Important tips we might not know.

[girlfriend44]

There are social tariffs for broadband and water if your on some benefits.
If you have Plantar Facilitis a Cortisone injection can be given free at the doctors and helps relieve the pain.
Tell us something we might not know that can help us?

Pray.

If you are like me, and hate sticky skin after a day at the beach take a bottle of talc and rub on your skin to have you feeling fresh and dry. Works great on kids when trying to get them dressed with sand sea water and sun cream all over them.

I'm astonished this thread made it all the way to page 28 before the traditional car-fuel-gauge-arrow post. And therefore to page 29 before the one saying that's not universal and only works for some cars.

I freely admit that I only found out that a fishy smell coming from an electrical point in the wall indicates it in danger of bursting into flames fairly recently - as mentioned by a pp until I had the same experience.

I found this out when it happened with the electrical switch for the shower in my new build house a few years ago.

I was puzzled by this horrible smell for weeks until I rang the customer service department of the builders - I'd only been in the house about 6 months.

The plumber who came to fix it told me that it was very dangerously worn and could have burst into flames at any point.

Thankfully, I'm no longer living in that house.

I did know about the polar bears' liver and vitamin A though.

When I was pregnant with DD back in 1991, you were even allowed to drink Guinness in hospital if you were in for bed rest etc. I think the iron thing has now been debunked as apparently it doesn't contain a huge amount of iron.

I'm taking a pack on holiday with me!!

Have to admit when she told me what gad happened my first thought was that if the poor little soul had licked it all off it would probably have had a very upset stomach and horrendous diarrhoea.

I used to soak my hands in a steradent solution to get felt tip 'tattoos' off me. My mum would go spare, but she'd have been annoyed at the tattoos anyway. She fell victim to a dentist who advised her to have all her teeth extracted when she had kids (what was that about?).

Avon skin so soft bath oil to get gloss paint off skin. Once again, sorry Mum

Well you say that about the iron, but if I drink a lot of Guinness my resulting 'outflow' looks decidedly rusty!

Can an adult do the same, do you know? Apply without a formal diagnosis?

Thames Water have given anyone who applies, 50% off their water bill for the next 12 months. No paperwork or form filling, all done in the phone with no questions asked. I thought it was a joke, I mean, who gets their bill halved but it's true.
I asked if they needed my income details or proof of anything. The answer was NO.
She did say that needing paperwork/ proof of income would be reviewed at the end of the 12 months as they might well carry on the scheme beyond a year which starts from when you apply, nothing to do with it just being for 2023.
She immediately reduced my DD by half which showed on the website.
Let me be clear, they have no idea of my income, I could be a millionaire for all they know. They DO know that I'm on their priority register as they know my age (78) although I have no medical or any other needs or disabilities.
Ask your water provider to put you through to either their Water Sure or Water Help, two different departments dealing with the 50% bill reduction.

Talking of bears, no one has mentioned the dangerous Australian ‘drop bear’. To avoid this bear dropping from the trees onto you, locals suggest rubbing vegemite behind your ears, before every walk in the bush, as they hate the smell.

Use scissors to cut up chicken - much easier than using a knife.

Feeling a little concerned about the amount of skull-cleaning that goes on in Mumsnet households. ( I am already doubtful when visiting people with patio plans. )

@SerenaTee

If your combi boiler stops working in freezing temperatures, pour hot (not boiling) water over the outside pipe that comes out of it (the condenser pipe?) It may be the pipe has frozen and the hot water defrosts it, you can then reset your boiler. We had to do it a few times in the last cold snap

Easier said than done in my house as the condenser pipe is approx 7m above ground!

A few drops of washing up liquid on a dry cloth or sponge will effectively get rid of and stop further condensation on windows for at least 24 hours or until the outside and inside temperatures are more equal. The window must already have some condensation for it to mix with the w/up liquid OR if windows are dry, dampen the cloth before wiping the glass. It doesn't matter if you see 'soapy' marks as they disappear in a minute or two. You can follow with a dry cloth, I use a microfibre one.
100% effective.

I need to know more about this. As the parent of idiots who go wandering around Europe at the drop of a hat without insurance, and I find myself insuring them (be use who else is going to pick up the tab? ) could I really not take out another policy if they decide to be abroad longer than a weekend?

Before photo taken just now. I use an old cheap spongy pan scrubber for non-stick pans to soap the window.

Offer him a marmalade sandwich.

Using a cheap plastic hair-catcher in the plug hole of the bath, shower or basin is useful.
I wash my hair over the bath separately from showering and the hair-catcher just gets emptied onto a square of toilet paper and binned. Saves clogged drains.

When you're vacuuming, use the small brush attachment to clean the table lampshades once a month.
I give them a rinse every 6 months with the hand-held shower over the bath, after soaping with a soft brush impregnated with a few drops of shower gel. I then remove most of the moisture with a dry flannel or microfibre cloth and replace. Works fine on cotton, plastic or pleated materials.

Train your kids (age appropriately) to stay in the same spot and DON'T MOVE, if they lose sight of you. Easier for you to find them if you lose your concentration.

Also, the mobile number somewhere on their person as others have said.

Criss cross your wide necked vase with sellotape leaving square gaps. Cut flowers will not fall over when placed in the gaps, and a small bunch will look larger.

Simple but elegant dessert. Arrange four after 8s in a standy up square. Insert whipped cream with a bit of creme de menthe, and a sprig of mint on top. Throw a few rasperries around the plate to decorate. Mmmm.

Cheeky, but a friend loves her cognac. She will buy a cheap but decent version and decant it into a Remy Martin bottle, and keeps the Remy for herself! No one has ever guessed.

If you have no electric blanket then warm your bed by holding your plugged in hairdryer between the bottom sheet and the underneath of the duvet. ❌ DO NOT LEAVE IT ON between the covers. Hold the duvet up with one hand and with the other hand angle the hairdryer into the space. You'll see the duvet rise up. Only needs a minute or two but not a good idea for kids to do it 👎

Things may have changed, of course. But it happened to a friend of mine a few years ago who had to go abroad to tend to her father who had taken ill on holiday. She thought she'd be there for two weeks at most. However, she ended up there for four weeks, the final two she was not covered for herself as her insurance had expired. I tried to explain to the original insurance company, but they were adamant they could not extend her insurance.

I tried various other companies who said they could only insure someone leaving from the UK.

That said, someone else upthread has said even taking out an annual policy (as I suggested) would not provide cover in those circumstances as the insurance company would be looking for return flight dates/tickets to verify travel dates.

Should you investigate and obtain a conclusive answer, please let us know!!

An extra spin cycle means the clothes dry much quicker