Extend the Life
of Your Gas
Water Heater
EASY WAYS
TO DO
HARD THINGSDON’T MARK UP THE WALLWhen you need to mark hole loca-
tions or a level line on a wall, don’t
mark on the wall itself. Instead,
use blue masking tape. There’s no
mess, and if things change—and
you know they will—you won’t be
left with ugly marks to paint over.Tidy Your
Paint Cans
▶ Always pour paint into a paint pot from the back
of the can. This prevents any spill from blocking
information such as color and gloss printed on the
front. Also, when tapping a paint-can lid back on,
cover it with a rag. The rag prevents remaining paint
in the rim from splattering as you tamp down the lid.
WORLD’S SIMPLEST
BIKE STAND
▶ Make this handy bike stand by nailing a looped
strap at a height suitable for inserting the end of the
handlebars. It’s perfect for a shed or garage wall.
FROM
—THE—
ARCHIVES
(1960!)MODIFIED
DIP TUBECOLD
WATER
(INHOT
WATER
(OUTIF SEDIMENT, water scale, or bits of anode fall to the bottom of a water
heater’s tank, they’ll inhibit the burner’s efectiveness, and the parts of
the tank they cover won’t be protected by the anode and will eventually
rust through. You can prevent this with a modiied dip tube, which directs
incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank. Dip tubes usually point
straight down, but a tube with a 45-degree bend in the last six inches will
cause the water to swirl, never letting sediment rest in the same place. You
can buy a pre-bent tube at waterheaterrescue.com, or just bend the tube
you already have: Disconnect the power and cold water, drain the heater,
and remove the tube. Use a heat gun to warm a section six inches from the
end of the pipe until it’s lexible enough to add the bend yourself. Once it
sets, thread the angled tube through the top and reattach power and water. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAMES CAREY2 JULY/AUGUST _ 201 POPULARMECHANICS.COM