We purchased this Hoover vacuum over 25 years back, when just about all our floors had carpeting. So it got a lot of use, with only a few minor repairs. One of those occurred last week, when the rubber drive belt connecting the shaft to the roller shredded itself. Wearing an N95 COVID mask, I picked up a new belt at a local store, and utterly failed to get the new one on. Before, I’d slide out the roller, put the belt on it, then use a screwdriver to pull the belt onto the shaft. Well, either the rubber is more stiff than before, or my hand strength isn’t quite what it was. Assume…
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I'm consumed with returning our yard back to good condition after six years of rental neglect left it overgrown or dead. One task: remove the back lawn and replace it with a brick patio. Rarely for SoCal in June, over 1" of rain fell last weekend, which softened the turf enough to remove easily. Well, easier than if it were hard and dry. So I eagerly started in with a shovel and old muscles and fairly quickly excavated 3/4 of the 600 sq.ft., only to realize I'd created a problem.
Take a close look...
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