Maintenance in Cars

Only Maintenance: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Maintenance stories and video. All of Cars →

The water filter that outlasts the trip, and the parts that decide it

A filter can fail without a single visible sign. Here's what wears out, what to read in the warranty, and how to tell a keeper from a one-season gadget.

GuideHomeWes DunbarOct 9, 20266 min

The washer people fix is the one built to be opened

Every washing machine wears out something. The ones that last ten-plus years are the ones where that something is cheap, reachable and for sale.

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Plan a cook for eight people

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StoryBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 7, 20266 min

He knows which side the gas cap is on without looking

Eleven years married to a man who checks tire pressure for fun. Everything I've learned about the car, mostly by getting it wrong first.

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GuideSurvival & Self-DefenseDean ShawOct 10, 20265 min

The Lighter Was Empty. It's Always the Lighter.

Gear rarely fails because it's cheap. It fails because nobody tested it since last season. A ten-minute check at the kitchen table fixes most of it.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideHomeWes DunbarOct 9, 20266 min

The vacuum that lasts is the one you can open

The motor gets the credit and the blame. The belt, the brush roll, the filter and the battery are what actually decide how long a vacuum stays in your house.

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 6, 20265 min

Your Mower Sat All Winter and Now It Has Opinions

The box says pull the cord. The box hasn't met your shed. How to wake a hibernating mower without wrecking your Saturday or your shoulder.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

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GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 6, 20265 min

Replacing a Toilet Flapper Takes Ten Minutes and Two Trips

The cheapest plumbing fix in the house, written the way it really goes, including the second trip to the store nobody plans for.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideHomeWes DunbarOct 8, 20266 min

Your first lawn mow, and the bald stripe the whole street can see

The rookie scalps it at 2 p.m. in July. The veteran is done before lunch and the grass thanks him for it. The difference is about eight moves.

GuideMomsNina CastellanOct 3, 20267 min

Your Mower Probably Isn't Broken. The Gas Is Just Old.

Most mowers that won't start in spring just need fresh fuel and a proper pull. Start, fuel and care for one yourself, without a repair shop.

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Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 3, 20266 min

Resetting a tripped breaker, and when to stop and call

Most tripped breakers take thirty seconds to fix. A few are your house warning you about a fire. Learn to tell them apart.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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StoryHomeSam OrtizOct 7, 20266 min

The house has a map, and it lives in my wife's head

A popped sink line, one calm woman with a towel, and the nine things in our house she can find in the dark.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideBRO SeniorsMarcus ValeSep 23, 20267 min

Salt the Steps Before It Snows

Ice melt that works below 20 degrees, a flu shot built for your age group, and why the mailbox walk is the most dangerous forty feet you own.

GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 3, 20266 min

The dashboard lights that mean stop the car now

Red, amber and green aren't decoration. Learn which lights give you a week and which give you thirty seconds.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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GuideHomeRay OkonkwoOct 7, 20266 min

Why the 45-minute faucet job takes an afternoon

The plumber's quote looks like robbery until you add up the three hardware store trips, the seized valve and the wrench you'll use twice in a decade.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideSkillsWes DunbarSep 23, 20266 min

Change a tire in the dark and the rain without getting hit

The order matters more than the muscle. Loosen before you lift, and never put a body part under a car held up by a scissor jack.

GuideBRO for HerNina CastellanOct 3, 20266 min

The tire pressure light is a late warning

By the time that little horseshoe lights up, a tire's already 25 percent low. A gauge, a quarter and two minutes a month get you ahead of it.

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Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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StoryHomeWes DunbarOct 7, 20265 min

Nobody walks into the plumbing aisle on purpose

Ten lines from the busiest aisle on a Saturday morning, and the fix behind each one, so you're not the next guy holding a wet sandwich bag.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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Old School6 min read

How To Keep A Car Twenty Years The Way My Grandfather Did

He drove the same truck for two decades on cheap oil, a spiral notebook and a garden hose. None of it was complicated, and all of it still works.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

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