Name Brand Products Can Make Your Summer Easier
Author: Peggy HoehnePublished on: Jul 8, 2002
Do you ever find yourself camping or on a picnic needing a certain item but not having it with you? You may well be able to use another item you do have instead. Even around the house you can make one product work for several different tasks. If you are one of those people who hate to throw anything away here are some ways to reuse some common household products.
Joey Green has written several books giving little known uses for brand-name products. His first book on this subject was "Polish Your Furniture With Panty Hose", published in 1995 by Hyperion. I have picked some tips from this book especially relating to summer and summer activities to share with you.
BOUNCE - Repel mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they'll smell great in the morning.
CLAIROL HERBAL ESSENCES - Wash dishes. If you run out of dishwashing soap, wash your dishes in the kitchen sink with Herbal Essences. It's perfect for camping because it's biodegradable.
COLGATE - Deodorize smelly hands. Squeeze an inch of Colgate into your palm and wash hands under running water.
Remove Kool-Aid mustaches from kid's faces. Rub on Colgate and rinse thoroughly.
DANNON YOGURT - Soothe sunburn pain. Spread yogurt on the sunburn, let sit for twenty minutes, then rinse clean with lukewarm water.
EFFERDENT - Clean a Thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in three Efferdent tablets, and let soak for an hour or longer if necessary.
ELMER'S GLUE-ALL - Remove a Splinter. Coat the splinter with a drop of Elmer's Glue-All, wait for it to dry, then peel off the dried glue. The splinter should be stuck to it.
HEINZ VINEGAR - Grow beautiful azaleas. Occasionally water plants with a mixture of two tablespoons Heinz Vinegar to one quart water. Azaleas grow best in acidic soil.
Kill unwanted grass. Pour Heinz White Vinegar in crevices and between bricks.
Relieve itching. Use a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with Heinz Vinegar straight from the bottle.
Soothe sunburn pain. Apply undiluted Heinz Vinegar to the burn.
Remove perspiration stains from clothes. Apply one part Heinz White Vinegar to four parts water, then rinse.
Condition dry hair. Shampoo, then rinse hair with a mixture of one cup Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar and two cups water. Vinegar adds highlights to brunette hair, restores the acid mantel, and removes soap film and sebum oil.
Repel ants. Use a spray bottle or mister filled with a solution of equal parts Heinz Vinegar and water around doorjambs, windowsills, water pipes, and foundation cracks.
Prolong and brighten propane lanterns. Soak new wicks for several hours in Heinz White Vinegar and let dry before inserting. Propane lanterns will burn longer and brighter on the same amount of fuel.
Prolong the life of flowers in a vase. Add two tablespoons Heinz White Vinegar plus three tablespoons sugar per quart of warm water. Stems should be in three to four inches of water.
IVORY SOAP - Repulse deer. Hang bars of Ivory soap around crops.
Prevent campfire soot from sticking to the bottom of pots and pans. Lightly rub the bottoms of pots and pans with a bar of Ivory soap before using them over an open fire.
Stop insect bites from itching. Dab the bite with a wet bar of Ivory soap and let dry to desensitize the skin.
L'EGGS SHEER ENERGY - Tie tomato plants to stakes. The soft nylon of L'eggs Sheer Energy secures tomato stalks without causing any damage to plants.
Remove dead insects from the hood of the car. Use a damp, balled-up pair of L'eggs to clean the car without scratching the finish.
LISTERINE - Eliminate mildew odors. Wipe with full-strength Listerine.
Disinfect wounds. Listerine works as an astringent when poured on a laceration or abrasion.
MR. COFFEE FILTERS - Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a Mr. Coffee Filter, insert the Popsicle, and let the filter catch the drips.
MORTON SALT - Repel fleas. Since salt repels fleas, wash doghouses with salt water to prevent fleas.
Prevent grass from growing in crevices. Sprinkle Morton Salt in the cracks. Salt is a corrosive that kills plants.
Keep slugs away. Sprinkle Morton Salt on the sidewalk close to the grass. When slugs try to approach your house the salt will kill them by reverse osmosis. This works well in keeping slugs away from pet food, too.
NESTEA - Soothe sunburn pain. Empty a jar of Nestea into a warm bath. Soak in the tea. The tannic acid will relieve the sunburn pain.
ReaLemon - Create blond highlights. Rinse your hair with one-quarter cup ReaLemon in three-quarters cup water.
Remove fruit or berry stains from your hands. Rinse hands with ReaLemon juice.
Relieve poison ivy. Applying ReaLemon over the affected areas should soothe itching and alleviate the rash.
REYNOLDS WRAP - Clean pots and pans when camping. A crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap makes an excellent pot scrubber.
Clean a barbecue grill. After barbecuing, place a sheet of Reynolds Wrap on the hot grill. The next time you use the barbecue, peel off the foil, crinkle it into a ball, and rub the grill clean, easily removing all the burned food.
TIDY CAT - Prevent grease fires in barbecue grills. Cover bottom of grill with a three-quarter-inch layer of unused Tidy Cat to reduce fires.
VASELINE PETROLEUM JELLY - Lure trout. Coat small pieces of sponge with Vaseline petroleum jelly to simulate fish-egg bait.
Prevent a sailboat's spinnaker pole fittings from jamming or sticking. Lubricate with Vaseline petroleum jelly.
There are many, many more tips for using brand name products. Look for one of Joey Green's books to learn more tips.
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