100 Tips for Every Situation in Life

APARTMENT RENOVATION

1. A nail is easily driven in if its tip is dipped in vegetable oil.
2. If sugar is added to cement mortar, it becomes much stronger.
3. Gypsum mixed with milk sets longer - it is easier to fill cracks with a brush.
4. If the brush for oil-based work is very hard, it should be left in boiling vinegar for 1 minute.
5. A room that has just been wallpapered should not be ventilated for several days, otherwise the wallpaper will start bubbling and peeling off.
6. It is easier to cut tiles with water. In this case, there is less chance that they will break.
7. Tiles from foreign countries are more expensive than domestic ones, but when laying them, there is no need to align the edges of tiles so they fit closely together.
8. A fallen tile can be firmly secured with zinc white mixed with natural varnish. But it will take a long time to dry.
9. Wallpaper made of washable material should not be used in sunny rooms - under the effect of sunlight, such wallpaper releases harmful substances for health.
10. Using light-colored wallpapers and paints can visually increase the volume of a room. Dark colors visually reduce its volume.

APARTMENT CLEANING

1. Scratches on polished furniture can be removed using a colored shoe cream of the corresponding color.
2. Mirrors can be wiped with cotton soaked in cologne or alcohol (vodka). Cold water with a small amount of laundry blue can also be used - it will give the mirror a pleasant shine. A diluted tea brew can also be used for this purpose.
3. A yellowed enameled bathtub should be cleaned with salt and vinegar.
4. Tiles in the bathroom should be wiped with a mixture of vinegar and water (1:5). A soap solution with ammonia can also be used.
5. Items painted with light-colored oil or enamel paint should be washed with water without soap and baking soda (they make the paint dull). A small amount of ammonia can be added to the water (a teaspoon per liter) - it removes dirt and gives shine. After washing, wipe with a dry cloth to avoid yellow spots and stains.
6. Enamel bathtubs should not be cleaned with acids or abrasive powders - the enamel will be damaged.
7. A new broom, mopper or whisk will last longer if soaked in hot soapy water before use.
8. A white mark on a polished surface that appeared from a hot item can be removed by wiping it with alcohol mixed with vegetable oil.
9. Rub with a woolen cloth in circular motions.
10. Windows should not be washed with soap as it creates a film on the glass that is hard to remove.
11. A concentrated vinegar solution removes stains from windows and mirrors (1 tablespoon per cup of water).
12. A brush soaked in salt water helps restore the golden color of straw items.
13. The color of a carpet will become brighter if you sprinkle it with fine white salt in the evening and remove the salt the next day with a soft clean damp cloth.
14. Linoleum floors should not be washed with hot water or water with baking soda or ammonia - the linoleum will fade and deteriorate.
15. They can be washed with warm water and household soap, then rinsed and dried.
16. About once every three months, linoleum should be wiped with natural varnish and then thoroughly wiped with a soft cloth. Linoleum can also be rubbed with a mixture of wax, paraffin and turpentine (1:1:5), which should be mixed while heated.
17. Parquet floors should be wiped with a damp cloth soaked in cold water with glycerin (a tablespoon per cup of water). Parquet should not be washed with hot water.
18. Chrome surfaces can be wiped with a cloth soaked in soapy water.
19. Nickel-plated surfaces are cleaned with pastes and liquid cleaning agents. For example: a paste made from ammonia spirits and tooth powder. When this mixture dries, the item should be wiped with a dry cloth and polished with a cloth.
20. To make serving knives shine, they should be cleaned with raw potato. Several drops of lemon juice can also be used.
21. Porcelain dishes should be washed with water and a small amount of ammonia spirits.
22. Crystal dishes should not be washed with hot water - they will become cloudy and covered with a network of small cracks. If after washing, they are wiped with a woolen cloth mixed with laundry blue and starch - the dishes will shine more.
23. Dark deposits on silver and silver-plated items can be easily removed as follows: wash the item in warm soapy water, then clean it with a soft cloth soaked in a mixture of ammonia spirits and chalk or tooth powder. Then rinse with warm water and wipe thoroughly.
24. Silver, silver-plated and melchior items can be refreshed by rinsing them in warm water with drinking soda (50 g per liter of water) or in warm soapy water with ammonia spirits (1 tablespoon per liter). After that, the items should be rinsed with clean water and dried with a soft cloth.

USEFUL KITCHEN TIPS

1. The skin on hands darkens when cleaning potatoes. To avoid this, it is necessary to moisten the hands with vinegar before working and let them dry, then wash them with soap and apply cream after.
2. All glassware - glasses, vases - can be cleaned without special cleaners. For this purpose, a small amount of vinegar or coarse salt should be added to warm water. The dishes will become cleaner and clearer.
3. Aluminum pots will shine again if they are boiled together with potato peels, apple peel, rhubarb peel or vinegar solution.
4. Darkened enameled pots should be boiled with any dishwashing detergent, then rinsed with hot water. But if they are boiled once a month with vinegar solution, they will not darken.
5. If something burned in the pot, pour cold water on the bottom and sprinkle salt. After a few hours, the food residues can be easily removed. For enameled pots, this method works: pour hot water with a spoon of baking soda into the pot, leave it to stand, and then boil - the food residues will come off easily.
6. Pots can be cleaned easily like this: slightly warm them and wipe with salt, then with parchment paper (in a pinch - regular paper).
If spilled milk has been left on a hot stove, sprinkle the affected area with salt and cover it with wet paper - this way the smell will not spread throughout the room.
7. To prevent bugs from appearing in flour, put a few garlic cloves in a small bag where the flour is stored, without peeling them.
8. Flour should be sifted periodically and poured into a clean bag.
9. To make knives, scissors and others easier to sharpen, they can be placed in a weak salt solution for half an hour and sharpened without wiping.
10. It is much easier to clean a meat grinder if you pass raw potato through it at the end.
11. Meat grinders should not be dried near a heat source - the blades will dull.
12. New glass cups will not break if you put them in a container with cold water, slowly heat the water to boiling, and let them cool in the same water.
13. Metal foil for baking will last much longer in the refrigerator - it does not stick together.

ODOR REMOVAL

1. Unpleasant odor on hands (from fish, garlic and others) can be removed by rubbing the hands with salt, then washing them with soap.
2. Odor from garlic in the mouth can be removed by chewing parsley.
3. The smell of fish from pans and pots will disappear if they are wiped with warm salt and then rinsed.
4. The smell of onions can be removed by rubbing kitchen boards and tableware with dry salt.
5. To get rid of an unpleasant smell in the kitchen, boil water with vinegar in an open pot and ventilate the room after a few minutes. For the same purpose, you can put an orange or lemon rind on a hot stove or sprinkle some salt on the hot surface.
6. The smell of spilled milk on a hot stove can be localized by sprinkling the affected area with salt and covering it with wet paper - this way the smell will not spread throughout the room.
7. To remove paint odor from a room, rub a garlic head and leave it in the room for some time.
8. The smell of oil paint in an apartment will disappear faster if several dishes with salt are placed in different places.
9. Tobacco smell from a room is poorly removed even by a draft. But it can be done this way: open the windows and place 2-3 wet towels in different places in the room. They will absorb the tobacco smell well. For the same purpose, candles can be lit in a room where smoking was done.

JEWELRY

1. After wearing jewelry, they should be wiped dry with a cloth to prevent the appearance of spots from sweat.
2. Jewelry should be stored in a dry place.
3. Amethysts, topaz, pearls, turquoise lose their color intensity under the influence of UV rays - they should be stored in darkness.
4. Gold-plated items can be cleaned by wiping the surface with a cotton pad soaked in cologne, turpentine or egg white.
5. A gold item will shine more if it is kept in sweetened water for some time.
6. To restore the shine of gold and silver jewelry, they can be rinsed with the following solution: ½ cup of soapy solution and 1 teaspoon of ammonia spirits. A soft toothbrush can be used for this. After treatment, rinse the items with water and dry them.
7. To clean silver items, they should be dipped in a hot water and ammonia spirits solution (1:1). When the solution cools, take out the items from the water and gently wipe them.

SHOE CARE

1. Unpleasant odor from shoes can be eliminated using hydrogen peroxide, by wiping the inside of boots with a cotton pad soaked in it. The same purpose can be served by a permanganate solution.
2. Formalin is used for disinfecting shoes: the inside of the shoes should be wiped with a cloth soaked in formalin and placed in a polyethylene bag, tied up and left for a day. Then take the shoes out and ventilate them.
3. Suede shoes are well cleaned if they are held over steam and then cleaned with a special brush. If suede shoes are heavily soiled, they should be cleaned with soapy water and a small amount of ammonia spirits. After cleaning, the suede should be treated with a waterproofing agent.
4. If shoes are too tight, a small amount of cologne, alcohol or table vinegar should be poured into them. After that, the shoes will take the shape of the foot and the leather will become softer.
5. To prevent shoes from squeaking, the sole should be treated with hot natural varnish or lubricated with linen or castor oil.
6. If new shoes "burn" the feet in hot weather, they can be wiped inside with a 3% vinegar solution.
To prevent shoes from getting wet, they can be treated with the following solution: dissolve 40 g of fish oil, 10 parts of wax, 3 parts of turpentine in a water bath. The cream should be applied in liquid form.
7. Dried sports shoes can be soaked in warm water until the leather becomes soft. Then they should be wiped inside and out, dried, oiled with glycerin and stuffed tightly with newspaper.
8. In warm weather, it is better to use emulsion creams for shoe care, which dissolve well and let air through. In winter - creams based on organic solvents (they form an air- and water-impermeable film).
9. The dried cream for shoes can be restored by adding a few drops of turpentine and gently heating it.
10. Shoe brushes should be rinsed with water and a small amount of ammonia spirits.
11. To soften the leather of shoes that have not been worn for a long time, they should be generously rubbed with castor oil and allowed to absorb.

FUR AND LEATHER

1. Leather items can be refreshed by wiping them with beaten egg white. Dirty leather can be washed with warm boiled milk. The color of the leather will be restored if it is oiled with glycerin.
2. Leather items can be given shine using coffee grounds. The grounds should be wrapped in wool or flannel and rubbed on the leather with energetic movements.
3. Leather items can be cleaned with water and soap and ammonia spirits, then wiped with a cloth soaked in castor oil (or vaseline or glycerin).
4. Worn areas on leather items should be wiped periodically with a cloth soaked in glycerin or fresh orange peel.
5. This will help restore their original appearance.
6. A dirty leather bag can be cleaned by wiping the leather with a cut onion. As the onion becomes dirty, a new slice should be made.
7. After the procedure, the bag should be wiped to a shine with a clean soft cloth.
8. A dark leather handbag will gain shine if wiped with a cotton swab soaked in lemon juice.
9. A leather handbag can also be refreshed this way: gently wash in warm soapy water with a small amount of ammonia spirits. Then dry and wipe with a cloth soaked in castor oil.
10. For cleaning fur coats, a soap solution with a small amount of ammonia spirits is used. Then the item should be treated with another solution: 20 g of glycerin, 20 g of ammonia spirits, 5 g of borax in 0.5 liters of water. Then the fur coat should be dried and pressed by hand.
11. Suede jackets and coats should be cleaned with the following solution: 1 tablespoon of ammonia spirits per 5 tablespoons of water. Then the items should be carefully wiped with a cloth soaked in a solution of 1 teaspoon of vinegar in 1 liter of water.
12. If new leather gloves are too tight, they should be wrapped in a wet towel and worn for 2-3 hours to dry on the hands.
13. To restore the shine of faded fur, the kernels of walnuts should be crushed into powder, wrap the resulting powder in folded cloth and rub it over the fur. After the walnut oil is absorbed, the fur will gain a beautiful long-lasting shine.

STAIN REMOVAL

1. A greasy stain on wallpaper can be removed by placing a piece of soft thick fabric soaked in clean gasoline and slightly wrung out on it for 2-3 minutes. The grease dissolved in gasoline will be absorbed into the fabric. The same purpose can also be served by tooth powder soaked in gasoline. When the powder dries, it should be brushed off the wall with a brush. A set stain will need to be treated twice.
2. A dark mark from a hot item on furniture can be removed as follows: rub with half a lemon until the stain fades. This operation should be repeated until the stain disappears completely.
3. Stains from light-colored liquids on furniture can be removed by soaking a sponge in vegetable oil and gently wiping it along the wood grain. A paste made from mayonnaise or vegetable oil mixed with salt (apply, leave for two hours, then rinse) can also be used. A mixture of linseed oil and turpentine (1:1) (similarly) is also suitable.
4. Greasy stains from fur can be removed in two ways: 1) wipe the fur in one direction with a cloth soaked in clean gasoline or a special stain remover; 2) wash the stains with a solution of laundry powder or foam from soap shavings. When treating, the solution or foam should be rubbed into the fur so that the leather base is not wet. After such treatment, the area where the stain was should be washed with water, the fur dried (not in the sun!), and then beaten out with a beaters.
5. Grease from canned food can be removed with chalk or tooth powder, left on the stained area overnight.
6. If it is necessary to quickly get rid of a greasy stain, sprinkle it with tooth powder and smooth it through paper.
7. Tea stains on tablecloths can be easily removed with lemon juice.
8. Yellow stains on laundry from an iron can be removed with a borax solution (2 teaspoons per liter of water).