s/o adults should know this - retrospectively obvious things you've just learned

[Yarnspinner]

Never had a dishwasher before.  For the last nine years, I have had one.  Could not figure out why there was goop left over on my glasses and why I had to keep washing them by hand, why utensils got all streaky, why there was build up in the bottom of the washer.

And then I realized that when people were talking about "rinsing" the dishes, they weren't referring to a rinse cycle....they were referring to a lovely little liquid you poured into a special spot inside the washer which would spray the dishes and make them less likely to have junk left behind, decreased the scum that builds up (which I was cleaning out every time I used the machine) and made utensils shiny! 

How could I have gotten to this age and not known that?

[VorFemme]

If you have lime in the local water - either white vinegar, cider vinegar, or a lime & scale remover will do wonders on the dishwasher.

If the glasses are really scummy looking - I leave them in the dishwasher with the lime & scale remover & run it immediately with the hottest water that I can get to the dishwasher.  Clean glasses look so much nicer...but I don't use that stuff with metal in the dishwasher.  Metal gets run with vinegar only...partly because it doesn't seem to have the gunk build up nearly as much & partly to protect the metal.

[Luci]

If you have lime in the local water - either white vinegar, cider vinegar, or a lime & scale remover will do wonders on the dishwasher.

If the glasses are really scummy looking - I leave them in the dishwasher with the lime & scale remover & run it immediately with the hottest water that I can get to the dishwasher.  Clean glasses look so much nicer...but I don't use that stuff with metal in the dishwasher.  Metal gets run with vinegar only...partly because it doesn't seem to have the gunk build up nearly as much & partly to protect the metal.

Where do you put that? I used to use a rinse aid in the little Jet Dry thing, but haven't had to lately. I always hand rinse my dishes before washing and only use liquid dishwasher detergent - it doesn't eat the dishes so much.

I don't use the dishwasher for just the two of us.

[PastryGoddess]

If you have lime in the local water - either white vinegar, cider vinegar, or a lime & scale remover will do wonders on the dishwasher.

If the glasses are really scummy looking - I leave them in the dishwasher with the lime & scale remover & run it immediately with the hottest water that I can get to the dishwasher.  Clean glasses look so much nicer...but I don't use that stuff with metal in the dishwasher.  Metal gets run with vinegar only...partly because it doesn't seem to have the gunk build up nearly as much & partly to protect the metal.

Where do you put that? I used to use a rinse aid in the little Jet Dry thing, but haven't had to lately. I always hand rinse my dishes before washing and only use liquid dishwasher detergent - it doesn't eat the dishes so much.

I don't use the dishwasher for just the two of us.

You put it in the rinse fluid container

[VorFemme]

I just pour it into the bottom of the dishwasher & start the thing running right away - no detergent.  Just vinegar & hot water or lime remover & hot water - then a rinse of hot water.

It can be amazing what just hot water will get off some things....

Same thing in the clothes washer - towels & hot water once in a while to get the detergent scum & stuff scrubbed out of the tub (and out of the towels) - then bleach in a second run through without the towels - just in case there is anything growing in there....lots of bleach.

[Snooks]

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

[Outdoor Girl]

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

I set up a table in my bedroom and close the door to wrap presents.  I used to wrap on the floor in the living room.  Yeah, that didn't work so well.

Yoga and cats doesn't work very well, either.   

[Outdoor Girl]

I enjoy the show 'Revolution' and I always wondered where I knew the actor who plays Miles from.  And I never think to Google it - hard to teach an old dog new tricks.   

I'm embarrassed to admit that I recorded 'Breaking Dawn, Part 1' and suddenly realized that the same actor plays Bella's father, Charlie.

Embarrassed that I didn't make the connection and embarrassed further still that I'm watching this thing but there isn't much on TV these days, unless you want to watch endless Christmas specials.  I do love sappy movies with Disney endings but you can only take so many of them before you start losing it.   

[Slartibartfast]

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

I set up a table in my bedroom and close the door to wrap presents.  I used to wrap on the floor in the living room.  Yeah, that didn't work so well.

Yoga and cats doesn't work very well, either.   

I've just resigned myself to the fact that my gift recipients can tell what color dogs I have just by looking at the scotch tape on their presents 

[squeakers]

I had a "D'oh" moment when I was chopping up the leftover turkey.  I was thinking that my turkey meat looked nothing like the turkey bits in potpies nor like the slices in TV dinners.  Then I got to thinking about the texture and color and... yeah, I finally figured out those "perfect" bits and slices were because the meat was processed, extruded and then cut into perfect bits or slices.

I still like the taste of squished meat... but my turkey noodle was better than the potpies etc LOL

[TootsNYC]

I just pour it into the bottom of the dishwasher & start the thing running right away - no detergent.  Just vinegar & hot water or lime remover & hot water - then a rinse of hot water.

It can be amazing what just hot water will get off some things....

At my old job, there was a dishwasher in the employee kitchenette, but no soap. People ran it anyway, without detergent. Stuff still came out apparently clean.

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

This is brilliant! There are (at least in my collection) only 3 basic sizes. I'd only need 3 strips, and I could use them over and over again!

[Luci]

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

I set up a table in my bedroom and close the door to wrap presents.  I used to wrap on the floor in the living room.  Yeah, that didn't work so well.

Yoga and cats doesn't work very well, either.   

Wrap the cat first?  There was a u tube a couple of years ago demonstrating how......

[Ms_Cellany]

Wrap the cat first?  There was a u tube a couple of years ago demonstrating how......

That would be this one How to Wrap a Cat for Christmas

[Lynn2000]

When wrapping gifts rather than trying to wrestle the paper around the gift to see which way you need to wrap it (length wise or width wise) cut a strip off the roll and see which way it wraps the best.  If anyone has a way of stopping the cat from investigating gift wrapping I'd like to hear it...

This is brilliant! There are (at least in my collection) only 3 basic sizes. I'd only need 3 strips, and I could use them over and over again!

A long time ago I demonstrated my budding scientific ability by creating cardboard templates for the amount of gift wrap needed for a typical video tape, CD, and later DVD.  Then I would just cut out a pile of paper in the right size and push the rolls away. It's not so useful now because I don't tend to give as many standard-size gifts any more.

On another note, sometimes I read things about dishwashers and clothes washers and I think, gosh, someday I will be in a situation where I need to know that, and I just don't, and someone will think I'm an idiot and wonder how I got to this age without knowing that. <--at self. I don't pre-wash my dishes, for example. Okay, if it had oatmeal I will let the bowl soak with water, because I know from experience that if it dries, it's hard for my dishwasher to remove. Other things will get, at best, a less-than-10-second rinse with water before I put them down in the sink to wait for my next dishwasher loading. 99% of things come out visibly clean in my dishwasher using this method, so I figure, why add additional steps? My friend Amy (briefly) scrubs all her freshly-used dishes with a scrubbie, water, and sometimes detergent before putting them in the dishwasher. I assume this is what works for her, but IMO I have an automatic dishwasher so I don't HAVE to touch dirty dishes extensively. I also don't put anything special in the dishwasher as detergent--just one little pod of Cascade or whatever. And I wash EVERYTHING in the dishwasher--pots and pans, good glasses, mixing bowls. If it won't go in the dishwasher I won't use it. Not bragging or invalidating what others do, I'm just saying this works for me right now, thus leading me to believe it will always work for me, which is not necessarily the right conclusion. 

[Aunt4God]

*snip quote tree*

On another note, sometimes I read things about dishwashers and clothes washers and I think, gosh, someday I will be in a situation where I need to know that, and I just don't, and someone will think I'm an idiot and wonder how I got to this age without knowing that. <--at self. I don't pre-wash my dishes, for example. Okay, if it had oatmeal I will let the bowl soak with water, because I know from experience that if it dries, it's hard for my dishwasher to remove. Other things will get, at best, a less-than-10-second rinse with water before I put them down in the sink to wait for my next dishwasher loading. 99% of things come out visibly clean in my dishwasher using this method, so I figure, why add additional steps? My friend Amy (briefly) scrubs all her freshly-used dishes with a scrubbie, water, and sometimes detergent before putting them in the dishwasher. I assume this is what works for her, but IMO I have an automatic dishwasher so I don't HAVE to touch dirty dishes extensively. I also don't put anything special in the dishwasher as detergent--just one little pod of Cascade or whatever. And I wash EVERYTHING in the dishwasher--pots and pans, good glasses, mixing bowls. If it won't go in the dishwasher I won't use it. Not bragging or invalidating what others do, I'm just saying this works for me right now, thus leading me to believe it will always work for me, which is not necessarily the right conclusion. 

Regarding the bolded - My stepfather used to be (and is still to some extent) obsessed with washing the dishes before they went in the dishwasher.  I'm talking full on washing, most people would just put them away, dish washing.  One day, their dishwasher starting sudsing out into the kitchen (no, they didn't put in the wrong soap) and water was going all over.  They called in a repairman.  He looked that thing over and asked if it was brand new.  No, it was about 8 years old or so.  He couldn't believe it.  He said that was the cleanest dishwasher he had ever seen, other than brand new ones.  He asked other questions and it came out how my Step-father cleaned everything before it went in. The repairman then informed him that he shouldn't be doing that, he wasn't leaving enough for the soap to cling to and clean off.  That's why it was sudsing out of the machine, it had nothing else to do!  Now my mom and step-sisters work on getting dishes in there with something on them for it to actually clean!


And regarding present wrapping with animals, try wrapping presents with two ferrets "helping" out.....yeah, there's a list somewhere that is hilariously correct in how to do that.  I'll see if I can find it....