Help a MN'er out - random niggling life problems we need to sort out but aren't' worth their own thread.

[RobinEllacotStrike]

A supportive thread for women who have lots of shit to do. Below are some issues that pop into my head at random inconvenient times that I really need to sort out.

Things I need to sort out but I'm not quite sure about.

1. I really want to cancel my TV licence, but I'm unsure about the rules around this now. It used to be virtually impossible to do but now many are. What do I need to know?
2. My dentist has been hassling me for years to get an electric toothbrush - I had one but it rattled my brain so I got rid. A few weeks ago I gave in and bought another one - Superdrug own brand. About £40 on offer. IT CUTS MY LIP!! This cant be right? there seems to be a gap between the vibrating head and if it touches my lip it cuts me. Even if I am really careful it does this. Its this faulty? Is this a normal hazzard when using electric toothbrushes? Its probably too late for a refund but is it worth buying another one?
3. Kitchen sink is starting to be slow draining - what do I do that doesn't involve a plumber.
4. Newish tyre - dramatically lost air pressure. I topped it up thinking I had a slow leak & it seems to be fine 2 weeks later. Is it?

Let me know if you have any random issues we can support with.

I love this thread btw. Beats Googling stuff 😂
Harpic lime scale remover got dropped onto my toilet seat so there's now a little blue stains on it. Hardly the end of the world but is there any way of getting it off?

And if you have a grease stain on an item of clothing that wasn't soaked right away, is there ever any hope of getting it out?!

Being waterboarded is an integral part of the water flosser experience. I have no solution, sorry.

I have the same little blue spots on my wooden toilet seat. I might have to resort to emeryboarding them.
Vanish is really good at removing grease spots; just spray it on the spot and leave for a while before washing.
On a side note: I used to add a scoop of the powder to white loads, it keeps them bright. Whatever is in it, however, did dreadful things to my nether regions.
My whites are dull grey these days.

You could try a magic eraser sponge on the blue spots - got rid of some red hair dye in our bath so might be worth a try.

If my monthly salary comes in to my bank half way through the month now rather than end/1st, do I have to go to every single Direct Debit I have and find out how to change when they take the Direct Debit or is there a way the bank can do it for me or all in one go? They all have bounced and I can't pay until 15th!

I don't know the technical, terms but it drains to a kind of plate at the back and evaporates on it (I presume it's hot)🤷

Photo marked as sensitive but it's a picture of a sofa

Anyway, I have a leather sofa that is flaking. Any ideas of a product to put on it to stop it flaking?

You can paint leather! I remember seeing loads of ppl doing it in Lockdown. I'd get something like this https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/leather-care-products/leather-dyes-restoration/leather-repair-paint?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax_Leather_Repair_Paint&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22249059492&gbraid=0AAAAAD_XcMbEJJIqBn5vWCSyTv0tWnYmy&gclid=Cj0KCQiAiKzIBhCOARIsAKpKLAMPTcJQN0JgXunjgHXcOtPHrWUZaiyDjmJ4x_ZDT4tGC_MQP6tojVQaArkbEALw_wcB

@squashyhat You're not allowed to call them pipe cleaners any more - one now has to refer to them as "chenille stems". I kid you not!! The world has gone mad.
You can buy them in craft places too.

Depending on where it is/other toilets available then if the toilet seat comes off you could try Revive. It's a sort of thick paste, leave it to do it's job and then clean off.

Thank you @IBorAlevels

❤️

Wow, thanks! I've struggled with one of my window handles for a while and just yesterday decided I'd just have to leave the handle slightly up or I might never be able to open the window again.

Maybe you’ve just turned on do not disturb?

We cancelled our tv licence a few years ago. Even though we informed them we don’t have a tv or iPlayer we still get letters saying someone’s going to come round. They never have though so it’s not an issue.

Ooo. What a good idea for a thread.
I have a little annoying thing with my cooker. We have a really old Rangemaster cooker and have lost some knobs. There are (I think) 6 little black plastic knobs that do things like set the timer and.. other stuff I don't use.
I only need 3 of these knobs and there are only 2 original ones left. Don't ask me where they have gone, I have no idea.

I have tried to get more but they don't make them any more. The new ones are slightly different and keep falling out and rolling away. How do I find knobs that fit? (that's what she said).

Is this true? Have you done it? I can’t see how I would get the old handles off -there isn’t a visible screw or anything.

Why does MY birthday show up in other people's calendars on their phone when I don't want it to? I've googled and that feature is definitely off in my google profile, what else might it be? Android user but not a narcissist, don't want my birthday pushed to everyone like it matters.

Have you tried the Mr Muscle drain unblocker? I’d definitely do that before I went taking U bends out.

On electric toothbrushes, I would strongly recommend sonicare. They start at about £35. They are highly effective. I had my last one for about 13 years.

I’m also interested in this! We’re missing a couple of end caps for the handles on the doors of our Rangemaster. We can live without them but it niggles at me.

I haven’t had success with this approach yet but there are a few sellers on eBay who sell spare parts for Rangemasters, a lot of their stock appears to come from stripped down defunct ranges. That might be worth a look? I’ve tried messaging a few of these sellers on the off chance they might have some end caps but no luck so far (I guess because there are people who are happy to buy the whole handle or door), but you might have more luck with finding handles?

@NestEmptyingYou could get someone to 3D print replacement knobs. There is a website called Thingiverse where people share files for 3D prints. If you can find what you need on there, send me the link and I’ll print some for you myself.

If you can’t find yours on there, someone on your local facebook page can almost certainly design one for you, but they’d need an existing knob to take measurements from.

No one else in the house knows what it’s for or where the fridge water goes.

@dijonketchup

On some fridge-freezers it drains onto the top of the compressor which has a plastic strip forming a wall round the top to stop the water running onto the floor. It can get very gungy and can sometimes smell bad and need cleaning once in a while.

And if you have a grease stain on an item of clothing that wasn't soaked right away, is there ever any hope of getting it out?!

@Isanyonereallyanonymous I put Fairy washing up liquid on. A good dollop to cover the greasy stain, give it a good rub in, leave for 24 hours. Rinse under the tap to get most of the soap off, then put in with a normal wash load. (You can skip the rinse step but depending on how big the mark was and how much Fairy used, you can get a washer full of bubbles )

The Dr Beckmann Stain Devil stain remover for “fat and sauces” is really good, I’ve used it on a few old grease stains and have been impressed with how well it’s worked! @Isanyonereallyanonymous

Thanks for all the replies for my ones so far.

I have another one 🫣
I'd like to wash my duvet - previously I'd drop it at a dry cleaners and they'd do whatever to it and it was easy. However we have no local dry cleaner now :( there is a launderette nearby and my duvet says do not dry clean, it can be washed and dried.
However when I've washed pillows in the past, they've gone lumpy and I've ended up binning them. How do I make sure the same doesn't happen again with my duvet?!

I've had the lumpy pillow experience too. All I can say is that I've washed duvets in my machine and they've always been fine. The label will tell you if the duvet is washable but dry cleaning is expensive so I think it's worth risking a wash anyway (unless it was one of those Outer Mongolian Angel Wing and Swansdown Fairy Dust fancy things...)