Domestic tips and tricks

[Stravinsk]

Thread is for posting tips and tricks related to domestic life. Can be cooking/cleaning or anything else directly related.

Cleaning - For years now I have used either diluted Methylated Spirits or diluted Vinegar for cleaning. It's generally cheaper than name brands and does just as good or a better job. That being said - since being deprived of my hot water service of late, I've found a new trick. Although the hot water that comes from my service is hot enough for cleaning - I've found that bringing water to a boil actually makes the work even easier - and without the need for vinegar or spirits. A dirty kitchen floor with multiple stains that had been left a while I thought I'd have to scrub for a while - even with a strong ratio of vinegar/spirits to water. Turns out not - I had run out of both and boiling water just taken off the stove worked very well!

Keeping certain vegetables without a fridge - If you buy vegetables that are *not* already subject to refrigeration - some of them can be kept alive or fresher using certain tricks. I found this to be true of lettuce (iceberg and Cos), Cabbage, Leeks and spring onions. Just a little bit of water in a container (only a little, less they get root rot) and a sunny window is enough to keep them alive and growing/fresh. The fastest growing of these are Leek and spring onion.

-Tomatoes keep longer when placed stems down in a dark place away from sunlight.
-Potatoes last longer without sprouting when placed in the dark and *away from onions*. Proximity to onions causes them to sprout faster.

What are some things you have learned or use around your place?

 

[Imalive]

20 years ago i found out that cleaning your fryer goes quick w white spirit, but then you can't use it anymore.
If you let your food rot in the kitchen and get insane much fruit flies use a dust sucker.
I always put potatoes in the fridge and never buy too much.

 

[Imalive]

That stuff you clean your floor with, don't use water, throw it on just like that, more effective.

 

[tango]

Don't drink the pickle juice until all the pickles are gone.

 

[Stravinsk]

20 years ago i found out that cleaning your fryer goes quick w white spirit, but then you can't use it anymore.
If you let your food rot in the kitchen and get insane much fruit flies use a dust sucker.
I always put potatoes in the fridge and never buy too much.

lol

 

[Lamb]

If you get grease splatter on your clothes, rub a tiny amount of corn starch or baby powder onto the stain. The powders absorb the oil but you might need to do it after each washing for a few times.

 

[Stravinsk]

Dishes:

I have a dishwasher but could never see the point of it. It's supposed to do the "work" of washing dishes, instead I see it as a huge resource waste of time, effort and electricity (and possibly water as well). I get dishes clean with a very simple and easy method:

A) Heat water to boiling hot
B) Plug sink, add dish soap and a little cold water to disperse
C) Add boiling water
D) Add dishes

Do other chores while dishes soak in hot water. The majority of the cleaning is done by letting the dishes soak in the hot soapy water.

When water is cool enough to touch without burning - simply remove and wipe dishes and set into a dish rack to dry.

The only advantage of a dishwasher I can see is if sink space is small and one has many guests over for meals.

 

[Lamb]

Outside decks - I use Oxyclean instead of harsh cleaners made with bleach. It's safe for the grass and animals and does a good job. I hose part of the deck down and then sprinkle some Oxyclean over the area lightly and let it sit a bit. If it's in the sun it will dry so then you need to work quickly. Use a push broom to scrub and add water as necessary. Rinse well then move on to the next area. Give the deck a final good rinsing when done.

 

[tango]

Rashers of bacon are great as emergency skin grafts for pigs.

 

[Stravinsk]

Judging by the responses so far...

Myself and Lammchen are the only people on the board who actually do any domestic work on a regular or semi regular basis.


"imdeadandidontknowit" lives a bit on the wild side, randomly dumping acids on stains hoping they will disappear and keeping a powered dust sucker ready to suck up what she deems is inevitable - fruit flies coming from the rotten fruit that doesn't throw itself away. As the antithesis of clean and tidy - she is like the Midas of dirt and decay - everything touched deteriorates rapidly. It is a wonder she can sustain herself with food before it becomes rotten, moldy and infested with maggots.

Tango, on the other hand - has no domestic duties at all. Bacon as skin grafts for pigs and responsibilities that include not drinking the pickle juice prior to consuming all the pickles illustrate that his imagination had to be massaged in order for him to dream up duties of a domestic nature. Instead, those types of tasks are considered "woman's work", and thus he must always be doing renovations and swinging the wrecking ball around in an effort to assert his manliness and thus his abdication from them.


Every other member passes off responsibility to their partner or a hired maid.

 

[Imalive]

Judging by the responses so far...

Myself and Lammchen are the only people on the board who actually do any domestic work on a regular or semi regular basis.


"imdeadandidontknowit" lives a bit on the wild side, randomly dumping acids on stains hoping they will disappear and keeping a powered dust sucker ready to suck up what she deems is inevitable - fruit flies coming from the rotten fruit that doesn't throw itself away. As the antithesis of clean and tidy - she is like the Midas of dirt and decay - everything touched deteriorates rapidly. It is a wonder she can sustain herself with food before it becomes rotten, moldy and infested with maggots.

Tango, on the other hand - has no domestic duties at all. Bacon as skin grafts for pigs and responsibilities that include not drinking the pickle juice prior to consuming all the pickles illustrate that his imagination had to be massaged in order for him to dream up duties of a domestic nature. Instead, those types of tasks are considered "woman's work", and thus he must always be doing renovations and swinging the wrecking ball around in an effort to assert his manliness and thus his abdication from them.


Every other member passes off responsibility to their partner or a hired maid.

:;-D:

 

[MoreCoffee]

Use a microwave oven (preferably one with convection grill cooking available) for cooking all your meals

 

[tango]

Judging by the responses so far...

Myself and Lammchen are the only people on the board who actually do any domestic work on a regular or semi regular basis.


"imdeadandidontknowit" lives a bit on the wild side, randomly dumping acids on stains hoping they will disappear and keeping a powered dust sucker ready to suck up what she deems is inevitable - fruit flies coming from the rotten fruit that doesn't throw itself away. As the antithesis of clean and tidy - she is like the Midas of dirt and decay - everything touched deteriorates rapidly. It is a wonder she can sustain herself with food before it becomes rotten, moldy and infested with maggots.

Tango, on the other hand - has no domestic duties at all. Bacon as skin grafts for pigs and responsibilities that include not drinking the pickle juice prior to consuming all the pickles illustrate that his imagination had to be massaged in order for him to dream up duties of a domestic nature. Instead, those types of tasks are considered "woman's work", and thus he must always be doing renovations and swinging the wrecking ball around in an effort to assert his manliness and thus his abdication from them.


Every other member passes off responsibility to their partner or a hired maid.

The wrecking ball does come in handy for my primary domestic duty, namely killing unwanted visitors to the house (or at least the ones the cat doesn't get first). Unwanted and unwelcome visitors are easily identified based on their leg count. To tweak a phrase from Animal Farm, "Four legs good, six legs bad, eight or more legs worse".

Which reminds me of another domestic tip, don't try and twist the cap off the beer if it's a pry-off bottle.

 

[Lamb]

If your grout is looking really bad there is a product called Grout Renew (another brand is Grout Refresh) that seals and adds fresh color! It is similar to painting your grout. I used it on my bathroom floors at my former home and I used it on my kitchen floor here at this home. It makes my ceramic look brand new and so clean! If you do it, try not to get it on the tile because it's a pain to get it off if you don't do it right away. I used a stiff paint brush that is the perfect size of the grout and paint it on. The instructions say to use a toothbrush but that's way too wide and you're wasting the renew paint as well as having to work harder to remove it off the ceramic tile.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Dishes:

I have a dishwasher but could never see the point of it. It's supposed to do the "work" of washing dishes, instead I see it as a huge resource waste of time, effort and electricity (and possibly water as well). I get dishes clean with a very simple and easy method:

A) Heat water to boiling hot
B) Plug sink, add dish soap and a little cold water to disperse
C) Add boiling water
D) Add dishes

Do other chores while dishes soak in hot water. The majority of the cleaning is done by letting the dishes soak in the hot soapy water.

When water is cool enough to touch without burning - simply remove and wipe dishes and set into a dish rack to dry.

The only advantage of a dishwasher I can see is if sink space is small and one has many guests over for meals.

I agree. I always prefer hand washing. If I use a dishwasher, I'm the one that pre-rinses the dishes to the point that they're almost clean anyway. Why bother?

 

[Wilhemena]

Use a walnut to cover dings in wood furniture.

 

[tango]

If you've got a wall in a place you don't want a wall, a wrecking bar is a great tool to solve the problem. Dust masks are recommended, partly to reduce dust inhalation and partly because it doesn't look very professional to be grinning from ear to ear when swinging the wrecking bar...

 

[Lamb]

If you are painting and want to save your roller filled with paint for a few hours (to take a break!), put it in a plastic bag and try to get the air out. You can also do this with a paintbrush but some of the bristles will have dried paint on them because it can't be helped.

If you notice that there is dried paint on some of the bristles or they're sticking out, it's okay to use scissors to cut them off! Do it closer to the handle so they don't jut out after you cut them.

 

[Imalive]

If you've got a wall in a place you don't want a wall, a wrecking bar is a great tool to solve the problem. Dust masks are recommended, partly to reduce dust inhalation and partly because it doesn't look very professional to be grinning from ear to ear when swinging the wrecking bar...

I don't need a wrecking bar. I have kids.

 

[Imalive]

Neh I can't tell how I clean up. Don't tell anybody.