Household tips and tricks! - Are you having trouble getting the wine stains out of your carpet? Do you clean your cookware with something extraordinary? Come share!

[NoReturn]

This is awkward to ask, but how do I manage cleaning up long human hair?

I don't want to PL, but I've got a health problem going on.

That's not awkward. What's it on?
On furniture you can use a pumice stone to pick up hair. Works for animal fur, too.
On carpet, try a carpet broom/brush with rubber bristles or a squeegee.

 

[anliteralidiot]

That's not awkward. What's it on?
On furniture you can use a pumice stone to pick up hair. Works for animal fur, too.
On carpet, try a carpet broom/brush with rubber bristles or a squeegee.

Just my general floors. I don't have carpets, and it's just hard to pick it up when sweeping because it's so loose.

It's just awkward for me because .. idk, my mom and grandma have short hair, and I'm the longhaired child with a thyroid issue, so it's shedding way more than normal.

 

[Aunt Carol]

When you buy anything that's blister carded, check out the plastic blister before you open it.

If it's a small, regular shape (like a rectangle), save it to use as a disposable vessel when you're mixing epoxy.

 

[retard strength]

I'm too retarded already, what material and kinds of cookware (other than cast iron) should I switch to to avoid Teflon and metal flakes and shit? I'm not scrapping pans with metal spatulas or anything, my shits just old and cheap.

 

[Motherf*cker]

Just my general floors. I don't have carpets, and it's just hard to pick it up when sweeping because it's so loose.

It's just awkward for me because .. idk, my mom and grandma have short hair, and I'm the longhaired child with a thyroid issue, so it's shedding way more than normal.

I have the same problem, my spouse used to have long hair and sheds more than a dog. I would recommend a rubber broom.

 

[CharcoalChkn]

I have a large floor to ceiling window in my living area of my apartment.

It has been quite dirty on the bottom panel since I moved in and I really want to clean it, the issue being I live on the second floor of an apartment building. I have considered the obvious of buying a window cleaner on an extendable handle and just using a small step ladder to kind of try and boost myself out of the top panel to clean it. Clearly this is not safe and I will not be able to get enough pressure onto the handle to get a good clean, am I missing an extremely obvious way of doing this?

Any tips? I would like to be able to keep the window tidy as it's nice to look out of but it's so gross currently.

 

[Aunt Carol]

Clearly this is not safe and I will not be able to get enough pressure onto the handle to get a good clean, am I missing an extremely obvious way of doing this?

They make window cleaners that go into a long U-shape, but I've never used one.

I've been lucky enough that when I was on an upper story, the windows were normal-sized and side-by-side so I could clean one from the other.

If this is an apartment building, you could try asking the manager/maintenance about it. Best case scenario would be an "oh yeah, we need to get around to that," or "we're doing that in Spring," or maybe "lol I'll hook you up for $xx."

Personally I would be tempted to jury-rig a window cleaner out of microfiber and MAGNETS, like those fish-tank algae cleaners, but that is getting close to Mr. Bean territory. Probably you should try the "normal adult conversation" strategy first.

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

Just my general floors. I don't have carpets, and it's just hard to pick it up when sweeping because it's so loose.

It's just awkward for me because .. idk, my mom and grandma have short hair, and I'm the longhaired child with a thyroid issue, so it's shedding way more than normal.

Vacuum it maybe? My vacuum works 10x better when I use just the hose vs having it upright/the way you roll it over the carpet, though it requires more physical effort that way. (I forget the technical terms for this)

I'm too retarded already, what material and kinds of cookware (other than cast iron) should I switch to to avoid Teflon and metal flakes and shit? I'm not scrapping pans with metal spatulas or anything, my shits just old and cheap.

Most of my cookware is stainless steel, but I have a few cast iron pans. They seem like a bigger pain in the ass to deal with than they really are once you get used to having them. Enamel is also great, get a Dutch oven. They're super versatile. Look at yard sales and thrift stores for deals instead of buying new, these things are guaranteed to pop up.

 

[Fliddaroonie]

Vacuum it maybe? My vacuum works 10x better when I use just the hose vs having it upright/the way you roll it over the carpet, though it requires more physical effort that way. (I forget the technical terms for this)


Most of my cookware is stainless steel, but I have a few cast iron pans. They seem like a bigger pain in the ass to deal with than they really are once you get used to having them. Enamel is also great, get a Dutch oven. They're super versatile. Look at yard sales and thrift stores for deals instead of buying new, these things are guaranteed to pop up.

Also charity shops. If you don't see what you need, ask. Be nice to the staff, and ask if they'll call you if one comes in.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

I'm too retarded already, what material and kinds of cookware (other than cast iron) should I switch to to avoid Teflon and metal flakes and shit? I'm not scrapping pans with metal spatulas or anything, my shits just old and cheap.

I love my stainless steel pans. I bought them at Walmart as a set a decade or so ago and they still look brand new.

I still use a non-stick pan for my eggs. I tried cast iron but even after seasoning and using oil my eggs still stuck. It was a new pan and I followed seasoning instructions. Now it's all rusty and I haven't bothered trying to get it cleaned up.

 

[Aunt Carol]

Vacuum it maybe? My vacuum works 10x better when I use just the hose vs having it upright/the way you roll it over the carpet, though it requires more physical effort that way. (I forget the technical terms for this)

One caveat here: if you're vacuuming up a lot of human hair, check the roller bar of the vacuum before and after each use. Even short human hair can bind it up and burn out the motor, or just the belt, and you don't know if someone did some vacuuming before you did. If you catch it early, you can clear the hair with scissors or a scalpel and not have to take the bar out every time.

If you're using the hose, just check down the path it takes so you know where to check for a hairball if it starts to lose suction.

 

[NoReturn]

Vacuum it maybe? My vacuum works 10x better when I use just the hose vs having it upright/the way you roll it over the carpet, though it requires more physical effort that way. (I forget the technical terms for this)


Most of my cookware is stainless steel, but I have a few cast iron pans. They seem like a bigger pain in the ass to deal with than they really are once you get used to having them. Enamel is also great, get a Dutch oven. They're super versatile. Look at yard sales and thrift stores for deals instead of buying new, these things are guaranteed to pop up.

You can also use one of the animal fur vacuum attachments with the rubber nubs.

 

[Shig O'nella]

I have the same problem, my spouse used to have long hair and sheds more than a dog. I would recommend a rubber broom. View attachment 3626120

Seconded. Wife has long hair. Daughters have long hair. One of the cats has long hair.

This thing is a life/sanity/marriage saver.

Edit: @retard strength - I quite like pyrex pans, though we mostly use stainless steel or cast iron.

 

[Mr. Confederate Man]

When you buy anything that's blister carded, check out the plastic blister before you open it.

If it's a small, regular shape (like a rectangle), save it to use as a disposable vessel when you're mixing epoxy.

View attachment 3623034

Side note: the plastic trays that things like premade mashed potatoes or barbeque make awesome parts cleaning trays. They don't melt from my usual car parts degreasing chemicals and I don't feel bad for throwing them away.

 

[Anne Hyroe]

My wok is a sad relic of my student days - any recommendations for an upgrade?

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

My wok is a sad relic of my student days - any recommendations for an upgrade?

Depends on how you are at cooking. You can buy a thin $5 frying pan and watch it turn into a wok within a year.

Not everyone is blessed with a knob, some even get rid of them, but fixing knobs that rattle a bit or rotate when they shouldn't is super easy and easily understandable.
Unscrew them from the other side, remove them. Jam a bit of a popsicle stick into the hole in the cabinet/cupbord/closet door. Screw in the knob again.
The popsicle stick is a fast and easy way to add more wood to that worn out hole so the screw can grip into something. Yeah I know what that sounds like.

 

[Mr. Confederate Man]

Depends on how you are at cooking. You can buy a thin $5 frying pan and watch it turn into a wok within a year.


View attachment 3662926
Not everyone is blessed with a knob, some even get rid of them, but fixing knobs that rattle a bit or rotate when they shouldn't is super easy and easily understandable.
Unscrew them from the other side, remove them. Jam a bit of a popsicle stick into the hole in the cabinet/cupbord/closet door. Screw in the knob again.
The popsicle stick is a fast and easy way to add more wood to that worn out hole so the screw can grip into something. Yeah I know what that sounds like.

Toothpicks and wood glue is what I use if it’s a screw into wood. Toothpicks are made of hardwoods, so that helps a lot. Fixed a few gun stocks with that trick

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Toothpicks and wood glue is what I use if it’s a screw into wood. Toothpicks are made of hardwoods, so that helps a lot. Fixed a few gun stocks with that trick

Popsicle/ice cream sticks are so easy to use because they are soft yet fibrous enough to hold together and there is no glue needed. I'm talking about the flat ones, like thin tongue spatulas. You can just bite down on it a couple of times to soften it up and get it into the right shape.

If you are in an "uh-oh" situation and want to leave the problem for someone else(new owner/tenant) to fix in six month then cardboard and a glue stick works.

 

[1988 prick]

Got an ant infestation as a surprise present as soon as I moved into my apartment.
tried plugging up the holes (with epoxy glue), it helps but only temporary cuz they just make new holes. anyway to eliminate em?

 

[StrawberryDouche]

I am here to spread the gospel of dishwasher tabs to clean your kitchen.

I've been seeing this around the Internet- put a tab in a sink or bucket of hot water and clean the kitchen. I rolled my eyes in Sure Jan fashion as anyone should at such an outlandish proposal.

Friends. My Brothers Sisters in Christ. I used it on my Sunday night kitchen scour and it is a miracle. Being the bleach queen, I added some to the water as well, and everything - every goddamn thing cleaned up without effort. The faces of the cupboards, the grunge behind the garbage can, those little orange specks of oil that get onto the walls around the stove and such; I wiped down my glass spice bottles, coffee bean jar, the salt cellar, and the ceramic utensil container and they sparkled as if they had gone through the dishwasher. I am not easily impressed by cleaning "hacks" and gadgets, but this was truly amazing.

You must try it. I'm sure it would work with the dishwasher liquid as well. They're both designed to lift and remove dried on food and grease.

UHMAZEENG.