# Stupid household tips **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340 "2002-11-23T12:45:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kirk280980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@kirk280980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk280980)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/61 "2002-11-28T21:58:51Z")
**Opal** , I believe bench is the word used by Aussies to refer to kitchen countertops. Rather like we Brits call them worktops. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/62 "2002-11-29T13:35:38Z")
\*\* Typo \*\* You don’t have central heating in North Dakota??? I spent a few months in Fargo. Brrrrrr. I’ve actually seen this hint in books: If drain cleaner doesn’t undo the clog, use a plunger. Yeah, right. Plung lye infested water. And hope there’s no backsplash. ---
**Author:** ![Re\_PT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Re\_PT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Re_PT)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/63 "2002-11-29T14:18:50Z")
Made a mistake, but run out of liquid paper? Use cottage cheese. (Also allows you to eat your words.) Save time and money by washing yourself and your clothes at the same time, simply fill the bath up with detergent. If you’re small enough you can then dry them, and yourself by climbing inside the tumble-dryer - it also makes a comparable ride to some rollercoasters… ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/64 "2002-11-29T14:20:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeniseV \* > \*\*To be really sure that you kill those pesky hornets, use the spray designed to knock out the nest as a blowtorch - grab a lighter and ignite as you’re spraying. (Caveat: hornets can, in fact, fly when on fire. Consider covering yourself completely with opaque garbage bags so that they can’t see you or get in. Poking eyeholes is not recommended.) \*\* Another “you thought you were joking” one! This is how I get rid of ants in the kitchen. Shrivels up the ants in milliseconds and doesn’t leave a poisonous residue. Other than the time I set the curtains on fire it’s great! ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/65 "2002-11-29T17:13:03Z")
You know, a spray bottle of soapy water is a great way to deal with fruit flies. You don’t need to have lightning reflexes, and clean up is a snap! ---
**Author:** ![alibey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@alibey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alibey)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/66 "2002-11-29T19:16:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeniseV \* > \*\*To be really sure that you kill those pesky hornets, use the spray designed to knock out the nest as a blowtorch - grab a lighter and ignite as you’re spraying. (Caveat: hornets can, in fact, fly when on fire. Consider covering yourself completely with opaque garbage bags so that they can’t see you or get in. Poking eyeholes is not recommended.) \*\* I use WD-40 and a zippo, it does work, just have to have the hose ready. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/67 "2002-11-29T20:34:15Z")
Just noting that I should not have read a lot of these posts while eating Ben and Jerrys Half Baked twisted chocolate brownie and cookie dough!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/68 "2002-11-29T21:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > \*\* If drain cleaner doesn’t undo the clog, use a plunger._\* Should we try this on **Coldfire**? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/69 "2002-11-29T21:43:32Z")
If you don’t have time for a few days to take a bath or shower, just use extra cologne. No one will notice. To the French Dopers, um, never mind. You already know this one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340/70 "2002-11-30T00:15:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*If you don’t have time for a few days to take a bath or shower, just use extra cologne. No one will notice. \*\* My teenage sons refer to it as ‘A Shower in a Can’. Unfortunately, it IS noticeable. An adolescent that reeks of Lynx or Brut is only a marginal step up from smelly pits and feet. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-household-tips/138340.md?page=3)