A few solutions

A Few Solutions

While not directly associated with home decor, the following problems  definitely fall under the category of ‘dilemmas’ and I’ve found solutions for them that make my life easier. I hope they will help you too.

I used to do quite a bit of silversmithing; haven’t in awhile but recently I started to do some chain maille again. Which brings me to how to clean silver. I learned this in soldering class years ago; mix the original Dawn liquid detergent and baking soda into a paste the consistency of tooth paste and use a toothbrush to clean the nooks and crannies of tarnished silver. If you have large pieces; line your sink with tin foil  and sprinkle over it 1/2 cup of baking soda. Lay your silver on the tin foil and add boiling water to cover.  It smells a bit like rotten eggs but works very well.  To clean copper: clean it with the Dawn and baking soda first and then soak it in dark soy sauce. I’ll post some before and after pictures with this column on my website.

I hate the litter box. I bought a diaper pail and thought I’d scoop into a little sandwich bag and then drop those in the pail but the scoops didn’t fit the bags.  ‘Litter Locker’ does work, though.  Same idea, looks like a diaper pail but you deposit the scoops into the top, open the ‘trap door’ and the scoops collect in the bottom in a larger bag. Just like the diaper pail. And there is NO SMELL. So, instead of taking each day’s collection to the garbage, I only have to do it when the bag is full.  I got my Litter Locker at Zellers for under 20.00.

To remove pet hair from your clothes or furniture: put on a disposable latex glove and wipe the hair away. No kidding. I keep a box of these gloves in the kitchen for use with raw meat and hot peppers.  

And then there was the rust stain in the spare bathroom toilet. I tried at least 5 products - all saying they would do the job - and, of course, none of them did. I even broke down and tried elbow grease and Commet.  ‘ Super Iron Out’  Rust Stain Remover worked. Just like it said it would; I got it at Canadian Tire.