Some
Novel Uses for Common Household Products
This article may not fit in with
interior design psychology; however, good design starts
with a clean house.
Jeanette Fisher's Strange
Cleaning Tips
Many household products can
function well in areas quite different from their
initial intended uses. Here are a few examples:
If you live in an area that freezes during the winter,
here's a tip for keeping your front steps from getting
icy. Just take a bowl of hot water, add a few drops of
Dawn dishwashing liquid to it. Once you've poured that
mixture over the steps, they won't freeze again. (Of
course, this trick may work with other dishwashing
liquids, as well. You'll need to do some experimenting
to find that out for yourself.)
Sprinkling powdered laundry detergent on your roof can
kill moss, but it won't kill other things, even when the
next rain leeches it down the downspout during the next
summer shower. If you happen to see bubbling at the
bottom of your downspouts, don't panic. It’s just the
detergent being washed off the roof, and it’s generally
harmless to the environment.
If your children have decided to use the bedroom walls
to create their latest crayon masterpieces, you'll get
excellent results by dipping a damp rag into baking soda
and then using that mixture to scrub it off. It won't be
easy, but you can do it--assuming you're willing to work
at it--and it's cheaper than repainting the room.
Along those same lines, if your kids should use
appliances or kitchen countertops as canvases for
artwork instead of their bedroom walls, and their medium
of choice is permanent marker, you'll find that dipping
a paper towel in rubbing alcohol will take it off. Like
the walls, this mixture needs to be combined with a
liberal dose of elbow grease.
Another commercial product that’s found in most people’s
homes, WD-40, can serve double duty as a cleaner, as
well. It can be used it to remove the pesky glue that’s
so hard to get off when you peel labels or price tags
off of plastic items. Just spray it on and rub it back
off. It works like a charm, without harming the plastic
itself.
Here's a tip for washing windows: if you're washing both
the inside and outside, try using vertical strokes for
one side of the window and horizontal ones for the
other. That way, you'll instantly be able to tell which
side a streak is one. Instead of expensive window
cleaners, you can use vinegar for outside windows. Using
old sheets of newspaper also can minimize streaking.
When you decide to tackle the window washing chore, do
it on a cloudy day. You'll experience less streaking and
less frustration, because the windows won't dry as
quickly when the sun isn't blazing down.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
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