Distilled vinegar is useful for removing residual adhesives off of glass jars that you might want to save. Just lay the sticky side of the jar in a container filled with just enough vinegar to cover the bottom and wait a few hours. You should be able to pull off the adhesive with no problem. Acetone (fingernail polish remover) can also be used like this, but it’s a much more harmful substance to work with.
Distilled vinegar can also be used to wash fruits and vegetables from pesticides and other chemicals. I always think of it like acid-washing glassware from back in my test-tube washing days in college. Like, if you’ve got a bunch of grapes, put them in a bowl and fill it up with water. Add four or five capfuls of vinegar and let the grapes soak a while. Then rinse. I haven’t done any testing to see how much ickiness is washed away, but I always feel like it’s more effective than just running the grapes under the facet for a few seconds.
Rubbing alcohol works wonders on those white deodorant crystals that form in the armpits of your favorite blouses and shirts. Just put a little of it on a washcloth and rub until clean.
Toliet clogged and plunging ain’t cutting it? This is what you should do: boil a small potful of water (like two quarts). Take half a bottle of liquid dishwashing detergent and pour it into the toliet, followed by the hot water, being careful to avoid splashies. Let it set for half an hour. You should hear the pleasant gurgle of the turd breaking up by then. I don’t know why this works, but it does. I feel like all users of Abilify should get this advice along with their prescription.
So, does anyone know of something you can do to brushed cotton pants to keep them from attracting every strand of pet hair and piece of lint in the room?
For picking up every strand of pet hair and piece of lint in the room, try wearing some brushed cotton pants. (See, you’re just not getting into the spirit of the thread properly!)
Permanent marker on your leather couch? Or your microfiber couch? Amodex. It doesn’t take it out 100%, but 80% is better than nothing, right?
Someone already mentioned the Zip-it tool, but for everyday showering, just keep one of these puppies in your drain. Ounce of prevention and all that! Once you use it, you’ll be amazed at the amount of hair you produce. Guys too! Don’t get the nasties on your finger; grab a tissue to fish it all out every few days.
Heating up Indian food in the microwave? You don’t want tomorrow’s pasta primavera to reek of Mutter Paneer, do you? So leave a bowl of vinegar in the microwave overnight to deodorize it.
I second jsgoddess’s dandruff recommendation. Especially in the winter coal tar shampoo is needed. Don’t spend the money for T-gel either; generic is the same active ingredient.
I’ve also had a lot of luck with four Advil with a caffeinated-soda chaser, especially if I catch it just as I notice that it’s coming on. I’m more likely to have these on hand, and it’s nothing to just gulp the soda. Repeat the soda part as needed.
To add to the suggestions about discharging a static build up, I’d like to share what I do if I know it’s coming and I don’t have a key or something to discharge through. I use toothpaste! No wait, that’s not right. If I know that I’m going to expect a shock when I reach for something (wearing a coat that historically produces shocks, shuffling my feet on the carpet, etc.) I try to smack the metal with the palm of my hand. Seems to work for me and the unexpected “smack” helps wake up my co-workers.
It’s the super-fine “grit” of a “paste” toothpaste that supports most of the miracle uses. Barkeeper’s Friend and Bon Ami are almost as good. Also the Mr. Clean magic eraser.
What the magic eraser doesn’t seem to do, is what I have tried buying it for: burnt-on crud around the burners and on the stove top. It helped a bit, but could not make a dent in the worst of it.
Something the magic eraser IS good for that nothing else I’ve tried works on: cleaning the refrigerator handles. I have a white fridge with those white plastic handles that look grubby at hand-level. Soap does nothing, but careful use of a magic eraser works really well.
If you’re going to hand wash your undies, you might as well let them air dry as well. The heat in the dryer, and the tumbling action, will damage the elastic. You’d be better off just washing the undies in the washing machine and air drying them. And this goes double for bras…NEVER put a bra in the dryer.
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.
Is this a glass top stove we’re talking about? I had good results with the glass stove top cleaner - put a whole bunch on the crud, and cover with soaking wet towels. Repeat as necessary until clean (you may have to scrape the big chunks of crud off first).
This is one of those :smack: obvious things that really make you feel like a dumbass that you didn’t realize them sooner. I suppose I’m just not in ‘do laundry’ mode when I’m in ‘wear laundry’ mode, in a hurry in the morning grumbling about a million frayed ends of elastic poking out of my favorite bra.
I quit using baby shampoo on my little one a couple years ago; his curly hair needed more conditioner, it seemed. Anyway, I had a ton of it left over, so I use it to wash out my tights and bras and other lingerie.
It’s cheaper than Woolite, especially if you get a store-brand baby shampoo. (Try Wal-mart’s brand!)
Vinegar to kill warts–yes, it really works! Use a small piece of cotton (just large enough to cover the wart) and dampen it with the vinegar (it only needs to be DAMP, not dripping, so squeeze out the excess). Apply the cotton to the wart and cover with a bandaid–leave on overnight, and remove in the morning. Repeat each night until warts drop off. They will start to turn black, this is normal. It sometimes stings a bit, too, but it’s not bad at all.
For some reason, my two daughters had real trouble with warts for a time and this was a quick and easy fix–not to mention cheap!
Blue Star Ointment for ringworm–YES. Much better and faster than antifungal creams, too. Just use it as you would use the cream–clears them up in DAYS rather than WEEKS, with noticeable improvement almost immediately.
It helped a bit, but could not make a dent in the worst of it.