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!

[Aunt Carol]

halfassedly divided into apartments and upgraded

Oh man, yeah. That just adds so much uncertainty into attempting repairs, or even figuring out what you're dealing with, and then you get your Sistine Chapel bathroom that probably used to make sense in the previous building configuration. Plus dividing walls whose stability turns out to be mostly due to decades of layers of off-white latex paint.

I have a feeling you might be right and the existing fan isn't doing its job due to dust buildup.

Bathroom dust is the worst because it gets wet and solidifies. Sometimes the fan blade is almost stuck in place with dust-mud and cleaning it off will be a big help; sometimes the fan burned out because the blade got stuck previously.

You probably knew this, but you can test the fan's function from the ground by lighting a punk/incense and seeing if it diverts the smoke.

It also goes without saying: whoever's going after the ancient fan needs to protect their eyes and cover their hair, since it probably hasn't been cleaned before.

 

[Rap Scallion]

I don't like sets. One peeler one chef's knife is all I need.
Sure a bread knife is not bad to have, but that's like three knoives overall...quality ones are sold single anyhow.
For chef's knives, you either go fiskars, zwilling or... yeah, no, that's it.

Don't go for weird Japanese knives - they're just retarded to wield.
In this one case, the japs just do it wrong.
Their "technique" for the santoku is just a case of "too stupid to use a knife".
And japanese knive's form follows that idea of a technique.

The best. And all you ever need. Good steel, you can sharpen it on a roller and it retains the edge.
I think $50 is the cut off price point for good cutlery.

Edit:

A set!​

Sets are too expensive for my taste, since you rarely need the weird knives they always seem to throw in...
Tho, it is an ok price to ask, imho.

I have the peeler and the chef one form that series.

I bought some stuff from Zwilling at your recommendation and it's fantastic! Thank you for that.

 

[Imp]

It’s almost time to break out the sandals but my indoor sandals (summer slippers) have bad stink which causes my feet to smell lIke vinegar feet. They’re Chaco slides, rubber insoles and I don’t know how to get out the stink. Any ideas or should I toss them and buy new?

 

[Day Walker]

It’s almost time to break out the sandals but my indoor sandals (summer slippers) have bad stink which causes my feet to smell lIke vinegar feet. They’re Chaco slides, rubber insoles and I don’t know how to get out the stink. Any ideas or should I toss them and buy new?

Put them in a freezer bag and in the freezer for a day. It works for sneakers so worth a try.

 

[Aunt Carol]

my indoor sandals (summer slippers) have bad stink which causes my feet to smell lIke vinegar feet. They’re Chaco slides, rubber insoles

If the alternative is tossing them, I'd try disinfectant of choice and then letting them dry thoroughly in the sunshine if possible.

life lesson: do not clean stinky shoes and then try to rush-dry them in your oven; it will make the whole house smell like baked feet. this has been proven by personal experimentation.

My cross to bear is that if I wear any kind of plastic or rubber shoes without a cloth liner or socks, it's stink time, so unfortunately that might also be your foot odor journey.

 

[zombifiedgirl]

got annoying period stains? BUY THIS literally spray it on ur stain and it foams up has it gone less than literally 5 minutes it works so easy and well and its so cheap to you can find it at any department store!! I usually use it on my clothes the most but it works fast on bedsheets

 

[Aunt Carol]

you can find it at any department store!!

I've seen that at Dollar Tree, but I've never heard about using it on blood. Sounds worth a gamble.

 

[There She Glows]

Pantry moths: Do I really need to throw everything away? I keep certain things like beans and rice in bulk for emergency prep reasons so it would be a big waste and expensive to replace, but I've read that they get into sealed bags and cardboard boxes and lay their eggs.

 

[Hamstirer]

got annoying period stains? BUY THIS literally spray it on ur stain and it foams up has it gone less than literally 5 minutes it works so easy and well and its so cheap to you can find it at any department store!! I usually use it on my clothes the most but it works fast on bedsheetsView attachment 7106651

That shit is fantastic. It works great on motorcycles and ATVs too. Dollar tree sells 1/2 gallon bottle of it that are orange scent and work just as good.

 

[one_time_user]

@There She Glows you can freeze everything for at least a week to kill whatever is in there and clean your cupboards etc but, you're going to be eating the moths and eggs if you forget to rinse extremely well when you cook them. which honestly, whatever, we eat bugs unknowingly anyway.

 

[Aunt Carol]

Pantry moths: Do I really need to throw everything away? I keep certain things like beans and rice in bulk for emergency prep reasons so it would be a big waste and expensive to replace, but I've read that they get into sealed bags and cardboard boxes and lay their eggs.

You don't have to; if the beans and rice are in sealed non-paper containers, just monitor them for active moths when you open them. You can bag individual paper/cardboard containers of food in gallon zip-top bags; if moths hatch from inside, it'll be obvious, the plastic is thick enough to keep stuff out, and you can reuse the bags as you rotate through.

If you are buying 50lb bags of rice and storing them like that, this is probably a good time to look into better containers.

Pantry moth infestation is underappreciated for the emotional damage it does; it's not as bad as bedbugs but it's on the same scale. I remember opening every cardboard box and peering in, trying to determine if it had moth cocoons and webbing, or if the Rice-a-Ronis were just moving because of static electricity and the pulse in my hands. Threw a lot of things out and bagged up what I didn't discard, some of which ended up growing moths and some of which didn't. Luckily this was at a point in my life where I didn't have a really deep pantry, and my mom had sent me out into the world with the 1970s Tupperware storage containers from her bridal shower so my flour and rice and lentils were safe.

 

[There She Glows]

If you are buying 50lb bags of rice and storing them like that, this is probably a good time to look into better containers.

Thankfully my 50lb bag of flour is stored in one of those completely airtight pet food storage bins. I'm planning to grab a couple more next time they're in stock at Costco, you could probably leave one outside in the rain for months and the dry good contents wouldn't be affected at all.

Spoiler

 

[themanwhowalks]

If you cook with cast iron a lot use a chainmail scrubber, they're by far the best dish cleaning tool I've ever bought. Don't buy the ones with sponge inserts because they'll gunk up super fast

 

[NoReturn]

If you cook with cast iron a lot use a chainmail scrubber, they're by far the best dish cleaning tool I've ever bought. Don't buy the ones with sponge inserts because they'll gunk up super fast

If you have to get one with an insert, get one with the silicone inside to make it sponge-shaped. They clean easily with a run through the wash.

 

[TrainWreckSpotter]

got annoying period stains? BUY THIS literally spray it on ur stain and it foams up has it gone less than literally 5 minutes it works so easy and well and its so cheap to you can find it at any department store!! I usually use it on my clothes the most but it works fast on bedsheetsView attachment 7106651

All you really need for blood stains is hydrogen peroxide. But I agree, that Awesome line of products is really good.

Speaking of hydrogen peroxide, use it along with Fels Naptha soap (you can still find it on Amazon) as a laundry pre-treater. I rub the Fels Naptha on the stain, then spray it with a shot of hydrogen peroxide. I have found it works on most stains.

 

[Aunt Carol]

Speaking of hydrogen peroxide, use it along with Fels Naptha soap (you can still find it on Amazon) as a laundry pre-treater. I rub the Fels Naptha on the stain, then spray it with a shot of hydrogen peroxide. I have found it works on most stains.

Zote is good too; if there's any kind of soap bar in your IRL grocery's laundry section, it's about the same and worth a try.

Just plain lye soap. I like to cut slices off the bar so it lasts longer and because it's easier to use a smaller piece on stains, like having a smaller/sharper eraser.

 

[Imp]

I have a cactus spine in my finger and can't get it out. I tried a needle, tweezers and most recently a splinter out device but I keep hitting a vein and have to stop prospecting to staunch the flow. Should I carry on or does a kiwisister have a tip? It seems to be pretty deep and perpendicular to my finger. I really don't want to go to an urgent care and sit with the sicks to have my finger de-spined.

 

[one_time_user]

When I do that, if there's even a bit sticking out still, I first try with really sticky tape and if that doesn't work, letting some bendy glue (fabric etc) dry on top and yanking.

 

[Friend of Dorothy Parker]

I have a cactus spine in my finger and can't get it out. I tried a needle, tweezers and most recently a splinter out device but I keep hitting a vein and have to stop prospecting to staunch the flow. Should I carry on or does a kiwisister have a tip? It seems to be pretty deep and perpendicular to my finger. I really don't want to go to an urgent care and sit with the sicks to have my finger de-spined.

Just let it work itself out? I've never had a cactus spine stuck my finger, but I've had wood slivers, thistle spikes, etc., wedged in deep. If it's near the surface and sticking out I either pull it with tweezers or scrape away skin to free it if kind of horizontal under the skin, but if it's perpendicular or tweezers don't work, I usually just live with it until it works itself out enough to grab.

But so did it break off under the surface? I'm trying to figure out how why you're digging around with a needle - it sounds kind of deep and that there's nothing to grab.

Thread tax 1: (not a hack, but house maintenance-related): I put Amdro ant bait stakes around the perimeter of my house a week ago, and (knock wood) haven't seen an ant in the house since (not confirmed effective bc it's only been a short time. Also sprayed Nature's Mace (deer and rabbit) over my bunny food plants then and have seen (knock again) no further damage. Will continue to monitor.

Thread tax 2: is there anything to be done with a spray bottle that doesn't have any real "oomph" - it sprays but without much force so not a nice, fine, even mist?

 

[Aunt Carol]

Thread tax 2: is there anything to be done with a spray bottle that doesn't have any real "oomph" - it sprays but without much force so not a nice, fine, even mist?

I'd take it apart and see if there's any pressure loss (maybe where the hose sticks into the top). Soak the nozzle in case there's some dried crud diffusing the spray.

Other than that it's probably just a piece of crap.

I tried a needle, tweezers and most recently a splinter out device but I keep hitting a vein and have to stop prospecting to staunch the flow.

Try what @one_time_user suggested: let plain white glue or wood glue dry on your skin, but put a piece of gauze or loose-woven fabric on top so you have something to help tug.

Other than that, if you wait the spine will work its way closer to the skin. (The desire to dig and "fix it" is the same thing that makes humans turn a proto-pimple into a giant bleeding facial pit, when waiting and a hydrocolloid patch would have ended it bloodlessly.) Use antibiotic ointment and a bandage on your finger and be prepared for the skin to macerate a little, but that should help pull the spine out when it's exposed.