A worn or broken plug end on a small appliance can be easily replaced with a little know-how, a screwdriver and a wire stripper.

Step 1: With the appliance unplugged, use scissors or wire cutters to cut the old plug off from the existing electrical cord. Leave as much cord length as possible.

Step 2: Choose a new plug that matches the old plug. Replace two-prong plugs with two-prong plugs and replace three-prong grounded plugs with three-prong plugs. Do not install a three-prong plug on a two wire cord and vice versa.

Step 3: If the new plug came in a package, follow the diagram on the back. For quick connect plugs simply snap open the plug, place the cord end inside and snap the plug shut. The pressure of the plug will cause small metal prongs inside the plug to poke through the plastic sheathing of the cord, making contact with the wires inside the cord. Once this happens, the job is done.

Step 4: For more traditional plug ends, use a screw driver to remove the face plate of the plug. Sometimes the face of the plug will snap out and other times it is attached with two or three small screws.

Step 5: Once the front of the plug is open, pass the appliance cord through the bottom of the plug and up out of the face of the plug.

Step 6: Use wire strippers to remove enough plastic sheathing on the cord to expose an inch of the shiny copper strands that make up each wire. Twist the strands of each wire clockwise to form separate tight little wire ends.

Step 7: Loosen the screws found on the blades or on the inside of the plug. Bend the wire ends into a “J” shape and hook them clockwise around each screw. It is important to hook the wires around the screw in the same direction the screw turns to tighten. This allows the wires to be pulled safely in under the screw head as the screw is tightened.

Step 8: Once the wires are securely twisted and tightened under the screw heads, gently pull the cord down through the bottom of the plug allowing the plug blades to fall into the proper position. Replace the face of the plug and test out the new and improved small appliance.

— Have a home improvement question for Fix-It Chick? Email it to Linda Cottin at hardware@sunflower.com.