Handy Household Tips to Remove Ink, Restore Wood Finish and More

Minor household emergencies crop up everyday requiring a quick fix idea or an aspirin to relieve the headache they cause. Have four less headaches by filing these four handy household tips into your memory bank so you can implement them when the minor emergency arises.

How to Remove Ink Stains from Fabric

To remove those unsightly ink stains from a shirt or fabric tablecloth, reach for the bottle of rubbing alcohol. Place three layers of paper towel on the kitchen of bathroom counter, then place the ink-stained fabric face down on the paper towel. Saturate one corner of a clean sponge with rubbing alcohol and rub the back of ink stain. Keeping sponging the ink stain, changing the paper towel and re-wetting the sponge with alcohol, as needed until the ink has disappeared from the fabric. Rinse with cold water and launder as usual.

Restore Wood Finish with Tea

Clean and restore the finish on wood furniture the natural way, with tea. Tea contains tannic acid, which removes grime and restores the wood's natural shine. To make wood restoring tea, boil one-half cup of water and steep one tea bag until the tea cools. Pour cooled tea into a bowl and dampened a clean, soft cloth with tea and wring out the excess. Wipe wood furniture in the direction of the wood grain with tea soaked cloth, then buff dry with a separate dry, soft cloth.

Prevent Planters from Sticking Together

Clay and plastic planters have a bad habit of sticking together when stacked, making it almost impossible to separate them without breakage. Prevent the planters from sticking together with newspaper. Fold or wad up sheets of newspaper to one-quarter inch of thickness and place in the bottom of each empty planter before stacking them up for storage. The one-fourth inch of newspaper prevent the planters from nesting so tightly into each other and makes for easy separation later.

Keep Small Kitchen Appliances Stable

To prevent small kitchen appliances like food processors and blenders from moving around on the countertop when you're using them, place non-adhesive rubber shelf liner under the appliance. Keep a large square of the shelf liner handy to place on countertop as needed, or cut pieces of the shelf liner the same size as the bottom of kitchen appliance and keep the appliance(s) setting on it. Toss shelf liner in dishwasher as needed for quick cleanup.