As we all know today (October 31^st) is Halloween, a time when children dress up as devils, witches, ghouls and ghosts, before going around the neighbourhood shouting “trick or treat”.

Trick or Treat is a phrase which is not only applicable to Halloween, but also for some DIY tasks. Earlier this year incahootscotland.com reported that British residents spend over £3,000 fixing DIY mistakes; whilst 250,000 people are seriously injured carrying out simple DIY tasks.

With the trick or treat aspect in mind and to build on our “Don’t Be a DIY Amateur” series on Facebook, at eSpares we’ve decided to compile a list of five of memorable amateur DIY mistakes.

So without further ado and in no particular order, please find our top five DIY trick or treats…

Shower:

An age old debate: “which is better, the shower or the bath?”

We each have our own personal preference, but whichever you prefer you need to doth your cap to the DIY amateur who came up with this clever fix.

Whilst the fix can be considered as somewhat a treat, it’s not one which we would necessarily recommend should you find a fault with your shower. Whether the hose snaps, the showerhead gains a fault or the calcium block leaks, at eSpares we’ll have the perfect part to carry out the correct repair.

Shaver:

Part of our personal care routine is to shave using either an electric or disposable shaver. For those who opt for the latter option you’ll know the pain of having to regularly purchase new shaver heads.

But what happens when it’s the handle of shaver which snaps?

Some DIY amateur opted for this quick fix…..

We’d recommend that if you’re resorting to fixing your shaver in such a manner, that you may want to switch to an electric shaver.

Whisk:

Whether you’re baking cakes or mixing batter for toad-in-the-hole, you’re likely to use a whisk as this makes the job a lot quicker. But what do you do when you misplace the whisk attachment or the whisk itself brakes?

One thing you shouldn’t do is resort to creating your own whisk, such as the one below.

Instead, find the perfect replacement part from eSpares. From whisk attachments through to whisk supports, we have everything you could ever need for your whisk; whatever make or model you may have.

BBQ:

It may not be BBQ weather at the moment, but we feel that this DIY amateur still deserves a nod for a) thinking outside the box and b) up-cycling an old item. That said; do not try this at home….

Instead when the barbeque season arrives next year go for the Kingfisher 14” basic barbeque or a bucket summer BBQ set. All of these items can be purchased from eSpares along with a range of barbeque essentials.

Iron to Cook:

This last one caused a big debate in our office, with the debate revolving around whether you would eat burgers which had been cooked on an iron.

Whilst the DIY amateur has thought outside the box in this instance, it isn’t something that we recommend. Cooking on the iron is not only likely to play havoc with the iron, but there are plenty of other alternatives – such as fixing your cooker or purchasing new pots and pans.

Whatever you feel about the DIY mishaps above, make sure you don’t become a DIY amateur this Halloween. Instead follow the advice and guidance provided by eSpares within our advice centre.

Tags: DIY, eSpares, Halloween