Home Remedies

[Melitta]

I know that we have a consumer's report thread and this may belong there, but instead of buying an item for a specific use, has anyone come up with a way to do it cheaper and/or easier?

I have found that a 50/50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and peroxide make a great stain remover.

Vagisil, yes, I know..ewww, but it makes a great face cream. Especially for those who have really dry skin. My skin is not necessarily dry, but I have shelved my expensive Oil of Olay Regenerist in favor of the benefits of the Vagisil.

Vinegar and warm water really cleans your linoleum floor. Straight vinegar really cleans stainless steel and windows.

Washing your dog with regular dish soap will kill the fleas on contact.

Anyone have anything else they have come up with?

[moms2u]

Clean your stainless steel kitchen sink with a baking soda/water paste, won't scratch the sink and deodorizes the drains

[angelic_one2002]

They claim grinding ice cubes in the kitchen sink disposer sharpens the blades of the disposer.

[applesauce]

After making tea or coffee, I pour the used grounds (is that what they are called?) into the garden soil. My flowers love them!

[angelic_one2002]

A drop of dish detergent is good at removing laundry stains.

[ADKLove]

Oooh - I love this idea for a thread....

Let's see - off the top of my head (from my neighbor, the beekeeper): The best way to kill bees is to spray them with a mixture of soap and water.

You can reuse dryer sheets: they are good for dusting off TV screens and electronics.

[applesauce]

Speaking of dryer sheets, if you're one of those folks who don't like to wash their jeans too often you can stuff one in the pocket to freshen them up. They are also good to freshen up shoe odors.

Here's a great one...for musty clothes that have been stored away...or smell like they are fresh from the thrift shop, spritz them with a mixture of vodka and water. The trick is it really needs to be the cheapest nastiest vodka you can find. Always test a small area of the garment first to avoid damage. I learned this in a textiles class I took several years back. My sister-in-law, who manages a costume shop for a regional theatre and deals with lots of musty clothes swears by it.

[Brodie]

Washing your dog with regular dish soap will kill the fleas on contact.

I'm not a pet expert or anything, but I'm curious... Would that dry out the dog's skin? I know that dish washing soaps are formulated to cut grease/oil... I wouldn't want the dog do get itchy or flakey...

[Melitta]

I'm not a pet expert or anything, but I'm curious... Would that dry out the dog's skin? I know that dish washing soaps are formulated to cut grease/oil... I wouldn't want the dog do get itchy or flakey...

I am not sure if it would or not. It hasn't with any of our dogs. I found out about the dish soap on a site on how to treat your dogs for fleas without using chemicals. Spraying the dogs with a mixture of vinegar and water is suppose to also repel fleas. But I think that only lasts until the smell goes away.

Another, not really a home remedy, but more of a maintenance thing...use water and dish soap to clean your dryer lint vent. You know the thing you pull out and clean the lint off of it. This will prolong the life of your dryer as the softeners and dryer sheets build up a film on the vent. To see if yours has the build up, simply run it under your water faucet and see if water pools on it. The water should run straight through.

[roseskid]

Another, not really a home remedy, but more of a maintenance thing...use water and dish soap to clean your dryer lint vent. You know the thing you pull out and clean the lint off of it. This will prolong the life of your dryer as the softeners and dryer sheets build up a film on the vent. To see if yours has the build up, simply run it under your water faucet and see if water pools on it. The water should run straight through.

A friend warned me about this just the other day. I tested it, and sure enough, the water sat on top, until I cleaned it.