Household Products

Clean Your Sinuses
It's cold season! I've been using a Neti Pot for years to clear out my sinuses (my GP recommended it), but this how-to by Noah from Instructables just tickles my funny bone. I... Read More
Type(s): Household Product, Tip
Tags: salt+water sinus neti rinse cold

Grey Tape or Muffler Tape
This stuff is amazing and has saved my bacon a number of times. I've used it for fixing all manner of things--from its intended purpose of holding a muffler together until I r... Read More
Comments: 5
Type(s): Art Supply, Electronics/Gadget, Hand Tool, Household Product, Raw Material, Travel and Outdoors
Tags: muffler+tape grey+tape huskytape pvc tape

Gojo Natural Orange Pumice Hand Cleaner
Everyone has their favorite cleaner, and Gojo is ours. We like the mild orange scent, the abrasive action of the pumice, and the fact that it doesn't leave your hands feeling... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: soap cleaner pumice gojo orange

LaMotte Soil Testing Kit
Soil Test kits allow you to learn more about how your garden grows. This particular kit lets you to test soil samples for concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, an... Read More
Type(s): Household Product, Kit
Tags: soil testing kit

Citra-Solv Natural Solvent
Worried about the toxicity of turpentine? I just discovered that highly distilled citrus oil (available under such brand names as Citra-Solv and Natural Solvent Spotter) takes... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: solvent, oil, grease, natural

ColdHeat Cordless Glue Gun
I haven't used a glue gun in about 10 years. They were always messy and hot. I think I burned myself the last time I used one, so I've been forever scarred. I just got a new c... Read More
Type(s): Household Product, Power Tool
Tags: glue+gun cordless coldheat craft tool

Screw-base Fluorescent Lights
If you spend your workday in Cube Hell, the very words "fluorescent light" might send you off screaming. But there's been a quiet revolution in compact fluorescents lately: No... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: bulb, fluorescent, cost saver

Nixie Desk Clock Kits
Nixie tubes are vacuum tubes that contain filaments representing the digits 0-9. These beautiful relics of early computing display their numerals with a quivery orange glow. T... Read More
Type(s): Household Product, Kit
Tags: vacuum, clock, kit

Ultrasonic Toothbrush
The toothbrush has had a spot in my toolbox for years, and I've been thinking for a long time about what a great cleaning tool my Sonicare toothbrush might make. My first visi... Read More
Type(s): Household Product, Tip
Tags: toothbrush, cleaning, sonicare

3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fasteners
Similar to hook-and-loop (velcro) but much stronger, this self-mating fastener relies on hundreds of tiny interlocking mushroom heads to form its bond. With five times the ... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Art Supply, Electronics/Gadget, Household Product, Office Supply, Organizing Tool, Raw Material
Tags: hook+and+loop fastener dual+lock 3M velcro hook loop

Gaffer's Tape
Many people swear by duct tape for all their taping needs, but I think its adhesive is too gummy, its backing is too plasticy, its fabric is too difficult to tear, and it tast... Read More
Type(s): Hand Tool, Household Product
Tags: gaffer tape

Cork Pop III
If you find yourself putting a wine bottle between your legs and tugging an old-fashioned corkscrew to pull out a cork, here's a new twist on wine openers: the Cork Pop III. T... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Hand Tool, Household Product
Tags: cork

Minwax High Performance Wood Hardener
This is as much an invitation to experiment as a review. Minwax Wood Hardener is an obnoxious-smelling, toxic, flammable, watery-thin fluid used to treat weathered or r... Read More
Comments: 2
Type(s): Household Product, Raw Material, Tip
Tags: wood hardener experiment

Elmer's Wood Filler
I build a lot of models from balsa and basswood. These are grainy, porous woods that soak up paint and look awful unless filled and sanded. I've tried a lot of fillers through... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Household Product, Raw Material
Tags: wood filler elmer's

Mylar Backed Sanding Film
This stuff has been around forever, but few people seem to know about it. It's like sandpaper, but the abrasives are based on a plastic film. You can roll it, fold it, and wet... Read More
Type(s): Hand Tool, Household Product, Power Tool, Raw Material
Tags: sandpaper mylar

Future Floor Wax
Johnson Wax sells Future as a floor polish, but it's really a clear acrylic paint. Put it on a clean, reasonably smooth, non-porous surface and that surface becomes shiny. I u... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: floor wax

EyeHome
Elgato's EyeHome is my favorite new toy. It's fundamentally an iLife-to-audio-and-video converter: plug an ethernet cable into the "input" side of it, and then connect the A/V... Read More
Type(s): Computer Hardware, Electronics/Gadget, Household Product
Tags: video audio ilife home+theater

Kleer Drain
I went to Home Depot recently to buy $2 worth of hardware (pins for door hinges) and walked out with over $100 worth of stuff, of course. My prime purchase was a Kleer Drain i... Read More
Comments: 2
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: drain clear clog

LED Lantern
Recently, standing on a chair in my bathroom, reaching yet again for an expired light bulb, I thought: there's got to be a better way. And there is — an LED light. The be... Read More
Type(s): Hand Tool, Household Product
Tags: led light

Charcoal Companion Amazing Bug Zapper
We don’t have screen doors on our house, but ever since I got the Bug Zapper, I no longer care. In fact, I like it when flies come in. The drone of a dumb horsefly bumpin... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: bug killer

Safety-Walk Tape
Hardware stores and home centers sell some wonderful stuff made by 3M called Safety-Walk. This self-adhesive roll of gray, nubby rubber comes in 1-inch and 3-inch widths. It&#... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: tape sticky

8-Piece Calphalon One Cookware Set
Warranties are essential for expensive purchases, and the warranty on my set of Calphalon One cookware is phenomenal. Unless you submerge the set into an acid bath or melt it ... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: cookware

Self-Fusing Rubber Splicing Tape
If you do any kind of electrical work or home repairs, you likely rely on heat-shrink tubing and/or electrical tape to seal and insulate wiring splices. But even the best viny... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: splicing tape

Logitech Harmony 880 Universal Remote
The joy of the Harmony 880 is in the set-up wizard, which is part of a personal on-line account you create on Logitech’s website. In the wizard, you select devices you w... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: universal remote

Rayovac Rechargable Battery Charger
My whiz-bang digital camera consumes batteries at an alarming rate. Rechargeable AA cells always seem to be dead when I want to use the camera, so I either put in disposables ... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: rechargable batteries

ART Pro USB Phono Plus
It's the eternal question: You have "Kung Fu Fighting" on vinyl, but how do you get that onto your computer to turn it into an MP3? Well, Grasshopper, there are many paths to ... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Household Product, Toy
Tags: usb records mp3

Sharpie Mini
I, like most women I know, have used the venerable black Sharpie for many wardrobe fixes – scuff marks and bleach splatters, are no match for the queen of permanent marke... Read More
Type(s): Art Supply, Household Product, Office Supply, Organizing Tool
Tags: sharpie mini

Safety Glasses
Actually, safety glasses are more of a favorite thing by association. What we are truly in love with is our eyes. They've been invaluable in most every project we've done to ... Read More
Type(s): Household Product
Tags: safety glasses

Gaffer's Tape
Move over duct tape — Gaffer's tape is as versatile as its space-age cousin, but looks nicer and doesn't leave behind a sticky, messy residue when it's pulled up. Absolut... Read More
Comments: 2
Type(s): Art Supply, Hand Tool, Household Product, Raw Material, Toy
Tags: tape