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!

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glass_houses said:
The dog has hit both of my bookcases, as it turns out.
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This advice comes too late, but I have nerd acquaintances with a dog-and-child piss-hell situation, and a lot of bookcases full of board games. They cut covers out of clear plastic, possibly polycarbonate, for the two lowest shelves all around the pee zone. Four holes drilled in the corners of the plastic, and then four bolts with wingnuts on the corners of each shelf holding the covers in place.

In childhood we had a cat with a vendetta against one specific built-in bookcase and we did a much more ghetto version of that: a big board wrapped in tinfoil leaned against then bottom of the bookcase.

If your roommate is on the spectrum, you should explain to him that the correct emotion to feel is shame that he has destroyed someone else's things. That'd be a public service on your part; he still owes you to replace them.
 
Aunt Carol said:
If your roommate is on the spectrum, you should explain to him that the correct emotion to feel is shame that he has destroyed someone else's things. That'd be a public service on your part; he still owes you to replace them.
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I’d say the emotion he should feel is death, but you’re much nicer than me.
 
NOT Sword Fighter Super said:
I’d say the emotion he should feel is death, but you’re much nicer than me.
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The cops have blacklights too. They're gonna figure out this motive really quickly, even if she can refrain from lining his GI tract with a cut-and-paste manifesto pieced together from piss-soaked treasured mementos.
 
I swear by my steam cleaner and I like to use white vinegar when polishing metal (beware of plated) and glass.

Here a list of random tips and hacks that came into my mind as I read through the thread:
  • Don't keep plants in your bedroom. At nighttime when there is no sunlight and they can't photosynthesize they switch to breathing oxygen.
  • When cutting onions, the part of the onion that induces crying is the part where the roots were. Keep that part of the onion turned away from you as you cut the onion to help to reduce irritation to the eyes.
  • Keep citrus like lemons and limes in a bowl of water in the fridge to extend their lifespan, same for half avocados.
  • When potatoes and onions sprout in your pantry, plant them in the garden.
  • You can cure most hiccups by gargling water.
  • Learn the differences between different fires and what you should use to extinguish them.. You wouldn't want to pour water on an electrical fire!​
  • If you want to make a layered sponge use toothpicks as a guide to keep them even:
how-to-cut-a-cake-in-half-horizontally-47930-1.jpg
  • Put fruit skin, bruised fruit and apple cores into a jar of water and 3 days later you will have a wild yeast to make bread with (way less disgusting and high maintenance than sourdough starter.)​
  • Always close the toilet lid before you flush and make sure your guests do too! Especially if you keep your toothbrush in the bathroom!​
 
Does your microwave get manky?

Microwave a bowl of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water until it boils for a few minutes. All the stuck on stuff gets softened with acid steam and wipes right off.

Then buy a pack of these:
Plastic-ventilated-microwave-plate-cover-large-ventilated-microwave-food-plate-dish-cover-plas...jpg
 
Hairspray gets pen ink off most fabric. I don’t know why.
Haven’t read through all the posts so apologies if this has already been mentioned.
 
8mm Cunningham said:
Does your microwave get manky?

Microwave a bowl of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water until it boils for a few minutes. All the stuck on stuff gets softened with acid steam and wipes right off.

Then buy a pack of these:
View attachment 5245724
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If you want to warm something up that has a tendency to splatter, just reduce the power level of the microwave, and increase the time. I almost never warm anything on 100% power anymore, and instead mostly use 50% power and double time. The food also heats up more evenly with less noticeable hot spots. You should experiment with lower power levels. Fatty dark chicken meat at 40% power and no lid is doable, and won't splatter, but at 100% power its game over.
 
Hello. Is it possible to remove black mold from shower silicone sealants?
I assume I would have to get them replaced but I wanted to see my options. Thank you.
 
FrizzPeach said:
Hello. Is it possible to remove black mold from shower silicone sealants?
I assume I would have to get them replaced but I wanted to see my options. Thank you.
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It was recommended to me to soak a rag in straight bleach and leave the rag sitting on top of the silicone overnight. I personally didn't find this effective, however. The brand and age of the silicone may affect the efficaciousness of this technique.
 
FrizzPeach said:
Hello. Is it possible to remove black mold from shower silicone sealants?
I assume I would have to get them replaced but I wanted to see my options. Thank you.
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Just replace them. Once the mold manages to grow in to the silicone, you never get rid of it.

Black mold isn't something you want to fuck around with at the best of times anyways. Nasty shit.
 
FrizzPeach said:
Hello. Is it possible to remove black mold from shower silicone sealants?
I assume I would have to get them replaced but I wanted to see my options. Thank you.
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Like bacteria, mold has 2 distinct phases: active and inactive.

In order to be active and reproduce it must have all of the following factors in order to grow: dark, damp, dirty, warm. Remove just one and it will enter an inactive phase, and form a shell spores to protect itself.

As soon as the conditions return, the spores will be released and spread and the active phase will begin again.

Household cleaners "disinfect" ie kill bacteria and can remove some of the spores but not all. The only way to kill everything is to sterilize.

You will need to remove the contaminated silicone, these tools are good:
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The other end is generally a smoothing tool but I prefer to use a wet finger.

There are sealants you can purchase that claim to reduce mold (I assume they have some form of disinfection agent in them to keep the area cleaner.)

I also advise that you use a squeegee and a microfibre cloth to dry off your shower cubicle with each use and try not to keep bottles and products sitting against the wall that will block the light.
 
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Hopefully this hasn’t been posted before, apologies if it has, but it’s saved me money and it’s a favorite hack of mine so I’ll share anyways.
I use a Swiffer Wetjet and I bought reusable pads for it a long time ago that you just toss in the washer (though sometimes the disposables are nice for particularly gross messes, they’re just pricey).
The mop itself comes with a tiny bottle of solution, and the solution is also pricey.
Fill up a pot, maybe 2-3 inches of water, let it come to a light boil and stick the white cap of the solution container in the boiling water for maybe 20-30 seconds, then use an oven mitt to twist the cap off and refill it with whatever you like.
I use barely a splash of Mr Clean and the rest water.
Twist the cap back on, repeat when it’s empty.
I suppose it’s easier to buy one of those O’Cedar refillable mops but I’ve had this mop for years and it works for me.
 
Aiōn said:
I swear by my steam cleaner and I like to use white vinegar when polishing metal (beware of plated) and glass.

Here a list of random tips and hacks that came into my mind as I read through the thread:
  • Don't keep plants in your bedroom. At nighttime when there is no sunlight and they can't photosynthesize they switch to breathing oxygen.
Click to expand...
They amount they breathe doesn't make enough of a difference to mess with you as a human, but you are still correct that you shouldn't keep them in the bedroom regardless because usually light levels in bedrooms aren't great for their health.

Aiōn said:
  • Keep citrus like lemons and limes in a bowl of water in the fridge to extend their lifespan, same for half avocados.
Click to expand...
+ Store berries in airtight glass jars and they'll last longer
1690996952879.png

Aiōn said:
  • When potatoes and onions sprout in your pantry, plant them in the garden.
Click to expand...
Potatoes are friends with peas.
Onions (especially green onions) are friends with strawberries (I don't know why).

Aiōn said:
  • Put fruit skin, bruised fruit and apple cores into a jar of water and 3 days later you will have a wild yeast to make bread with (way less disgusting and high maintenance than sourdough starter.)
Click to expand...
I gotta try this.
 
I'm trying to attach some removable hooks to the ceramic wall tile in the kitchen beside the stove, to hang pot holders and such. I've cleaned the tiles thoroughly with general cleaner and acetone, and I've tried the largest temporary adhesive hooks, as well as large suction hooks. Neither lasts longer than a day before falling down. Does anyone have alternative suggestions? Bench space is extremely limited so I'm trying to find a way to maximise it and also make it easier to find what I need. At the very least I want to hang two knitted squares, as well as a silicon pot handle cover.
 
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