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Photo : Lopolo ( Shutterstock ) You probably know space heaters can be dangerous and have to be used very carefully, so the appeal of a TikTok hack for making your own heater might stem from an interest in avoiding a fire hazard. Unfortunately, the DIY heater is dangerous itself and after a fire in England was attributed to the trick, fire officials are warning people not to try it. Here’s what you need to know about the no-good method, as well as how you can heat your home safely. What’s the TikTok heater hack? The DIY heater is actually pretty simple, which is probably why it’s caught on so fast, incendiary pun intended. You just invert a terracotta pot over some tea lights, light the candles, and allow the pot to absorb their heat. Ideally, the tea lights should be on a flat terracotta surface and flat stone should be used to keep the upper pot from resting directly on the flat piece. The video-sharing app is full of clips of people doing it and while they claim “it really...

Photo : Shutterstock ( Shutterstock ) Hacks can be great. We’ve had a whole website dedicated to them for over 15 years , after all. But sometimes, they can be ill-advised or even dangerous, whether because they’ll   mess up your toilet or   cause a fire . Sometimes, the best way to do things is the old-fashioned way, and that’s the case with a recent viral tip about keeping condensation off your windows in the winter. Don’t listen to the hack hype on this one. Let’s go over how to really keep your windows clear this season . What is the new viral hack? The hack can be found on, where else, TikTok , It recommends covering the interior of all your windows in dish soap or cleaning solution to keep them free of water droplets all winter . According to Express , this does work—but it comes at a price: Those droplets will go somewhere, and they might end up on porous surfaces around your home . Is it worth trading wet windows for water stains on your walls or, worse, mold? What’s...

Photo : Daniel Krason ( Shutterstock ) A malfunctioning ice maker can really put a hitch in your holiday cocktail plans. Discovering the ice maker is no longer, well, making ice might make you want to call in a professional , but there are some things to check yourself for before taking that step. Here are the most common reasons your ice maker is malfunctio ning , and some things you can try to fix before calling in a pro. How to fix an o bstructed water line The most common cause of a problem with your ice maker is that there’s an obstruction of some kind in the water line. If the filter needs to be cleaned, or if the valve is closed, that will cause the ice maker to stop making ice. These obstructions can be fixed by taking out the filter, located along the water line that goes to the ice tray/water spout in the refrigerator, and cleaning it by rinsing it out in the sink. When you check the filter, you should also make sure that the valve that goes to the waterline on th...