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 😂

I burned a saucepan black - really black - because I put it on the stove and forgot it. I couldn’t get it clean, so I searched the web and came up with a hack that really works: take a dishwasher tablet (one of the hard ones) and use it like a scourer to clean the saucepan. It’s miraculous. The hardest thing these days is getting hold of the hard dishwasher tablets now Finish have gone for those plastic things, but I have a box under the sink that I’m keeping just in case I burn any more saucepans.

Sorry I’m sleeping in my well fitting superking duvet with vertical stripes right now.

I’ve used nail polish remover to remove Sharpie from plastic

I cook just for myself. To measure rice for one serving, I use one big handful. For pasta shapes it's two handfuls. Obviously, this depends on appetite and the size of your hands, but it works for me. It's really easy and saves a lot of waste.

You can also regrow used spring onions using this method. Keep the root ends and put them in water for a day or so until the roots sprout a bit more, then plant them in compost. New spring onions will grow.

No way?! I’ve had a scorch mark for about five years 😂

Just regular wood paint. Think it was a white high gloss but water based. I can't remember the brand. It was very wierd putting my hands in first but then easy and fast. I did 2 coats.

This one is for cleaning silver. I use it to clean my silver jewellery.

Line a container with aluminium foil, shiny side up. Sit the silver to be cleaned in. Sprinkle in 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda.

Pour over boiling water.

It froths and instantly cleans all tarnish from the jewllery.

Just be careful to not pour boiling water over any jewellery that has precious stones, for them wait until it cools a bit and pop them in. Boiling water can crack some stones.

I don't know what chemical reaction is occurring here but it's impressive and FAST.

On a similar theme, anything with a pile that gets a small indelible mark - e.g. paint spot on a carpet - cut it out by trimming the pile down with nail scissors.

That's exactly what I do too, quicker and achieves exactly the same thing.

My favourite tip is to rub scratched wood with a walnut half. It's magic.

Another is to always have soda crystals in. The dishwasher tablet on burnt saucepans works, but it's a lot of effort. Tip soda crystals in a pan with a bit of water, leave overnight and the burnt residue will just wipe off.

A few drops of bleach in the water helps tulips remain upright.

Bought a new kingsize duvet, stitched in squares. Size given as 222 x225 cm, so measuring not much help. Googled for help.

Discovered that kingsize duvet is wider than it is long and that "manufacturer's label, if there is one, is usually at the foot (or head) end".

Possibly an obvious one but if you are struggling to get a screw top off a bottle, grasp the top and twist the bottle. Because the bottle has a larger circumference, twisting it acts as a force multiplier and the top comes off more easily. This is the only thing I remember from GCSE physics 35 years ago.

Thank you! Will give it go! X

Lurking for later

Thank you. Tempted to try it!

And you couldn’t have told me this last week?! 🤣

Mine is in squares though.

Do you mean tip? I thought hacking was breaking into something and a hack was a journalist.

Pop a hot sausage roll in a Thermos flask. Stays fresh and hot for hours.
Also works for steak bakes etc...

Has anyone already mentioned the folding fitted sheet one-? as seen on Youtube and it works really well(after a few tries)
Looking out for foolproof clothes moth killing tips.

Check to see if your machine has a timer setting, most do, it’s usually a “finish in” button which you set for the number of hours when you want the programme to end.

So, if you put your washing in the machine at 10pm and want it finished by 8am the next morning you set it to finish in ten hours. It will be freshly washed and ready to hang out at 8am the next morning.

We have cheap off peak electricity between midnight and 8am so I use this all the time.

Sorry, edited as didn’t mean to attach quote

Waiting for this to appear in the media sometime 😂

Another tip, if a jar won't open, whack the side of the lid hard with the handle of a knife (or something else substantial). I'm guessing just about everyone knows this, but just in case someone doesn't.

Get lily pollen off clothes with sellotape.

I've attached a peg bag to the basket I use to take the washing to and from the line. It's always exactly where you need it then. Probably only useful to those of us with a very long washing line!

If you need to half cherry tomatoes, and you have lots to cut :-
empty the packet onto a plate,
sit another plate upside down on top of the tomatoes,
get a large (sharp sharp) knife,
gently press down on the top plate and slice the knife through the middle.
Cuts them all even sizes in one go.