Sunday, June 22, 2008

More household hints

Tired of those nasty pans under your stove top burners? A soaking in simple green will loosen most of the caked on grease. For really tough baked on stuff you can soak the pans overnight in a sink of water and several dryer sheets. In the morning a quick scrub will remove the softened grime.

Chamomile and Valerian mixed together make the best nerve tonic you can get without a prescription. I buy the raw herbs in bulk and make a tea but you can also buy the capsules.
The stress of the day melts away in minutes and there are absolutely no side affects. I have also used this combination to treat my dog's severe epilepsy and he went from having a seizure a month to none at all.

Dried and cracked leather can be brought back to life with ordinary baby oil. Several applications might be needed for the most severe cases but eventually the item will look as good as new.

Soaking faucet aerators in 5% vinegar overnight will bring them back to full function. No need to buy expensive and dangerous products like CLR and lime away.

Running a quart of 5% household vinegar in your dishwasher will remove lime deposits from your glasses and will restore function to your dishwasher as well.

Save those desiccant packs from electronics and other items you buy. They can be used for storing items that are sensitive to humidity, like photographs, old letters, stamp collections etc.. every few years you can recharge the desiccant packs by placing them in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

If you steam clean your own carpets don't use the carpet shampoos they recommend. These products leave residue in your carpets that act as dirt magnets. Instead, I use powdered laundry detergent or oxy clean. Detergents are much easier to extract from carpets and do a much better job at attacking dirt. Be sure to add water to the detergent first before filling the machine and test on a small area to make sure your detergent is color safe for your carpet or upholstery.

9 comments:

Eyes said...

Another great batch of suggestions!

David Schantz said...

"Tired of those nasty pans under your stove top burners?" Thank you. We have teenage Grand-Kids in the house that think they can cook.

God Bless America, God Save The Republic.

The Merry Widow said...

Another way of handling broiler pans that are baked on messes, place in a plastic garbage bag, add 1 cup ammonia, tie and leave over night.
A small glass bowl with 1 cup ammonia left in your oven can reduce the use of Easy-Off, and the lye and such in it.

tmw

nanc said...

i love the little warning on the dessicant sacks: DO NOT EAT!

yeah, because i awakened one morning wondering where i could get a dessicant omelet!

i save all of mine and toss them around in our closet around the shoes. they'd probably be handy to store with your sleeping bags at the end of camping season.

great tips, hammer.

Papa Frank said...

Nice tips, I'll give these a try.

Z said...

I've heard Valerian should be one of those 'drugs' you tell your doc about when he asks what you're taking...they say it's powerful stuff, but I guess you'd have to do it a LOT to have a problem with interactions or anything. Thanks for all the tips, they're good ones!

Steve Harkonnen said...

Running a quart of 5% household vinegar in your dishwasher will remove lime deposits from your glasses and will restore function to your dishwasher as well.

Can you explain to me exactly how this is done? Do I just dump vinegar into the dishwasher, or is it a quart of water and I somehow figger out how much 5% is?

none said...

The 5% vinegar is listed on the label and is usually sold in half gallon plastic bottles. I just dump the vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and then run it normally.

Steve Harkonnen said...

Thanks Hammer. This is why I am not a nuclear physicist.