Things you have bought that were immediately shite (Christmas/New Year Edition)

[PandaChopChop]

Bought beautiful new bedsheets. Reduced in the sale, gorgeous colours with toadstools on them, felt ok in the shop.
Got them home, washed them and they have gone shiny 🤬 like the kind of static shiny so that your duvet ends up in a weird shape and you're rolled up like a stuck sweating pig.

Am absolutely gutted (and furious 😠) and hoping a trip to Homesense will cure me of my wierd shiny-bedsheet-hate.

Are you using the cover? I have one and if i put stuff on at bedtime and put the cover on its all dry by morning. I think it's really hoid.

Ought some outdoor trail Christmas lights. What a faff! Took forever to seperate, Cord too short to plug through the window, too bright, too prickly.

Shoved them in the bin in the end. Will stick to normal Christmas lights in future.
.£60 down the drain!

Wrapping paper - and it was branded too, Hallmark (bought from Co-Op). Couldn’t get the “easy open” to, easily open 🙄

Thank you! I was about to get one in the sale!

Some companies such as IKEA and H&M sell European sized bedding which is different dimensions to our UK bedding. Both the duvet cover and the pillow case can be affected.

I learnt this from buying at H&M and being very confused by all the sizing options!

could be this?

Formaldehyde and other odour-causing treatments are commonly applied to clothes during the manufacturing process. The aim of this chemical bath is to prevent mold, bacteria, mildew, and other substances that could damage the fabric during storage and shipping.

That's why you should wash your clothes before the first wear.
I went to buy jeans from Dorothy Perkins ages ago and had such a bad reaction to whatever was on the jeans my legs were covered in hot rash ( I'm even allergic to tags on hospital!)

Yes, that is why you should ALWAYS wash towels & duvet covers & sheets etc before you use them.

It is not only the chemicals from the dyes, but also the 'size' which is a substance they put on cotton yarns to make it smooth and slippery when it goes through the weaving machines (which is also why a shit, low thread-count duvet cover might feel smooth and of good quality before it is washed and reverts back to the sackcloth that it actually is!). There is also traces of machine oil from the same machines and also the sewing machines that make the final product.

And after all of that, the finished products are sprayed with insecticide and fungicide to protect them whilst they are in the shipping containers for the few weeks travelling from the sweat shops in Asia to Europe. Neither of those however prevent the damage caused by rodents that are also present on those ships which are also scurrying through all those brand new bedding and clothing items. -In the trade, a certain amount of wastage and damage is expected after the journey.

Always wash clothing and bedding items before you put them on your body.

I wash all new bed linen and towels although haven't washed new jeans before but will now!

I don't think we had any duff items this year although that could be because I hit the champers early and forgot to cook half the items. Still, no one noticed and everyone had a great time. I've long learned my lesson that party food in boxes never, ever lives up to the promise.

A couple of years ago I bought a milk frother (after reading all the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser threads ) . I bought a Non HC , the top bit goes in the dishwasher . There;s different settings , one for hot chocolate .
It heats up and froths , but needs two cycles to do this and it isn;t hot , just warm. I don't do cream and marshmallows .

I don;t know why I bought it as if I'm in a cafe then I rarely buy hot chocolate anyway . I made myself one on NYE and it was pretty under whelming .

might be usa voltage of 110..connect to 220 v and boom !!

Thankyou! Someone asked upthread why I had washed them first and I was bit confused why anyone wouldn't?!

I don’t think the insecticides and fungicides are poisonous - widely used for all sorts of products, not just clothes.

I have very allergic ears and can't tolerate surgical steel or gold. Niobium is brilliant, it helps heal my ears when they've reacted, titanium is ok. I'd really recommend niobium studs even though they're expensive and hard to find.

Read it and weep @Supersimkin7

Use an adapter plug - cheap off Amazon!

Bought myself the l'Oréal Mega Volume Manga Eyes mascara at vast expense - had to have it delivered - and it's just meh.

I am a golden age detective fiction fan and was pleasantly surprised this year by two books by Denzil Meyrick. Murder at Holly House and The Christmas Stocking Murders. Written recently and a little bit knowing with reference to future events, but there is humour too and worth a punt imo if you like the genre and want something festive.

I wash all sheets, towels, and clothes before wearing. There are chemicals, as well as general factory dirt, and if in a shop all those random people touching it before you've bought it!

Pins were probably Ti.

Good way to burn down your house due to the different voltages. You don’t just need an adaptor, you need a transformer to alter the voltage - far more expensive.

Mainland Europe uses 220V, the UK 240V so an adaptor or changing the plugs works between the two but USA uses 120V. Putting 240V through wires designed for 120V is likely to make the wires melt.

Some things are dual voltage (like laptops - I think the brick in the lead deals with it) so an adaptor is fine.

The extra voltage starts to melt the wires. It takes a bit of time before the molten metal drips onto flammable material and starts a fire so you may be able to get away with it in short bursts.

@socialdilemmawhattodo @Bodeganights @QuaintPanda @hannonle
thank you for your suggestions, I’ll definitely be looking into these, tape measure at the ready

Pluxy - a facial hair epilator. Does it remove the stubborn hairs? No it doesn't.

@CandidHedgehog thanks for the info.
Interesting thread with the diff in American wires and the possible chemicals on clothes etc!