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First Edition · 2026 · By Walt & Carol Hendricks

The Hendricks House Manual

36 plain fixes that cut what your house costs you every month.

Heat, cooling, water, power, pantry, garden, pests, laundry and the structure of the house. Every fix with the reason it works, the parts and the prices, the steps, the mistakes people make, and where the method stops working.

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Cover of The Hendricks House Manual, with photos of Walt and Carol Hendricks
A word first

Most of what a house costs you isn't the house. It's the gaps.

WaltGaps in the walls, gaps in the doors, gaps in what anybody ever bothered to explain to you. This book closes as many of those as we could fit.

CarolWalt fixes what breaks. I keep things from breaking, going to waste, or costing more than they should. My mother came to Ohio from Italy in 1955 with one suitcase and ran a whole house on less than most people spend on cleaning sprays. A lot of what's in here started with her.

No miracle claims. Where the Department of Energy, the EPA or a university extension service has measured something, we give you their number. Where nobody has, we say so.

Walt HendricksCarol Hendricks
Walt & Carol
What's inside

36 fixes in nine sections, plus three tools for using them.

I

Heat

  1. 01The incense-stick draft hunt
  2. 02Weatherstripping and caulk
  3. 03Outlet gaskets and the attic hatch
  4. 04Furnace filter and flame sensor
  5. 05Window film and heavy curtains
II

Cooling

  1. 06Blocked soffit vents
  2. 07Fans cool people, not rooms
  3. 08Cleaning the outdoor AC unit
  4. 09Shade the sunny side
III

Water

  1. 10The food-coloring test and the $5 flapper
  2. 11The anode rod
  3. 12120°F and a yearly flush
  4. 13Reading your water meter
  5. 14Aerators and showerheads
IV

Power

  1. 15Phantom loads
  2. 16Fridge coils and the dollar-bill test
  3. 17The dryer vent (a fire check)
V

Pantry & Kitchen

  1. 18Four days in the freezer
  2. 19What to store together
  3. 20First in, first out
  4. 21Stock from scraps
  5. 22Cotton rags, not paper towels
VI

Garden

  1. 23Cardboard mulching
  2. 24Leaves are free compost
  3. 25The rain barrel
VII

Pests

  1. 26Steel wool and caulk for mice
  2. 27The fruit fly trap
  3. 28Borax and sugar ant bait
  4. 29Boric acid for roaches
  5. 30Mosquitoes: dump it, dunk it
VIII

Laundry & Cleaning

  1. 31Vinegar instead of softener
  2. 32Cold water, half the detergent
  3. 33The bar of laundry soap
  4. 34Four things from the pantry
IX

Structure

  1. 35Rust-proofing tools and metal
  2. 36Gutters and the wet basement
How every chapter works

The same plain layout, 36 times.

Why it works

What's really happening inside the wall, the tank or the drawer. Once you understand it, you can trust the fix.

What you need

Every part and tool, with typical 2026 hardware store prices.

Step by step

Numbered steps in plain words. No jargon, no guessing.

Where people go wrong

The three common mistakes, including the ones Walt and Carol made themselves.

The honest limit

Where the method stops working, and when to call a professional instead.

Safety

Breakers, gas, ladders, chemicals. Spelled out every time it matters.

What it saves

The real number from a real source, or an honest "nobody has measured this."

Diagrams

Simple drawings where a picture explains it faster than words.

Look inside

A few real pages from the book.

Sample page: the anode rod chapter with a diagram
Ch. 11 · The anode rod
Sample page: the mixes you must never make
Ch. 34 · The mixes you must never make
Sample page: The Saturday Start
Extra · The Saturday Start
Sample page: the hardware store checklist
Extra · The Hardware Store List
Real numbers, real sources

A few of the figures behind the fixes.

15%

average savings on heating and cooling from air sealing and insulating a home.

EPA / ENERGY STAR
Up to 10%

a year on heating and cooling by setting the thermostat back 7 to 10°F for 8 hours a day.

U.S. Department of Energy
9,300

gallons a year can be wasted by household leaks in the average home.

EPA WaterSense
$1,500

worth of food thrown away each year by the average family of four.

USDA

Your savings depend on your house, your climate and your bills. The book shows you how to measure your own, and gives you a ledger to write it down.

Included

Three tools at the back of the book.

The Saturday Start

The three fixes to do first, plus one for safety, and a season-by-season plan for the rest.

Carol's Blue Notebook

Printable pages to log every fix, what it cost, what it saved, and your bills month by month.

The Hardware Store List

Every item in the book on one checklist, with typical prices and the chapter it's for. One trip instead of six.

About the authors

Walt & Carol Hendricks

Walt Hendricks in his garage workshop

Walt

Walt handles what breaks: the furnace, the water heater, the garage door, anything held together with screws. He believes most repairs are cheap once somebody explains them, and he has opinions about people who never change their furnace filter.

Carol Hendricks in her kitchen

Carol

Carol grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. Her mother ran a whole house on a bar of soap, a lemon and a bottle of vinegar. Carol runs the kitchen, the pantry, the laundry room and the garden, and keeps a blue notebook of everything she's saved.

Get the book

One book. One price. Yours to keep.

$27$37Save $10
ONE-TIME PAYMENT
NO SUBSCRIPTION

First edition launch price. The regular price will be $37.

  • The Hendricks House Manual, 164-page illustrated PDF
  • 36 fixes across nine sections of the house
  • The Saturday Start plan
  • Carol's Blue Notebook, printable
  • The Hardware Store List
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Questions

Before you buy.

What exactly do I get?

A PDF file of The Hendricks House Manual, 164 pages, illustrated, with the three extras at the back. After checkout you get a link to download it.

Is it a printed book?

No. It's a digital PDF only. You can read it on a phone, tablet or computer, or print it at home or at a print shop. The Blue Notebook pages are made to be printed.

Will this work in my house and my climate?

The fixes are written for ordinary North American homes. Each chapter explains when a method doesn't apply, for example heat pumps, tankless water heaters or very old foundations, and when to call a professional.

I rent. Is it still useful?

Yes. Most of the pantry, kitchen, laundry, cleaning, power and pest chapters need no permission from anyone. For anything that changes the building itself, check with your landlord first.

Do I need special tools or skills?

No. Most fixes need a screwdriver, a caulk gun and an afternoon. Every chapter lists what you need and what it costs, and tells you plainly when a job is not a do-it-yourself job.

How much will I save?

It depends on your house, your climate and your bills, and we won't promise you a number we can't back up. The book gives the measured figures from the Department of Energy, the EPA and others where they exist, and shows you how to track your own savings.

How do refunds work?

You have 7 days from purchase to ask for a full refund through the checkout platform, or send us a message using the question box below.

Who are Walt and Carol?

Walt and Carol Hendricks are characters created for our YouTube channel, and some of the images are AI-generated. The methods in the book are real, established household practices, and every figure comes from a named public source.

Still have a question?

Write it here and we'll answer by email, usually within two business days.

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