Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    G'Day,
    
    	The ol' tomato stains in the container trick eh?  Bicarbonate of
    soda will remove a lot of stains as well as stuff really stuck to
    frying pans etc.  Give it a go.  It doesn't work for curry though - we
    have a few nice curry coloured containers, wooden spoons, plastic
    spoons ...  They used to be white or cream. 
    
    David.
    
    

    With luck, most hints will be more useful than this one, but since it
    just happened today, I can't resist -

    If you find your television is unaccountably turning itself on, then
    off, then on again ...


    Check to see if the cat is sleeping on the remote.

    My 21 month old angel (with horns) has drawn pretty navy blue circles
    all over my cupboards. They are made of that fibreboard stuff and
    are painted off-white. I'm afraid spic-n-span will take tha paint
    off. What should I do?
    
    Kate
    

 Repaint?

 The Doctah

   .4 & .3 I believe that painting over crayon suffers from the paint
    not covering the crayon so that the crayon bleeds through.  To
    prevent that you shellac over the crayon marks and paint over that.
    Perhaps the Home_work notes file can help better.  But I think
    "there must be a better way."
    
    ed

    RE: Crayon marks

    I found that two things worked extremely well in getting crayon marks off 
    the walls when my girls were younger.

    First was a product called BIG WALLY...  I don't know if it still
    is available on the market, but it would take the marks off very
    easily.

    The second was toothpaste, scrubbing with a toothbrush... very slow in
    getting it off, but very effective. If I remember correctly (its been
    SO long!!), don't use the gel, use the old fashion paste from crest.

    Gale
    
    The other VERY effective manner was letting the girls clean the wall...
    they NEVER again put a crayon on the wall... :-)

    re: curry staining the equipment
    
    Yeah, curry spices, especially turmeric will turn anything yellow. 
    I splashed some on a white sweater while cooking once, and it has
    permanent yellow spots.  I'm thinking of dying the whole thing in
    turmeric.  
    
    But on the topic of the note -- we deal with this problem by
    having a set of spoons and a cast-iron skillet that we use just
    for curries, and another set for the rest of the cooking.  We also
    use stainless steel or glass, which don't absorb the spices.
    
    --bonnie

    re .1:  Thanks for that suggestion... I'll give it a try!
    
    Grins

    My kids wore holes in the footsie part of their pajamas. Is there
    any way to fix it. I don't really want to throw rhem away or cut
    the feet off. Since the feet are plastic I was thinking of a tape
    or a glue or something because they can't be sewn.
    
    Kate
    

    re: .9
    
    One thing you can do is cut the feet off just below the elastic,
    then stitch socks onto the legs to replace the old footsies.  
    
    --bonnie

    Kate,
    
    when my kids did that I cut the feet off and had them wear socks.
    
    Bonnie

    You can buy the non-skid stuff that goes on the bottom of the sleeper
    feet at places like The Fabric Place in Framingham Mass.  Have you
    thought of using a tire patching kit?
    
    Dondi
    

    
    	Has anyone ever had blue liquid laundry detergent stain their
    	wash?  I have numerous towels that have blue all over them and
    	after a thorough check of the washer, the only conclusion we
    	could come to is that it was the detergent itself.
    
    	If you have, do you know if there's a way to remove it?  Outside
    	of bleaching? (alot have a print on them that I don't want to
    	"fade")
    
    	Thanks
    
    	JJ
    

    Yes I have had and no I don't know if there is a way to remove it.

    Are you sure it was the detergent? Remember, both purple and green
    clothing contains blue dye. I had blue stains from a beautifully
    rich color purple blouse.
    
    Kate

    
    which detergent?  I've used Wisk for years with nary a problem....
    if i see any blue, it's been because the article wasnt rinsed well
    enough.  If i rinse again (and again...) it goes away.  
    Lots of blues run (like my Bennetton shirt!) and as someone suggested
    other colors bleed blue.
    
    sorry, can't offer any help!
    d
    

    Have you tried just running it through a wash and rinse cycle
    without any detergent at all?  Sometimes the stuff just doesn't
    rinse out well.  If the stains seem lighter after you've rinsed
    them, keep rinsing until it goes away.
    
    What kind of clothing is it -- cotton, polyester, mixed, etc?   If
    it's something strudy, washing with old-fashioned washing soda
    might help.  It doesn't sound like the sort of thing lemon juice
    and sunlight work on.
    
    --bonnie

    you can bleach almost anything by putting the bleach in the water
    before you put the clothes in.....I had a red sock get mixed in
    with my towels, and my mom said to put bleach in  the water and
    then put the towels in with detergent...
    
    Hope that works...I use ERA which is blue and I've never had any
    problems...check for pens in the pockets.
    
    JayCee
    

    If it's dye from other clothes I can usually get it out if I
    IMMEDIATELY wash the clothes again.  The longer the dye sets, the
    harder it is to remove.
    
    

    
    
    	The towels are all cotton I believe.  I haven't had
    	to wash any new clothes.  And the towels are usually washed
    	separately anyway.  So I know it isn't coming from any other
    	articles being washed or from pens or something.
    
    	Funny thing (re: back a few), it's when we use Wisk that we
    	notice it the most.  I guess I'll just have to live with it
    	and hope it fades.  And Cheer has come out with liquid
    	detergent that has no perfumes or dyes in it!!  So I think
    	I'll try that.
    
    	Thanks for the pointers though.  But what is washing soda?
    	I don't think I've seen it??
    
    	Thanks
    
    	JJ
    

    I had one load that caused blue stains as you described. The only
    clothes that were affected were originally gray. I washed them several
    times trying to get out the stain. Finally, my grandmother soaked them
    in Lestoil and water for about an hour then laundered per usual. Stains
    were all gone.
    
    Don't ask me to explain as my grandmother can get out any kind of stain
    out of any material, I swear!
    
    Good Luck!!

    re: .20 
    
        >>And Cheer has come out with liquid
    	>>detergent that has no perfumes or dyes in it!!
    
    I have been using Arm & Hammer laundry detergent powder for years. 
    It's biodegradeable, no dye in it and not much of a fragrance.

    It isn't just new clothes where the excess dye comes out in the wash
    and gets on other clothing in the same washer load - unfortuneately!
    
    I just came back from a long vacation (now I'm REALLY broke! - but I
    had a ball!) where I didn't have access to laundry facilities most of
    the time, and only brought 4 changes of clothes with me - things like
    old, soft, comfortable T shirts that would not turn into a mess of
    scratchy wrinkles after being laundered in the sink in my cabin and
    hung up to dry.  Most of these were Ts I wear all the time at home,
    since I only brought the really comfortable ones, and I've had all of
    them for at least a few years.  I was really surprised to notice that
    they still bled color into the water in the sink when I washed them out
    (I brought a small jug of super-concentrated laundry soap powder, which
    I sometimes also use at home - not using hand-washing soap bar or
    something).  This was especially noticeable with one of my favorite T
    shirts, which is bright red - I bought it three years ago and probably
    wear it at least a couple of times a month, and it still bleeds.  So
    did socks, and old blue jeans (ever try to wash a pair of jeans in one
    of those dinky sinks??).
    
    On the other hand, the blue spots I sometimes get on laundry at home
    seem to be caused by the manganese in our water (it's harmless, but it
    does sometimes stain the sink and stuff), and those are hard to get out
    of things.  If I notice that some stuff has a blue spots when I take
    the laundry out of the washer, if I rinse the offending clothes
    carefully they are usually OK, but once they have gone through the
    dryer the stain is real hard to get rid of.
                                               

    in re washing soda
    
    I used to use washing soda all the time. Basically it is a laundry
    powder that binds the metal ions in your water (i.e. if you have
    'hard' water.) The metal ions are a problem if you wash with soap
    (i.e. ivory) rather than a detergent. The ions will bind with the
    soap causing curds of soap to perciptate on your clothes. 
    
    Washing soda used to be sold by Arm and Hammer in a Blue box. I don't
    recall seeing it in my stores in years.
    
    We switched to the Arm and Hammer detergent almost ten years ago when
    we decided to save money and wash in cooler water. Washing with soap
    requires very hot water and necessitates being careful to sort clothes
    by colors.
    
    Bonnie

          
    Does anyone know why, if you make macaroni and cheese from scratch
    and you make the cheese sauce in a double boiler and leave the dirty
    double boiler pan in the sink full of water and toss your (somewhat 
    tarnished) silverware into the pan to soak, and leave all this 
    overnight, then the next morning...
    
    the tarnish is gone?
    
    Or is it just *my* double boiler (or my cheese sauce or my tarnish?),
    
    Dorian

    re: back a few
    
    My fiance's sister-in-law works at a laundro-mat.  He decided that
    he was going to bring our laundry to her to wash.  He did so and
    she used the laudry soap that the laundro-mat supplies.  When my
    clothes came back, the blue trim on a white jersey had run all over 
    the jersey.  I was really upset because I really like this jersey
    and it was brand new (first time it was washed) and I thought it was
    ruined.
    
    The next time I did my laundry, I decided I was going to wash this
    jersey again (after all, what did I have to lose?).  This time I used 
    my own laundry soap (Amway's SA8).  Not only did the blue stains
    disapear, but I think the jersey was whiter than normal.  Needless
    to say, I was very happy.
    
    Lori B.

    
    re:.25 (macaroni and silverware..)
    
    I'm not a chemist, so I don't know, but I would suspect some
    sort of reaction going on.  Similar to...you can clean copper
    with ketchup, take out the 'white/water rings' on wood with
    mayonaise, and clean pewter with olive oil and pumice...and
    on and on...
    
    deb
    

    
    ok, I have another question....
    
    Usually I'm very careful when I blow out the dinner candles, (i know
    i should use a snuffer ) but last nite I wasn't ....and I got candle
    wax on my lace tablecloth.
    
    Any ideas on how to get it out?  the wax is red, the tablecloth white.
    
    thanx
    
    deb
    

    deb,
    
    1. use an ice cube to get the wax as hard as possible and then
       scrape as much of it off as you can.
    
    2. I've read, but not tried this, put a layer of absorbant cloth on
       either side of the stain and iron it...this is supposed to melt
       the remaining wax and cause it to be absorbed by the cloth. I
       can't personally vouch for it tho.
    
    bonnie

    
    bonnie,
    thanx for the info.  I should think when ironing one would
    want a cloth between the iron and the lace as well.  (i can
    just imagine getting wax stuck to my iron!!)
    
    I will try the ice method and see what happens.
    
    thanx again,
    deb
    

    deb,
    
    you put cloth on *both* sides of the stain so that you would be
    ironing the cloth...don't iron the wax directly.
    
    Bonnie

    
    Bonnie,
    thanx for that clarification..thought that must be the case!
    
    deb
    

    deb,
    
    You may still need something else to remove the red dye.
    
    Bonnie

    Wax paper, of all things, on top and beneath the tablecloth will
    also help remove the wax. I've done this and it does work. There's an
    oily stain left, though, that can prove difficult to remove. .33 is
    right -- the red dye will also still be there.
    

<    Wax paper, of all things, on top and beneath the tablecloth will
<    also help remove the wax. I've done this and it does work. There's an
<      oily stain left, though, that can prove difficult to remove. .33 is
<    right -- the red dye will also still be there.
    
    Oops, I should have added -- when ironing, you can use the wax paper
    instead of absorbent cloth.
    
    

    If it's cotton lace, try the old lemon-juice-and-sunshine trick on
    the stain that remains.
    
    --bonnie

    *HOW TO REMOVE OILY STAINS FROM LIGHT COLORED FABRICS
     WHEN YOU'RE IN A HURRY:

    	Clump baby powder or any fine talc powder over stain, wait a
        few minutes and brush vigorously.  Works well on silk.
    
    *HOW TO REMOVE BLACK GREASE FROM FABRICS:
    
        Rub baby oil into fabric (if washable) and rub out all of the
        grease.  Put Spray'n Wash (or diluted Dawn dish detergent)
        on oil spot and wash
    
        If you have a grease stain on a sofa, for instance, use the
        baby oil to rub out stain and then use talc powder like I
        said above.

    How 'bout getting underarm stains out of cotton shirts?  All of a 
    sudden all my light colored shirts are stained; pre-soaking and
    bleaching has not helped.  (I use Clinique deoderant and Whisk
    detergent).
    
    Thanks!
    
    Mary Jo
    

How do I get the sticky stuff from the back of =wn= party stickers that have
been through the wash and dryer (and therefore baked on) off of otherwise
perfectly good clothing?

Bummer, man!

D!

    G'Day,
    
    Re: .39
    
    It may secumb (sp?) to the same treatment as chewing gum, ie, freeze it
    and flake it off.   Turpentine will disolve most label adhesives.  We
    use it get courier stickers off computer cabinets but it may be a bit
    harsh for clothing.  If the garment is already ruined what have you got
    to lose.
    
    Good luck,
    
    David.
    

>             <<< Note 933.39 by TLE::D_CARROLL "We too are one" >>>

>How do I get the sticky stuff from the back of =wn= party stickers that have
>been through the wash and dryer (and therefore baked on) off of otherwise
>perfectly good clothing?


	 Depending on the offending cloth.


	 Ice.

	 kath

>How do I get the sticky stuff from the back of =wn= party stickers that have
>been through the wash and dryer (and therefore baked on) off of otherwise
>perfectly good clothing?

    Get hold of SKIN-SO-SOFT (tm) from AVON and use that on it.  I know
    it worked on my kitchen cabinets and is supposed to be a miracle
    worker for LOADS of things.

    justme....jacqui

    re glue:
    
    acetone should help, but will melt many synthetic fibers.  acetone is
    in fingernail polish remover, and labs have some that's a little
    stronger.

    Try rubber cement thinner.  Takes off most glue, tape residue, bumper
    stickers, gunk on _natural_ color-fast clothes.  (On clothes, try it
    inside a seam first.)  Get it in an art supply or office supply store.
    One can or bottle lasts years and is cheap.  Warning, it smells awful
    and is poisonous.  Take care with it.

    WD40, the aerosol lubricant does wonders.  For ex it takes the sticky
    left over from price tags on glass and plastic stuff.  Never found
    another way to do it with a 'common household item'.  Also takes
    asphalt blobs off cars.  It is amazing benign to the article being
    cleaned.
    
    BUT ALWAYS TRY IT ON A HIDDEN SPOT FIRST.  A someone mentioned, acetone
    (nail polish remover maybe?) will ruin a lot of stuff.
    
    WD40 actually recommends  this use on the label; but of course I never
    read it until a friend pointed it out.

    	WD40 also helps reduce the squeaks and funny noises
    	my bike makes after a 75-mile ride in the rain.
    
    	Yes, last September. No, I'm not crazy. I just had
    	someplace to go and that was the designated mode of
    	travel.
    
    	Scott 

    just don't count on WD40 for long-term lubrication.  It's good
    for displacing water, penetration into rusted joints, etc, but 
    it attracts dust and after the volitiles evaporate, which is 
    MOST of it, the residue is more like lapping compound than
    lubricant.				der
    

    re: .38
    
    It's possible that the stained area has picked up rust or
    something from the water.  Try washing the shirts in washing soda,
    which has a water-softening effect and might help float any
    metallic compounds out of the fiber. 
    
    As a last resort, you might try boiling the shirts -- this is not
    good for the material and it may cause it to shrink, but boiling
    will take almost anything out of cotton.  
    
    --bonnie

    
    Well, OK, I use something commonly found in most households to remove
    gummy label residue from jars, glossy book covers, and what-have-you:
    mayonnaise.  I've never used it on cloth but I imagine you should put
    a good glob of it on the spot and rub it in and then let it sit for
    awhile (maybe cover it so it doesn't dry out).
    
    CQ 

    Any suggestions on how to clean stuffed animals?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Virginia

Virginia, 

Some stuffed animals can simply be tossed into the wash.
Then dry them like you would a coat - on a low-heat setting, with a
tennis shoe to fluff them up.


Check the label, or if it doesn't have a label, try checking the label
of similar stuffed animals (same brand, style) at a store.

Dakin recommends surface washing the toy.  Just wet a sponge, and use mild
soap, and wash it the way you would sponge a spot off a rug.  (This works
on spots, but is a major pain in the toy is just dirty all over.)

D!, stuffed animal counesieur (sp?)

Depending on the toy and what's wrong with it, you can also try tumble-
drying it without washing it first, or rubbing it with lemon juice and
hanging it out in the sun.  This is good for getting rid of the kind of
funny-colored brown stains toys sometimes get when they've been stored
for a long time.

If the tag indicates the cover is washable but the filling isn't, and if 
it's very dirty, and the toy is worth a lot of effort, you can open a seam
for a couple of inches, remove the stuffing, and wash the cover as you 
would anything else.  Then when the cover is dry you restuff it and 
blind stitch the seam again.

--bonnie

    G'Day,
    
    	My wife is a self confessed teddy-bear freak!  We've got big bears,
    small bears, fat bears, skinny bears, all coloured bears .....
    
    	The really soft animals can usually be fully washed as the filling
    is synthetic and will drip dry without a problem.  Some of the cheaper
    animals (usually quite hard) are stuffed with a paper mixture which
    will not dry properly so it starts to rot and smell.  These generally
    can be cleaned by sponging with a damp cloth and a mild detergent. 
    Some bears have hard felt noses which are easily damaged so be carful
    of those.
    
    David.
    

When in Charleston, SC lately I saw something made by Gund (the makers of
the world's cutest stuffed puupies :-) ). It was some kind of cleaning
stuff... I wasn't really paying attention so don't know the details but
maybe it can be found someplace arouns here...

Jenna

<              <<< Note 933.51 by TLE::D_CARROLL "Juggle naked" >>>
<
<Some stuffed animals can simply be tossed into the wash.
<Then dry them like you would a coat - on a low-heat setting, with a
<tennis shoe to fluff them up.

Excuse me?  A tennis shoe?  Can you explain this, please?

       A_mother_who_apparently_has_a_lot_to_learn  :-)

><tennis shoe to fluff them up.

>Excuse me?  A tennis shoe?  Can you explain this, please?

Explain which, what a tennis shoe is or why to use one?

Tennis shoe: that was me reverting back to the Olden Days, when, growing
up in New Mexico, what easterners called "Sneakers", and are now called
"Athletic shoes" were then and there called "tennis shoes" regardless
of whether they were used for tennis or not.  ('course, back then, there
didn't exist a particular type of shoe for every possible activity.)
The ideal type of shoe for this use is a canvas shoe (I would never put
my leather Reeboks in the dryer) with rubber soles.

Why: because as the shoe bounces around in the dryer, in bonks into the
stuffed animal a lot, keeping the stuffing fluffy.  Otherwise, it has
a tendency to get flat and stiff.  This works well with down comforters,
coats, pillows, etc, too.

Warning: USE ONLY WITH LOW HEAT!  Otherwise the rubber sole (rubber
soul? :-) melts and...well, we won't talk about *that* possibility.

D!

    
    re: last couple...
    
    also works with one or two tennis *balls* as well....same
    reason...
    Usually if you check the laundering directions for things
    like curtains (drapes, whatever) it will mention putting them
    in the dryer on low with a tennis ball.
    
    deb
    

    Presumably, this would be a tennis ball which has not been heavily used
    on clay courts...?

    
    re:  <--- 
    
    :-0  
    my, my, that would make a mess huh?  
    yup, should've said...a NEW tennis ball...
    
    d
    

    So:
    
       tennis shoe
       tennis ball
    
    Will _anything_ related to tennis work?
    
       tennis racket
       tennis net
       tennis elbow
       ...
    
    :-)
    
    Pam

       You can also use a book of poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennisanyone

     Nothin' like hitting it with the sweet spot, Don.
    
     The Doctah

    To return to the stuffed toys...I don't know if this would work
    on plush, but for the "My Child" dolls by Mattel, it was suggested
    that you sprinkle talcum powder on the doll, then brush in to absorb
    the dirt.  This may work on the non-washable types of plush as well.
    
    Barb

    I have on a 50/50 cotton/polyester blend matching skirt and blouse
    today in a jade color.  I just noticed what looks like grease spots on
    it.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get them out?  It has
    been washed one time.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Virginia

re: stain removal

I was attacked by a wild pot of spaghetti sauce on Easter Sunday. My
sister, the self-proclaimed Queen of Stain Removal, suggested I use
Dawn dishwashing soap to remove the stain. It worked! I rubbed some
Dawn into the stains, filled up the washing machine to let my shirt
soak for a few hours, rinsed and then washed it. Forget the commercial
stain removers, a bottle of Dawn sits with the laundry soap.

I don't know if this will work on something that has already been
washed. My mother always mumbled something about stains setting, but I
never really paid attention to her discussions about household chores.

Good luck,
Patti

    Speaking of clothing stains.....
    
    I just bought a new white blouse.  When putting it on I got a bright
    red lipstick stain right in the front.  I tried putting some store
    bought stain remover on it and washed it.  The stain is still there.
    Does anyone have any ideas on how to get this out?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Debbi

    Lemmesee...  Lipstick is wax based.  What did we use to separate
    it for the chromatograph? ...  Try nail polish remover.
    
    						Ann B.

    My wife says that when all else fails, use *liquid* automatic dish 
    washer soap.
    fred();

How do I get rid of a cat?

This cat, perhaps female and perhaps in heat because it cries constantly,
has suddenly taken the mistaken stance that my porch is its new home, and
has tried to dash inside my front door on more than one occasion.  I have
chased this cat away at least 5 times per day for the last couple weeks.
I do not like cats (understatement of the year) and I do not feed it, so
I don't know why it's become so territorial about my porch and yard.  But
I want to alter its obviously misdirected homing expectations!

Carla

    RE: .69
    
    You may be better off asking in FELINE notesfile...they may have
    some better ideas for you.  But instead of saying you don't like
    cats just say she's being a nuisance :-)
               
    In order to discourage the cat, you are doing what is best by not
    feeding it.  But some times there are smells that attract them.
    If it's an uneutered male he may have sprayed etc.
    
    First question is if you can find out if the cat has owners?  If
    it does I'd have a serious chit chat with them.  Just let them know
    she is bothering you.  Some times cat owners just don't realize
    what a pest their animal can be to neighbors.                  
    
    If she's homeless well that's just a whole different situation.
    I'd be happy to help if I can.
    
    Suzanne

    water

    You could try dusting the cat's favourite area with fine ground
    pepper.  (or the commercial stuff they sell for the same purpose)
    
    It's harmless but the animals don't like it so they go elsewhere.
    
    Good luck,
    		Bob

    
    1. Lighter fluid (naptha based)
    
    2. I use a cheap, well-aged cologne; the cat can't stand it..