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Household hints

Cheap, easy spot remover

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The new laundry detergents may be ecofriendly but they’re none too housekeeper-friendly. Though they wash the stale B.O. out, they scarcely touch grease stains. If you use table linens and ecofriendly cloth napkins—or occasionally spill a little food on your clothes or get grease-splatters on you while you’re cooking—you’ll find that Costco’s Kirkland liquid detergent doesn’t get the spots out, even if you soak the spot in undiluted detergent. Nor does the new version of Spray-‘n’-Wash.

After the Christmas feast, my tablecloth came out of the laundry with a big grease spot. Three washings did nothing to remove the stain. As I was about to resign myself to either buying a new tablecloth or just getting used to the spot, I recalled the folk household hint that used to say Windex would work to remove spots from carpets and furniture.

Hmm. In the course of cooking up our own glass cleaner, we discovered that the main ingredients of Windex are varieties of alcohol, a solvent. I still had half a bottle of isopropyl alcohol purchased to make the DIY window and tile cleaner, so…..

I tested it first on a similarly stained napkin. Pouring straight rubbing alcohol on the stain and popping the napkin into the wash took out the grease and did not seem to remove the dye, as straight Kirkland’s laundry detergent has been known to do. So, yesterday evening I slopped some more of the alcohol on the tablecloth’s stain, let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes, and then ran it through the washer.

Hallelujah! The stain is GONE!

Score one for the frugalist: rubbing alcohol works to remove grease stains from fabric.

Remember that the stuff is flammable—don’t wave a cigarette around while you’re using it, and if your washer is right next to a gas water heater (as mine is), you might want to take the item somewhere else for the stand-and-soak step. I don’t think I’d use it on washable silk without first trying it on an old piece that I was about to throw out anyway. But it works fine on cotton.

Frugal Household Hack: Conserve dish soap

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Dish detergent comes in a soft-sided bottle with a squirt nozzle for a reason: so you’ll use plenty of it and soon have to go out and buy a new bottle. When you tip the bottle into the sink and give it a squeeze (and maybe another and another for good measure), you use several times more of the stuff than necessary. Truth to tell, a little liquid dish detergent goes a very long way. So, it behooves you to conserve dish soap by transferring it into a container that dispenses it more frugally.

For quite a while, I used a cheap glass cruet (a vinegar or oil cruet) purchased at World Market (Cost Plus). This worked fine, except that I was always concerned that I might drop the thing in the sink, breaking it and creating a nice mess to clean up. And also, for reasons unknown in the realm of common sense, dish detergent is laced with wax, the better to clog up your drain and any container that collects a residue around the lid. This is why you’ll often find a gummy layer around the top of a detergent bottle: that goop is built-up wax. This kept collecting inside the cruet’s stopper, so I’d have to take the it apart and wash it out in running hot water every few days.

One day it occurred to me that I could put the stuff in a squirt bottle. The pressure of the squirter would force the liquid through firmly enough to push the wax on through, or so I hoped. And a single squirt should be all that’s needed to clean a frying pan.

Ta DAA! Turns out both of those are so!

dcp_2284I poured a bunch of clear detergent (I favor Ivory but couldn’t get it at the Safeway at the time I first tried this experiment, so used Clorox’s “green” variety) into a heavy-duty spray bottle. Yes, the viscous liquid will move through the squirter. And yes, just one or two squirts is all you need to clean a frying pan or greasy dish. And no! so far, after a couple of months the squirt nozzle has not clogged!

Only drawback is it’s not very pretty. But then neither is a detergent bottle. Keep it under the sink.
🙂

Two DIY mesh bag hacks

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You know those plastic mesh bags used to package some kinds of produce? Around here, lemons often come in this stuff. Potatoes come in a softer nylon-like mesh bag. Here are two handy things to make with the cast-off bags.

dcp_2280The relatively stiff plastic-like mesh makes a fine scrub pad. Some time back, I came across a household hint (forget where—sorry!) to the effect that you can fold or wad the stuff up and use it to scrub pans, including Teflon. This does work, but the pad tends to spring apart unless you take time to sew it together. One day, though, it occurred to me to drop a sponge inside the tube-like bag and tie a knot on either end. Voilà! A DYI scrub sponge!

Sponge-in-bag

The scrubber is a fairly gentle number—nowhere near as ferocious as a sponge with a green nylon scrubber attached. It doesn’t seem to scratch and isn’t great for heavy burned-on gunk, but it works fine for everyday clean-up. I cut off the label end of the nylon bag, shoved the sponge inside, tied knots on both ends, and trimmed off the extra mesh.

My washer drains into a utility sink, instead of straight into a drainpipe. This poses a potential nuisance: dog hair and lint could easily clog the little drain in the sink. You can buy sock-like strainer gadgets that you secure on the hose, but a) they’re kind of expensive given that b) they clog fast and can’t easily be cleaned and re-used.

Well. You know, those strainer things aren’t significantly finer than the mesh on a nylon or plastic produce bag. That’s r-i-i-g-h-t! All you need is a metal twist tie and a throw-away mesh bag to make a laundry hose strainer…for free.

dcp_2283Knot one end (or leave the sewn-on label in place), and thread the metal tie through the mesh near the other end. Pull the mesh “sock” over the end of the hose and secure it firmly with the twist tie.

I find this works well to catch dog hair, lint, and shredded forgotten shopping lists.

Do not, however, even think of putting this lashup on the end of a hose that fits directly inside the drainpipe. No. Only your plumber will thank you if you try that trick.

But if your hose drains into a sink—no problem!

Olive Oil: The miracle skin cleanser

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Here’s a little discovery I recently blundered upon: plain old olive oil makes a great facial cleanser and skin conditioner.

I know…it’s counterintuitive. Olive oil should make your skin greasy. But it doesn’t. Not at all. In fact, as I write this my skin could use a little face cream. Some people say it’s safe to use on naturally oily skin prone to acne, because your own skin’s native oiliness has nothing to do with what you put on it and everything to do with your hormones. So many people buy into this theory that there’s actually a coterie of folks who have developed an “Oil Cleansing Method”(OCM), which they recommend for acne sufferers.

The other day I stumbled on this when I opened a freebie sample packet of expensive skin cream from L’Occitane. Thinking it was rather nice, I glanced at the ingredients and discovered the stuff is mostly water and olive oil.

Olive oil? I’ve got that in the kitchen, and it sure doesn’t cost what a bottle of fancy goop from L’Occitane costs.

Meanwhile, there’s a backstory here you should know about: Over the past two or three years, I’ve developed a maddeningly itchy spot on my face. It runs along the sides of my nose, especially around the creases where the nose joins the face. One dermatologist decided it was seborrheic dermatitis and prescribed a high-octane cortisone cream. Another dermatologist said it certainly was not that, because there was no visible reddening or rash, but she didn’t know what it is and thought I should leave it alone.

Well, cortisone cream does nothing. After I’d faithfully followed the first specialist’s instructions for about ten days, I learned that cortisone creams can cause your skin to atrophy. That’s just what I need: atrophied skin on my face! Thanks, doc!

Moving on, I tried dandruff shampoo (briefly soothing…for about ten minutes), calamine lotion, insect itch stuff, face creams, Vaseline, witch hazel, Bactine, antibiotic ointments, Myconazole, special soaps, Benadryl cream, oral antihistamines, swearing off caffeine, swearing off alcohol, and on and on and on. NOTHING helped to make it heal up, and only two things would stop the itch for longer than about five or ten minutes: salacylic acid (in Scalpicin) and benzyl alcohol plus pramoxine HCL (in Itchex gel). Both of these sting like the dickens when you apply them—as in hurt so much it makes your eyes water—but they would stop the itching for three to five hours, which was better than anything else did. Meanwhile, I continued to unconsciously paw at my face, because nothing would bring the itch to an end.

When I realized the L’Occitane cream was mostly olive oil, the Still Small Voice whispered, “Olive oil? Try it!”

Why not? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The OCM enthusiasts are hot to add stuff like castor oil and aloe, but I decided I would restrain myself from running to the drugstore and just use the Costco olive oil I had in the house. Here’s the strategy:

You need

• a small amount of olive oil
• small dish
• warm water
• washcloth
• a few minutes of undisturbed time

Pour a tablespoon or two of olive into a little dish. Using your fingers, dip up oil and spread it over your face. Rub the oil gently around and into the skin.

Dampen the washcloth well with very warm but NOT scaldingly hot water. Lay the warm washcloth over your well-oiled face and let it set. Relax while allowing the steamy warmth to work on your skin. As the cloth cools, repeat this several times.

Then gently wipe the excess oil from your skin. Rinse and wring out the washcloth, and you’re done! If you like, splash some cold water on your face as an astringent.

Amazingly, as soon as I applied olive oil to the itchy area around my nose, it started to sooth the discomfort! And it didn’t hurt.

After I finished wiping the oil off my face, I dabbed a light film of olive oil onto the itchy area. It worked! It didn’t 100% cure the itching, but it soothed enough that I could keep my hands off my face all day long.

I’ve been using olive oil on my face for several days now, and it’s making a huge difference. Maybe over time the years-old irritation will settle down and go away. BTW, the oil also works really well to remove make-up. It even takes off mascara. It leaves your skin feeling clean, with no trace of greasiness. The olive oil scent dissipates quickly or washes off in the warm water, so you don’t end up smelling like a walking bowl of salad.

Isn’t that the darnedest thing? I can’t imagine why this would work on a stubborn itch. And I’m not asking! I’m just gunna keep using it.

Olive Oil: The ultimate hair conditioner

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Over at WiseBread, Nora has been holding forth on some unexpected ways to use powdered milk and toothpaste, ranging from softening your skin to filling holes in the wall. This entertaining discussion reminded me of something I learned from a dorm-mate in college. She had long, spectacular, radiantly shining black hair, the envy of every woman and the ruination of every man who saw her. One weekend she showed us how she used plain olive oil to condition her hair to a high pitch of beauty. Here’s her secret:

You need:

  • about a cup of olive oil (less, if your hair is short)
  • shampoo
  • plastic wrap
  • three old, clean bath towels
  • paper towels
  • a bonnet hair dryer, a gooseneck lamp or other incandescent lamp that you can move close to your head, or a warm, sunny day
  • a clean utility or kitchen sink in which to wash your hair

Prepare your tools: Pour about a cup of olive oil into a measuring cup, if your hair is shoulder length or longer; for shorter hair, you can use a half-cup or so. Place this, the paper towels, and the bath towels near at hand where you will wash your hair. Pull out a couple of lengths of plastic wrap, about two or three feet long, and lay them out neatly on the countertop.

Don’t use the shower for this process! Olive oil dripped on the floor of a shower is extremely slippery and dangerous. Bend over a large sink to wash your hair and apply the oil.

First, wash your hair and thoroughly rinse out all the shampoo. Don’t apply commercial conditioner. When your hair is clean and well rinsed, towel dry it until it’s just damp. Set the wet towel aside. Now, again bending over the sink, apply the olive oil to your hair. Gently rub it in well, so that all your hair and your scalp are bathed generously in olive oil.

Grab a few paper towels and wipe the oil off your hands. Now take the plastic wrap and wind it around your head, turban style, so your hair is firmly covered. Grab the dry bath towel and wrap it around your head over the plastic wrap. This towel should be an old one, not your favorite guest towel!

What you want to do now is keep your hair warm for at least a half-hour; better, for an hour or so. One strategy is simply to keep the towel wrapped tightly over the plastic wrap and let your body heat keep the hair warm.

Another is to drape the towel over your shoulders to absorb leaks and sit beneath a lamp with an incandescent bulb. A gooseneck lamp is good for this purpose; some floor lamps can be adapted to work, too. A third strategy is to sit outside in the sun for a while, allowing the sunlight to warm the wrapped hair.

But the best technique is to use an old-fashioned bonnet hair dryer. Wrap another couple layers of plastic wrap around your hair to try to minimize drips as much as possible. Slide the hair dryer over the plastic-wrap turban and turn the dryer to “high.” A half-hour or forty-five minutes of this treatment is extremely effective.

Whichever approach you choose, after your hair has marinated in olive oil for 30 minutes to an hour, it’s back to the sink, shampoo bottle in hand.

Shampoo your hair twice. If it’s very long, you may want to shampoo three times. If your hair still feels like it has any olive-oil residue, shampoo it again. Rinse well after each shampooing. Now towel-dry your hair with the third towel you set on the counter, and voilĂ ! You’re ready to proceed with your regular styling and grooming routine.

If your hair looks at all limp or oily after you’ve styled it, you’ll need to shampoo again to remove the last residue of olive oil. One more shampooing should do the trick. To avoid this, be sure to shampoo and rinse thoroughly the first time around.

The effect of an olive-oil conditioning is amazing. It utterly does away with any dryness and frizzies, and it seems to last a long time—at least a month.

Clean-up

Olive oil, not surprisingly, is…well, oily. The towel used to wrap your plastic-wrap turban and keep drips off your shoulders will end up with a lot of olive oil on it. Wash thoroughly, preferably by itself in the washer. Sprinkle the absorbed oil liberally with Spray’N’Wash or a similar product and allow to stand for at least an hour. Then apply some liquid clothes detergent or a paste made of dry detergent and water to the areas that took up the oil. Finally, wash in warm water on a long cycle. It may take a couple of washings to completely remove the oil from the towel. This is why it’s best to use an old, tattered towel for the purpose! The other two towels, if you used them only to dry clean hair, should be fine—just don’t wash them in with the oily towel.

If you enjoyed this post…

Explore the way olive oil works as a facial cleanser and conditioner.
See an update on the olive-oil cleanser experiment.
Find out how lemon juice and vinegar can bring out your hair’s highlights.

Monday Household Hint: Make roses last

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RosePerfumedDelightMany schemes to extend the life of cut flowers are out there. One of the most popular is to add Sprite or a similar clear soft drink to the water.

A technique that’s free: put ice in the water.

Using a sharp nipper or knife, trim rose stems on an angle. Place the trimmed flowers in a jar or vase with cold water and ice.

Each day, nip a little off the stem ends—always at an angle—and refresh the vase with more cold water.