Must-Know Life Hacks
Wait! Before you turn that Kami into a dish rag, we have some tips to remove stains from your clothing. From stains to broken furniture, you can battle even the most notable stains and finally fix that pesky broken desk drawer with a little bit of know-how. We will show you how save a few items and money with some hacks you need to know.
Restore your clothes with these handy cleaning hacks using products you already own.
- Grass
Make a paste with washing powder and a little water and apply to the stain. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before washing as normal.
- Red wine
Cover the stain in salt – you will know it has absorbed the red wine when it turns pink. Brush away the salt after 10 minutes, then carefully pour boiling water onto the stain and allow it to sit until the stain lifts.
- Tea or coffee
Blot (do not rub) with a paper towel, then dab with distilled white vinegar before washing as normal.
Vinegar cleaning hacks to transform your house
- Grease or oil
Cover the stain in a mixture of washing-up liquid and water. Rub the mixture in before rinsing and washing as normal.
- Sweat
Mix four tablespoons of salt into a liter of cold water, then soak the garment in the mixture for 30 minutes. Rinse, then leave to dry.
- Blood
Soak in cold water immediately, then gently rub regular hand soap to the stain before rinsing in cold water.
- Deodorant
Rub the stain using a pair of nude tights – the texture of the fabric helps to lift the white marks.
- Lipstick
Spray hairspray onto the stain and leave for 15 minutes. Blot the stain with a clean cloth soaked in warm water, then wash as normal.
- Ink
Blot the stain to remove excess liquid with a cloth. Cover the stain with hairspray, then wash immediately in the washing machine as normal.
- Foundation
Rub a bit of washing-up liquid into the stain then wash in hot water.
- Lily pollen
Use a piece of sticky tape to lift off the pollen. If a mark remains, hang outside in the sunlight to bleach the stain out.
- Candle or crayon wax
Freeze the piece of clothing to harden the wax, then scrape it away with a spoon. Cover the stain with a piece of tissue and iron over it to melt the remaining wax on to the tissue.
- Mud or dirt
Let the mud dry then brush it off. Soak the piece of clothing in cool water with half a teaspoon of washing-up liquid and a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar.
- Chocolate
Run the back of the stain under cold water to flush out as much of the chocolate as possible, then rub washing up liquid into the stain. Soak in cold water for 15 minutes then wash as normal.
- Tomato sauce
Dab the stain with a clean cloth to remove excess. Cover with washing-up liquid and then distilled white vinegar. Soak in cold water, then dry naturally in sunshine.
Replace worn-out drawer slides: If you find that slides are bent, rollers are broken or rollers will not turn even after lubricating, replacement is the best solution. To keep the project simple, buy new slides that are identical (or almost identical) to the old ones. That way, replacement is an easy matter of unscrewing the old and screwing on the new. Remove a drawer track and a cabinet track and take them shopping with you. You will find slides at home centers for $5 to $15 per drawer.
Add bumpers to banging doors: Peel-and-stick door and drawer bumpers are the solution. Get a pack of 20 at a home center for $2. Make sure the back of the door is clean so the bumpers will stick, then place one at the top corner and another at the bottom.
Repair a broken drawer box: Do not put up with a broken corner joint on a drawer. Fix it before the whole drawer comes apart. Remove the drawer and then remove the drawer front from the drawer box if possible. Most fronts are fastened by a couple of screws inside the box. Remove nails, staples or screws from the loose joint and scrape away old glue with a utility knife.
Two ways to fill stripped screw holes: If a screw turns but does not tighten, the screw hole is stripped. Here is a quick remedy: Remove the screw and hardware. Dip toothpicks in glue, jam as many as you can into the hole and break them off. Either flat or round toothpicks will work. Immediately wipe away glue drips with a damp cloth. You do not have to wait for the glue to dry or drill new screw holes; just go ahead and reinstall the hardware by driving screws right into the toothpicks.
Touch up nicks and scratches: If you have shallow scratches or nicks, hide them with a stain-filled touch-up marker. Dab on the stain and wipe off the excess with a rag. But beware: Scratches can absorb lots of stain and turn darker than the surrounding finish. So start with a marker that is lighter than your cabinet finish and then switch to a darker shade if needed. For deeper scratches, use a filler pencil, which fills and colors the scratch.
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