Household Tips That Work

OK I have questions on some of these tips:

1 - How do you make homemade lemon pepper?

2 - Now on the ant issue: Where do I spray a line of 409 or Simple Green along the baseboard, faucets (bathroom & kitchen) or wherever I see the ants or all of the above? Do I leave it there and does it keep working (for how long before respray)?
 
I have a coffee mill I use for pepper. I just take some fresh ground pepper, I use a bigger grind not a fine grind. I just add lemon ju to it. I use it right then & there. Or I just put pepper on whatever with the lemon ju.

The lemon pepper I had in the jar had so much junk in it ..


ants IDK.
 
Carolina Cooking said:
I have a coffee mill I use for pepper. I just take some fresh ground pepper, I use a bigger grind not a fine grind. I just add lemon ju to it. I use it right then & there. Or I just put pepper on whatever with the lemon ju.

The lemon pepper I had in the jar had so much junk in it ..


ants IDK.
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OH OK I thought it was something like dry the lemon zest (dehydrate in microwave or in low oven?) and then add to peppercorns in grinder for fresh ground or grind both and put in shaker bottle. I guess I was over thinking it.

I also have that dry lemon powder (can't remember the brand/name) and was wondering if I could just mix that with ground pepper.
 
lilbopeep said:
OH OK I thought it was something like dry the lemon zest (dehydrate in microwave or in low oven?) and then add to peppercorns in grinder for fresh ground or grind both and put in shaker bottle. I guess I was over thinking it.

I also have that dry lemon powder (can't remember the brand/name) and was wondering if I could just mix that with ground pepper.
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lol well that looks like it would work .. :thumb:
 
I'm not certain how long it will last. Usually I spray when I see the ants and then wipe it clean with a damp sponge in an hour or so. However I got really lazy when I sprayed a track across the wall and ceiling. I did not wipe that one for several weeks. I did have a trail of dead ants which was a little gross but no live ones have tried to come in that way since then. In the past I have washed down the area I sprayed but this time I just used a dry paper towel. I think that I'm going to do that from now on.

If you know where they come in I'd spray that area with 409 because it dries clear. The Simple Green leaves a residue that you can see.
 
Carolina Cooking said:
some 409 when I go to the store tomorrow. I've had a couple invasions of ants this spring on those rainy days and I'd much rather spray 409


Nancy
I heard you can use Listerine too.
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Carolina Cooking said:
Not a kitchen tip. However a household one.

Hair clogged drain..? Nair.. :thumb:
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Speaking of Listerine - have you ever heard that you can soak your feet in it and it will get rid of toenail fungus? I heard that on another message board and you can keep reusing the Listerine until it turns cloudy. You have to use the yellow Listerine and cheaper brands are okay too. I've never tried it but thought I'd pass that along.

Nair for hair clogs - wow! Good one!
 
I don't know about the fungus but my son was told to use it for his athletes foot andit did nothing but burn the crap out of his feet. Didn't help the atletes feet at all!
 
For a clogged kitchen sink (or any sink, shower drain), the very best product that I've found is called Thrift. You have to buy it at a plumbing supply place (or around here that's true), but it truly works great. I found out about it from a maintenance guy who worked at an Assisted Living. It's not cheap, but it's way cheaper than a plumber.
 
I read in a cookbook the other day that Cottage Cheese is cheaper than Sour Cream. So you can put cottage cheese into a food processor and process till smooth for an inexpensive equivalent. Haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds feasible, although I think you might want to add some acid like lemon or vinegar?
 
I just ran across this tip.

To keep your hands clean while making up the families favorite meat loaf, put all the ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Close the bag, then knead everything together until the ingredients are well mixed.. Drop the mixture into your pan, form into a loaf.
 
Sass Muffin said:
I just ran across this tip.

To keep your hands clean while making up the families favorite meat loaf, put all the ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Close the bag, then knead everything together until the ingredients are well mixed.. Drop the mixture into your pan, form into a loaf.
Click to expand...
I am going to try that next time!! Thanks. I tried a tip once to mix meatloaf with a hand blender with the dough hooks and it was ok but more trouble to clean it up then it was worth. But your tip has nothing to clean up just chuck the bag. THANK YOU.
 
I cannot stand mixing it with my hands, or trying to get it all mixed well with a wooden spoon even... so I think I'll give it a whirl myself next time! lol
 
When I need to mix, say, meatballs I always make a big batch=100+.
I buy the dollar store equivalant of playtex gloves and mark each pair for what job;
food, dog bath, house cleaning, etc. with a sharpie up by the wrist.
I use them to mix the meatball mix, then clean with dishsoap & bleach, hang to dry.
I like that they come in a small size, as well as med. & lg. The smalls don't fall off my hands or the fingers aren't too long.

To keep the floor clean under the dog water bowl-he's a big slurper for such a little guy, I bought a cheap solid red placemat for under the bowl, with a folded over papertowel on top of the mat to soak water up. Every 2 days or so I change out the towel and put the bowl & mat in the dishwasher.
I wanted red (or any bright color) so it stood out on my white floor. I used to knock the bowl over or step in it all the time, not seeing it.
 
I used to have a stove with gray enamel grates. They were a pain in the butt to keep clean until I discovered that you can put them in a heavy duty plastic bag, spray them with pure ammonia, seal up the bag and let them sit outside in the sun. I used to do that in the morning and let them sit until the next morning. Rinse them off and the crud will wipe right off. Just be careful to keep the bag away from your face when you open it or the fumes will knock you over.
 
Sass Muffin said:
I just ran across this tip.

To keep your hands clean while making up the families favorite meat loaf, put all the ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Close the bag, then knead everything together until the ingredients are well mixed.. Drop the mixture into your pan, form into a loaf.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a good way to mix it up, Sass. I use a fork to mix mine up and it works great. Keeps the meat mixture nice and light and the fork tines break up any big clumps of ground beef so everything gets combined.
Calicolady said:
When I need to mix, say, meatballs I always make a big batch=100+.
I buy the dollar store equivalant of playtex gloves and mark each pair for what job;
food, dog bath, house cleaning, etc. with a sharpie up by the wrist.
I use them to mix the meatball mix, then clean with dishsoap & bleach, hang to dry.
I like that they come in a small size, as well as med. & lg. The smalls don't fall off my hands or the fingers aren't too long.

To keep the floor clean under the dog water bowl-he's a big slurper for such a little guy, I bought a cheap solid red placemat for under the bowl, with a folded over papertowel on top of the mat to soak water up. Every 2 days or so I change out the towel and put the bowl & mat in the dishwasher.
I wanted red (or any bright color) so it stood out on my white floor. I used to knock the bowl over or step in it all the time, not seeing it.
Click to expand...
The placemat under the pet food and water bowl works great. I use one for my cat's bowls. It surely does call attention to them on the floor so you don't accidentally walk into them.
 
one of my new discoveries; use dishwasher soap to clean just about anything from coffee pots to Bar-B-Q grades just let it soak in a soapy solution or inside a pot or anything your cleaning. There's something in that soap that will dissolve just about anything or trying to clean.
 
I agree Guts.
I get old fabrics from garage/yard sales that are dirty or yellowed and I don't want to or can't bleach them. I soak them in a sink of D.W. soap & H20, rinse and then wash as usual, and they come out brand spanking new.
I also use a solution of it to clean the oil stains off my driveway.
Amazing stuff.
I always thought that maybe there was some TSP in that soap. When I rinse my hands after working with it, it makes my hands feel the same as when using TSP.
 
Guts said:
one of my new discoveries; use dishwasher soap to clean just about anything from coffee pots to Bar-B-Q grades just let it soak in a soapy solution or inside a pot or anything your cleaning. There's something in that soap that will dissolve just about anything or trying to clean.
Click to expand...


well in my dishwasher it won't even clean the dish'es . :sad: My glass's never come out clean. They have cloudy gunk on all of them. I now just add vinegar & it does help some. I must have a no-account Dishwasher. Oh ya its a Kenmore :bonk:

It might not be the soap after all. Wonder if it kills weeds lol.
 
If you have a door hinge that has come loose or the screws are loose and the upper of lower opposite corner of the door is scraping the jamb:

Remove the door, keeping hinges attached to door.
Get a little longer screws for all holes
Get an old candle or bar of soap.
Screwdriver or drill.
Mallot or light-weight hammer.
Chisel or sheetrock knife.
And as many golf Ts as you need to put in holes where screws were loose.

Place the golf Ts in the too-wide holes.
Tamp them in lightly with mallot til they can't go in any further.
Chisel off or cut the excess sticking out above the jamb
Roll screws in soap or candle to coat.
Line door/hinges up where old holes were.
Drill screws into where pre-existing & golf Ts are.

Door should be sound and tight and not off-center or rubbing jamb anymore.
 
Carolina Cooking said:
well in my dishwasher it won't even clean the dish'es . :sad: My glass's never come out clean. They have cloudy gunk on all of them. I now just add vinegar & it does help some. I must have a no-account Dishwasher. Oh ya its a Kenmore :bonk:

It might not be the soap after all. Wonder if it kills weeds lol.
Click to expand...

Salt kills weeds. I used to (when I lived up north) put rock salt; the kind used to melt snow, all along the perimeter of the garage and it killed the weeds great.
Down here, you have to be really careful what chemicals you use, as the water table is so close to the ground surface. I use the course grade kosher salt in the driveway and sidewalk cracks to do the same. It also works.
So does straight white vinegar.

I run a rinse of vinegar about once a week too.
I never had trouble with clouding til the gels and new formulas started coming out.
Someof my clear glasses were already ruined/etched. But I found I use alittle less soap/gel to both sections where soap goes and it doesn't happen anymore. My dishes go in pretty much clean (to the naked eye anyway), so I don't feel I'm compromising safety or health.
My 12-13 yr. old dishwasher was made before the gels or no-phosphate new formulas, so I do think the cups that hold soap took more soap than the newer models.
 
Calicolady said:
I agree Guts.
I get old fabrics from garage/yard sales that are dirty or yellowed and I don't want to or can't bleach them. I soak them in a sink of D.W. soap & H20, rinse and then wash as usual, and they come out brand spanking new.
I also use a solution of it to clean the oil stains off my driveway.
Amazing stuff.
I always thought that maybe there was some TSP in that soap. When I rinse my hands after working with it, it makes my hands feel the same as when using TSP.
Click to expand...
I just looked at the dishwasher soap and it said phosphate free. So there must not be any tri sodium phosphate / TSP
 
Guts said:
I just looked at the dishwasher soap and it said phosphate free. So there must not be any tri sodium phosphate / TSP
Click to expand...

Oh yeh, you're right. But then it doesn't clean as good as it used to either. But it still does make the skin on my hands feel weird..??
 
Carolina Cooking said:
well in my dishwasher it won't even clean the dish'es . :sad: My glass's never come out clean. They have cloudy gunk on all of them. I now just add vinegar & it does help some. I must have a no-account Dishwasher. Oh ya its a Kenmore :bonk:

It might not be the soap after all. Wonder if it kills weeds lol.
Click to expand...
vinegar is a acid that lowers the pH some dishwashers like Miele you add salt to to soften the water after you have set the water hardness level in the programming of the machine. Miele dishwashers are the best dishwasher on the market today for home use a bit expensive but in my opinion work better than any other dishwasher I've ever seen. By the way, I just have a domestic dishwasher in my home but when I remodel again. I plan on changing it out to a Miele dishwasher
 
I have said this before, not sure if it was here or not... but, my glasses were coming out cloudy, too. I was using the extra hot cycle. Turns out, it was too hot, so now just run a normal wash. The glasses are no longer cloudy.
I know commercial dishwashers can run very hot, but their soap is formulated for that.
and I have a regular Kenmore.
 
I read an organizing/de-cluttering tip the other day that sounded pretty smart. Take everything out of your kitchen utensil/gadget drawers and put it all in one big box. As you use it, put it back in the drawers. Anything left at the end of the month stays in the box and gets stashed until that occasional time that you need it.

I have four drawers full, and every time I unload the dishwasher I tell myself that I need to do some culling. I just never seem to get around to actually doing it :huh:.
 
Nancy-MD said:
Speaking of Listerine - have you ever heard that you can soak your feet in it and it will get rid of toenail fungus? I heard that on another message board and you can keep reusing the Listerine until it turns cloudy. You have to use the yellow Listerine and cheaper brands are okay too. I've never tried it but thought I'd pass that along.

Nair for hair clogs - wow! Good one!
Click to expand...

I only have the blue at home so that's what I used and guess what. My toenails are bluish now.
 
The other day I had the glass company out here to replace a glass panel in my sunroom. After they installed it, they cleaned it with a cleaner that I had never heard of - Sprayway. It works great, really streakless. I found it at Sam's in the janitorial supplies - 4 cans for around $8.
 
Rust on Dishwasher Rack

:bump:

This looks like it's going to work, but I know that only the test of time will tell. We'll see.

I used wire cutters to cut the rusty part off and get a clean cut on the rubber coating, sanded the exposed metal with a sanding sponge, wiped with rubbing alcohol, applied one coat of Uber Goop, let it dry one hour, applied another coat of Uber Goop, let it dry several hours, pushed some Uber Goop down inside the caps, and applied the caps to the bad areas.

This was the worst spot:
Rustondishwasherrack-001.jpg


Fixed, I hope:
DishwasherRackCap.jpg


The other bad spot:
Rustondwrack.jpg


Fixed?? - You can see the bulge where I was afraid to cut it back too serverely because I thought the cap needed the room to adhere:
DishwasherRackCaps.jpg


And then I got cap happy and added some to areas that just looked like they wanted to rust :):
CapHappy.jpg



The stuff is kind of hard to work with. It was thick when I first opened the bottle, and it just kept getting thicker. Directions say you can thin it with acetone, but I didn't try.

I think it would be best to cut the really bad areas all the way back to good metal, but I wasn't strong enough and had to improvise on the two bad spots.

Those flared out rusty areas just crumble to pieces when you cut, so use something to catch the mess.
 
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