Great Site! And This is just the A's

Extraordinary Uses: Partial List of Items

 

Adhesive Tape

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Is an army of ants marching toward the cookie jar on your countertop or some sweet prize in your pantry? Create a "moat" around the object by surrounding it with adhesive tape placed sticky side up.

Clean a comb

To remove the gunk that builds up between the teeth of your comb, press a strip of adhesive tape along the comb's length, and lift it off. Then dip the comb in a solution of alcohol and water, or ammonia and water, to sanitize it. Let dry.

Alka Seltzer

Clean your coffeemaker

Fill your percolator or the water chamber of your drip coffeemaker with water and plop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets. When the Alka-Seltzer has dissolved, put the coffeemaker through a brew cycle to clean the tubes. Rinse the chamber out two or three times, then run a brew cycle with plain water before making coffee.

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That stuck-on residue at the bottom of narrow-neck vases may seem impossible to scrub out, but you can easily bubble it away. Fill the vase halfway with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. Wait until the fizzing stops, then rinse the vase clean. The same trick works for cleaning glass thermoses.

Clean glass cookware

Say so long to scouring those stubborn stains off your ovenproof glass cookware. Just fill the container with water, add up to six Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let it soak for an hour. The stains should easily scrub away.

Clean your toilet

The citric acid in Alka-Seltzer combined with its fizzing action is an effective toilet bowl cleaner. Simply drop a couple of tablets into the bowl and find something else to do for 20 minutes or so. When you return, a few swipes with a toilet brush will leave your bowl gleaming.

Clean jewelry

Drop your dull-looking jewelry in a glass of fizzing Alka-Seltzer for a couple of minutes. It will sparkle and shine when you pull it out.

Unclog a drain

Drain clogged again? Get almost instant relief: Drop a couple of Alka-Seltzer tablets down the opening, then pour in a cup of vinegar. Wait a few minutes and then run the hot water at full force to clear the clog. This is also a good way to eliminate kitchen drain odors.

Soothe insect bites

Mosquito or other insect bite driving you nuts? To ease the itch, drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets in half a glass of water. Dip a cotton ball in the glass and apply it to the bite. Caution: Don't do this if you are allergic to aspirin, which is a key ingredient in Alka-Seltzer.

Attract fish

All avid anglers know fish are attracted to bubbles. If you are using a hollow plastic tube jig on your line, just break off a piece of Alka-Seltzer and slip it into the tube. The jig will produce an enticing stream of bubbles as it sinks.

Aluminum Foil

Toast your own cheese sandwich

Next time you pack for a trip, include a couple of cheese sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil. That way if you check into a hotel after the kitchen has closed, you won't have to resort to the cold, overpriced snacks in the mini-bar. Instead, use the hotel-room iron to press both sides of the wrapped sandwich and you'll have a tasty hot snack.

Sharpen your scissors

What can you do with those clean pieces of leftover foil you have hanging around? Use them to sharpen up your dull scissors! Smooth them out if necessary, and then fold the strips into several layers and start cutting. Seven or eight passes should do the trick. Pretty simple, huh?

Put some bite in your mulch

To keep hungry insects and slugs away from your cucumbers and other vegetables, mix strips of aluminum foil in with your garden mulch. As a bonus benefit, the foil will reflect light back up onto your plants

Keep bees away from beverages

You're about to relax in your backyard with a well-deserved glass of lemonade or soda pop. Suddenly bees start buzzing around your drink -- which they view as sweet nectar. Keep them away by tightly covering the top of your glass with aluminum foil. Poke a straw through it, and then enjoy your drink in peace.

Create a centerpiece

Here's how to make a quick centerpiece for your table: Secure a pillar candle or a few votive candles to an aluminum pie pan by melting some wax from the bottom of the candles onto the pan. Add a thin layer of water or sand, and put in several rose petals or seashells

 Go check it out for yourself! Barbara