Super Handyman: New light switch may be brightest of ideas

There are lots of ways to turn lights off and on. The traditional switch is the most common method, but there are others, and they can make life so much easier.

Here are a few you might want to try. They are especially useful for the physically challenged, the elderly, children and even pets. Check it out.

Adding a switch to a power cord for things like lamps is an easy project. These switches are very inexpensive and easy to install. They are available at most hardware stores and home centers. Basically, you unplug the cord, cut it at the point where you want the switch to be and make the connections per the instructions for that in-line switch. Some don’t even require stripping the wires. These are great for harder-to-turn switches on lamps.

There also are switches that turn ordinary lamps into touch-lamps. These look like regular bulb sockets, but they magically turn the lamp bases into the on-off switches. They cost only a few bucks and are available at hardware stores and home centers.

Motion sensors are widely available, and will activate a lamp when someone enters a room or walks close to the lamp. These also are installed at the base of the lamp bulb. They are great for bathrooms, basements, patios and garages, because these areas might be accessed at night or maybe when your hands are full with laundry, groceries or a walker.

Timers are a great way of controlling your lights without having to turn them off and on. This takes more thought, but for those on a regular schedule, they are a great way to deal with difficult lighting situations. These come in a wide variety of forms, including switches and plug-in timers.

Make your life easier and help those you care for. These are all very simple, inexpensive things you can do, and they really could come in handy. These simple alternatives sure beat the Dirty Harry way of shooting the lights out!

Let ladder carry the weightA tool belt is a super-handy accessory. You often can put the contents of a whole toolbox on one tool belt. Of course, it can get pretty heavy. If you are working on a ladder and you don#146;t want to carry all that weight up with you, take the tool belt off, drape it over the rung of your ladder and buckle it in place. Now you will have all of your tools at hand without having to wear them. You can do this with a nail apron, too.Splint an injured ductFlexible ductwork (flex duct) is a popular type, used in many homes today. It has advantages, but there also are drawbacks. Because of its flexibility, it can become kinked, preventing sufficient airflow. Straighten it out if you can. If it is kinked because of the way it is suspended, then add more support. You can make a splint for it from heavy cardboard. Just slip this between the support strap and the duct, and adjust it to prevent kinks. You#146;ll feel the difference!Super hintsŸ We talk all the time about recycling and using old containers for shop compounds. Just make sure to relabel the containers. It#146;s very important!Ÿ I#146;m pretty messy in the shop and garden. I try to wear my grubby clothes out there, but I don#146;t like grease stains, even on them. I keep a bottle of laundry pretreater in the garage so I can spray it on the stains as they happen. This way, by the time they hit the washing machine, the stains already are pretreated.Ÿ It is required that you have ground-fault circuit interuptor, or GFCI, outlets in certain areas of your home, like the bathroom and kitchen. These have test buttons to cut power to the outlet. Test them periodically to make sure they are working correctly, and have them repaired if they are not. It could save your life!Q. How are you supposed to keep the toilet-tissue holder up on the wall? Mine keeps falling off, and I am getting sick and tired of it. What can I do to keep it in place? A. If it is falling off because the anchors are no longer holding in the drywall, then you can replace the original drywall anchors with stronger versions. Metal anchors work well. If the anchors are holding and the metal cover is what is falling off, then tighten up the set screw that holds it in place.Q. Our home faces west, and the front entry gets really hot in the afternoons. The door is a good, solid wood door, but it still gets really hot. I put in a storm door, but the area between the front door and that new door gets extremely hot. Is it supposed to do that? A. It#146;s OK. Adding a sun-control window film to the storm door might help reflect some of the heat back out. You also might consider adding an awning over this doorway. Most are really great at blocking the sun, and can be a lot more affordable than you might think. It would make the doorway more comfortable, and would keep the rain off you, too.Q; I never noticed, but my sister visited us and told me she could hear clearly what everyone was saying in the kitchen. I am not sure, but I think it is coming through the vents. I am not sure what I can do about it. What would you do?A. Take the covers off both of these vents and see if they appear to be straight runs from one to the other. If that#146;s the case, you might see if you can add a filter to each vent opening. This would block out some of the noise but still would allow plenty of airflow to the rooms. The only other option is to move one of the ducts to another location, and you would want an air-conditioning contractor to do that for you. Maybe you could learn sign language!Reader tipsŸ Our new apartment is great. We have finished moving in and are starting to hang some pictures. One extra-large frame needed two heavy-duty nails, installed into the wall studs. We had a lot of trouble just finding the studs. I figured if most stud finders are really just magnets, then maybe my old Scouts compass would work; it has a magnet. It worked, as I moved the magnet over the wall and it pointed at the hidden nails in the studs. We got the frame up, and it has stayed up just fine.Ÿ I know of a better way to center a picture. What I do is take a strip of masking tape and roll it into a loop. Then I put it on a back corner of the frame, hang the picture and use a level to make sure the picture is level, then push the corner with the tape to the wall. You can move the picture anytime, and there will be no marks or holes to patch.Ÿ We replaced our old fence, and we did it ourselves. It was a lot of hard work, but my brother came over and helped us. The family project looks great now, and we have decided to try another project soon. My brother taught me a neat trick: If you mix some liquid dishwashing soap into the water, then the powdered concrete mix will blend in more easily. It helps keep the dust down and does help it mix better.Ÿ I have found a great new #147;tool#148; for my garage. I keep a can of foamy shaving cream handy for quick cleanups. It is great for knocking the top layer of grease off my hands when I#146;m working on the car. It#146;s also good for other messes I get into out there. I buy it on sale and keep it where I need it. You don#146;t need to have running water to use it, either.Ÿ You#146;re going to love this idea. I had this kitchen door that was designed to swing, but it kept sticking. It was a real bother. I couldn#146;t tell for sure where it was getting stuck, so I taped some carbon paper along the doorjamb and tried to close it again. It was really obvious when I opened it back up and could see the dark marks along the edge near the top of the door frame. I pulled the carbon paper off and threw it out, and then I got my husband to sand the door frame down in that spot. Now it swings like it used to. (I wish I did!).ShoptalkŸ You probably think that custom screens are just for the wealthy. But in fact, many are very affordable, and if you have an odd-shaped or out-of-square opening that needs to be screened, custom screens are your only option. The Snapp Screen System can be cut to fit any opening, even a curved or arched opening; mounts on just about any surface; and can use a wide variety of screen materials. That makes it perfect for practically everyone. It#146;s very easy to install and can turn a porch or patio into a new family entertainment center. It looks good, too, and the frames are low-profile and come in a few colors to match your home#146;s exterior. Check it out at www.connscreen.com to see the possibilities and find a local dealer.Ÿ The Johnson Level is the perfect level when you need to work in dark rooms or at night. It is made with Glo-View technology, which uses glow-in-the-dark material to make seeing the vials much easier. They charge up in sunlight and glow at night. They are made from magnetic material, so they will hold to ferrous metal surfaces, and the aluminum frame is tough. The V-groove also makes it easy to work on pipe and conduit. To find out more, visit www.johnsonlevel.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell on their website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$