The "I'll be damned, it actually works" helpful tip thread

In My Humble Opinion
181

For hiccups, I use the power of my mind. I concentrate and visualize my diaphragm moving smoothly up and down as I breathe deeply and regularly. It works almost every time. This drives my husband insane, as he gets horribly stubborn hiccups and can’t do this trick for some reason.

Radiolab had a show that discussed using hypnosis to cure warts. The doctor who pioneered it talked about how he cured the terrible, extensive warts on this kid’s arm, only to find it was actually congenital ichthyosis, which had no known cure or treatment. After that he couldn’t cure anyone else with the malady, and he thinks it’s because he was told it’s incurable, so he lacks the necessary belief to cure people. It was an interesting show!

Oh, and re: bag balm and breastfeeding issues, I would avoid using it on nursing breasts. There seems to be some question about the safety of the active ingredient for human use. And perhaps more importantly, if you have plugged ducts and/or mastitis, the accepted interventions are warm moist compresses, nursing a lot, getting lots of rest, drinking plenty of water, and antibiotics if necessary. And if you have recurring problems, there is probably an underlying issue with latch, bras, or breastfeeding management that should be corrected.

And segueing back to the thread topic, lanolin cream really does work well on sore or dry nipples. If you have actual trauma like cracks in the nipple though, the hydrogel pads are an absolute lifesaver (along with correcting latch!).

182

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? :smiley:

I really like being able to get to my bath towels without having to enter the bathroom and shut the door. It’s so open now - nice! So in the meantime, I stuck the door in the laundry room next to my washing machine… it’s out of the way, but it looks like shit. I suppose that doesn’t really matter, since I live alone, but I was hoping for out of sight, out of mind…

183

I posted this somewhere before but I’ll post it again.

When sealing various surface gaps with silicone you can make razor sharp lines using masking tape.

184

Just started an aspirin regiment (TV cure of the day) and discovered a huge improvement in a recent advance of arthritis.

185

Yes, tags on bras do say that…and my mom washes hers in a mesh bag & hangs them to dry. I just never put two & two together. :frowning: Her bras are very expensive so I just assumed she was being extra careful for that reason. Oh well, now I know!

186

So…this has worked better than other things you’ve tried, I take it? I should see if I have any asprin. Ibuprofen didn’t do anything today to help the finger that feels like someone has been trying to cut it off with a very dull blade. I was diagnosed with arthritis when I was 22 but that’s just due to an old knee injury, so this whole hand/finger pain thing the past few months is new.

187

I took it for other reasons but within 3 days I noticed a big change with finger joints and now my neck is improving.

188

Ginger is awesome for any sort of upset stomach. I’ve got a sensitive stomach and I’ve used it nausea from medicine side-effects, stress, car-sickness… There’s ginger pills if you don’t want to bother with eating it. The other thing I loved was ginger lemonade (I got Victorian Lemonade from Bev-mo) for those days when my stomach was upset for no good reason.

Unrelated: Bruise relief cream really does work. I don’t remember where I bought it, Rite-aid or Walgreens or something like that. It’s really does make bruises heal super quick.

189

When I moved to a humid climate I just switched to a salt grinder that I refill with that chunky sea salt. It doesn’t clump and you just grind it out as you need it.

Not such a good idea if it’s a nonstick pan, though, as you can easily scratch the surface.

190

Oh, speaking of stomach remedies, I heard over and over on The People’s Pharmacy that 1-2 Archway coconut macaroons each day can help chronic diarrhea (such as from IBS). Some people would call or write and say just eating coconut helps just as well.

Well, since having my gallbladder out, it seems my digestion can be very easily knocked off balance, and I can wind up having the runs for weeks after traveling, eating super rich food, being sick, or taking antibiotics. Last month I got sick and my intestines just could not get over it - I was taking Immodium almost every day. I tried the cookies, and then putting unsweetened dried coconut on my oatmeal, and I’ll be damned - it seems to work!

191

My tub/shower is one of those awful cheap one piece things and it’s very hard to clean (especially since it doesn’t get cleaned that often) - just gross. I tried the new Mr. Clean Magic Erasers that are for bathrooms and have cleanser in them, and it was awesome. Still required some scrubbing, but they actually worked! Now my tub may actually be cleaner than it was when I moved in!

192

Here’s one that’s timely… for those of you who are currently facing the annual fun of digging candle wax out of the nooks and crannies of your menorah before puttint it back into storage… I put mine in the oven on the lowest setting, on a makeshift aluminum foil tray. I laid the menorah down, propped up such that the candle holders point slightly downward, and left it there for 15 mins until all the wax melted off. Voila! menorah pristine and good as new.

Note: I have only done this 3 times, with 2 different, 100% metal menorahs. I have no idea if it works for others. Use your judgement as to whether your menorah is oven-safe. I take no responsibility for damaged family heirlooms.

193

Ladies, are you reluctant to pay $$ for expensive make-up primer? Anti-chafing gel (found in the “female problems” aisle of the grocery store) works just as well for much less money, because it’s mostly the same ingredient – dimethicone.
Another female problem home-remedy that is more effective than brand name products: boric acid for yeast infections. Not the roach killing strength of boric acid (which is, IIRC, a 100% concentration), but the medical grade strength (IIRC, 4%), which you can sometimes find in your local drugstore and also online. Fill two 00-size gel caps with boric acid and insert nightly for 7 nights (wear a pantyliner) or until your yeast infection is gone. (A cite for the skeptical).

194

I use a dremel tool to sand away rough spots on my feet in the winter. I have to dress professionally for work and my dry, cracked skin was always causing runs in my stockings and was also painful. The dremel tool works well at getting rid of the rough, cracked skin. But go slow, it is possible to get a contact burn if you aren’t careful.

Any liquid soap will work in the foam cleanser dispensers. Don’t keep buying new dispensers. Just add a couple tablespoons of your favorite liquid soap, fill to 3/4 full with water. Put the cap back on and shake - and you have a full container of foam cleanser for a whole lot less than you pay at the grocery store.

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.

195

This works, but it’s still kinda sticky and over time will result in the pump not springing back the way it should. There are thickeners in the soap that make it sticky with buildup eventually. In a cold bathroom, it can be all shot to hell too.

If you want exactly the same consistency of foamy soap dispensers at little to no cost…I present to you the Dr. Bronner liquid. Extremely concentrated but very thin consistency-wise soap. Peppermint, almond, baby mild (unscented), eucalyptus, rose, citrus, lavender, tea tree, you name it, they’ve got it. A giant bottle is $9 at Trader Joe’s, a little more at Whole Foods and definite cheap at most granola-crunching co-ops and such where you can get whole gallons. Also have teeny trial size ones at REI and outdoorsy stores, if you just wanna try it first. And of course you can always order it from the intertubes ;).

Fill the foamy pump 20-25% full of liquid soap, add warm or hot water in a trickle with the bottle angled slightly (so it doesn’t suds up) until it’s almost full. Twist the cap on tight and invert several times so it evenly spreads out. Exactly the same thin, watery consistency, but still with extremely concentrated soap.

Generous squirt in the tub works for baths as well.

gonzoron, that’s a great one. Dripless candles are also great, too :wink:

196

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.

197

spit and cigarette ash + scrub with a sponge to get out water marks (from, say, a glass of whiskey and ice) from finished wood.

copy and paste as values dramitically cuts down on file size with spreadsheets that are full of formulas. few people want to look at your formulas. It’s quite simple to make a macro that does it for you, for almost any workbook.

disolved asprin will get rid of a planar wart. duct or electrical tape also help.

if you have coffee beans and no grinder, you can put them in a paper bag and hit them with a hammer.

Jeff Smith used to say that you could get garlic off your breath by chewing up a coffee bean. Rubbing instant coffee on my fingers seems to work for garlic fingers.

Hangovers: vegetable juice is preferred, but you want plenty of liquid. Cow’s milk will do. If you’re going to try the hair of the dog, make it a small dose, like a shot glass of wine. Then coffee.

Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle helps freshen shoes. It’s also handy for cleaning glass, like if you have blood on your windshield.

Children’s swimming diapers can be reused, many times, so long as they don’t defecate. Possibly even then but I’m not that thrifty.

Another approach may be to use rock salt and a grinder. The grinder has a lid, so that helps. My mom used the rice in the shaker trick. We use the grinder because my wife says she likes the taste of rock salt better than table salt. Super humid here, we have to keep all perishables tightly sealed.

Hot salt water gargle helps me with sore throats. Like big white sores at the back of my throat sore throats. Based on anecedotes, it does fuck all for others.

Add: Opal Cat hit the salt in the grinder bit before me but I’m leaving it in.

Damn, dude, I thought my XL tip would be too obscure.

You can use candle wax as a temporary waterproof sealant. Um, rubbing a candle on a stubborn zipper helps, too.

198

My podiatrist also uses a Dremel to quickly sand away calluses and to smooth the toenails after he’s cut them. But it is VERY fast.

199

I needed to slice some homemade caramels. Typo Knig said, on a whim, “how about the pizza cutter?”.

Worked like a DREAM. Next batches of fudge will be sliced that way too. Note: we line the pans with waxed paper and turn that out onto a cutting board; a pizza cutter would not work as well with stuff still in the pan.

200

Will it fit behind the sofa?