Household Solutions to Household Problems

We have all had things happen around the house that have had us racking our brains for a better or cheaper way to solve little everyday problems. From a stripped bolt to fleas on the family pet, there are simple and cheap ways to get rid of these nuisances. Here are a few tips that I have found to be very helpful and most don't cost much if anything.

1. Bloodstains - Have you ever pricked your finger and one single drop of blood fell on that white shirt and thought you ruined it? Here is your solution. Hydrogen Peroxide is your solution, just put some on the spot and the blood will come right out. If you use this method, be careful on darker clothing, peroxide can have a bleaching effect on some materials.

2. Sore Throat - Is your throat sore, and nothing that you take seem to work? Try this recipe. If you are under 21 this is illegal b/c it involves alcohol, but then again so does Nyquil. Mix 1/3 honey, 1/3 lemon juice, and 1/3 whiskey (and strong liquor will work) and drink it. The honey makes the concoction stick to the inside of your throat and soothes the irritation while the alcohol kills any little vermins that are attacking your esophogus. The lemon juice just makes it taste better. I don't really know if this helps your throat or just makes you a little buzzed, but you will feel better.

3. Fleas on your pet - I own a Golden Retriever and he lives inside and out so fleas are a constant battle especially when he first comes inside from being outside all day. The best solution I have found for immediate control is Dawn dishwashing detergent. Now, this is not to replace long term control like Frontline, but for immediate control here's what I do. I take Dawn dishwashing detergent and put it into a spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Then just spray the fleas that you see on your pet and it will kill them in seconds. You can also find a solution to ear mites that I wrote earlier here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/731409/homemade_remedy_for_ear_mites.html

4. Bee Stings - A bee sting can be a painful experience, but the swelling associated with a sting can last for several days after the pain is gone. We've all heard about using tobacco to pull the poison out but that to me is a little nasty so here's another way using the same concept. Take an uncooked baking potato and use a spoon to scrape the inside of the potato in to a bowl. When you get a small handful of "scrapings" place them onto an ace bandage and wrap it around the sting. You can just hold the scrapings on the bite, but having both of my hands free is alot more convenient.

5. Smells - Arm and Hammer baking soda is the cureall for smells in any area, refrigerators, bathrooms, the garbage. It will soak up smells from anywhere.

6. Stripped Bolt - This is a proble that can drive even the sanest person a little crazy, or certified insane for that matter. The easiest solution for this problem is to use a hacksaw to cut a slot in the head of the bolt that you are trying to remove. You then use a flat scewdriver to remove the bolt. Another solution is to tack-weld another bolt to the top of the stripped bolt and then remove it as you would any other bolt.

7. Sheared Bolt or screw - Many times if a screw or bolt shears of it is below the level of the piece that it was holding. Resulting in a bolt in a hole that you can't reach. This will only work if there isn't alot of pressure on the bolt, but it's worth a shot. Take a regular pencil, not a mechanical one, and break the sharp end off. Now insert the broken end into a drill so that the deraser is pointing outward. Insert the pencil into the hole and apply pressure so that the eraser will grip the end of the bolt and back it out.

These are all that I can think of at this time. I hope that you have as much luck with these tips that I have. Feel free to leave your own tips as comments or if you have any questions it might jog my memory.