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?

Re: fruit flies, discovered this today - a saucer of apple cider vinegar with a dot of washing-up liquid mixed in. The flies are attracted to the smell and drown. Disgusting but effective.

@Juice0 asked about getting antiperspirant stains out of clothes: the antiperspirant actives only dissolve in acid, so you need to soak the clothes in something acidic: vinegar, cola, descaler, preferably overnight (if the fabric will take it), especially for 'old' or built up stains/ hardened areas. It may take a couple of goes, but will usually work. I now give shirts a preventative soak once every 2-3 washes.

I always use a pair of long bladed scissors to cut pizza into slices, so much easier.

Buying first and second class stamps from stamp dealers not the post office eg rushstamps or philatelink (google cheap postage) and paying £58 for 100 first class stamps not £76

My friend told me to measure trouser waist size around my neck (if they fit around your neck they for your waist. Before I learned of this I always bought trousers too small and since I learned they all fit. I couldn’t believe it was that simple and we are taught this.

Hairspray takes pen out of almost anything, most notably from our white leather sofa. Hold the can close and spray so it pools over the mark, watch it disperse!

The Vicks thing works, done it loads of times. For a cold try elderberry wine.

So many good tips here!

Totally read that wrong, I processed that as wear both a red and white of underwear 😂
But I can confirm that you’re absolutely right it looks a hundred times better wearing a red bra with a white shirt! I still can’t wrap my head around how?!

@nicegirl73

Sorry, I don’t understand... do you mean your neck size is equivalent to your waist size ie 12” neck = size 12? Am confused!!

Has anyone noticed that when you freeze your own ice cubes they’re cloudy looking but if you buy a bag of ice the cubes are crystal clear?...
If you want to freeze your own crystal clear cubes use cooled boiled water 🙂

Can also use the actual shell to scoop it out, it acts like a magnet for the little piece

What’s that, Frangipan?

If anyone wears white shirts and gets grubby collars, buy a cheap shampoo and rub into the collar before putting in the machine. Brings them up beautifully. Works with all colour shirts of course but white is more noticeable!

Get into the habit of doing a service wash at the highest temp your washing machine will go every couple of months. Add in a scoop of bio powder if you buy it. Don’t bother if you don’t.

Boil up some water with aforementioned bio powder for a few minutes in badly burnt on pans.

Don’t buy spray bleach. Use toilet bleach and just dilute it - you don’t need to be exact, just enough that you can smell it. I spritz in the shower every couple of evenings because the horizontal surfaces are a menace for collecting that horrible pink mould.

Don’t buy a pink cistern block, it makes everyone think you’re on your period 🙄

Have a bottle of Dettol laundry liquid on hand - it’s great for really smelly clothing. I use it for PE kits and similar.

For tea-stained mugs spritz with a little bleach and leave with some water in to soak to get it all off. Even better if you can put it in the dishwasher! No scrubbing required.

I’ve just been decorating and read this tip elsewhere - store any leftover paint in squeezy ketchup bottles. Really easy to use if you need to touch up any areas later. Of course it does mean you have to have loads of empty bottles available .

Candle wax on fabrics? Cover with kitchen roll and iron on a lowish heat settings. The wax melts into the paper. Learned from bitter experience involving a boozy do and a hired dinner suit !

Does anyone know how to get parcel tape off a upvc windowsill? My DC decided to tape toys to the windowsill for no good reason whatsoever. I can't get the last layer of it off.

Anything abrasive scratches the plastic and the chemicals I have tried seem to disintegrate it 😬

I'm hoping someone will have a random solution like garlic on a banana skin

I presume you all know the Oxo cube one? Just in case... Undo the side flaps and squeeze the stock cube within the foil, tear off a corner and pour. No more smelly fingers covered in stock cube.

Astonish cookware/oven cleaner on a wet cloth brings up white uPVC windows, doors, conservatories etc., a treat, just rinse off the residue.
Works on sticky irons and dull car headlights too.

Dettol mould and mildew remover gets rid of most black stubborn marks on silicone sealant and grout.

I leave my jewellery overnight in a glass of gin or vodka, makes diamonds gleam.

I use an E cloth with just water to clean windows, separate one for TV/computer, mirrors, stainless steel. Marigold do a cloth too which has rubber impregnated in the cloth, my new fave, squeaky clean, literally.

Bought a fluffy glove from Asda for polishing, great for that but has been repurposed for applying my fake tan, wish I’d got two now. Fluffy socks work just as well for both.

I use damp fine grit sandpaper to shine up brass door knockers/letterbox or one of those metal pan pall scourers.

Rubbing a ball of silver paper on chrome shines and de rusts.
White nail polish hides scratches on white goods.
I rub a candle on the runners of sticky draws, butter on squeaky hinges.

There will be a huge surge on the national grid with everyone boiling their weeds!

My mother used to say leave a peeled onion in the sick room to absorb all the germs, supposedly they absorb the smell from gloss paint too.

Goingdownto : for verruca cut a small square of banana skin and Place it skin inside on the verruca. Hold in place with a plaster. Leave on all day take off at night and repeat in the morning. After a couple of weeks mine had gone.

Thanks!
Any of these tips work on the corona virus I wonder? It'd be great if banana peel or an onion was what we needed all along!

Dettol spray on anything smelly, it’s the bacteria that give off the whiff.

Keep weevils out of flour by taping bay leaves to the bags, jars and cupboard. It doesn’t matter if fresh or old they don’t like them. Another old wives tale that Actually seems to works. We Once had to throw out loads of flour but not any more.

Strip wash!
If you’ve never tried it it’ll blow your mind!
You can strip wash curtains, sofa cushion covers, sheets, pillow cases, towels etc
I urge you to strip wash your ‘clean’ towels... you’ll be amazed but pretty grossed out by the results
Strip washing basically restores your fabrics to factory settings you can strip wash stained clothes for an hour as a pre wash, you would use a bucket for clothes and obviously adjust the the amount of products
but let’s focus on the big stuff
You will need:
• a bath
• 1/2 cup of borax
You can buy borax for cheap as chips on eBay
• 1/2 cup of soda crystals
•1 cup of any brand laundry POWDER

Method
•For best results leave overnight
•fill tub using only the hot tap-the hotter the water the better
•pour products in and stir until dissolved
•once dissolved chuck in your linens and give a stir every few hours until the water is cold I use my mop/broom handle to stir)
•once the water is cold transfer to washing machine and wash as normal

I highly suggest that anyone who tries this takes before and after pictures

I know it’s common sense but I advise not soaking darks and lights together in the tub- 7 times out of 10 with deep colours some dye will leech out

Let me know how you get on if you try it 😃

Does anyone know if anything can remove superglue from white laminated kitchen cabinets? (DS glued batteries to them for handles after seeing it on YouTube 🤔🙄)