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I Tried 7 Popular Hacks to Save My Shoes, and Here Are the Results

Feb 14, 2020 Posted by: Jemelee Arcibal diy activities, life hack

After making a revision of my wardrobe I realized that I need to save my shoes. The thought that trying to say goodbye to them was unbearable. But the prices for dry-cleaning them were unbearable too. So I knew it was a good time for some life hacks!

Bright Side checked some hacks and wants to share with you the experience of saving shoes. There is also a bonus for you at the end of the article!

1. Use antibacterial wipes to clean your shoes.

I must say that after just cleaning the shoes with wipes, they looked much better already.

2. Try using baking soda to make your shoes white again.

I decided to take a risk and left it for 2 hours. And minute by minute the shoes were getting more and more white.

3. Use toilet paper to dry your shoes.

9 Secrets That Plumbers Aren’t Rushing to Share With Us

Feb 14, 2020 Posted by: Jemelee Arcibal diy activities, life hack, mom, new moms

In the modern world, the breakage of bathroom fitments can be a real disaster because we can’t live without our sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. It’s no wonder that if something breaks down we can’t help but call the plumber in a panic. But you can avoid these surprise expenses if you know how to prevent these bathroom problems in the first place.

At Bright Side, we’d like to share these life hacks with you that specialists aren’t rushing to tell us about — and they’ll help you save a lot of money. At the end of the article, you’ll find a video that illustrates what things you should never flush down the toilet!

1. You can replace the washer drain hose yourself.

You don’t need to call a plumber to replace the drain hose on your washing machine because it’s quite easy to do yourself. A new hose is rather cheap and you can buy it in any household store. On the internet, you can find a lot of manuals for different types of washing machines.

2. Don’t flush oil and grease down the drain.

Oil and grease don’t dissolve in water, they get accumulated in the pipes and grow which eventually leads to blockage. Oil and grease can harm not only your sewage system but also the sewage systems of your entire building — or even the ones that belong to the city.

So, what’s the ideal way to dispose of such grease? Put the oil into a bag or a container, and then throw it away into a regular trash bin.

3. Be careful with bath bombs.

We all love these bubbling things but they aren’t always safe for the pipes. They can contain oil and salt that don’t dissolve in the water and can clog up your pipes. Also, bombs can contain sparkles, petals, and other things that don’t belong in the drain.

In order to reduce these risks, put a bath bomb in a protective nylon cover before use.

4. Don’t pour boiling water down plastic pipes.

Boiling water can make your plastic pipes softer or even melt them. If you do it just once, it won’t damage your pipes. But if you pour boiling hot water down the drain more often than twice a week, be prepared for your pipes to start leaking. Even if your pipes are made of metal, their joints may be made of plastic or rubber, resulting in the same fate.

Wait until the water in your pot cools down or turn on cold water while you’re pouring the boiling water down the drain.

5. Unclog the drain with plastic wrap.

Plastic wrap is a great alternative to a plunger when you need to unclog your toilet.

Attach double-sided tape to the rim of the toilet bowl.
Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap.
Push the flush button. The wrap should raise.
Lastly, press the wrap down.

This will create pressure inside the bowl, and your drain should become unclogged.

6. Warm up your bathtub before use.

Don’t test your bathtub’s durability with a rapid change of temperature. If you want to take a bath, pour a bit of water out first and warm up the walls of the bathtub. Then you can add more warm water. This way, your bathtub’s enamel will stay newer for longer and won’t get yellow or crack.

7. Use baking soda.

To unclog your sink, you don’t need to buy expensive drain cleaners. Instead, try to make a cleaning solution yourself.

Put half a cup of baking soda down the drain.
Next, pour the same amount of vinegar.
Leave the mixture there for a couple of hours and then rinse the drain with warm water.

8. Clean your washing machine.

In order to make your washing machine serve you longer, carry out a clean washer cycle every 3 months. This cycle should be done when the washer is empty. Select the hot water setting, add some baking soda, white vinegar or citric acid, and push the start button.

This way, you’ll clean your washer from limescale, bacteria, and other impurities.

9. Repair a chipped bathtub and sink.

But you don’t need to call a technician to remove the chips and take your money. You can easily do it yourself with a bath repair kit that you can easily find online.

source: brightside.me

16 Game-Changing Uses for Table Salt That Can Save Your Day Out of the Blue

Feb 14, 2020 Posted by: Jemelee Arcibal diy activities, life hack, mom, new moms, parent

Salt has been used for well over 6000 years, and we don’t expect it to go away any time soon. It’s used in a wide variety of situations and contexts, from cooking, to preserving all kinds of food, and to control & diminish fires. It’s one of the main reasons why we can transport food all over the world! And the best thing of all is that salt is crazy cheap almost everywhere, and its uses are virtually infinite!

Naturally, Bright Side has looked into some more wonderful and miraculous ways that salt can save your day from going overboard. Most of them are pretty easy to try out!

16. Bring back the natural color of old clothes

You tried everything you could think of to make those old clothes look new, or at the very least not so washed out, but nothing quite worked out. Try salt!

Just soak your clothes in a solution of salt water, and/or add a ¼ cup of salt into the wash cycle. You’ll surely be surprised at the results you’ll get.

15. Refresh and clean artificial flowers

This one’s pretty easy and surprising. No one likes dust in their artificial flowers, but dust is almost impossible to get rid of (at least permanently).

One easy-peasy way to keep your artificial flowers dust-free is to put some table salt into a bag (paper, preferably), add your artificial flora, and give it a shake. The salt will remove any traces of dirt and dust, and they’ll look wonderful again.

14. Get rid of lipstick marks

Those long-lasting and strong lipsticks can be a pain to wash off since they’re designed to resist water. You throw a beautiful and jaunty party, only to face lipstick on the glassware at the end.

Even after numerous dishwashing adventures, the lipstick won’t come off. Grrrr. What to do? Just gently scrub your glasses and glassware with salt (careful not to scratch them) before sending them to Washville. Trust us, the stains won’t be able to resist it!

13. Cheap and effective skin exfoliant

Salt can also be a great alternative to take care of dry skin. It removes dead skin, enhances your blood circulation, is an overall good way to improve your skin’s health, and it’s cheap!

It is especially effective if you apply it after one of those relaxing, hot baths. Remember: apply salt while your skin is still mildly wet, and massage it in a circular fashion. For better exfoliating results, use sea salt!

12. As a companion to toothpaste

Ever gotten yourself into a scenario where you don’t have toothpaste on hand? Just use salt!

Another pretty simple and handy hack is to actually add salt into your toothbrushing routine. It’s great to remove stains, to whiten your teeth, and even to disinfect them, because of the antibacterial properties of salt. Just don’t expect your teeth to whiten overnight, it takes some time and consistency to pull it off, but it’s well worth the wait.

Simply dip your wet toothbrush into table salt and brush your teeth gently. Alternatively, add a little bit of table salt on top of your toothpaste to make it smoother!

11. Test to see if your eggs are still good

Yes, eggs are the kind of thing that we tend to forget in the fridge. It’s not that we don’t know that they can go bad, it’s just we subconsciously think they’ll last longer than anything else.

If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know if you should or can eat an egg, just do the salt-water test!

Just add cooking salt (2 tbsp should be enough) to a cup of water (or any other container, as long as it is large enough to hold the egg) and drop the egg inside. If it sinks, it’s good. If it floats, don’t eat it!

10. Pre-shampoo treatment for dandruff

Dandruff can tank your self-esteem if the problem is let loose. And you’ve probably tried a myriad of treatments and solutions for it and never quite got that satisfying payoff you were hoping for. But have you tried salt?

Before you splash shampoo on your hair, sprinkle some salt onto your scalp, massage it carefully and thoroughly for at least 5 minutes, then bring in the shampoo reinforcements. It does wonders for dandruff, and also helps your hair grow healthy, long, and strong!

9. Prevent ice formations

Ice can be a delicate problem during winter. Especially when you have to drop the kids off at school and then head to work, and your windshield is covered in ice the size of an iceberg!

Exaggerations aside, salt is a distinguished ally against ice, because it decreases the temperature at which ice freezes, working as an effective and cheap de-icer. Before heading to bed for the night, grab a small cloth, fill it with salt, and rub it across every inch of glass on your car. You’ll have an ice-free surprise in the morning!

8. Ease a sore throat

A solution of salt and water can do wonders for a sore throat. It loosens mucus, reduces swelling, and it expels bacteria and other irritants which can be the cause for your throat soreness.

Just add some table salt into a glass of water, and gargle it for between 30 seconds to a minute. You’ll be amazed at how strangely effective it is.

7. Remove watermarks from furniture

Another recurrent problem: those pesky marks on your furniture. The fact that most people forget that coasters exist, even after they’ve been provided with tons of ’em, is quite problematic if you’re throwing a party, or if you own a bar or pub. It can be a problem, and a hard one to get rid of conventionally.

A potentially easy way to get rid of ’em is to throw a little bit of salt directly onto the problem and scrub it gently with a sponge, preferably a wet one. You might just be able to get rid of that useless circle!

6. Make your toothbrush last longer

5. Make your lips luscious and smoother

Salt’s not only good for exfoliating your skin, but also for your lips. Whenever you feel like your lips are dry, rough, and not-at-all luscious, just add salt!

A quick and easy way to do it is to add some table salt to a toothbrush and carefully brush your lips with it (again, circular motions have been proven to be the best). After you’re done, wash it off. Your lips will look splendid in no time!

4. Improve oral health by mixing it with water

Like we’ve already previously discussed, salt has great anti-bacterial properties, and can be a great and cheap way to maintain and improve your oral health without buying overly expensive products.

As with the sore-throat hack, you can gargle a solution of salt water for 30 to 60 seconds. It is a great way to relieve any injuries or sores that have befallen your throat, and it is especially effective at keeping your mouth fresh!

3. Get your fish tank sparkling again

Just rub the inside of your fish tank with salt, and rinse it afterward. But, and we cannot stress this enough, it is imperative that you thoroughly rinse your tank, and add a product to keep your water treated (such as Tapsafe) before putting your fish inside the tank again!

2. Unclog the pipes

If you have a clogged drain in your home that you’re desperate to unclog, but you have no drain cleaner on hand, just try salt! We’re serious, just drop a 1/2 cup of cooking salt into the nasty hotspot. Being naturally coarse and abrasive, salt will eat through the grease that’s inhabiting your clogged pipe.

1. Remove those impossible red wine stains

Perhaps the worst contender of them all: wine stains, particularly red wine stains. They can be some of the worst types of stains you can get on shirts, sweaters, carpets, and basically any kind of fabric that has had the unfortunate luck of having wine spilled on it.

This hack works best if applied while the wine stain is still fresh (right after the crime has been committed!). First, you need to dilute the stain by pouring water directly on it, and then cover it up with table salt. Leave it for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then scrub, and scrub, and scrub, until that troublesome stain is gone!

There’s still plenty unconventional uses for salt out there. If you know of some that we haven’t discussed here (or anywhere else), join in the discussion below, we’d love to discover more of them!

source: by Alena Tsarkova