CLEAN VENETIAN BLINDS • Rubbing alcohol does a terrific job of cleaning the slats of venetian blinds. Wrap a flat tool—a spatula or a 6-inch (15-cm) cement trowel—in cloth and secure with a rubber band, dip in some rubbing alcohol, and go to work.
KEEP WINDOWS SPARKLING AND FROST-FREE • Do your windows frost up during winter? Wash them with a solution of 1/2 cup (125 ml) rubbing alcohol to 1 quart (1 L) water to prevent frost. Polish the windows with newspaper after you wash them to make them shine.
REMOVE INK STAINS • If you get ink on your favorite shirt or dress, try soaking the spot in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes before putting it into the wash.
PREVENT A RING AROUND THE COLLAR • To stop your neck from staining a shirt collar, wipe your neck with rubbing alcohol each morning before you dress.
CLEAN BATHROOM FIXTURES • Just reach into the medicine cabinet the next time you need to clean chrome bathroom fixtures. Pour some rubbing alcohol straight from the bottle onto a soft, absorbent cloth and the fixtures. No need to rinse—the alcohol just evaporates. It does a great job of making chrome sparkle, plus it will kill any germs in its path.
REMOVE HAIR SPRAY FROM MIRRORS When you are spritzing your head with hair spray, some of it inevitably winds up on the mirror. A quick wipe with rubbing alcohol will whisk away that sticky residue and leave your mirror looking sparkling clean and shiny again.
DISSOLVE WINDSHIELD FROST • If you live in a cold-weather area, rather than scrape, scrape, scraping the frost from your car windows, fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and squirt the car glass. You’ll be able to wipe the frost right off after staying inside and enjoying your morning coffee for a little while longer.
ERASE PERMANENT MARKERS • If you have the unhappy task of removing permanent marker from your countertop, don’t worry, most countertops are made of nonpermeable material such as plastic laminate or granite. Rubbing alcohol will dissolve the marker into a liquid so you can wipe it right off.
REMOVE DOG TICKS • Ticks hate the taste of rubbing alcohol as much as they love the taste of your dog’s blood. Before you pull a tick off of Rover, dab the tick with rubbing alcohol to make it loosen its grip. Grab the tick as close to the dog’s skin as you can, using tweezers if you have them, and pull it straight out. Wet a cotton ball and dab the spot again to disinfect the wound. This works on people, too.
MAKE A SHAPEABLE ICE PACK • The problem with ice packs is that they won’t conform to the shape of an injured body part. To make a slushy, conformable ice pack, mix 2 parts rubbing alcohol with 3 parts water in a ziplock plastic bag. The next time that sore knee acts up, wrap the bag of slush in a cloth and apply it to the area.
STRETCH TIGHT-FITTING NEW SHOES • This doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try. If your new leather shoes are pinching your feet, try swabbing the tight spot with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. Walk around in the shoes for a few minutes to see if they stretch enough to be comfortable. If not, the next step is to take them back to the shoe store.
GET RID OF FRUIT FLIES
The next time you see fruit flies hovering in the kitchen, get out a fine-misting spray bottle and fill it with rubbing alcohol. Spraying the little flies knocks them out and makes them fall to the floor, where you can sweep them up. The alcohol is less effective than insecticide, but it’s a lot safer than spraying poison around your kitchen.
CLEAN YOUR PHONE
Is your phone getting a bit grubby? Wipe it down with rubbing alcohol. It will not only remove the grime, but also disinfect your phone at the same time.