Household tips and tricks! - Are you having trouble getting the wine stains out of your carpet? Do you clean your cookware with something extraordinary? Come share!

[gampboonerisms]

Any tips for bugs? We have a person come and spray every few months, but with the warmer weather some spiders get in the basement (where my room is) and I know they're good and they're just house spiders, but I don't want them in my bed or something.

(Sorry for the PL please forgive)

Any advice/similar experiences in getting stinkbugs to get out and stay out?

My husband, tired of chucking stinkbugs out the window all day, decided to try using catnip to force them outside. Our area is overrun with them for a couple weeks each year. As others here have mentioned, catnip is great at keeping a variety of bugs away, but we weren't sure if a singular potted plant would work for a whole room.

Unfortunately, the results were inconclusive. We put the pot in the kitchen, left for an hour, and came back to find our neighbor's cat high off his little gremlin ass in the sink. I'm still trying to figure out how he got in. Anyway, the little man was in BLISS. He was communing with the universe on a level that humans will never reach. I half expected him to start echoing my teenage self and saying shit like "it's not addictive bro, it's all natural" and "it's good for your brain dude!!"

Sooo the results are inconclusive at the moment. The cat (he's fine now, for the record) ripped up most of the catnip in hedonistic glee, but he also likes to chase stinkbugs (and presumably eat them, although we've never seen him do it). But I'm not complaining. The room is 100% free of bugs either way.

Maybe try malathion for these guys. I use malathion for ants that come into the house during spring/summer and it seems to work wonders. I got a bottle from idk, Homedepot?, and have used it for like 3 years at this point. I do an outside spray when the rain stops and clean the inside really good before I spray corners and entryways. I live with a cat so I do make sure he doesn't get into it while it's wet. But I will say my professor would tell us to make a bath dip for the pigeons we worked with to do pest control on the flying rats.
(I miss my pigeons. They were good animals.)

 

[BelUwUga]

You can clean electronics even in water if there's no charge in them, at that point it's just fiberglass, plastic and metal, similar to cheap greasy street food in china.

Vaseline and/or oil(I like olive oil, smells nice). But mostly vaseline.

What you should do is apply it BEFORE you blow your nose a billion times, that way you won't end up with a chapped and hurty nose. If you ever worked with lots of paper or cardboard you know it leeches the oils out of your fingers until they start to crack, bleed and hurt, same thing happen when using napkins/toilet paper to blow your nose often and repeatedly. The vaseline makes it so the paper never really comes in contact with your skin(nose, upper lip, just remember to reapply) and if you have a mustasche smear some on there as well, like boxers do, to avoid tugging the hairs.

Another cold/flu tip is to cough into a pillow, it doesn't hurt that way. It allows you to cough harder than you otherwise would so be aware that all kinds of stuff will get launched out of your airways and stick to the pillow. It will only hurt 20% as much as a regular cough and clear out a lot of mucus, it's really good.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. I can, and have, used a lab bottle of azeotropic alcohol to blast electronics to clean them while they were still running. Dielectric and it displaces the water before flashing off as vapor and taking the water with it. Literally the only issue I have run into was one keyboard that in all honesty I had subjected to an abusive amount of the alcohol treatment. While the water and alcohol both went away, the trace minerals were eventually shorting several parts. Some delicate manipulation with a toothpick set her right.
Another thing I remembered at work if you sew by hand: get plastic shirt clips like these:

That little "loop" that opens up is the perfect size for hemming. The clips are about as wide as one perfect stitch. If you get the right shape you can literally sew over them for a few stitches, pull the clips, and tighten your thread. I can sew things stronger than a hero's super-suit but asking me to keep a consistent stitch size in a perfectly straight line is something I simply cannot manage. Speaking of strong textiles:
Coats Extra Strong upholstery thread for anything that handles normal thread sizes and must look nice. Get a few bobbins of neutral/dark 2/3-ply coated nylon upholstery thread and you'll be set to repair buttons for life (and it will be unlikely to ever be the same button twice). Coats is nice but it is not cheap. If it must use an even smaller thread go for their dual-duty. Much thinner but still very strong for its heft.

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

Vaseline and/or oil(I like olive oil, smells nice). But mostly vaseline.

I've always hated most hand lotions thanks to sensory issues. rubbing olive oil into ur hands and washing off the excess with a bit of mild castile soap is a great way to soften them without that lotioned-up feeling

 

[Haint]

Cool, a thread about the 101 uses for vinegar! Use vinegar to thoroughly clean litter boxes. Vinegar breaks down any clumped litter and urine. Pour half cup in to the box and swirl around, let sit until bubbling has stopped and hose out.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

I've always hated most hand lotions thanks to sensory issues. rubbing olive oil into ur hands and washing off the excess with a bit of mild castile soap is a great way to soften them without that lotioned-up feeling

Have you tried jojoba? I've been told it absorbs better than other oils. You only need a couple drops for your whole face, so you won't need much for your hands. Beauty supply stores sell it by the gallon.

 

[Haint]

Have you tried jojoba? I've been told it absorbs better than other oils. You only need a couple drops for your whole face, so you won't need much for your hands. Beauty supply stores sell it by the gallon.

Almond oil is great too. Absorbs easily, and accepts fragrances well. It's less viscous that olive oil, making application messy but glides on wonderfully.

 

[TrainWreckSpotter]

I can tell you how to get rid of rodents. TomCat bait stations. We got infested when construction was done in the area. Both field mice AND rats. We put these out where droppings were visible. After a few weeks, problem solved.

 

[Character from a movie]

Against my better judgement, I read the last few pages of the Chantal thread, and she was wet mopping her carpet. Much to my bafflement, no one remarked that this is odd or insane, which suggests that this is actually a thing. Is this a thing that has managed to escape my notice so I could be duly horrified? And then it just... air dries? There's no shop vac involved or anything to suck the filthy water out?

Please to inform.

Mopping carpets and rugs is common here. Now it's not like people use a mop fully soaked for that.
You take a damp washcloth or mop and sweep it on the carpet to remove the dust and hair. It's an easy alternative if you don't own a vacuum though it's not as effective. I do that to clean my small rug, but I don't recommend it on large carpets or rugs because you gonna return to monke.

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

Mopping carpets and rugs is common here. Now it's not like people use a mop fully soaked for that.
You take a damp washcloth or mop and sweep it on the carpet to remove the dust and hair. It's an easy alternative if you don't own a vacuum though it's not as effective. I do that to clean my small rug, but I don't recommend it on large carpets or rugs because you gonna return to monke.

Buy a carpet rake.

 

[Character from a movie]

Buy a carpet rake.

I didn't even know those existed. I feel cheated.

 

[Aunt Carol]

I didn't even know those existed. I feel cheated.

You have to have a certain amount of pile for a carpet rake to be useful.

I remember my late grandmother benevolently letting the kids rake her vintage shag carpet.

 

[FarmerKhourtney]

This is a pure PL so I apologize
My kid was playing in my parents yard on Tuesday (ostensibly when this happened) and he’s covered in itchy bites
They’re on exposed areas mostly - arms, legs face. They are red and have a tiny dot in the middle. Best I can find is chigger/ mite bites
He’s horribly itchy and making them bigger
I tried baking soda and aveeno baths, doctor is out till after the holiday so I left a message …
Wondering if there’s some awesome remedy that will fix it for him

 

[BBJ_4_Ever]

This is a pure PL so I apologize
My kid was playing in my parents yard on Tuesday (ostensibly when this happened) and he’s covered in itchy bites
They’re on exposed areas mostly - arms, legs face. They are red and have a tiny dot in the middle. Best I can find is chigger/ mite bites
He’s horribly itchy and making them bigger
I tried baking soda and aveeno baths, doctor is out till after the holiday so I left a message …
Wondering if there’s some awesome remedy that will fix it for him

May I suggest a paste of unseasoned meat tenderizer paste and water? It worked on some bites when I was a child. Another solution for mites, used in the South, is a diluted bleach bath. Hope your son can find some relief.

 

[Bees]

This is a pure PL so I apologize
My kid was playing in my parents yard on Tuesday (ostensibly when this happened) and he’s covered in itchy bites
They’re on exposed areas mostly - arms, legs face. They are red and have a tiny dot in the middle. Best I can find is chigger/ mite bites
He’s horribly itchy and making them bigger
I tried baking soda and aveeno baths, doctor is out till after the holiday so I left a message …
Wondering if there’s some awesome remedy that will fix it for him

Dot him with that numbing agent for toothaches. Or any lidocaine crème you may have around for aches. And give him a benedryl if that’s still done I know my mom used to dose me with it and well I grew up ok goddamn it.

 

[glass_houses]

If you have any aloe vera plants, try the gel from those. Don't bother if you have to buy the gel in bottles, it won't do anything. Paw paw ointment is excellent for bites, try this:

 

[CharcoalChkn]

If you have any aloe vera plants, try the gel from those. Don't bother if you have to buy the gel in bottles, it won't do anything. Paw paw ointment is excellent for bites, try this:

View attachment 3451920

That shit was like gold at my high school. Every girl had a tube in their pencil case. Was really good for making your lips super soft, although a little oily.

 

[Accept Only Substitutes]

This is a pure PL so I apologize
My kid was playing in my parents yard on Tuesday (ostensibly when this happened) and he’s covered in itchy bites
They’re on exposed areas mostly - arms, legs face. They are red and have a tiny dot in the middle. Best I can find is chigger/ mite bites
He’s horribly itchy and making them bigger
I tried baking soda and aveeno baths, doctor is out till after the holiday so I left a message …
Wondering if there’s some awesome remedy that will fix it for him

Rubbing alcohol. It at least stops mosquito bites from itching. Doesn't hurt either.

Vinegar might also work. The asetic acid in vinegar acts as a mild painkiller. It's amazing on sunburn. Much, much better than aloe.

 

[NoReturn]

This is a pure PL so I apologize
My kid was playing in my parents yard on Tuesday (ostensibly when this happened) and he’s covered in itchy bites
They’re on exposed areas mostly - arms, legs face. They are red and have a tiny dot in the middle. Best I can find is chigger/ mite bites
He’s horribly itchy and making them bigger
I tried baking soda and aveeno baths, doctor is out till after the holiday so I left a message …
Wondering if there’s some awesome remedy that will fix it for him

Toothpaste can work. The baking soda kind + peppermint works best.

 

[gampboonerisms]

Been working in a hella dirty steel environment. I tried using the dollar tree oxyclean but i think using my arm and hammer clothes detergent and 1/4 cap full of dish detergent has been my best choice. been cleaning pretty good and making the clothes smell last longer. stuff that's ground in obviously isn't getting out without some elbow grease, but for the time being it's pretty good.

 

[ghjoigcbn]

I am a household novice but some things I learned -
Use citric acid to descale coffee machines and kettles.
I use sodium percarbonate for a lot of cleaning, it is one of the main ingredients in oxyclean. It needs to be dissolved in hot water. I use it to clean my coffee machine, then I run plain water through the machine 3 times. I also use it for soaking things with burnt on grease.