Handy Household Tips

Subject: Zip Top Freezer Bags... I Have difficulty getting them open? Take scissors and snip a fair sized "V" in one side of the top strip (don't cut into the 'sealer') and you will find it easy to gain access without the frustration. Also if you find it difficult to fill small freezer bags you might try putting them inside a measuring cup, folding a small flap down over the edges of the cup. Then it's easy to fill with foodstuffs and prevent the bag collapsing and the resultant spills. Same holds true for larger bags if you find a suitable sized bowl or can to place the bags in.

Subject: Bleach Smell: To remove bleach smell from hands (and that slimy feeling) pour a little vinegar or lemon juice over your hands then rinse. (bleach is alkaline, vinegar and lemon are acid, so they cancel each other out and balance the pH of your skin.)

Subject: Butter Dish. To keep butter from sliding around on the butter dish, heat the dish with hot tap water, dry off and then put the butter stick on the dish and then into the refrigerator. It will melt just a little of the butter which will freeze when put in the fridge. Doesn't slide around when you are getting butter

Subject: keep your socks together in the wash and dry process. Get some safety pins and keep them by the washing machine for your socks .Pin the toes of the socks together so you save time matching them up after the laundry process.

Subject: Recycle Grocery Bags I have recently fixed a pair of 3M Commander hooks - the kind that come off any surface just by pulling the tab - onto the sides of my kitchen garbage bin - the kind that fixes onto the inside of a cupboard door. I put the Commander hooks, one on each side a few inches below the rim and upside down. Instead of buying expensive garbage bags I can now hang a pair of plastic grocery bags from the hooks and tuck the edges neatly round the top of the bin. You know how these bags have an annoying habit of gradually sinking into the bin as they fill up - well, with the hooks they can't do that and when the bin needs emptying, I can just unhook the bag and tie the handles ready to toss down the garbage chute. It's also a great way to use up grocery bags instead of throwing them away.

Subject: Save on cleaning Materials. The best thing for cleaning anything around the house is very hot water with a squirt of good quality washing up liquid, and a window cloth (the best one is a reasonably priced Vileda window cloth found in Wilkinsons for £1-99). I like the water as hot as possible therefore I use rubber gloves, and ring out the cloth as much as possible. I use this for cleaning windows (in and out), mirrors, tiles, marble furniture, even the bedroom furniture, dusting around the house, car windows, anything that you might use cleaning products or polishes. Guaranteed not to leave smears. I haven't bought any cleaning products or polishes for about 8 years

Subject: Pesky fruit fly tip  Here's a good way to get rid of those pesky fruit flies around the house without using harmful chemicals. You will need a spray bottle with an adjustable spray-head. fill the bottle with rubbing alcohol and adjust the spray head so that it sprays a fine mist. When you spray the fruit files, the rubbing alcohol will not kill them but it will knock them out so that they fall onto the floor where you can sweep them up. Doesn't work as good as insecticide, but then again, you won't be poisoning your family and yourself either.

Carpet spot cleaner. To clean spots on rugs and carpets, use window cleaner. It works as well as the spray-on carpet cleaners and if you buy the store brand (I use Wal Mart), you can get it for as little as $0.97 for a full quart bottle

Subject: Candles and Drains.  Try putting your cheaper candles in water just deep enough to cover them, add 2 teaspoons of salt and soak. This is suppose to cut down on the amount of dripping. I haven't tried it yet, but will when I bring the Christmas decorations out. This will eliminate tossing out all of the cheapies you already have on hand. If anyone has a leaky faucet that drips rusty water, purchase a cheap screen-type strainer for tea (the one I bought had a handle on it, but that's OK) and place it directly under the faucet and over the drain. The water will be directed into the strainer and down the drain instead of splashing the sink or bathtub sides. Discard the strainer when you have time to repair the faucet and you'll have a cleaner sink or tub, as well.

Subject: Carpet Stains  Don't remember where on the web I got this solution but it has worked everytime. I was originally searching for something to remove old red wine stains from carpet but have used it on other stains and it has worked just as good. dishwashing liquid (i use Palmolive) and peroxide. The stains actually just disappear. It's great. I've never used a precise measurement of either. I would be careful on dark carpets. From what I understand the peroxide can have a bleaching effect. My carpets are beige so it hasn't been an issue

Subject: Stainless Steel Appliances Hello, Thought people out there would like to know a tip about cleaning stainless steel appliance doors etc.  The folks at the Sears store use "baby oil" to get the finger prints and marks off the doors. I was nervous to try it but it works like a charm. I used a small amount on a napkin and wiped the fingerprints away. It also took off the glue from the tape that was used in shipping.

Subject: Talc Talc removes sticky labels. Use talc to make playing cards easier to use. Remember to put a little quantity of talc in your rubber gloves --

Subject: Stuck Glasses etc. When you can't use lots of physical force to separate two "stuck" things, heat is often the best way to do it. The principle here is that when you heat something, it expands a little. When you cool something, it shrinks. You need a temperature difference (what scientists call a "delta-t") between the outside (neck) of the decanter and the stopper. This causes increases the space between the two parts, hopefully enough to separate them. For example, you could tie a piece of cloth on the outside, soaked in hot water. You could even try ice on the stopper at the same time. Another application of this idea is to apply a torch to a nut that won't come loose from a dirty or rusty bolt. The nut heats up faster. This helps to break the "glue" binding them together.

Subject: Re: slow draining sinks -- If your sink drains are chronically slow and you live in an older house, the problem may be an accumulation of sludge in the lines. No amount of plunging and chemicals is going to fix this. What's needed is to climb up onto the roof of your house with a metal snake (preferably one with a business end looking a bit like a ballpeen hammer) and ram that snake down each of the drain lines, entering through the vent stacks, with a fair amount of force. It may require 50 or 100 motions for each stack. A licensed plumber will charge you about US$250 or, you can venture it yourself. You should also snake out any drain clean-outs you can find at ground level.

Subject Onion Smell: To remove the strong odor of onions from your hands, hold a stainless steel spoon in your hand while running water and rub your hands as though the spoon were soap. Silly, but it works

Subject: Smelly hands. I keep the lemons and limes that have been squeezed beside the sink, the main use is to rub on my hands after processing fish or any other foods. You can use them to cut the limescale around taps and plugholes.

Subject: STINKY HANDS. I was reading about those smelly hands and all you have to do to get the onion smell off after you get through cutting is use a drop or two of dishwashing liquid and a little salt and rub for just a bit and rinse. Also if you are cutting an onion and bell pepper, cut the onion first then the bell pepper and rub your hands just a little with the pepper and no need to do anything the pepper does the trick. For shrimp smell use a little lemon juice and a little salt and rub and rinse.

Garlic odor on hands; To rid your hands of garlic odor, rub a piece of stainless steel while washing your hands. It works like a charm everytime!

Subject: Getting pee out of kids clothes My son has a problem about wetting the bed i have found that if you take  your regular washing stuff and add a can of  cheap cola  to your laundry it takes the pee smell out. It also works great on  getting greasy stuff out of clothes just let the clothes soak for about 30 mins. for both and when you dry them they will not come out smelling like pee.