# The "I'll be damned, it actually works" helpful tip thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425 "2010-11-30T16:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/201 "2010-12-12T03:36:14Z")
[quote=“GESancMan, post:182, topic:562425”] So I took the door off its hinges, but I didn’t think to measure the distances and angles around my bed first. And I call myself a mathematician. :rolleyes: There’s room under the bed, but I can’t get the damn door under there because the walls are in the way. And since the bed probably weighs a thousand pounds, it ain’t moving. Any tips on how to deal with this? 😃 QUOTE] It might fit behind the bar you hang your clothes on in the closet, which would make it mostly out of sight. But depending on the layout of the closet you might have the same problem your having getting it under the bed. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/202 "2010-12-12T05:25:41Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I’ve been refilling the same bottle of foam soap with a very small amount of shampoo mixed with water for at least four years. It’s never gotten sticky or clogged in any way. Huh, shampoo, eh? Never thought of that or heard of it! **Mama Zappa** , that is _genius_. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/203 "2010-12-12T07:45:43Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > \ > > I use an old tool chest as my jewelry case. It’s the kind that has lots of little compartments for special size screws and nails. It works great for keeping my jewelry organized. I like that idea! I’m using a big fishing tackle box for my sewing supplies - same idea, lots of trays of little compartments for all my fiddly little sewing things (thimbles, needles, spare buttons, thread, bobbins, etc.) and a big compartment in the bottom for larger things. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/204 "2010-12-12T17:55:59Z")
[quote=“Sami41, post:201, topic:562425”] > [@GESancMan](#): > > So I took the door off its hinges, but I didn’t think to measure the distances and angles around my bed first. And I call myself a mathematician. :rolleyes: There’s room under the bed, but I can’t get the damn door under there because the walls are in the way. And since the bed probably weighs a thousand pounds, it ain’t moving. Any tips on how to deal with this? 😃 > > QUOTE] > > It might fit behind the bar you hang your clothes on in the closet, which would make it mostly out of sight. But depending on the layout of the closet you might have the same problem your having getting it under the bed. Better yet, since it sounds like you’re space challenged, put a few nails in to the studs at either side of the closet and make it into a storage shelf. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/205 "2010-12-12T18:17:34Z")
> [@maisoui](#): > > Will it fit behind the sofa? Well, yes… the problem there is my sofa is in the middle of the room. 🙂 However, I just took a few quick measurements, and if I take the doorknob off the door will fit _under_ the sofa! AHA! Thank you! > [@Sami41](#): > > It might fit behind the bar you hang your clothes on in the closet, which would make it mostly out of sight. But depending on the layout of the closet you might have the same problem your having getting it under the bed. Thought of that already. There are built-in shelves in the way. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/206 "2010-12-12T22:10:09Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I like that idea! I’m using a big fishing tackle box for my sewing supplies - same idea, lots of trays of little compartments for all my fiddly little sewing things (thimbles, needles, spare buttons, thread, bobbins, etc.) and a big compartment in the bottom for larger things. I use the flat, plastic tackle boxes in my arts and crafts studio to hold small parts. The dividers are adjustable so that I can fit a dozen pair of specialty scissors in one, multiple rubber stamps in another, paintbrushes in one, caligraphy supplies in one, etc . My dad even made a set of shelves for me that hold them in single layers so that I don’t have to unstack them anymore. As long as Plano keeps making that size in clear plastic, I’m set. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/207 "2010-12-24T22:10:32Z")
Holy smokes! So it’s Christmas Eve and I’m preparing family dinner and decided to pull out the silver(plate) and fancy things up a bit. Since it hasn’t been used since the Carter administration, it’s all tarnished. I remembered this thread and decided to try toothpaste, the apparent miracle product. And I’ll be darned if it didn’t work! And just as fast as those fancy schmancy cleaners. Thank you, Dopers! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/208 "2010-12-24T22:53:03Z")
For really nasty, grotty soap scum buildup on a fiberglass shower, don’t waste your time with Happy Scrubby Bubbles from the grocery store. Go to Home Depot and get a bottle of ZEP Shower, Tub and Tile Cleaner. (Blue bottle with a purple label) This stuff really works - Spray some on, let it do its thing for five minutes, then just a little swishing around with a scrub brush and my shower pan went from nasty to gleaming white. Before I tried using this stuff, the best I could manage with anything from the grocery store was off-white. Best of all, it’s cheap! Two bucks for a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![ripopgome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@ripopgome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ripopgome)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/209 "2010-12-25T09:57:41Z")
Just another vote for Magic Eraser. Sure, it’s basically 5000 grit white sandpaper, but it really does work like Magic™. I was blown away. When we moved out of our last place we had a ton of scuff marks on the walls. Three magic erasers later (I told you there were a ton), it was good as new – no maybe it looked better. That stuff is truly amazing. (And yes, toothpaste is the same kind of thing, but magic eraser is a bit easier to deal with for many applications.) thanks to folks above about the foaming-soap refills! i knew there must be a much cheaper alternative! ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/210 "2010-12-25T18:58:02Z")
Just learned this yesterday from my brother: At a restaurant, when they bring you a cold drink and put it on a paper napkin, put a sprinkle of table salt on the napkin. It keeps the napkin from sticking to the bottom of your glass when you pick it up. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/211 "2010-12-25T19:05:18Z")
Activated charcoal, usually known as CharcoCaps, really is very effective for stomach upset, the runs, gas, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/212 "2010-12-25T20:06:49Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Just learned this yesterday from my brother: > > At a restaurant, when they bring you a cold drink and put it on a paper napkin, put a sprinkle of table salt on the napkin. It keeps the napkin from sticking to the bottom of your glass when you pick it up. It took a while, but we finally trained our wait staff at our regular bar to salt the napkins for us. ---
**Author:** ![rmulvihi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9a28c/32.png) [@rmulvihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmulvihi)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/213 "2010-12-28T17:43:22Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > For really nasty, grotty soap scum buildup on a fiberglass shower, don’t waste your time with Happy Scrubby Bubbles from the grocery store. Go to Home Depot and get a bottle of ZEP Shower, Tub and Tile Cleaner. (Blue bottle with a purple label) > > This stuff really works - Spray some on, let it do its thing for five minutes, then just a little swishing around with a scrub brush and my shower pan went from nasty to gleaming white. Before I tried using this stuff, the best I could manage with anything from the grocery store was off-white. > > Best of all, it’s cheap! Two bucks for a bottle. I can attest to this. Only difference is that after spraying ZEP and letting it sit for an hour or so, I then took the abrasive side of a cleaning sponge and put toothpaste on it and then scrubbed the tub. Seemed to make the job easier than just ZEP alone. Tub is now lily white and this is a tub that hasn’t been white in the 15 years I’ve lived there. I’d given up and settled for off-white and worse. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/214 "2010-12-28T18:53:17Z")
> [@Implicit](#): > > Nope, but rubbing them with a rubber glove will remove the pet hair and lint from them better than one of those tape rollers. > Or, you could do the rubber glove trick on your furniture to remove the pet hair so you don’t get coated in pet hair to start with. Works better than the vacuum does on my thick Chinese carpet too, rubbing the surface with a rubber glove will mat up all the hair and you can gather it up. Am I doing this wrong? It didn’t work for me. Regular latex gloves. Terrier-Mix dog. Upholstered couch and cotton jacket. The gloves do nothing… What’s the trick? ---
**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:** [December 28, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/215 "2010-12-28T18:58:33Z")
I’m going to be testing the toothpaste-for-scratched-CDs trick sometime soon. The disks I got from the library were so scratched my player wouldn’t even accept them. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/216 "2010-12-28T20:23:06Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Am I doing this wrong? It didn’t work for me. Regular latex gloves. Terrier-Mix dog. Upholstered couch and cotton jacket. The gloves do nothing… What’s the trick? My guess would be that it’s because there’s a difference between rubber gloves and latex gloves. I would take “rubber gloves” to mean the kind of gloves you wear to wash dishes, whereas latex gloves are the kind you’d wear for medical-type stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/217 "2010-12-28T21:32:21Z")
I think he’s got the wrong kind of dog. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OldnCrinkly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@OldnCrinkly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldnCrinkly)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/218 "2010-12-29T02:02:57Z")
I have five children, taking them for immunizations was always a disaster. When the first one cried, the rest would be terrified and start crying before they even got the shot. My solution, which has worked wonderfully for me, is to let them cuss. Either hell, shit, or dammit, one time only, as loudly as they want when they get it. But if they cry, no cussing allowed. They really seem to get a thrill from it. I usually warn the nurse. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/219 "2010-12-29T11:40:02Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > My guess would be that it’s because there’s a difference between rubber gloves and latex gloves. I would take “rubber gloves” to mean the kind of gloves you wear to wash dishes, whereas latex gloves are the kind you’d wear for medical-type stuff. “Rubber” and “latex” were equivalent before BuNa got invented: now, not any more. Another vote for “get dishwashing gloves”. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425/220 "2010-12-29T12:22:30Z")
> [@OldnCrinkly](#): > > I have five children, taking them for immunizations was always a disaster. When the first one cried, the rest would be terrified and start crying before they even got the shot. My solution, which has worked wonderfully for me, is to let them cuss. Either hell, shit, or dammit, one time only, as loudly as they want when they get it. But if they cry, no cussing allowed. They really seem to get a thrill from it. I usually warn the nurse. Heh. My kids are well past the immunization age, but I surely wish I’d thought of this! I _like_ it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ill-be-damned-it-actually-works-helpful-tip-thread/562425.md?page=12)