Quick Tips For A Cheap Fix

I have learned some cheap ways to fix up items around the house. These have saved me time over the years, and also money. I had a antique copper teapot that was corroded. I was trying to take pictures of it, to sell on eBay. The corrosion made it appear to be in worse condition than it was. I did not have copper polish and it was 10pm. I remembered hearing that you could cut a lemon in half, push the cut side down into coarse salt, and scrub the pot with it. I had these items so I gave it a shot, and It worked perfectly. The tight spots were hard to get, however I cut the lemon into a smaller piece to make it fit better. A thirty cent lemon with a pennies worth of salt, saved me a trip to the store and the cost of the polish. This is the only copper piece I had, so buying an entire bottle of polish would have been a waste.

I had gone to the grocery store for toothpaste. I was completely out. When I got home I realized I bought ninety dollars in food, and no toothpaste. My grandmother had told me when she was growing up, all they used was baking soda and peroxide. She is eighty seven and has all her teeth. We had both these items. I dipped my brush into the peroxide, then into the baking soda. After brushing, my teeth felt cleaner than they ever have with regular toothpaste. Both these items can be purchased for less than one tube of toothpaste, and they last a lot longer.
Have a dirty sink or bathtub? Sprinkle your baking soda in there, and scrub it with a sponge. It does not scratch, and does a great job cleaning. If you really like the chemical smell, you should stay with your regular cleaners.

If your coffee pot has a bad taste, fill it white vinegar and water at 50/50 mix. Run that through one or two times. You will see the white calcium build up floating in the pot. Rinse well, and run clean water through two to three times. If you skip this step your coffee will really taste bad. If your coffee pot is stained, refer to the lemon and salt trick. Baking soda will also work.

Have a small cut that won't quit bleeding, you can clean it well, and fill it with super glue. Sounds weird, however, this works better than a band-aid. I have done this several times. Beats getting blood on everything you are working on.

If you have grease or tar on your car, rub heavy duty hand cleaner on it. Let it sit for five minutes, then wipe it off. You may need to repeat this, if it is real heavy. I found this work better than the actual tar remover. It is cheaper too. Be sure you do not use hand cleaner with pumice. This will scratch your paint. Make sure it is the smooth cream.

If you have a squeaking door or part in your home, spray it with cooking spray. This eliminates the bad smell you have from other lubricating oils. The oil is also thicker, so you won't need to repeat this as much.
With tricks like these, you can buy products that have multiple purposes, rather than one product per fix.