Good GOD Mumsnet tips actually work!

[stinkingbishop]

1. Have smeared the twins' cradle cap liberally with rapeseed oil, left, combed through, left Dentinox on in the bath for ten mins, rinsed through, and it all came off in big satisfying clumps. I got a bizarre amount of pleasure from this.

1. I bit the bullet and got Plumbs round to reupholster my awkwardly shaped sofa and it's gorgeous! And the covers are just about less tricky to take on and off than a sleeping bag is to put back in its bag IYKWIM and they're machine washable. I, embarrassingly, may have punched the air. I need to get out more.

1. Storing complete bedding sets inside one of the pillow cases has led to uncrumpled sheets and duvets that MATCH.

1. Tomatoes out of the fridge are sweet and juicy.

I is DELIGHTED with the MN service. Please continue revolutionising my life .

Not housekeeping related, but...

Hold one of the little bubble wands in front of a fan, hey presto, loads of bubbles. Far better than any bubble machine we have had.

To halve cherry tomatoes: place them on a plate, place another plate on top, slide a sharp knife between the plates.

Peal cooked potatoes by placing them in a bowl of iced water for about 20 seconds, remove from the water, twist and pull skin from both ends.

Separate eggs with a plastic bottle. Squeeze bottle, place over yolk then release, squeeze over another container to release yolk

If your porridge always boils over in the microwave, cook it for twice as long at 50% power.

I know it sounds obvious, but this took me twenty years to discover.

Pamish, I have no idea about chemistry, but that sounds interesting about tarnished silver. I will definitely have to try that (after doing a bit more research... not that I'm doubting you, you understand), as I prefer silver jewellery and have a few bits that are not looking as good as they once did.

Anyway, now that I've RTFT, here are mine:

Clean any chrome stuff with glass cleaner, it absolutely gleams and takes a few seconds to do.

Magic Eraser gets permanent marker off gloss paint.

Lansinoh is brilliant for dry / chapped lips. (Expensive if buying just for this purpose, but good if you have a partly used tube left.)

Chaffinch I normally use baby wipes to clean obvious dirty marks on leather furniture, but every so often go over the whole thing with warm water with a bit of shower gel in. Does the trick nicely.

I can vouch for the wet-newspaper-and-ash method of cleaning woodburner glass. All the black just comes off so easily!

So am I the only one who doesn't have random lemon halves lying around?

My little tips for what they are worth:

if you have cups which have stained with tea or coffee stains, fill with water and throw in false teeth cleaning tablets. Brings all the stains out.

Always button up duvet covers before putting them in the washing machine so everything else doesn't end up inside them!

Always keep old toothbrushes and use them for cleaning.

Boring but true. Always tidy uo before bed. It's easy, takes five minutes (hopefully) and it is hugely disheartening to come downstairs to mess in the morning.

Fire safety tip: always close your kitchen door before bed. It is the most likely place for a fire to start and the closed door can buy you valuable time to get out.

If bread is just a little bit stale, sprinkle it with water and bob it in the microwave for 10 seconds. It usually comes out much nicer.

Sliced meat can be frozen so if you buy a BOGOF but can't get through it all, just freeze one of the packs.

My mum freezes cheese!

Two child related ones I read on here.

For teething babies, wet a flannel and put it in the freezer. Perfect for chewing on later.

For children with chicken pox, put oats in an old pop sock and put it in the bath water. The oat milk eases the itching.

I like the tip about buttoning the duvet cover - I have always wondered why the pillow cases always end up inside them

I freeze cheddar cheese all the time! Buy big blocks/on special offer, grate it (by hand or using food processor if lots) put it in a freezer bag and just use a handful straight from freezer (it doesn't stick together).... not so good for sandwiches as you have to wait for it defrost.. but it doesn't take long and if you are organised you can take it out 10 mins in advance
You can freeze blocks too but takes longer to defrost and this way you don't have to wash the grater every time you want grated cheese.

I also second the sock and chicken pox - just make sure it is tightly tied or you risk blocking your drains and squeeze it in the water to get the 'milk' out - not sure if it was the milk or fun of playing with the sock but it worked like a magic when DD2 had chicken pox.

Surely you just cut a cherry tomato in half between your index finger and thumb - don't get why you'd do the two plate thing - am I missing something?

Am I the only one who didn't know this?

On the top of my mop is a rough bit (like a pot scourer) for getting hard spots off the floor. This is on a normal old-fashioned cloth-type mop (Vileda)

I've been wondering that too, I just cut them the same as large tomatoes.

The woodburner one is brilliant, got that from a chimney sweep.

I can vouch for the silver one, I don't use salt, judt foil, hot water and bicarb.

Magic eraser gets marks off teacups too.

Nope - and you've just enlightened the other person who didn't know...

(WhoKnowsWhereTheChocolateGoes just impressed by the versatility of your user name - not stalking you - but seem to remember you were WhoKnowsWhereHerMajestyGoes in jubilee year?)

What is the wood burner trick? I can't find it.

Slackgardener. Using the plates you can halve 20 or so at once, saves doing them one at a time

Thank you, yes that was me . Look out for WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes in December.

Woodburner - get a wodge of newspaper, wet it, them dip in the ashes, use to wipe the inside of the glass, gets all the blackness off far better than any chemicals.

Ahh yes I had heard that before but I've never tried it, I usually use vinegar, will try the ashes tip next time, thanks.

I have tried the dishwasher tabs on the oven door.

Omg. It works. Really well!

I used some really cheap ones I got from Asda (16 for £1) wet and rubbed over a dirty door. Half an tab and five minutes of elbow grease and it is clean!

HOWEVER. That was on the top oven that was dirty but not used often. The bigger oven, well, I think I've used about six and it's not yet clean. It's getting there - but I had to have a rest as I'd been scrubbing for half an hour!

It's clean!!

I ended up making a paste of bio washing powder and water and leaving it on for an hour. I needed to scrub still but it loosened the baked on grime so it came off with a wire scrubber.

You can see through the glass on my oven now

Did the wire scrubber not scratch the glass snatch? Mine is in desperate need for attention, but I don't think it's going to get clean without a fight.

Did the wire scrubber not scratch the glass snatch? Mine is in desperate need for attention, but I don't think it's going to get clean without a fight.

Nope not at all! I was really really surprised. The grime was probably over a year old but I would usually use Oven Pride. I don't like doing it because it is really toxic and my two year old is very curious.

I'm going to do the inside on Monday but for today I'm really pleased. I can keep on top of it every month or so now too, the less dirty glass really took less than ten minutes to clean.

Cover the beginnings of a cold sore with toothpaste at night. Wash off each morning.

Rollermum, don't know if you've already managed your high chair straps, but an overnight soak in napisan (attached if you have a shallow enough dish to put them in) works a treat. No scrubbing needed, just rinse and you're done.

Loving the tips on here

Oh, and scrubbing chrome with tin foil dipped in water really does get rust off!

I just did it with my bike

Foil on chrome is fantastic ...and gentle -
cleaned my vintage 1970s Formica and chrome table a treat...and the wheels on my bike ...(and used heavy duty carnauba wax (for cars) on the Formica top to protect it)
Vinegar is fantastic at removing rust from things as well - just need to make sure you wash it off well (with water), dry and oil or polish well afterwards...