What tip have you heard about and been incredulous when it actually works?

[hiredandsqueak]

I saw on Twitter that filling a ziplock bag with water and a few coins and hanging it in a doorway/placing it on the doorstep will keep flies out. It seemed such a bizarre suggestion that I thought I would try it and can confirm it works. I've also hung one near the bins and there hasn't been any flies around for a week.
Are there any other tips that I should know?

lifestooshort123
“Use a 2p piece to remove crusty lime scale from chrome taps. I was amazed!“

I couldn’t find a 2p piece but 1p worked just fine. Crusty old taps looking much better. Thanks

Sorry if this has already been said, but if you have a jar that you’re struggling to open, turn it on its side and tap the lid on a hard surface (I tap it carefully on the floor tiles). It will ‘pop’ and be much easier to open. Always thank my nan for this one!

Elbow grease the spray removes orange based stains. My DD tonight spilt sauce down her front I sprayed it rinsed with warm water it's gone instantly

Vitrex grout cleaner*

Oo another one I remembered- if you are going to an event where you need your makeup to last all day (wedding, christening, etc), spray hairspray over your face (eyes & mouth closed and at a distance) and it sets it! I wouldn’t recommend it all the time but I always do this if I’m going to a wedding and it works! I’ve tried expensive primers/setters (I’m looking at you, Urban Decay) and nothing beats this!

@Staffy1 baby wipes!

I use bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar to clear slow drains. Leave for 30 minutes then Sluice with boiling water. Couple of times.

Re verrucas: I had one that I spent a fortune on at chiropodist. Still there. Read that garlic could remove. Taped clove on there several times. It disappeared! Maybe a coincidence but the damn thing is gone.

@Hoppyhops I used to do that. (:

@SomeCuntsHavinAParty you need a clay bar for fingerprints on a car

If you have mugs that are stained, soak them in a solution of steradent or other denture cleaner. They will come up like new.

@Hoppyhops I do this most days 🙂

Use talc on wet sandy feet - sand falls off

Wrap cling film around paint brushes and rollers after finishing painting for the day/tea break/until ready for next coat of paint. Saves a lot of time washing out, particularly rollers.

Freeze jalapenos whole in the freezer rather than having to pickle them. No need to blanch either, just wash and freeze. They can then be defrosted and chopped for using in stews, casseroles etc. Not quite as crunchy as fresh but still tasty and good for preserving a glut.

On hot days, when butter is close to melting, just poor some tap water into the butter dish and the evaporation will keep it spreadable but unmelted.

Honey that has solidified in a jar can be made runny again, by microwaving for no more than a minute (for an 8oz jar - reduce time for smaller quantities), giving it a good stir and allowing to cool. Will stay runny for weeks and does not affect the taste.

Put a few grains of rice in your salt cellar to keep it clump free.

Any tips for getting rid of ants? I've never had a problem with them before but in the past month they're all over my garden and now they're getting in to my house, found one in my DC bed this evening!!!!

I think this is a crumpled brown paper bag which is meant to deter wasps as they won’t go near another wasps nest

Verrucas - painting with nail varnish gets rid of them. You have to do it regularly and persevere with it for a while, but it always works. I'm intrigued to try the banana skin version though!

@Resisterance
In my parents bungalow, I'd often pull my bed back from the wall to see a load of ants eggs and nursery ants caring for them. I think the whole estate must have been build on an enormous ant hill because many people had this problem.

I used to just gently run my palm along the eggs, just lightly enough to flip the eggs over and guaranteed, within the hour, a swarm had arrived and carried all eggs away to a safer location. I had to do it about 3 or 4 times over the space of a few years but they haven't ever returned. I think they 'remember' the danger areas and avoid.

If you're finding them in your home, they're scouting for food so any crumbs or debris will give them the green light to get their mates in to investigate. Find out where they're getting in and seal it up.

But, to properly find out where they're getting in, you need to leave enough sugar (or similar) out so that it creates enough of a trail to follow.

I wouldn't do this with red ants though. Vicious things that spray a painful acid on contact.

Itchy Insect bites.. heat them up with a hair dryer on hot. Do it till you feel the burn... It disperses the histamine which caused the itch for around 4 hours .

Blood and bicarbonate of soda, soak over night and stains will vanish, most things actually.

How to get suncream onto reluctant child -

“right then spots or stripes?”

Thank you Mumsnet for that one!

Oooooo place making for a proper read through later

Anyone got a tip for essential oil stains on a bath?

Also superglue stains on laminate?

Also toothpaste stains on painted walls?

[quote ItsSpittingEverybodyIn]@Staffy1 baby wipes! [/quote]
@ItsSpittingEverybodyIn thank you, I'll try them.

Verruccas - pop a piece of duct tape over it. Replace as needed but don’t let it get any air. Takes 7-10 days to completely vanish pain free. Just enough duct tape to cover is enough!

Like the ants egg tip above my sister reckons that if you kill a couple of ants, near to where they are getting in you your house, and leave the bodies where they are, the rest of the ants realise that this is A Bad Place For Antkind, and stop coming in.