45
votes
How can I remove ants from my laptop keyboard?
There are already some good answers for how to get them out immediately. However, I have an alternate proposal: Wait until they leave on their own.
They're there because there's food in there. As ...
- 1,545
39
votes
How can I remove ants from my laptop keyboard?
To remove almost anything, the simplest and most effective way is to use an Aero Duster. These blast compressed air in under the keys and into all the nooks and crannies and will safely leave your ...
- 1,195
22
votes
Prevent cables of kitchen appliances from breaking when you coil them
You're rolling them too tightly. Cables have a minimum bending radius: get below this radius and you damage the cable.
Make loops that are at least 10 cm in diameter. This also applies to the bend ...
- 6,234
18
votes
How can I remove ants from my laptop keyboard?
I am from India. We have good sunlight almost year-round. If I were you, then I would simply put my laptop in the sunlight for 5-10 minutes. The ants will leave the keyboard because it will get too ...
- 181
17
votes
Accepted
Remove Broken Lightbulb from holder
Make sure there is no power going to the light, and use a potato. Cut it in half, jam it in and twist(unscrew) to remove.
- 1,783
15
votes
Remove Broken Lightbulb from holder
TURN OFF THE POWER FIRST!!!
Put the jaws of pliers into the socket and force the handles apart to grip the inside of the socket. Turn the pliers to back out the bulb.
If the friction is not strong ...
- 1,884
10
votes
How do I extract a small object from a vacuum cleaner bag?
Get a second vacuum with a hose attachment. Over the opening of the hose, attach (with duct tape?) a screen that will let through dust and dirt but nothing bigger than, say, a popcorn kernel. Then ...
- 11.5k
10
votes
Accepted
How to prevent ice cream from melting without a refrigerator?
Buy a thermos, they are generally cheap and they help insulate things to stay cold, not just hot!
P.S Also put some ice in the thermos to have extra coldness.
10
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
I am in a similar situation at home. I get up to go to work at around six in the morning whilst my wife and two very young children (2 and newborn) continue to sleep. If I make too much noise and ...
- 969
9
votes
Accepted
How do I extract a small object from a vacuum cleaner bag?
Try using water.
Take the dust and put it in a plastic garbage bag and then add water slowly while holding the bag as shut as you can.
Now that the dust is wet you can handle it without it blowing ...
- 8,642
8
votes
How can I remove ants from my laptop keyboard?
One way is to lure them out with something sweet and then not let them go back inside the keyboard.
Another is to suck them out with a vacuum cleaner or blow them away with a vacuum cleaner on ...
- 646
8
votes
How can I remove my dryer's lint filter without creating a mess?
Several things come to mind.
Put something under the filter to catch the falling dust, a piece of cloth will do, as will a sheet of paper like a part of a page of a news paper.
Have your vacuum ...
- 2,345
7
votes
Clean blender as fast as possible, or prevent it from accumulating protein powder residue
The easiest way to clean a blender is to use the blender to clean itself. As you said a dishwasher cycle is pretty time consuming and not optimal if you use the blender several times a day. So turning ...
- 3,939
5
votes
What is an effective way to clean stainless steel appliances without commercial products?
Oxalic acid, or cleaners with oxalic acid, such as Barkeepers Friend, are effective at removing stains from stainless steel. If the surface is lacquered brushed steel or brushed aluminum, though, they ...
- 5,928
5
votes
Keeping quiet in the kitchen at night while other people sleeping
I'd suggest ensuring people close their doors while sleeping (they should anyway, for fire safety and privacy), and you may want to install a noise machine in the hallway, or play a CD of surf sounds, ...
- 9,780
5
votes
How can I carry a refrigerator with a Mercury Sable 2001 (aka Taurus)?
There is no safe way to do this. Please don't try. Either have a properly made hitch installed and rent a small trailer, or rent/borrow a suitably sized truck.
- 9,780
5
votes
Remove ice from freezer surface
I found the answer to my own question. However, it will only work on some brands and models of refrigerator-freezers.
LateralTerminal suggested using a brush on a drill. Instead I used what was on ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
Prevent cables of kitchen appliances from breaking when you coil them
Coil the cable separately (not around the appliance). You might try using a Velcro-like "hook and loop" tie on the cable to keep it wound. Use Over/Under Coiling so that it unwinds without any twists.
...
- 151
5
votes
How to remove glass cleaner stains from smart tv
Most sources I reviewed online suggest using only a microfibre cloth slightly dampened with a very dilute solution of mild dish-washing detergent in water.
Avoid any products containing ammonia or ...
- 13.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Damaged Gears from a Paper Shredder
I honestly doubt you'll find replacement parts for 2 reasons:
Most people don't bother repairing any appliances anymore because buying new is cheaper than paying for repairs.
Manufacturers don't want ...
- 2,976
4
votes
What is an effective way to clean stainless steel appliances without commercial products?
Try using Coke. I stopped drinking it after I saw what it did when I left a coin and a bullet casing in it.
Video
Article
- 154
4
votes
How do I extract a small object from a vacuum cleaner bag?
The trick to this for me has always been surface area. I cut open an old grocery store plastic bag, and lay it on a table. I then cut open the dust bag, and carefully spread it into as thin of a layer ...
- 375
4
votes
What is an effective way to clean stainless steel appliances without commercial products?
We find the white melamine sponges (sold as Magic Eraser, but there are generic types widely available) can work really well, but they warn against using it on the front of stainless-steel appliances ...
- 371
4
votes
Accepted
Transporting a used fridge and washing machine
I don't think that you would need to wrap in cling film. If it is a hot day and you start to sweat this could become a nightmare. All of my experience (moving 5-6 fridges/ washing machines in my life) ...
- 333
4
votes
How to cover hair for a barber to prevent cutting that particular hair?
I suggest a different approach to covering or tying your hair before going to have it cut.You shouldn't have to go to that extreme.
Don't rely on a description to be understood the same way you ...
- 13.8k
3
votes
How to dry out the gasket on my washing machine between washes?
I've had the same front loading washing machine, with this type of gasket, for 16 years; I have never dried the gasket when the wash is complete, just left it as it is, and never once has mould ...
- 3,704
3
votes
How can I remove ants from my laptop keyboard?
Cut off their air/water/food, and they'll die. Just put your laptop in a sealed plastic bag for a couple days. A 2-gallon Ziploc freezer bag should do the trick.
*This only works if you can go ...
- 11.5k
3
votes
What is the best way of cleaning the glass on a wood burning stove?
Soot is carbon particles that weren't burnt up, and will burn under the right circumstances. A good, complete combustion will burn the soot right off. Try making a fire that burns well (i.e. lots of ...
- 131
3
votes
Accepted
What is the best way to use a tower fan and an oil heater to heat a room quickly?
It takes a long time to heat your room because the heat from the static heater moves to the ceiling so that you don't feel it at the beginning. As you wait, there is more air being heated, and the ...
- 425
3
votes
How to remove dust from fridge coils?
Do you have a hair blow dryer? That would definitely help. An inexpensive can of compressed air could work too. (Both of those would be extremely messy; it might help to be running one or more ...
- 11.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible