Simple Solutions for Those Little Summertime Household Mishaps

Who does not have a summertime horror story to tell, a tale of one or another minor household disaster? And who is ready for any eventuality?

Probably no one.

Here are some practical suggestions for some of the little surprises that could be ahead:

The kid next door, doing his regular paid lawn chores, runs over your new hose, slicing it in two. Remedy: Off to the hardware store or to the lawn rack of your favorite discount house. Look for a double-jointed plastic splicer (it should be about $2) that will link both ends of the hose simply and firmly.

Your kid and a friend try doing a quickie oil change in your garage, but they overturn the pan in process. Remedy: First, mop up the excess with whatever is at hand; remember that, as a toxic substance, oil must be disposed of properly. To clean the stain on your garage floor, get a hardware-store cleaner that works on long-standing spots on driveways or in garages.

The slugs in your back yard are as big as baseballs and are chewing away at your vine-ripening tomatoes. Remedy: Find a very shallow pan. Wedge it into the garden dirt so that it’s like a tiny pond, then fill the pond with beer. Some recommend putting a little sugar in the beer. The slugs won’t make it out alive.

The gang comes over for the big cookout, and the cocktail hour is under way.

You have $38.45 worth of very prime beef over the coals, and the grill lid is in the up position. Then there’s a sudden scary, Wagnernian flare-up--flames are raging out of control! People scream. Remedy: Lower the lid at once and close the vents. The fire will burn itself out. Don’t douse it with water--that will just spread the flames.

Your five-year-old drives a battery-controlled dump truck into the swimming pool to “clean it off.” It is clean, all right, but it doesn’t work. Remedy: Quickly pull the batteries from truck with needle-nose pliers; dry off the battery receptacle and let the truck air dry. Then check for any corrosion and reload with fresh batteries.