5 Best Hacks For The Home, As Explained By Slater Young

Over the past few years, celebrity engineer Slater Young has maintained a steady following of homeowners of all kinds (from condominiums to houses) flocking to his do-it-yourself tips and tricks. As an engineer, he is best known for being the CEO of LITEBLOCK, and for being hands-on with the construction of #SkyPod, his family home with wife and influencer Kryz Uy and their son, Scott Knoa. 

As a homeowner, it’s important to be regularly be on top of your house (or condo)’s needs. Whether you’re living in your dream forever home or you’re still renting, it matters to know little life hacks that can save you time, money, and trouble. Thankfully, someone like Slater has made information like this easily accessible—his Instagram and YouTube pages are filled with tips and tricks on home improvement. 

Here are 5 of the best ones:

How to get rid of ants

This trick, Slater says, is something he learned from his dad. It makes use of two simple ingredients: sugar and borax, and it’s cheaper than buying ant poison from the hardware store. In the hack, he stresses the importance of using boiling water—it sterilizes the sugar, making it last longer, instead of fermenting. Even more, he explains why he’d recommend using this method over ant poison: using a smaller amount allows for the ants not to die on the spot, but rather for them to bring the poison into their hive, killing the whole colony. 

Things to remember if your house becomes flooded

The Philippines was struck recently by two devastating typhoons, Rolly and Ulysses, leaving many families dealing with the aftermath of flood, and some completely homeless. This weekend, Slater released a video detailing what you should do after your house becomes flood, which are: not to turn on the power, not to go to flooded areas of the house (in case electricity is still running), and turn off the gas. After that, one can now start removing debris and sweeping away mud, drying everything out, and have everything checked professionally, from appliances, to the house’s insulation and structural integrity. 

How to fix “un-smooth” doors

You know the ones: The doors that stop halfway when you’re closing them, or don’t shut completely when you just don’t exert enough effort. Slater shared a simple fix for doors like that:  

1) Use an erasable marker to mark the area that snags. 

2) Close the door completely.

3) Open it again, then check which parts got erased. Mark them.

4) Close the door slightly; mark where the door aligns.

5) Sand the marked area. 

It takes some time, as his quick little breaks with Scottie show, but it’s incredibly satisfying and fulfilling, too!

How to check if gas lines are leaking

Slater shared quick kitchen safety tips, from covering the outlets near the gas tank to always having a small fire extinguisher ready. He also shared how you yourself can check gas lines, to see if they’re leaking: Simply put some soap in a container with water and brush the solution where you suspect there to be a leak. If it bubbles, there’s a leak. It’s good to do this when you smell like something is off, but also pays to do this every once in a while, just to make sure everything’s alright. 

How to check for loose tiles

Tiles can be loose for a variety of reasons; it doesn’t always mean that it was a negligent or faulty job. Sometimes, they get installed under the heat of the sun, disturbed during installation, or simply worn out by time. If the construction of your house just finished, make sure to check the tiles before you accept the contractor’s work. How? It’s simple: Get a 1-peso coin and knock on the tile; listen for a hollow sound. If it’s hollow, that means it’s loose. You can then mark it with chalk or an erasable marker and have it replaced!

Lead photos from @thatguyslater