What hack has blown your mind?

[MindblownMia]

On the weekend I burnt some black felt onto my iron and it was impossible to get off. I tried spraying it with cleaner, scrubbing it with a sponge and scraping it when hot but nothing worked.

I was about to give up when I learnt that if you pick up a piece of paracetamol or ibuprofen with some tweezers and then wipe it all over the hot iron, the marks literally disappear.

My mind has been blown.

My mind was also blown when I learnt on Mumsnet that the stripes on a super king duvet go horizontally not vertically 🤣 I just thought none of my duvet covers fit 💀

What other things like this have blown peoples minds? I can’t keep living without all these amazing hacks 😂

Usually use the pink stuff paste or powder if I use bar keepers friend!

An elastic band around the lid. Works every time. No messing around with hot water, knives, wooden spoons or tapping on hard surfaces.

Peeling kiwi fruit: slice off the ends, cut it in half, then insert a dessert spoon, tip first between the skin and the fruit and push down. Reinsert and do it again. Do the same for the other half.

Clothes stains:
Spray with vanish.
Put kitchen roll under the wet area.
Leave overnight.
Remove kitchen roll.
Briefly wash in the sink with clothes detergent.
Put straight in the washing machine and wash as normal.

Yep, tying elastic bands round children is the way forward.

I'm all for this.

It’s really quite easy. If your knife is sharp enough you just slice through the gap between the plates. 😁

frozen chopped spinach cubes. Goes into nearly every meal here, and no one notices.

I'm slightly agog that you disapprove of ironing fabric but are perfectly ok with ironing your hair..?!

Another tip for difficult to open jars is to put on washing up gloves first for extra grip.

My latest discovery is putting the heating on for just 15 minutes when the house feels cold. It doesn't warm the house up very much but it creates convection currents of warm air from the radiators that makes it feel warmer than it is - the opposite effect of a draught!

I use a jar key rather than hot water or knives.

For Oxo cubes, instead of peeling the foil off with your fingers and then having to squish the cube into a powder and leaving your hands smelling meaty all day, if you unfold all the corners of the foil and squish the cube so it forms a salt sachet type shape, then just tear and sprinkle.

Huh?

@Flinderskleepers Oooh I forgot this one, I've been doing that for years, much less messy!
I also do the water in scrambled eggs, they increase in volume and are fluffier!

Hairspray will remove biro/pen marks on clothes. Use whilst clothes are dry. May need to do several times, but dissolves like magic.

Teething babies (I have teens so this may be frowned upon now) - put a blob of teething gel on a dummy - swirl around gums and leave in .. had nearly 100% settle rate with mine!

Can confirm as others have said:

Baby oil will remove sticky labels (obviously don't use on anything porous)

Fairy liquid directly on greasy marks or tomato stains then wash - tomato/curry stains will fade if dried outside even on fairly dull days!

Put the shoe on your foot and scrape.. no kneeling needed!

Sorry if anyone has replied to this one already HRFT yet, (I’m a Lincolnshire gal) - yes 100% keep the stalk outside your back door (sprouts love the frost) but even better, score the base of the stalk with a sharp knife (or chop it off slightly) and stick it in a bucket of water like you would flowers. The sprouts keep for just about forever and keep on growing.

Where we live (London) something would nibble on them immediately (slugs, squirrels, foxes, mice, rats etc.).

The paste. It's very cheap and brilliant at getting rid of all sorts of dirt.

Oh no! To be fair though, my Dad keeps his in the garage in water. We have a garage but it’s full of junk 🫣

I gave up ironing when my kids were toddlers and discovered the fun to be had from opening all the drawers and throwing their lovingly ironed clothes around on the floor, then kicking them all about.

Nobody has ever recoiled in shock from my clothing. I do have an iron, but if I HAVE to iron I just iron the bits that will show and shove a jumper over the top.

Stained teaspoons + bicarbonate- magic.

I use the utensil handle (generally a blunt knife as it's got a bit of weight to it) to instead, gently whack the edge of the lid. It acheives the same goal of releasing the vacuum to open easily - no need to leave a hole in the lid so contents remain fresh longer.

If you spill red wine on your clothes, run under nearly boiled boiling water - stain comes right out. Fab for white clothes!!

Edit: Test it on a rag if you dont believe it

Don't leave the dishwasher on when you go out or to bed either. We lost our whole home in 2012 because of a Hotpoint dishwasher fire 😥

These jar openers are fantastic. Had mine for years

opener