Handy Tips
List of many and varied tips.
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Currently my favourite kitchen 'gadget'. Used to struggle with some jars before.
Got mine at King of Knives. Also available at kitchen stores and various online outlets including
http://www.lifespace.com.au/jarkey-jar-opener-by-brix.
5 comments
Some handy hints
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Use an old style can opener or bottle opener to break the seal on hard to open lids. Stop when you hear the fizz of air.
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Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off.
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Eucalyptus oil removes the gummy residue left by shop stickers.
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To prevent snails and slugs chewing up the mail, sprinkle salt in the letter box.
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Use leftover styrofoam peanuts as great drainage in the bottom of garden pots.
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Going on a long drive … spray the front of the car with WD40 or similar. Dead bugs and tar spots will wash off easily.
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Killing mould. Clove oil (sold in chemists for toothaches) kills mould spores. Mix three drops in one litre of water and then use to wipe down areas susceptible to mould. Alternatives include 2 teaspoons tea tree oil to 2 cups of water or straight vinegar spray. Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mould.
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For musty smelling cupboards – soak some large, thick chalk sticks in lavender oil, place them in a bowl and put the bowl on the bottom shelf of the cupboard.
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Use toothpaste to polish taps. Gives a great shine.
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If you have problem opening jars, try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easier. Put particularly stubborn metal lids under running hot water before opening.
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To remove urine smells from toilet … pour in half a cup each of white vinegar and baking soda. Leave for a couple of hours then flush. Then spray toilet with vinegar once a week to keep smells away.
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To keep your car windows ice and frost free when left outside overnight in the wintertime, mix three parts vinegar to one part water, put it in a spray bottle and spray on the windows each evening.
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To prevent the screws in glasses from loosening, apply a small drop of clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.
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To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Then take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.
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Many wall marks including pencil, crayon or even felt-tip pen can be removed by gently rubbing the painted surface with bicarbonate of soda on a damp sponge. Rinse off with clean water.
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Stainless steel appliances can be wiped clean with baby wipes.
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Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a little hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off the drops of blood.
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Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don’t wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and probably streak.
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To clean the bottom of the iron, sprinkle salt on the ironing board and iron back and forth.
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To keep scissors sharp, cut through a sheet of folded aluminium foil or coarse sandpaper.
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Removing permanent marker on appliances/counter tops. Apply a little rubbing alcohol to the mark with a paper towel. If that is not enough, soak an area of the paper towel with the rubbing alcohol and lay it on the affected area. Let it set for a few minutes while it dissolves the mark on the area.
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Place fabric softener sheets or sachets in drawers and your clothes will?smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
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Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still,?leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
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To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!
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To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top.
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Spray your TUPPERWARE with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won’t be any stains.
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Put containers stained with tomato based sauces or curries in a sunny spot for a couple of days. The sun soon bleaches out the stains.
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Wrap celery in aluminium foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
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When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.
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Don’t throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces ……… Left over wine? What’s that?
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Use empty toilet paper rolls to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write what appliance it belongs to on the roll.
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Water straight from the tap may become cloudy when frozen. To make ice cubes crystal clear, allow a kettle of boiled water to cool slightly and use this to fill your ice cube trays.
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Use a large muffin tin to cook stuffed peppers in the oven – it will help keep them upright.
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Hang a bundle of chalk in the wardrobe to keep everything fresh and dry. The chalk absorbs excess moisture – a thrifty alternative to an electric dehumidifier!
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To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.
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2000 uses for WD-40
http://www.wd40.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/wd40-2000.pdf
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Now look what you can do with Alka Seltzer …
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Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China.
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Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets.
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Polish jewellery. Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewellery for two minutes.
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Clean a thermos. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour or longer, if necessary.
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Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water.
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Removing chewing gum
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Rub ice on or leave an Esky ice pack on the gum to freeze it and scrape off as much as you can with a blunt knife. Remove residue gently with a Nylon Scouring Pad dampened with warm water and detergent. NB: Clothing items can be put in a plastic bag in the freezer overnight, scraped then residue hand-washed off with detergent.
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Another good method of removal is using WD40. Spray onto gum and allow to soak in. Use a plastic spatula to scrape the gum off. ** Be careful as WD40 can stain some unprotected woods.
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For treated/protected surfaces use an essential oil such as eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil. Alternatively, ordinary vegetable oil from your pantry might work as well as an essential oil; it won’t harm the finish of the wood but it might not have as much removal power as an essential oil depending on the gum contents. ** Don’t use on untreated wood surfaces as you may end up with an oil stain.
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Spray the gum with a can of compressed air. It’ll freeze the gum and make it brittle. Scrape it with a paint scraper. See Officeworks – Air Duster. NB: Great for cleaning fiddly items too, like computers and other technical gear.
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Try Goof Off Professional Strength (the Miracle Remover) … advert claims it is great for glue, asphalt, tar, dried latex paint and also works for stains, crayon, pen, gum and candle wax. See Bunnings – Goof Off.
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Buy a commercial Chewing Gum Remover, e.g. Armstrongs, K-Tex , Gala, etc
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