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Found a weird trick for a stuck damper in an old Baltimore row house
The lever was totally frozen on a 1928 fireplace, so I sprayed a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water into the hinge and let it sit for 20 minutes. It broke free with just a few taps from my rubber mallet after that. Has anyone else used something besides commercial penetrant for this?
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jamie13012d agoTop Commenter
Love that vinegar trick, it's a classic. Honestly, I've had good luck with plain old Coca-Cola on really rusty stuff too, the acid in it works wonders. Just gotta clean up the sticky mess after. For a stuck damper, sometimes just heating the metal with a hair dryer can break the bond without any liquid. Your method is way less messy than my old can of PB Blaster though!
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karen_nelson4011d ago
Worry about using Coke on rust, that stuff is so sticky. I get the acid idea but cleaning it up is half the battle. Heating metal like @jamie130 said seems smarter for something like a damper, less gunk to deal with later. Honestly most of these home fixes are for problems that aren't even that bad. A little patience and some elbow grease often works just as well without the weird experiments.
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loganbaker11d ago
Totally get the worry about sticky messes like @jamie130 mentioned with Coke. I had a stuck window sash last spring and used vinegar just like you did, but man, the smell hung around for days in that room. Sometimes the simple fix makes a bigger chore later, right? You win some, you lose some with these old house tricks.
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