Not one mention of WD40?
No house should be without it.
I need to re-state my opinion on Orange Blast. I should have noted it worked better than Greased Lightning on smoke damaged items. Not everything, although it is a great cleaner. I still use Greased Lightning in cleaning, and it works fabulously in getting out grease or stubborn stains in clothing, which Orange Blast doesn’t seem to have such a knack.
Greased Lightning, definitely.
A product called UnDu will remove stickers from anything. It’s safe to use on those old photos stuck in those “magnetic” photo albums. Works on getting out gum, too.
Much love for the George Foreman Grill! The thing cooks meat like nobodies business!
Also, Makers Mark! Middle of the line bourbon, usually fairly cheap, and soooo tasty! I hardly drink anything else except beer.
And, on the opposite end of the coin: Duct Tape!!!
In the words of the Immortal Red Greene:
If it moves and it shouldn’t, use Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and it should, use WD-40.
The ying and yang of the handyman’s universe.
I have significant problems with this product. It damages more equipment than it preserves. People who spray it on their bicycle chains are actually removing real lubricant and replacing it with an extremely short life product. I find very few applications for WD-40 in daily use. Real oil should be used in most circumstances. WD-40 typically rinses off existing oils and leaves behind a miniscule and short-lived graphite coating. Graphite is extremely useful as a lubricant in high temperature environments but has quite limited value in most everyday situations. WD-40’s spray-on nature is very convenient but its brief performance and long term after effects are of little value.
My contribution is the Xyliss garlic press.
When I got into cooking some years back, I decided I needed a garlic press and naively bought the first one I found, figuring they were all pretty much alike. Inside of 3 weeks, it broke. I bought another, and it bent the first time I used it. I couldn’t believe something so simple should be so complicated.
Then I came across the Xyliss garlic press. It looked well made. It claimed to be able to press unpeeled garlic. I figured that was obvious nonsense, but bought it because is was clearly better than the junk I’d been using.
Well, it’s great. And it will press unpeeled garlic. Mine is now 15 years old and going strong.
Xema, the Xyliss garlic press is my favorite as well. Built like a tank and made for constant use, it is one product that really lives up to its claims. I have dozens of garlic presses in my collection but only the Xyliss sees use.
I also concur with ghandi5569 about Palmolive dish soap. Others tend to poop out rather quickly by comparison. It seems to be more concentrated than the competing products
While the Micra is cutesy-tootsie, the large Leatherman pocket tools are rather sub-par. Once you own a Victorinox pocket tool all others pale by comparison. On the Victorinox, every blade locks and is easy to release. You can pull out a given blade and no other blades will come out with it. The hinge of the pliers’ jaws is a true box joint and has absolutely no play in it. If you are unfamiliar with their pocket knives then you will not know how incredibly sharp the edges are. My Victorinox pocket tool is on my belt whenever I leave home.
Another vote for Splenda here. It’s by far the most natural-tasting artificial sweetner I’ve found. I used it just last night for baking for the first time: charity bake sale and I wanted to bring something safe for our folks who are diabetic and/or on restricted diets. It wasn’t a complicated recipe but the stuff actually handled well and tasted good.
Drug/medical stuff: Neosporin. It really does help small wounds heal faster and better. And it works well on my dog, too.
Kitchen knives: This is really subjective and a matter of taste, but Global knives ROCK. I have a couple Chinese knives/cleavers when weight and heft are needed but for routine work*, the Global knives are godsends. They’re Japanese, fairly light in hand, hold an edge well and are one, long sweep of solid metal. I like my wood-handled knives but they’re buggers to get and keep clean, especially w/ cutting meats. Those tiny joins between wood and metal collect suprising amounts of distasteful gunk. The Globals work beautifully and clean thoroughly. *
[sub]This is very subjective, mind. I just find heavy knives TIRING after a while in serious cooking sessions.[/sub]
Cleaning stuff: another vote for CLR. We have hard water here, really hard water. CLR kicks for removing mineral deposits, cleanly. With a few judicious spritzes/quick soak, it can loosen jammed faucet heads, etc. for cleaning, remove rust and lime stains, etc. It works when not much else does.
Veb
Well, Lynn, you’re in luck. I’ve had a raspberry/kiwi and white grape Diet Rite’s and they are wonderful. I preferred the white grape but both are good.
Another vote here for OxyClean. I’ve actually gotten red KoolAid out of white carpet and blood out of fabric with that stuff. It works best when the stain is fresh, though.
Oh sure, start up *your thread * when *I’ve * been meaning to start up a similar thread entitled: * Products You’d Endorse *. Feh. 
Kitchen
**Silpat Baking Mats ** have been mentioned, but they are worth the $19-25 price tag. You never need to use parchment paper again and cookies, pizza and whatever else you bake slide right off. If you ever wanted a good "I never thought of that gift for a wedding or home warming present, this would be it.
** Kitchen Aid Mixer ** It is so damned powerful you could mix cement with it. It is a space taker though.
**Make up **
I have never bought a labeled face cleaner before because past experiences of name brand stuff just left me with pimples and oily skin. I’ve been a Dove Girl (sensitive skin) for years, but after kids my skin really changed. My skin is hyper sensitive (hair conditioners, a slip with the lip balm, buttery fingers, cleaners used on a telephone or children’s sticky hands can leave me with a break out.)
**Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser ** I have not had one pimple since I found this stuff. It has salcytic acid (.5%) in it that does the trick without stripping my skin.
**Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer Spf 15 ** Does not make me feel greasy at all, even all day or the next morning if I forget to wash my face before bedtime. I wish they had an SPF 30.
**Revlon SkinLights Diffusing Tints. SPF 15. ** I have wanted to wear a foundation for years to even out my skin during the dull winter months, but everything always looked cake-y on me or made me break out. I haven’t had any foundation success ever. Until this. I wear it all day, over the Aveeno moisturizer and I look mah-velous. No grease as it is oil free. And I usually forget to take it off at night and no break outs. (side note: it is a bit of a mess to wash off hands and the sink. It’s thick.) It’s pricey at about $12.
**Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lash Tint ** A nice phrase for mascara. It stays on for days on end without really fading off or giving you racoon eyes. I never bother to take it off. I just put it on like every three days. Mascara is the one bit of make up I will always wear, the other is sunscreen.
**Feria Hair Color ** I don’t know what it is about this brand, as I have tried every brand and sub-catagory out there, but with Feria (about $10 a box) I have received more compliments on my hair color than any other hair color in my life. And *my * signature color is #63: Sparkling Amber.
Origins Pinch Your Cheeks .1 fl oz teeny tiny tube of cheek rouge for $10 was a bit of faith purchase on my part. Rub a tiny dot on your fingers and then on your cheeks and you will have a natural looking glow. Like a blush from a compliment. Does not cause break out. Wash hands immediately after application, it is essentially a stain. (don’t internet order it, go to Origins to buy as they want to charge a $5 S&H fee for a one ounce tube. Bastards!)
**CATWALK Rootboost ** I have had zero luck with hair care products because my fine hair resists all efforts to style and the skin irritation factor. Until this product entered my life in November. At $15 a can, it actually boosts my hair to make it *fluffy *. I’ve never had fluffy hair. I’ve always had flat, straight hair. I will buy this product forever (or until it’s discontinued and I beat my breast in frustration.)
My makeup drawer is surprisingly sparse. I am a low maintence kinda gal, so don’t think I am some foo-foo girly girl or I will bust you upside the head.
**Clothing
Birkenstocks ** bar none the most comfortable footwear out there that I have ever found. I have always had old lady feet. Even as a kid. My feet would hurt early on in the trips to the amusement park. Foot cramps are no fun either. Then these came into my life about 13 years ago, and no more cramps and I have happy feet. ( except for two torn fascia muscles that won’t go away or get better and , yes, it has everything to do with the shoes I wear.) I could sell Birks I am so passionate about them.
**Eddie Bauer Jeans ** and **Land’s End Jeans ** They know how to fit a real womans body.
**Medicine **
**Excedrin Migraine ** is essentially aspirin with a jolt of caffeine to get the painreliever to the brain faster. If I take this when I feel a migraine coming on, it stops the pain in its tracks. A bonus round is that it makes me uber-alert for the rest of the day.
**Imitrex ** For when I don’t catch the migraine before it’s too late. One subcutaneous shot up the snozola and it makes the migraine go bye-bye…( and it makes me throw up as the after taste sliding down the back of my throat is fairly vile. But, I’d like to think that by hurling, the endorphins released help push the medicine up to the logjam in my skull that much faster.) YMMV.
**Zicam ** It is a homeopathic medicine that you cotton swab in your nasal passages. It is suppose to cut short the duration of your cold. What it really does is keep you from blowing your nose a bajillion times a day. This is great for kids with runny noses who are probably too young to grasp the joys of Afrin. You can get possibly two or three days worth of applications out of it if you forgo the swab provided ( using it as a cap of sorts) and just use a cotton swab. YMMV
**Afrin ** This product alone kept me breathing when I was pregnant. It is simply outstanding.
**Indulgences **
**Ghiardelli Chocolate chips ** for baking, at least that is the intention when I start out.
Oh…
**Ginsu ** is my favorite knife in the drawer.
Another vote for Feria hair color. It gives you the subtle highlights/variations found in nature. I’m a #66 Very Rich Auburn girl.
Infusium 23 Power Pac Conditionerkeeps my baby fine hair shiny and healthy.
Prescriptives All You Need Fast Acting Moisturizing Cream For Drier Skin is the best moisturizer ever**. Light and non greasy but softens the skin better than anything I’ve found. Worth every penny.
When the budget permits, I’ll score some Lancome Intensils Waterproof Mascara. No flakes, no smudges.
Another vote for Feria hair color. It gives you the subtle highlights/variations found in nature. I’m a #66 Very Rich Auburn girl.
Infusium 23 Power Pac Conditionerkeeps my baby fine hair shiny and healthy.
Prescriptives All You Need Fast Acting Moisturizing Cream For Drier Skin is the best moisturizer ever. Light and non greasy but softens the skin better than anything I’ve found. Worth every penny.
When the budget permits, I’ll score some Lancome Intensils Waterproof Mascara. No flakes, no smudges.
CANDY:
Altoids:[ul]While justifiably famous for “curiously strong” mints, their new “Citrus Sours” and “Tangerine Sours” are exceptionally fine quality fruit flavored candies. They have targeted their market really well by using all natural flavors and ingredients. The taste is sensational and just sour enough to pucker you for your first kiss. Packaged in delightful old fashioned enameled metal tins, these candies are the perfect sort of tart drops to revive sagging taste buds.[/ul]
Smints:[ul]For those of you who missed my incredibly shortlived thread, An Ode to Smints, I’ll repeat that their original anise perfumed, blue boxed product is really great. The orange label peach flavor is another smash hit as well. Their seemingly over-engineered container (supposedly designed to the tune of $100,000) dutifully delivers individually dispensed doses with unerring precision. I detest most sugarless candies or breath fresheners but these are simply tremendous.[/ul]
Piratos (extra strong):[ul]For those dedicated to salty Danish black licorice, this Haribo product is the cat’s pyjamas. They are large enough to satisfy your craving with a single piece of candy. Yet, the flavor is so intensely addicting, you’ll want many more than just one.[/ul]
I agree. I recommend Boeshield T-9 which is a lubricant/protectant developed by Boeing. It works very well on bicycle chains and any other place people usually use WD-40. In fact it’s the best bike chain lube I’ve used with the possible exception of ProLink. I hear it’s also popular for marine applications.
I really appreciate your delurking for this particular debate, scr4. So much damage is done by WD-40 that I am obliged to make this a special issue.
Lynn- Check the can to make sure, but Diet Hansons Soda is usually flavored with Splenda. It has a variety of flavors, such as Tangerine Lime, Black Cherry, and Ginger. A lifesaver to me when I will be resuming my Induction phase of Atkins. Soda>me.
Beyond that, I don’t have anything new. I suck.
Microplane graters. The little handheld ones. They go through hard Parmesan like it was Velveeta, and they clean easily. It’s surprising how much grating I actually do in everyday cooking; I probably use at least one of these every other day. I have the original Microplane zester too but it’s not as well designed and, frankly, my zesting needs are limited.
Put me down as a dissenting voice on Splenda, though. It doesn’t have the same chemical aftertaste as saccharine or aspartame, true, but it still has an odd-tasting oversweetness to it I find unpleasant. I’ll stick with actual sugar.