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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Really useful inventions you wouldn't be without.
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Spinning off from my calling to Hell my washing machine leak, resolved by a brilliant stuff I was shown by a repairman.
It goes by various names, but I was first told of it as self-amalgamating tape. It's a rubber tape, and when it is stretched as it is wound round a leak, the layers bond together to make a waterproof seal.
I used to claim that wire coathangers and paperclips were the best inventions, because they could be adapted to so many other uses, but this stuff has gone way up the list.
Also some stuff called Sugru, which is a self-curing silicone rubber which can be moulded into shape and used for fixing all sorts of things.
What else do people know of which they could share with us?
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
There's some other sort of tape, looks like duct tape, they were demonstrating in the hardware store. You wrap it around something broken (garden tool, shovel, etc.) and dunk it in water and presto! an unbreakable (though ugly) bond.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I think I've seen that on the TV. A bit like plaster in hospital! I wonder how good it is. Duct tape comes with years of use and word of mouth, doesn't it?
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
A plumbers' mate. By this I mean the thing that has a handle like a broomstick and a rubber piece on one end shaped like it has been moulded over a ball. It's used for unblocking sinks or drains. You put it over the plughole and push down hard, forcing air into the blockage and (hopefully) dispersing it.
(tried googling the term, but mainly came up with a sealant, so it might be called something else in other parts of the world).
Huia.
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
I would call that a plunger.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Huia:
A plumbers' mate. By this I mean the thing that has a handle like a broomstick and a rubber piece on one end shaped like it has been moulded over a ball. It's used for unblocking sinks or drains. You put it over the plughole and push down hard, forcing air into the blockage and (hopefully) dispersing it.
(tried googling the term, but mainly came up with a sealant, so it might be called something else in other parts of the world).
Huia.
It's mostly called a plunger around here -- mine failed me yesterday, so I'm now calling it all sorts of unprintable things!
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Dalek arm! Sink Plunger.
Searched - and found an image of a pair of dolls house versions!
[ 28. October 2014, 20:05: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Galilit
Shipmate
# 16470
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Posted
Pocket knife.
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She who does Her Son's will in all things can rely on me to do Hers.
Posts: 624 | From: a Galilee far, far away | Registered: Jun 2011
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I think I've seen that on the TV. A bit like plaster in hospital! I wonder how good it is. Duct tape comes with years of use and word of mouth, doesn't it?
Duct tape simply comes, like Providence. We don't question its bounty.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
On of these. Great if your eyesight is like mine.
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Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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Bene Gesserit
Shipmate
# 14718
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Posted
The curved plastic thingy for opening tin cans (the ones with ring pulls) with. Worth its weight in gold.
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Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Posts: 405 | From: Flatlands of the East | Registered: Apr 2009
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Since we have duct tape can I add WD40. You all know of this flowchart?
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
Vinegar. Something that works on both chips and as a window cleaner is pretty magical.
I've found it to be a wonderful fabric softener - leaves clothes very soft, no artificial scents (you can include a rag with a few drops of essential oil or vanilla essence in the wash if you'd like a scent, the vinegar leaves no smell once the clothes are dry) and doesn't leave any residue on the washing machine parts. Apparently regular fabric softener leaves a lot of gunk behind, but vinegar actually helps clean the machine. I use ordinary brown malt vinegar with no problems with staining.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Pomona:
Vinegar. Something that works on both chips and as a window cleaner is pretty magical.
I've found it to be a wonderful fabric softener - leaves clothes very soft, no artificial scents (you can include a rag with a few drops of essential oil or vanilla essence in the wash if you'd like a scent, the vinegar leaves no smell once the clothes are dry) and doesn't leave any residue on the washing machine parts. Apparently regular fabric softener leaves a lot of gunk behind, but vinegar actually helps clean the machine. I use ordinary brown malt vinegar with no problems with staining.
I don't put it on chips, but white vinegar is my favorite cleaner! Some goes in the rinse cycle of every load of clothes I wash; it cleans my coffee maker; it shines my stove and other surfaces -- I don't know what I'd do without it. And... it's inexpensive and non-toxic! ![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif)
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
Many years ago when I was washing cloth diapers, I put white vinegar in the water to neutralize the ammonia from the urine.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
My most useful and valuable invention in my house is - wait for it- my dear husband, who is so great at fixing things and being creative in problem solving.
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools is a website full of things that are useful that you didn't know existed. Usually by the time you make the list from the site of stuff you must have it's so long you realize buying it is silly,but the tools are useful to know about.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
Soda Crystals: fantastic de-greaser, good for drains, fantastic stain-remover, good for washing down paint-work.
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
On the bottle/jar opening front, a little circlet of rubber mesh, which greatly enhances the grip.
And vinyl gloves, which enable me to keep doing a lot of normal stuff.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Well, if we're going back to basics, scissors and the wheel.
Slightly less basic, the zip fastener, velcro, and USB sticks.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
If the wheel is to be mentioned can I nominate the axle?
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
I suppose so. Also needles, the comb, and spoons.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
Tiny screwdrivers that you get in spectacle cleaning kits (often with a keyring attachment which is very useful). Brilliant for those battery compartments on things which have tiny screws in them, and obviously fixing glasses and sunglasses. Makes cheap sunglasses last ages!
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Unloseable containers for said tiny screwdrivers.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I think I've seen that on the TV. A bit like plaster in hospital! I wonder how good it is. Duct tape comes with years of use and word of mouth, doesn't it?
Duct tape simply comes, like Providence. We don't question its bounty.
Duct tape is worthless on stage and damn-all-worthless elsewhere. Gaff tape is the industry standard, though it is expensive!
It sticks and it stays stuck. It doesn't leave an obnoxious residue. HVAC mechanics actually use aluminium tape on ducts....
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools is a website full of things that are useful
I painted in acrylics exclusively during my final years in art school - never heard of mediums back in the day. Is this a 21st century contrivance? I am rubbish at oils. My sister-in-law and I were both in the same degree programme at San Diego State, though I did pre-city planning / environmental design and she did painting for a Bachelor of Arts / Applied Arts.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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spork
Shipmate
# 18260
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Posted
Some wooden tongs I have for getting hot toast out of the toaster, has a handy magnet attatched too!
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God only made one of me, most people agree this is a good thing
Posts: 62 | From: Lincolnshire, England | Registered: Oct 2014
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cattyish
Wuss in Boots
# 7829
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Posted
Wicking sports fabrics. Goodness knows how I'd dress for running without fabric which pretty much deals with any weather and breathes. Merino wool is a natural version and doesn't get as smelly as the artificial fibres I usually buy.
Cattyish, wishing I could run but full of the cold for weeks.
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...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Posts: 1794 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jul 2004
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Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
The curved plastic thingy for opening tin cans (the ones with ring pulls) with. Worth its weight in gold.
It would hardly be needed if they didn't put that silly diagram on the lid showing you thumb on centre and finger pulling. If you put your other thumb in the middle it can be much easier.
Unscrewing lids: yes, I have a circle of plastic to grip with. In spite of my arthritic thumbs I'm still the household unscrewer.
My long-handled but folding picker-upper for dropped articles.
My sock-putter-onner which is rather fun. I've had hip replacements for many years and never had a problem putting my foot up on the opposite knee, but the woman in the handicapped shop nearly had a conniption when she saw me do it, so I bought the thing and I am glad to have it.
Our Little Red-handled Screwdriver. The point is rounded and blunt, can be used for poking a cleaning cloth into awkward places, prising a lid that nothing else will move, and much much more. Every kitchen should have one.
GG
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The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
The toothbrush. Yes, yes, good for teeth and gums but old toothbrushes are essential for any number of cleaning jobs.
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
For farmers, I suppose orange baler twine - often used to improvise gate fastenings.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
A little sharp knife, ideal of scraping carrots and peeling potatoes. We'd be lost without it.
One of my hobbies is cross-stitch and I have lots of strange little gadgets to make life easier:
A magnetic bowl to prevent needles spilling all over the floor
A needle threader
A stitch unpicker, for when you make a mistake
A little hook thingy that enables you to finish off a stitch when you've pratically run out of thread (there's a special name for these, but I can't remember it)
A small plastic box containing a damp sponge, for dampening and straightening the thread
A pair of magnifying specs with little LED lights built into the frames
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Mili
Shipmate
# 3254
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Posted
Wheelie bins have made putting the garbage out easier. Though my council now has small wheelie bins for rubbish to reduce waste, so someone has also invented a handle to pull along the small bin for those who have trouble bending down.
Posts: 1015 | From: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: Aug 2002
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
And wheelie suitcases! Why someone didn't come up with those years earlier I can't imagine. The newer ones are so much better than the ones that were on dog leashes, but even those were an amazing improvement when they first came out.
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
And wheelie suitcases! Why someone didn't come up with those years earlier I can't imagine. The newer ones are so much better than the ones that were on dog leashes, but even those were an amazing improvement when they first came out.
Nooo! They are a bloody nuisance. Why can't users of these glorified shopping trolleys realise that they stick out to the side, so that while they walk past you easily enough, the wheeled thing smacks into your shins. And it's your fault for kicking their precious suitcase.
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Pomona
Shipmate
# 17175
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
And wheelie suitcases! Why someone didn't come up with those years earlier I can't imagine. The newer ones are so much better than the ones that were on dog leashes, but even those were an amazing improvement when they first came out.
Nooo! They are a bloody nuisance. Why can't users of these glorified shopping trolleys realise that they stick out to the side, so that while they walk past you easily enough, the wheeled thing smacks into your shins. And it's your fault for kicking their precious suitcase.
Ah but they don't if you get the four-wheeled ones that can be pulled on the narrow side. Very useful and much easier to pull than the standard ones.
Oh and toothbrushes are also great for exfoliating your lips - matte lipstick shows up any rough skin on your lips so you need to exfoliate them first. Smother lips with lip balm (or vaseline), rub with toothbrush, wipe off lip balm.
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Consider the work of God: Who is able to straighten what he has bent? [Ecclesiastes 7:13]
Posts: 5319 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2012
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Nooo! They are a bloody nuisance. Why can't users of these glorified shopping trolleys realise that they stick out to the side, so that while they walk past you easily enough, the wheeled thing smacks into your shins. And it's your fault for kicking their precious suitcase.
Yep. Also they slow down the owner so they drift erratically along the pavement at 0.05 mph, with you trying to get past them for several minutes.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
On a recent trip through Aberdeen, I noticed the sound of umpteen wheelie cases echoing round and round on the Monday morning, near the docks.
Not happy about wheelie bins. They are too big to go into built-in bin cupboards, and are left outside houses blocking the pavement all week, since there is nowhere else to leave them, and everyone has multiple ones for sorting the rubbish. They make everywhere look messy.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
On a recent trip through Aberdeen, I noticed the sound of umpteen wheelie cases echoing round and round on the Monday morning, near the docks.
Not happy about wheelie bins. They are too big to go into built-in bin cupboards, and are left outside houses blocking the pavement all week, since there is nowhere else to leave them, and everyone has multiple ones for sorting the rubbish. They make everywhere look messy.
And when the wind blows, they bloody things tip over unless they are at least half full and facing the right way: wheels to leeward, over they go!
I don't remember the old dustbins doing that, although the lids could come off.
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
They're also way too big for single-person households.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Lothlorien
Ship's Grandma
# 4927
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
For farmers, I suppose orange baler twine - often used to improvise gate fastenings.
Even more useful is No 8 fencing wire. It can attach gutters, hang lights, hold rubber piping in place and do very much more than just be used in fences.
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Buy a bale. Help our Aussie rural communities and farmers. Another great cause needing support The High Country Patrol.
Posts: 9745 | From: girt by sea | Registered: Aug 2003
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Chocoholic
Shipmate
# 4655
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Posted
But wheelie bins are soooo much better than carrying out heavy, soggy, bin bags that the foxes pull open and leave rubbish strewn everywhere.
Posts: 773 | From: London | Registered: Jun 2003
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lothlorien:
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
For farmers, I suppose orange baler twine - often used to improvise gate fastenings.
Even more useful is No 8 fencing wire. It can attach gutters, hang lights, hold rubber piping in place and do very much more than just be used in fences.
That's what I would use wire coathangers for. And getting into my Hillman Imp. (Where on earth was the key?) And making a fixing for the quarter light so no-one would ever be able to do that again. And replacing the broken aerial...
Making a Christmas wreath (Blue Peter, that one.) And dowsing rods (didn't work).
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
quote:
Originally posted by Lothlorien:
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
For farmers, I suppose orange baler twine - often used to improvise gate fastenings.
Even more useful is No 8 fencing wire. It can attach gutters, hang lights, hold rubber piping in place and do very much more than just be used in fences.
That's what I would use wire coathangers for. And getting into my Hillman Imp. (Where on earth was the key?) And making a fixing for the quarter light so no-one would ever be able to do that again. And replacing the broken aerial...
Making a Christmas wreath (Blue Peter, that one.) And dowsing rods (didn't work).
Treasure your wire coathangers – there are an awful lot of plastic ones around these days.
Did you know that the maori word for a car arial is kotanga? (from the late Billy T James)
GG
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The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113
Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
Billy T ![[Tear]](graemlins/tear.gif)
Hearing aids - new ones today Why is everyone SHOUTING?
Huia
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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leo
Shipmate
# 1458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
Not happy about wheelie bins. They are too big to go into built-in bin cupboards, and are left outside houses blocking the pavement all week, since there is nowhere else to leave them, and everyone has multiple ones for sorting the rubbish. They make everywhere look messy.
So it's not just my street that is an eyesore.
If people recycle and refuse unnecessary packaging, we wouldn't need these large bins cluttering up the road.
Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001
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Pigwidgeon
Ship's Owl
# 10192
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
If people recycle and refuse unnecessary packaging, we wouldn't need these large bins cluttering up the road.
In my area, it's only the recycle bins that are wheeled out to the street every week. (The trash bins live in the alley.)
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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf
Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005
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Meerkat
Suricata suricatta
# 16117
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Posted
One big problem is the amount of packaging used by the manufacturers and distributors. If they did not use the packaging, we would not have to recycle or dispose of it.
Think... loose vegetables from the shelf can be put into a paper bag. Made from recycled paper. Recycled when the veg has been used. Compost! It is hardly rocket science!
A small step, as not everything could be packaged that way, but it helps!
Some things we buy are treble-wrapped in packaging which is not recyclable. WHY?
Posts: 160 | From: Herts, UK | Registered: Jan 2011
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