tap the pin back in place. The increased friction will keep the door where you want it.
TRASHED SINK: The kitchen garbage disposal is frozen.
THE QUICK FIX: "Ninety-five percent of garbage disposals have a reset button on the motor," says Chris Hall, a former appliance repairman and founder of Repairclinic.com. "No other appliance has this, so people assume they need to call a technician. I've answered literally dozens of calls that just needed someone to hit the reset."
CRACK HABIT: You've always used Spackle to patch cracks in plaster walls, just like your father did. But the pesky fissures keep opening up.
THE QUICK FIX: "Use a clear latex acrylic caulk, rather than traditional patching compounds," says John Stauffer, technical director at the Paint Quality Institute. "The caulk has some flexibility, so it won't open up if your house moves a bit."
DRIP SERVICE: A toilet tank is dripping and you can't tell if the water is coming from harmless seasonal sweating or a bad seal.
THE QUICK FIX: Dump some food coloring into the tank and see if the color reaches the floor. If it does, check the tank for cracks and the piping for loose connections.
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