# Domestic tricks to make life easier. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089 "2010-10-14T04:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/121 "2010-10-22T13:47:21Z")
> [@Moment\_Slayer](#): > > I didn’t know it was the fuck the the people who feel guilty for not being a clean fucking freak. So shove a sponge up your ass I have issued you a warning for inappropriate language. This is beyond the pale for MPSIMS. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/122 "2010-10-22T13:47:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Dog gets his own half the time too. Just give him a minute and see if he wants it, alls I’m sayin’. Hey, as long as he promises to _keep_ it this time… My tip for cleaning the bathroom that I really shouldn’t use or share: I put the little brush attachment on the vacuum and go over every surface including the countertops, sinks, tub, toilet seat. It gets all the dust, hair, and debris out of the way so all that’s left is to apply your cleaning products. The drawback is that if anything is wet, you’ll be electrocuted and die. But what are the odds of that? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/123 "2010-10-22T13:47:25Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > :rolleyes: I’m glad you like a disgusting, filthy home, but not all of us do. This thread is about tips and tricks and advice, not “fuck the people who keep their homes clean”. Not everyone likes to roll around in cat puke and balls of dusty hair. Wow, who poured cat puke into your Post Toasties? Nobody has said anything about rolling around in puke and hair except you, and that’s a totally unfair characterization of what **Moment Slayer** said. What she meant was that housework is a constant, and those baby years are fleeting, and sometimes it’s better to let one slide so as to enjoy the other to the fullest. Nobody ever looked back over their lives and “we never really spent much time together, but the house was always spotless so it was worth it.” > [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Call me a germophobe, but I’m pretty sure animal vomit is somewhere in between “hazard waste” and “clean up ASAP” realm. Animal vomit is not a biohazard–the only conceivable thing you could possibly catch is intestinal parasites, and that only if a) your pet is infected b) eggs are present in the vomit c) you either eat the puke or clean it up barehanded and lick your fingers before washing up. Yes, it should be cleaned up promptly, but I certainly wouldn’t interrupt sex or wake up a sleeping kid or get off the phone with someone having a crisis to get to it right this very second. If that means it leaves a spot on the area rug, big deal. Rugs can be replaced, people and relationships can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Moment\_Slayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Moment\_Slayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moment_Slayer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/124 "2010-10-22T16:26:36Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I have issued you a warning for inappropriate language. This is beyond the pale for MPSIMS. > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator Lindsaybluth also I assume! I posted a very nice reply to someone and lindsaybluth replies with hostility. Where is your warning there? ---
**Author:** ![Moment\_Slayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Moment\_Slayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moment_Slayer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/125 "2010-10-22T16:28:12Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I have issued you a warning for inappropriate language. This is beyond the pale for MPSIMS. > > **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator And you’ll see other posters have found lindsaybluth’s reply unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/126 "2010-10-22T16:47:15Z")
> [@Moment\_Slayer](#): > > Lindsaybluth also I assume! I posted a very nice reply to someone and lindsaybluth replies with hostility. Where is your warning there? If you have a problem with something someone else says, report the post, don’t get inappropriate in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/127 "2010-10-22T16:50:04Z")
**MS** , mods don’t always read the preceding portions of a thread when responding to a reported post, so they may not have seen her snottiness. (And I’m not sure that she’s technically outside the rules, uncalled-for as her responses are.) You’ll have much better luck hitting the report post button on her posts than saying anything in the thread. FYI, telling someone to shove anything anywhere is generally frowned upon outside the Pit, regardless of how bitchy they are. ETA: and I’m beaten to the punch yet again. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/128 "2010-10-22T18:01:53Z")
> [@Moment\_Slayer](#): > > Lindsaybluth also I assume! I posted a very nice reply to someone and lindsaybluth replies with hostility. Where is your warning there? ## You stay classy, ya hear? For the record, I did not report the post. I have a question for the thread: Don’t ask me how this happened, because I’m not quite sure, but I got makeup (l’oreal true match liquid foundation) on a corner of my shower curtain. I’ve tried my usual cleaner (7th generation bathroom cleaner) and a scrubby brush and a towel and it won’t budge. I’m pretty sure the makeup is water-based, so I _really_ don’t know why it won’t come off. Should I try something harsher, like Softscrub? Or am I best off washing it, with the towel and vinegar combo? I have one of those pvc-free ones (so it didn’t stink at all) so I’d rather not buy a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/129 "2010-10-22T18:11:48Z")
> [@Moment\_Slayer](#): > > Lindsaybluth also I assume! I posted a very nice reply to someone and lindsaybluth replies with hostility. Where is your warning there? Sorry about your warning; normally in a situation like this, both of you would get told to back off and cool down. I do agree that **Lindsay** was over the line first, but sometimes that’s how the cookie bounces around here. Uh, on second reading, I’m not trying to Junior Mod here, but commiserate with someone who got a bit of a raw deal. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/130 "2010-10-22T19:02:01Z")
Something similar was mentioned upthread, but I’m starting to keep a small towel or blanket on all of my cat’s favorite snoozing spots, which are mostly our chairs, beds, and sofas. It’s way easier to pull them up and wash them than to try to get tons of cat-fuzz off of upholstery, or worse yet, a quilt that’s too big for our home washer. Next: antimacassars to protect the furniture from brill creme. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/131 "2010-10-22T19:33:55Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Next: antimacassars to protect the furniture from brill creme. My new word for the day. I would have guessed an antimacassar was like a Visigoth or something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/132 "2010-10-22T19:44:07Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > :rolleyes: I’m glad you like a disgusting, filthy home, but not all of us do. This thread is about tips and tricks and advice, not “fuck the people who keep their homes clean”. Not everyone likes to roll around in cat puke and balls of dusty hair. For those who are wondering – since this is not a direct, personal attack (along the lines of “stick your sponge up your ass”), I let it go. It seems to me that people are doing a perfectly adequate job of giving this post the response it deserves. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/133 "2010-10-22T20:27:17Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > And bread twisties for some reason. Even if you prefer the fancy “tie handle” trash bags at one point in your life buy the cheepo bags for the glut of twist-ties. You would be surprised at how often you’ll use them. Also don’t overlook the cheap trashbags with no drawstring. If you buy them a little too big for the trash basket you can always tie them off in a single knot, balloon style. And because they’re so cheap, you don’t mind throwing one out that isn’t really full, but has something like cat poop or chicken bones or something like that. From what I’ve seen lately the store brands for this type of product are usually pretty good these days. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/134 "2010-10-22T20:56:08Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > :rolleyes: I’m glad you like a disgusting, filthy home, but not all of us do. This thread is about tips and tricks and advice, not “fuck the people who keep their homes clean”. Not everyone likes to roll around in cat puke and balls of dusty hair. Oh, please. It’s a bit of hyperbole. No one is rolling around in cat puke. :rollyeyes: it actually is a domestic trick to know when not to stress and to live in the moment and have it be ok. It’s lovely sentiment- take the time and snuggle your baby, clean the critical stuff and remember that it’s ok to not be perfect. That was a pretty hard response to a lovely sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/135 "2010-10-22T21:48:15Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Something similar was mentioned upthread, but I’m starting to keep a small towel or blanket on all of my cat’s favorite snoozing spots, which are mostly our chairs, beds, and sofas. It’s way easier to pull them up and wash them than to try to get tons of cat-fuzz off of upholstery, or worse yet, a quilt that’s too big for our home washer. > > Next: antimacassars to protect the furniture from brill creme. I use my old sheets that are the wrong size for our current bed - I take them off and throw them in the wash about once per week. ---
**Author:** ![Moment\_Slayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Moment\_Slayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moment_Slayer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/136 "2010-10-22T22:16:36Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > ## You stay classy, ya hear? For the record, I did not report the post. > > I have a question for the thread: Don’t ask me how this happened, because I’m not quite sure, but I got makeup (l’oreal true match liquid foundation) on a corner of my shower curtain. I’ve tried my usual cleaner (7th generation bathroom cleaner) and a scrubby brush and a towel and it won’t budge. I’m pretty sure the makeup is water-based, so I _really_ don’t know why it won’t come off. Should I try something harsher, like Softscrub? Or am I best off washing it, with the towel and vinegar combo? I have one of those pvc-free ones (so it didn’t stink at all) so I’d rather not buy a new one. Sure whatever :rmfe: ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/137 "2010-10-22T22:52:33Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > I have a question for the thread: Don’t ask me how this happened, because I’m not quite sure, but I got makeup (l’oreal true match liquid foundation) on a corner of my shower curtain. I’ve tried my usual cleaner (7th generation bathroom cleaner) and a scrubby brush and a towel and it won’t budge. I’m pretty sure the makeup is water-based, so I _really_ don’t know why it won’t come off. Should I try something harsher, like Softscrub? Or am I best off washing it, with the towel and vinegar combo? I have one of those pvc-free ones (so it didn’t stink at all) so I’d rather not buy a new one. Does that 7th generation stuff have bleach in it? If not, try a 1:1 solution of bleach/water.. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/138 "2010-10-22T22:58:45Z")
Have you tried a spot remover on it? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/139 "2010-10-22T23:15:07Z")
If your microwave is mounted above the range, it probably gets encrusted with greasy crud on its front from the cooking that is going on below. Before you do your periodic cleaning, put a couple of pots of water on the burners below and bring them to a rolling boil and let the steam envelop the front of the microwave for several minutes. The heat and water will loosen the sludge and it’ll be much easier to clean it off. Invest in one of those scrubby-sponge things on the end of a long sturdy handle; they’re for scrubbing the bathtub. I was skeptical that you could get enough pressure going on them, but they work surprisingly well and save your back. You can use them not only down in the tub but up on tiled walls, too. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089/140 "2010-10-23T01:11:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Have you tried a spot remover on it? Hmm, do you mean carpet cleaner? Or do you mean Shout/Spray 'n Wash? > [@Waxwinged](#): > > Does that 7th generation stuff have bleach in it? If not, try a 1:1 solution of bleach/water.. Oh no it’s just got that disinfecting Thyme oil stuff in it [here](http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Disinfecting-Bathroom-Cleaner), but it’s cut through soap scum and works well on grout and everything else. I will try bleach/water this weekend, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-tricks-to-make-life-easier/557089.md?page=8)