"Helpful Household
Hints
"
2) Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your
pancake batter onto the hot griddle -perfect
shaped pancakes every time.
3) To keep potatoes from budding, place an
apple in the bag with the potatoes.
4) To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a
pinch of salt to the water before
hard-boiling.
5) Run your hands under cold water before
pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan-the
marshmallow won't stick to your
fingers.
6) To get the most juice out of fresh lemons,
bring them to room temperature and roll them
under your palm against the kitchen counter
before squeezing.
7) To easily remove burnt-on food from your
skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish
soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan,
and bring to a boil on stovetop - skillet
will be much easier to clean.
8) Spray your Tupperware with nonstick
cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based
sauces - no more stains.
9) When a cake recipe calls for flouring the
baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix
instead - no white mess on the outside of the
cake.
10) If you accidentally over-salt a dish
while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled
potato - it absorbs the excess salt for an
instant "fix me up."
11) Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting
in the refrigerator - it will keep for
weeks.
12) Brush beaten egg white over pie crust
before baking to yield a beautiful glossy
finish.
13) Place a slice of apple in hardened brown
sugar to soften it back up.
14) When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch
of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural
sweetness.
15) To determine whether an egg is fresh,
immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If
it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the
surface, throw it away.
16) Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it
in half and rub it on your forehead. The
throbbing will go away.
17) Don't throw out all that leftover wine:
Freeze into ice cubes for future use in
casseroles and sauces.
18) If you have a problem opening jars: Try
using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a
non-slip grip that makes opening jars
easy.
19) Potatoes will take food stains off your
fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the
stains and rinse with water.
20) To get rid of itch from mosquito bite:
try applying soap on the area, instant
relief.
21) Ants, ants, ants everywhere... Well, they
are said to never cross a chalk line. So get
your chalk out and draw a line on the floor
or wherever ants tend to march - see for
yourself.
22) Use air-freshener to clean mirrors: It
does a good job and better still, leaves a
lovely smell to the shine.
23) When you get a splinter, reach for the
scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a
needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the
splinter, then pull it off. Scotch tape
removes most splinters painlessly and
easily.
24) To remove onion, garlic or bleach or other odors
off one's hands: Hold a stainless steel knife (not a
cutting knife, more like a butter knife) under cool
running water..the smell will be gone from one's
hands in a matter of about 10 seconds..any stainless
steel utensil will do, though.
25) If you run out of anti-static dryer sheets after
you take the clothes out of the dryer, run a metal
coat hanger down he material, and give it a shake.
This will remove the static electricity.
26) Before painting, scrubbing the oven, or digging
in any dirt, scrape some soap from a wet bar of soap
under and around your fingernails..this will prevent
other things from getting under your nails..this is
a hint for people who start out using rubber gloves
or garden gloves, and then pull them off half way
through the job.
27) A drop of your favorite cologne on a cold light
bulb will give off a fragrance to a room when the
light is turned on.
28) Put a saucer of vinegar in a room when
painting..or after burning something on the stove.or
in the oven. This helps to elimate odors -- even
cigarette odors.
28) Wipe your dog off with a drier sheet after you
brush him/her. This helps to remove loose hairs
that stay on his/her coat. It also makes your pet
smell nice, too.
29) Keep a spray bottle mix of water and a little
laundry softener in it on hand to spritz a cloth to
dampen it. Use it to wipe dog hairs off of yourself
after brushing your pet. You can also spritz it
on your pets rugs (or your furniture -- Grrrrrrr)
before you sweep them. This really helps get
the dog hairs off.
Removing Corn Silk
A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of
corn will remove every strand of corn silk.
Now Look what you can do with
Alka-Seltzer:
Alka-Seltzer (R) Wacky Uses
-- Clean a toilet.
Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty
minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid
and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
-- Clean a vase.
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass
vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in
two Alka-Seltzer tablets.
-- Polish jewelry.
Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass
of water and immerse the jewelry for two
minutes.
-- Clean a thermos bottle.
Fill the bottle with water, drop in four
Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an
hour (or longer, if necessary).
-- Remove burned-on grease from a pot or pan.
Fill the pot or pan with water, drop in
six Alka-Seltzer tablets, let soak for one
hour, then scrub as usual.
-- Unclog a drain.
Clear the sink drain by dropping three
Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed
by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few
minutes, then run the hot water.
-- Get short-term relief from nicotine
withdrawl symptoms.
As long as you're not on a low-sodium diet or
have peptic ulcers, drink two Alka-Seltzer
tablets dissolved in a glass of water at
every meal.
-- Soothe insect bites.
Dissolve two Alka-Seltzer tablets in a
glass of water, dip a cloth into the
solution, and place the cloth on the bite for
twenty minutes.
31) If your VCR has a year setting on it,
which most do, you will not be able to use
the programmed recording feature after
12/31/99. Don't throw it away. Instead, set
it for the year 1972 as the days are the same
as the year 2000. The manufacturers won't
tell you. They want you to buy a new Y2K VCR.
32) Here is a good thing for the summer, for those
people who like to sit and enjoy the outdoors, but
don't like those pesky mosquitos.
Put some water in a white dinner plate and add just
a couple of drops of Lemon Fresh Joy dishwashing
soap. Put it on your patio.
I don't know what attracts them - the lemon smell,
the white color, or what - but mosquitos flock to
it, drop dead and fall into the water or on the
floor within about 10 ft.
It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near
them.
It takes the odor out of books
and photo albums that don't get opened too
often.
Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when
outdoors during mosquito season.
Eliminate static electricity from your television
screen:
Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static
cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet
of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
Dissolve soap scum from shower doors:
Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
Freshen the air in your home:
Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or
hang in the closet.
Prevent thread from tangling:
Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce
before beginning to sew.
Prevent musty suitcases:
Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty
luggage before storing.
Freshen the air in your car:
Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
Clean baked-on foods from a cooking
pan:
Put a sheet in a pan,fill with water, let sit
overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic agent
apparently weaken the bond between the food and the
pan while the fabric softening agents soften the
baked-on food.
Eliminate odors in wastebaskets:
Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the
wastebasket.
Collect cat hair:
Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will
magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
Eliminate static electricity from venetian
blinds:
Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent
dust from resettling.
Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand
papering:
A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a
tack cloth.
Eliminate odors in dirty laundry:
Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of
a laundry bag or hamper.
Deodorize shoes or sneakers:
Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers
overnight so they will smell better in the AM. DO
NOT USE BOUNCE to wipe your private
parts.
Cure Mange:
While spraying a dog with
WD-40 gets
rid of parasitic mites, according to USA Today, the
WD-40 Company, feeling that the potential misuse of
the product is too great, refuses to condone using
WD-40 to cure mange on animals.
Prevent squirrels from climbing into a
birdhouse:
Spray WD-40 on the metal pole or
wires.
Remove a ring stuck on a finger:
Several
medical journals claim that WD-40 is the perfect
cure for a toe stuck in the bathtub faucet, a finger
stuck in soda bottle, or a ring stuck on a finger.
Remove chewing gum, crayon, tar, and Silly Putty
from most surfaces:
Spray on WD-40, wait,
and
wipe.
Clean decorative snow from windows:
Spray
windows with WD- 40 before spraying with artificial
snow so the decorative spray will wipe off easier.
Prevent dead insects from sticking to your
car:
Spray WD-40 on the hood and grill so you
can
wipe bugs off easily without damaging the finish.
Make hangers glide over a clothes rod:
Spray
WD-40 on the clothes rod so hangers can be pushed
back and forth easily.
Clean clogged spray paint can nozzles:
Remove the nozzles from the spray paint can and the
WD-40 can, place the nozzle from the spray paint can
on the WD-40 can, give it a couple of quick squirts,
and replace both nozzles.
Remove oil spots from driveways:
Spray
with
WD-40, wait, then blot. The mineral spirits and
other petroleum distillates in WD 40 work as a
curing agent.
Thread electrical wire through conduits:
Spray
WD-40 on the electrical wire to help it glide
through winding conduits.
Prevent grass clippings from clogging up a lawn
mower:
Spray WD-40 on the underside of lawn
mower housing and blade before cutting the grass.
Clean sap from gardening equipment:
Spray
with
WD-40, wait, and wipe clean.
Prevent mud and clay buildup on bicycles:
Spray the bicycle with a thin coat of WD-40.
Remove baked-on food from a cookie pan:
Spray
WD-40 on cookie pan and wipe clean. Then wash with
soap and water.
Remove dirt and grime from barbecue
grills:
Remove the grill from the barbecue, spray with
WD-40, wait, and wipe clean. Then wash with soap and
water.
Remove chewing gum from the bottom of a shoe or
sneaker:
Spray on WD-40, wait, and pull the
gum
free.
Keep dogs, maggots, and flies out of trash
cans:
Coat the trash cans with a thin layer
of
WD-40.
Take squeaks out of new shoes:
Spray
WD-40
into the leather and shine.
Remove grease stains from linen:
Spray
WD-40
directly to the stain, rub it in, let is soak for a
few minutes, then wash through a regular cycle.
Take squeaks out of a box spring
mattress:
Remove the fabric covering the bottom of the box
spring mattress (by simply removing the staples),
and spray the springs with WD-40. Staple the fabric
covering back in place with a staple gun.
Polish wood furniture:
Spray WD-40 on a
cloth
and wipe.
Clean crayon from a blackboard:
Spray
WD-40 on
the crayon marks, let soak for 10 minutes, then blot
clean with a cloth.
Free a tongue stuck to frozen metal in
winter:
Spray WD-40 on the metal around the tongue
My Favorite Home
Ideas &
Remedies:
Joey Green's Page
(Wacky Uses For Well Known Products)
Home Tips Galore
(Check this one out first - your topic of solution might just be here)
Tell Me How To:
(Tells you how to do just about everything)
Hints and Tips
(hundreds of hints and tips in
this page)
Some Helpful Remedies For Chronic
Problems
50 Helpful Hints Using Vinegar
"Howtuz" - Sixty Uses For Vinegar
(Very
little duplication of above)
"Howtuz" - Sixty Uses for Salt
"Howtuz" - Sixty Uses For Baking
Soda
* - At the bottom of each of Howtuz's pages is a
pulldown menu for all kinds of things.
Recipe Gold Mine
(Household Recipes - to
replace
most common
over the counter commercial
products)
Homemaking
(an F-Key Saver with many
household ideas)
Formulas to
remember
(more ingredients to combine
for personal and household uses)
Summer Tips: Mosquitoes
(This is a neat
idea)
151
Natural, Home Remedies.
(For Everyday
Injuries and Ailments)
Better Homes
and Gardens
(How To Encyclopedia)
Lady-J's Helpful Hints
(A Well Organized Page)
Signs Found In Kitchens
(Just to add some
Humor)