Household Hints and
Tips
Eight tips from Stephanie G:
Repair scratches
on surface of wood furniture: Simply fill in with
appropriate shade of colored pencil.
Remove stubborn
dirt/scuff marks on walls: furniture, tables, shoes, etc
: Diaper wipes! Funny, but true! They work!
Boils/blisters/other
sores: Soak for hour in tub with a cup of oatmeal. Will
draw out the infection and leave skin soft and soothed. (May have to
repeat soakings for a few nights.)
Grime on glass
baking dishes: Soak in soapy water, then use the edge of
a metal spoon to scrape away.
Silk flowers
dull/dusty : Spray with hairspray. They will stay shiny
and when they get dusty again, simply blow off with hair dryer.
Dog chewing on
couch cushions: Pour a bit of lemon juice on corners.
Dogs do not like citrus.
Ants or other
bugs around kitchen sink/bathroom: Put mixture of dish
soap and water into empty spray bottle and keep handy. When you see the
insects, spray with the mixture. The soap actually breaks down their
exo-skeletons and they die almost immediately. Cheap and easy clean-up.
Get rid of ring
around the tub: Magic erasers! They are cheap and even
generic brands work well! Cuts right through the dirt and saves hours
of back pain from scrubbing with the standard brush and soap.
Have more to come!
Vacuum Sealed. The easiest way to open a vacuum sealed
jar is to gently tap the top on its edge on any hard surface
( work top. ) Hey presto jar will open easy peasy, this works every
time. -- lucy brown
Awkward Bottles.
A tip for all those girls out there who occasionally lack the oomph to
open screw-top water/juice bottles but are too proud to ask nearby guys
for help... If you are at home, a rubber glove or bottle gripper will
give you the power you need to get into the stickier ones. However,
these are usually in short supply at work in the office, so carefully
wind a rubber band snugly around the lid and try again... Magic! Clare
-- Cheeky Pixie
'I don't suffer from
insanity... I enjoy every minute of it!'
Getting a Glass
Lid (top) from a Glass Jar. We had trouble getting the
glass lid (top) from a glass jar. Temperature differential did not help
nor did rubber bands and rubber gloves. With eye protection and gloves,
one of us held the jar whilst the other levered the lid using vice-grip
pliers. The knob was protected with thick rubber bands and a rubber
rest was on the edge of the jar lever point. It took a little time and
patience but we were successful with not one but two jars. -- Dr
John BROWNBILL.
Stuck Glass
Lid #2: Following on from Dr Brownsbill’s post, this
evening I had an inspiration when faced with no rice for supper after
the glass lid became jammed in the jar. In the UK you can buy something
called a ‘wheaty’ neck warmer which is a fleece bag about 17” long x
4.5” wide filled with wheat berries. Microwave according to
instructions to maximum heat. Wrap round the neck of the jar and hold
for 30 seconds or so. Hey presto, the lid will come out with no effort
whatsoever and no danger to yourself. I’ve now reclaimed some lentils
that were inaccessible for months as well! -- ALISON PRUDENCE
Stuck Glass
Lid #3: Hi there. Following on from my recent tip I’ve
used a similar principle to remove a metal lid from a jam jar which had
resisted all efforts for over three months. The key is that the metal
needs to be hot and expand and the glass needs to stay cool. I put an
inch of boiling water in a bowl and held the lid in it for 60 seconds
and hey presto, the lid came off easily. NB: the water did not come up
beyond the edge of the lid and therefore did not directly touch the
glass which might have caused a problem. Happy opening! -- Alison
Prudence
Markings on Food
Bags: For markings on foodstuff and on freezer bags you
could use an old lipstick to write the name of the foodstuff in the box
or plastic bag.Lipstick is edible stuff so safe. -- Pushpa
Kishore Mehta
Zip Top Freezer
Bags... I Have difficulty getting them open? Take scissors
and snip a fair sized "V" in one side of the top strip (don't cut into
the 'sealer') and you will find it easy to gain access without the
frustration. Also if you find it difficult to fill small freezer bags
you might try putting them inside a measuring cup, folding a small flap
down over the edges of the cup. Then it's easy to fill with foodstuffs
and prevent the bag collapsing and the resultant spills. Same holds
true for larger bags if you find a suitable sized bowl or can to place
the bags in. -- "Shelly"
Bleach Smell:
To remove bleach smell from hands (and that slimy feeling) pour a
little vinegar or lemon juice over your hands then rinse. (bleach is
alkaline, vinegar and lemon are acid, so they cancel each other out and
balance the pH of your skin.) -- Candace Downing
Butter Dish. To
keep butter from sliding around on the butter dish, heat the dish with
hot tap water, dry off and then put the butter stick on the dish and
then into the refrigerator. It will melt just a little of the butter
which will freeze when put in the fridge. Doesn't slide around when you
are getting butter. -- Ron S
Keep your socks
together in the wash and dry process. Get some safety pins
and keep them by the washing machine for your socks .Pin the toes of
the socks together so you save time matching them up after the laundry
process. -- Tammy Dixon Kingston Springs, Tn
Recycle Grocery Bags I
have recently fixed a pair of 3M Commander hooks - the kind that come
off any surface just by pulling the tab - onto the sides of my kitchen
garbage bin - the kind that fixes onto the inside of a cupboard door. I
put the Commander hooks, one on each side a few inches below the rim
and upside down. Instead of buying expensive garbage bags I can now
hang a pair of plastic grocery bags from the hooks and tuck the edges
neatly round the top of the bin. You know how these bags have an
annoying habit of gradually sinking into the bin as they fill up -
well, with the hooks they can't do that and when the bin needs
emptying, I can just unhook the bag and tie the handles ready to toss
down the garbage chute. It's also a great way to use up grocery bags
instead of throwing them away. (Ingenious hint - Ed) Hope
you think this is worth passing on via your interesting web site. From:
"Meg Gagie"
Save on Cleaning
Materials. The best thing for cleaning anything around the
house is very hot water with a squirt of good quality washing up
liquid, and a window cloth (the best one is a reasonably priced Vileda
window cloth found in Wilkinsons ). I like the water as hot as possible
therefore I use rubber gloves, and ring out the cloth as much as
possible. I use this for cleaning windows (in and out), mirrors, tiles,
marble furniture, even the bedroom furniture, dusting around the house,
car windows, anything that you might use cleaning products or polishes.
Guaranteed not to leave smears. I haven't bought any cleaning products
or polishes for about 8 years. -- "A M"
Carpet
Spot Cleaner. To clean spots on rugs and carpets,
use window cleaner. It works as well as the spray-on carpet cleaners
and if you buy the store brand (I use Wal Mart), you can get it for as
little as $0.97 for a full quart bottle. -- Jean
Calderon,
Candles
and Drains. Try putting your cheaper candles in
water just deep enough to cover them, add 2 teaspoons of salt and soak.
This is suppose to cut down on the amount of dripping. I haven't tried
it yet, but will when I bring the Christmas decorations out. This will
eliminate tossing out all of the cheapies you already have on hand. If
anyone has a leaky faucet that drips rusty water, purchase a cheap
screen-type strainer for tea (the one I bought had a handle on it, but
that's OK) and place it directly under the faucet and over the drain.
The water will be directed into the strainer and down the drain instead
of splashing the sink or bathtub sides. Discard the strainer when you
have time to repair the faucet and you'll have a cleaner sink or tub,
as well. E. Knack --
Carpet Stains
Don't remember where on the web I got this solution but it has worked
everytime. I was originally searching for something to remove old red
wine stains from carpet but have used it on other stains and it has
worked just as good. dishwashing liquid (i use Palmolive) and peroxide.
The stains actually just disappear. It's great. I've never used a
precise measurement of either. I would be careful on dark carpets. From
what I understand the peroxide can have a bleaching effect. My carpets
are beige so it hasn't been an issue. --
Belinda Enamorado
Stainless Steel
Appliances Hello, Thought people out there would
like to know a tip about cleaning stainless steel appliance doors
etc. The folks at the Sears store use "baby oil" to get the
finger prints and marks off the doors. I was nervous to try it but it
works like a charm. I used a small amount on a napkin and wiped the
fingerprints away. It also took off the glue from the tape that was
used in shipping. K. MacPherson ~~ 9 Jul 2002
Carpet dents:
Scraps of carpet can be used to stop
chairs from making dents. -- Veronica Smith
Talc Talc
removes sticky labels. Use talc to make playing cards easier to use.
Remember to put a little quantity of talc in your rubber gloves --
Rickie Cantley
Stuck Glasses etc. When you can't use lots of physical force
to separate two "stuck" things, heat is often the best way to do it.
The principle here is that when you heat something, it expands a
little. When you cool something, it shrinks. You need a temperature
difference (what scientists call a "delta-t") between the outside
(neck) of the decanter and the stopper. This causes increases the space
between the two parts, hopefully enough to separate them. For example,
you could tie a piece of cloth on the outside, soaked in hot water. You
could even try ice on the stopper at the same time. Another application
of this idea is to apply a torch to a nut that won't come loose from a
dirty or rusty bolt. The nut heats up faster. This helps to break the
"glue" binding them together. -- Tony
Slow Draining Sinks -- If your sink drains are chronically
slow and you live in an older house, the problem may be an accumulation
of sludge in the lines. No amount of plunging and chemicals is going to
fix this. What's needed is to climb up onto the roof of your house with
a metal snake (preferably one with a business end looking a bit like a
ballpeen hammer) and ram that snake down each of the drain lines,
entering through the vent stacks, with a fair amount of force. It may
require 50 or 100 motions for each stack. A licensed plumber will
charge you about US$250 or, you can venture it yourself. You should
also snake out any drain clean-outs you can find at ground level. -- Mark
Gilman
Make
use of Leftover Soap: Utilising these little pieces of
soap that are always left over. Add a little glycerine and mash them up
with a little warm water and you will have a liquid soap that is gentle
and economical -- Essie
Leftover soap: These
little slivers of soap can be pushed into slits cut in one side of a
face sponge and gives a nice lather. Debbie Chilvers
Apply mineral oil
over your shower
doors and tile surface.
That delays the mineral build-up in future use. -- Cameo
Spruce up your wardrobe and
Linen Cupboardby using brightly colored dyes. Faded shirts,
underwear and towels can be made to look as good as new.Off-white
whites and stained clothing can be rejuvenated. You can buy dyes that
can be used in your washing machine – Essie
Marks
inside cups and mugs are
caused by the metal cutlery abrading the glazing coating the service.
Try an old fashioned remedy from an old fashioned man - toothpaste!
(Betcha it works!) -- Alan -
The whitening toothpaste
usually contains alumina which is an abrasive. I suppose that
if it safe on the teeth it has to be O.K. on cups etc -- Ed
I run vinegar through my
dishwasher once a month and this prevents hard deposits from getting a
head start. -- Good Luck, Patti
Seizetheday
Broken Glass: Use
bread to pick up fragments of broken glass - - Veronica Echols
Stuck Finger Rings?
Use washing up liquid as a lubricant to remove stuck rings, I have seen
it used to release a dog stuck in a rocky crevasse, alternatively use
cooking or olive oil etc. -- Axel Klystron
Squeaky Floorboards
can be eased by using French chalk or talcum powder – Jean
Smith - see also
this article on the subject
When Sewing Tough
Material, rub the material first with an old candle or
cooking paraffin. Used this technique to sew carpeting.--
John Eitak
Faded Carpets
can be restored by hand painting using fabric dyes -- Tony
Doran. (A useful range of fabric dye pens is available from Dylon)
Daffodils: Don’t
mix cut daffodils in with other cut flowers as the daffodils produce a
toxin that kills off the other flowers. – Anon.
House Plants
If you have an aquarium, save the water each time you change it and
water your house plants with it. You'll be amazed at the results. Andy
P Smith -- Nuneaton -- England " --
Socks can be useful in
protecting the ends of unused fluorescent tubes
– Davie
After working on your
car you can clean your hands with a mixture of dishwashing
liquid and sugar -- Simon Spicer
Use olive oil or other cooking
oil to clean hands dirtied by engine oil -- Jean
Edmunds.
A teaspoon
in the glass will prevent it cracking when boiling
water is poured -- Wendy Quinn, Hong Kong
Imitation
Suede. I bought an imitation suede jacket. There
aren't any care instructions. Is this something that is disposable or
can it be washed? It's like a lined flight jacket. -- Marti
Han,
Smelly Clothes after
being left in the Washing Machine. If you
leave the clothes in the washer for a day or more, especially in warm
weather, they will smell bad. Rewashing with 1/2 cup of ammonia gets
the smell out better than laundry detergent does. --
Judy
Vega
Tumble Drying Down
Clothing. Instead of sneakers, use a can of new
tennis balls. -- Susan
Carter
Removing "Pills" from
Clothing. When "pills" develop on clothing (small
wads of lint) use a rough piece of steel wool, run it over the material
and the "pills" disappear. Very easy to do. Will not harm material. -- Gertrude
M Seifert,
Cleaning Leather. Small
spots of dirt on glossy leather can be removed with a damp sponge.
Scuff marks can be removed with a shoe polish of the correct color.
- Jane King
Remove
cats hairs from clothes and furniture by rubbing with wetted
rubber gloves -- Wendy Quinn Kuala Lumpur
washing red clothes. My Grandmother told me this- to keep
brand new red clothes from bleeding all over your other laundry, soak
it in vinegar before the first washing. Works like a charm!! -- Mindy
Ralston
Wonderweb. If you’ve used Wonderweb to turn up kids
trousers and you now want to let the hem out again. The bond will
obviously break easily enough with minimal force, but what about all
scratchy residue that’s left? To stop your kids legs getting scratched
up on old bits of wonder web place some kitchen tissue or brown paper
over the old wonder web and press with the iron. The wonder web will
transfer to the kitchen paper and be removed from the trousers.-- vicky
wood.
Vinegar as disinfectant. I have a tip for everyone and also
a bit of information that not everyone knows about, is that Vinegar
(either white or cider is the best disinfectant around it beats
anything man made and is certainly healthier and cheaper, use vinegar
all around house to disinfect and clean many surfaces, although don't
use this on furniture made with fabric. You can use vinegar straight or
equal parts vinegar and water. -- Darrel
Household: Cleaning. Use a Crest SpinBrush battery
toothbrush ($5 ) and spray cleaner or powdered cleanser for easy
cleaning of those hard to get to places: baseboard corners, around sink
faucets, tile grout, corners of wood mouldings around windows, around
shower doors, etc. -- Peggy Velthoen
Limescale
Low
Cost Descaler. - Here is handy hint that I’ve discovered
if you want to rid your Kettle of Limescale without buying the
expensive products. Use Lemon Juice & Water (about 50% of
each). Put them into you kettle and boil it. If there is a heavy build
up of Limescale you might need to boil it more than once. It works like
a charm. You can buy Lemon Juice from most Supermarkets, I get mine for
less than £1 from Tesco and it lasts a while depending on how much you
need to use. -- Martin
Lewis O'Neill
Toilet
bowls come up shiny when cleaned with old, flat Coke or
Pepsi. Leave overnight to dissolve limescale -- Sylvia
Burge, London UK
Ring
in Toilet. pumice didn't work - CLR didn't
work - ZUD worked. -- LCD (Elsie Dawkins)
Glass Cleaning.
This was passed on to me from my mother of course. Add about one
tablespoon of cornstarch to about a third of a gallon of lukewarm
water. Wet and a rag or squeegee, remove excessive water and wipe down
glass as if using regular glass cleaner. Dry with either a soft cloth
or paper towel and be amazed. This is great for both inside and outside
glass cleaning. Vehicle windows too! Cleans the dirtiest windows in
half the time. No steaks, never clean and then clean again to get the
spots that didn't come off the first time. The glass seems to stay
cleaner longer too. I have been told that the cornstarch method doesn't
build up a static charge on the glass so it doesn't attract dust and
debris as quickly as regular cleaner.?? Thanks mom!! ~~ Famous
Redhead
Stainless Steel Sinks.
A great way to get your stainless steel sink to look brand new. After
cleaning and drying the sink. Put some lemon oil or pledge on a paper
towel and coat the entire surface of the sink. It will look brand new!
Of course, once it is used again, the lemon oil will vanish and your
sink will look the way it did before. But it is great if you are having
company, and want a shiny sink. -- Linda Sparrow
Dirty dish solver. Want to solve the grungy caked
on baking dish problem? Instead of scrubbing away, ...fill pan with
water,pour a bit of Downey fabric softener in and let soak. Everything
will slide off ! :) Debbie --- Louis Makrdichian
Kitchen & window cleaner. Mix about a 1/8th
or a 1/4 bottle of rubbing alcohol, 4 drops of dish soap &
water in an old Windex bottle this works great for cleaning in the
kitchen & cleaning windows and you'll never have to
buy Windex, 409, Fantastic or whatever again and to get tape off
windows use straight rubbing alcohol ~~ Jimisme
To
get perfectly spotless windows and mirrors, without chemicals,
use a solution of water and regular vinegar. (About 1/2 cup vinegar to
2 cups water), spray and wipe. This solution will not streak at all. It
is the best and cheapest way to clean glass. You can increase the
amount of vinegar for very dirty glass. -- Kelly Jimenez
Shower
Curtains: To remove mildew soak shower curtains in water
containing 20% chlorine bleach. To remove soap and water marks wipe
with vinegar. – Essy Edmunds.
For more
tips on cleaning mildew see the stains
page
To remove
toilet stains, use a pumice stone and rub hard, It will not scratch and
works well- did on my toilet bowl after 20 years of build-up -- James
A Boyle
For crayon on walls, use
WD-40. It removes it immediately, but if you use it on a flat paint it
will leave a greasy line that can easily be washed off with soap and
water. -- Kelly Jimenez
A good replacement for those
expensive cleaners for shower stalls/doors that I have found is,
believe it or not: WD-40. I never believed it until I tried it, and it
certainly makes a shower door sparkle, so give it a try! --"Susan
Kelly"
Use vinegar when cleaning
windows (glass) -- Vanessa Echols.
Old newspapers give
windows a shine, every bit as good as a chamois leather
-- Wendy Quinn, Hong Kong
Crayon marks on wall:
use a blowdrier to heat the crayon so it can easily be wiped off. --
Heather Dickerson
Crayon On Walls
I have tried both of the other methods you have shown, and neither
worked successfully. The only method I found that worked quickly and
easily was to use white spirit (mineral Spirits) and an only rag. It
works a treat, but be careful on emulsion walls (it works best on vinyl
and gloss). --
Ian Matthews
3 Dec 2004
Marks on Walls:
Try using bread to remove marks on walls and surfaces - - Mike
Weller
Silk plants Why
pay expensive prices for silk plant cleaners? Just spray them with Dow
bathroom cleaner and let them dry. This works just as well as the more
expensive alternative -- Toni
Brass:
Clean brass with lemon juice. – Comi Edmunds.
Dry windows with old newspaper
-- Nigel Hartley.
Tips on Stuff. To
remove hairspray on eyeglasses or any non porous surface, use
rubbing alcohol. It does the job. -- I've learned a lot of neat things
while on this planet for 68 years. Try them, what do you have to lose? Irene
M. Ward
Using an astringent or
other harsh/acidic/abrasive cleaner on glass lenses coated with
protective film (ie to help prevent scratches) - may scratch, blur or
altogether remove the protective coating. This will also void any
insurance claims or "warranty" regarding the "protection" on your
lenses --
Irene M. Ward
REMOVING
GUM Great way to get GUM out , rub it with PEANUT butter!
I think it is the OIL in in, and though I have not tried it, I am sure
oil would probably due the same thing, except the peanut butter is
GOOEY, and the oil runs! -- Kathy Ulmer
gum in hair Use
lighter fluid to get gum out of hair works like a charm, wash hair a
couple of times after to get rid of smell. Lighter fluid can also be
used on other sticky thing such as: paint, glue, price tags, stickers,
I even washed silicone caulking out of my hair once. -- Kelly Lowery
chewing
gum. If you have gum on a shirt try putting it in the
freezer and scrape it off. -- Hannah Minich,
Baking Soda.
Baking soda is a all around cleaning solution. It is non abrasive.
Cleans the outside of a refrigerator very well and takes the yellow
away if you have white. I use it in the wash instead of softeners. It
sweets the clothes and softens them also. It is also good to take the
bugs off the car. Remember it is non abrasive. Always keep baking soda
in the car as it will put out a fire, yours or someone else's. Cheap
also. We used baking soda in our pool along with bleach for 14 years
and never bought another chemical. We had the best looking pool in the
neighborhood. Crystal clear. I also use it in my pond for the PH.
-- KD Bug 27
Nov 2002
REMOVING GUM
Great way to get GUM out , rub it with PEANUT butter! I think it is the
OIL in in, and though I have not tried it, I am sure oil would probably
do the same thing, except the peanut butter is GOOEY, and the oil runs!
-- "Kathy Ulmer"
Scratches on
Furniture: Rubbing a Brazil nut on a scratch can
disguise some surface damage in wooden furniture -- Vanessa
Echols
Chewing gum:
To remove chewing gum from clothes freeze, or cover the gum with ice,
then crack and scrape off. – Marjory Simpson.
Poison Spiders Read more....
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