How do I remove carpet stains?
You've got to treat the stain while it's still wet. First, blot up as much of the liquid as possible. You can use towels, Bounty Paper Towels, or best of all . . . a Pampers disposable diaper. They're amazingly absorbent. Then pour some Canada Dry Club Soda on the stain, then blot up immediately. If the stain is still there (like red wine or grape juice), cover the stain with a thick pile of Morton Salt and let it sit for ten minutes or more. The salt will suck the stain out of the carpet. Then clean up the salt and vacuum. If that doesn't do the trick, see Carpet Stains.
How do I keep cats and dogs out of my yard?
Mix four tablespoons Tabasco Pepper Sauce, one teaspoon McCormick Chili Powder, ½ teaspoon Ivory Dishwashing Liquid, and two cups water in a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle. Spray the solution around the perimeter of the yard. Cats and dogs have a keen sense of smell, and they'll gladly go to someone else's yard to avoid this pungent concoction. Of course, when it rains or snows, you'll have to spray the yard again, but those animals will quickly change their habits. For more tips, see Cats and Dogs.
How do I clean candle wax drips?
Cover the wax with a sheet of Bounty Paper Towels. Then set your iron on warm and iron the paper towel. The heat from the iron will melt the wax, the paper towel will absorb it. If a color is left in the carpet, repeat. If the color is still there, then try the above tricks for getting a stain out of your carpet.
How do I get rid of ants?
If ants are getting into your home from the outside, the solution is a piece of white Crayola Chalk. Ants will not cross a thick chalk line, so simply make a thick chalk line on your outside walls around doors and windows.
Inside the house, you can kill ants by simply putting a teaspoon of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in a sixteen-ounce trigger spray bottle, filling the rest of the bottle with water, shaking well, then spraying the ants with soapy solution. The soap dries up the ants and they die as soon as you spray them. The solution is non-toxic, so you just clean up with a sponge. For more ways to kill ants, see Insects.
How do I clean dead insects from the hood of my car?
Before you go on your next trip, spray the hood of your car with a light coat of WD-40. When you get back from your trip, the bugs will wipe right off. You can also ball up a used pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose and wipe down the hood. The nylon is a mild abrasive, so it does a great job removing bugs from the hood without scratching the finish. If you're on the road and you get dead bugs all over the windshield, just pull over to a gas station and pour a can of Coca-Cola on the windshield. It cuts through all the grime and insects right off (just don't get any on the paint job). You can also use Canada Dry Club Soda to do the same thing. For more tips, see Cars.
How do I clean tarnish from copper pots and pans?
Heinz Ketchup. Just pour ketchup all over the copper. Let it sit for five to ten minutes, then wipe clean. You won't believe your eyes. The acids from the tomatoes along with the acetic acid from the vinegar magically cleans the tarnish from the copper. For more tips like this, see Pots and Pans.
How do I remove the smell of pet urine from my carpet?
All you need is Heinz White Vinegar. You can mix one part vinegar to one part water in a sixteen-ounce trigger spray bottle. Or use it full strength. Just saturate the spot on the carpet. It's going to smell like urine and vinegar for about three days, but once it dries, the vinegar will completely deodorize the stain. You won't smell a thing. I've done it in my home, and it's amazing. For more tips like this, see Carpet Stains.
How do I get rid of gophers or moles?
Fill the holes to the tunnels with used (yes, used) Tidy Cats cat box litter. The gophers or moles smell the scent of their natural enemy and tunnel into someone else's yard. Or add ½ cup Castor Oil (available at the drug store) to two gallons of water, and drench the tunnels or mole hills with the liquid. For details, see Gophers and Moles.
Why brand-name products? Won't generic brands work too?
These are the products that we all have in our homes—in the kitchen, in the medicine cabinet, in the workshop. They're the products we all know and love. I wanted to know what else I could do with Coca-Cola besides drink it. You're more than welcome to use a generic brand if you want, but these are the products I've personally tested. Coca-Cola cleans a toilet. Will Pepsi? Try it and let me know.