Great Instructions to Take with a Pinch of Salt Hunt

Peterinberkshire

Sami_Bee wrote: »

and now the manufacturers have put chips on the cartridges so the printer won't work unless you put a new one in :mad: damn them! damn them all!

Two tips for printer cartridges.:

I refill my cartridges when they are half-empty. That way I keep fooling the printer. I've never had problems so far

I buy my cartridges from www.mx2.com. The genuine HP ones are cheaper ther tt are cheaper than the compatible ones on the high street.

jenniewb

lynneinjapan wrote: »

Another point on the rip-off that is bottled water:
Why, when it has spent 5000 years maturing underground, is there a "best before" date that tells us we need to drink it within a few months? The bottling company must have got it out just in time for it to still be drinkable!

Wanted to reply to this- and the many other posts on the confusion!

There are a few separate issues here:

First the sell by date, you see, when the water comes into contact woth air, bacteria starts to grow- hence the reason thames/severn/brita...whoever, cleans your water for you- they are getting rid of the bacteria. Once they have done so, its fine for a certain amount of time, by the time that is up, the bacteria could have grown back to unsafe levels. Companies selling the water will have tested this and have to cover their backs so I would imagine play safe, so I would say if its 10% or so out of its sell by date, (eg if its sold to be consumed within 10 months and its end of month 11), its unlikely to kill you but could cause a stomach bug. But the fact still reamins, water sold in stores does have a sell by date for a reason!

Next there is the refilling of bottles: its fine to a point, this is, just as what has already been stated, because there are things in the plastic which over time, will leak into the water- and also this ties in with the above reason that bottles have a sell by date (as a result of the chemicals in the plastic of the bottle leaking into the water and thus makeing the water unsafe). You could probably get away with refilling a few times (and I really do mean a few, like 4 times or so) before you have to really think about the air contaminating the plastic in the bottle and affecting the quality of the water. It may not kill you, but I wouldn't call it healthy- too many chemicals are not good for your health!

And also there is the washing and rinsing of bottles- as already stated, the bottles are not meant to be washed and reused- they are made in many cases, from a plastic which has biodegradeable qualities- ("nieve" sell one I think!) hence the reason you will often be able to see an old water bottle becomming old, looking worse for wear and on occassions, getting holes in them when they are squashed too much. (The elasticity in the pastic degrades over time). They are simply not meant to last forever. And adding washing up liquid to break down molecules and clean things, can often speed up the reactions, meaning again, more chemicals are released and more toxins inside your body.

sphrp2

8ofspades wrote: »

Homeopathic remedies are notorious for saying take 2 every half hour, when in actual fact you only need 1 three times a day in most acute cases. It does no harm taking more, it's just unnecessary.
/quote]

Or save your money and only use real medicines?
By the "logic" that homeopaths apply to their "science" taking less should have a greater effect, surely?! If that's the case, then the strongest of their "medicines" is nothing at all (which is pretty much what the tablets are anyway).

FairyElephant_2

Some good stuff on here! If you are interested in this type of money-saving, why not pop over to the 'Old Style' board? Stuff like this is discussed quite often over there.....

Dishwasher Tablets - Rather than the fiddly job of cutting them in half, I now use powder instead - easy to half the recommended amount and gets just as good results!
Also, if you want to freshen the dishwasher (sometimes they do get a bit smelly!) don't bother with the expensive cleaning stuff - sliced lemon (even old, dried up ones) shoved into the cutlery basket and then put on a wash (even with dishes in will do no harm - but watch out with cutlery as the acid in the lemon seems to leave marks, so I include china but no cutlery!). Works a treat!

Calgon & similar to get rid of limescale? - A total con! - especially the adverts that seem to show that your kitchen will flood from your washing machine if it gets scaled up:eek: ! Use half your normal powder, or one tablet instead of 2, and a small scoop of washing soda crystals (about 60p for a packet which lastes ages!). Washing soda helps get your clothes clean, removes stains and stops the scaling up. Our washing machine is 12 years old, used a lot, we live in a hard water area and we have NO scale buildup at all in it using this method!

Re water bottles - I use refillable sports bottles, which go through the dishwasher once or twice a week, and never had a problem from them.

HTH,

FE

ZLS1984

Just had one to add today, Christmas crackers the instruction on the box reads.

"Hold one end of cracker at arms lenght whilst a friend holds the other. Grasp firmly and pull suddenly"

I had to laught at this one, who on earth reads the instructions on how to pull a cracker. (Sorry if any one does)

Stompa

ZLS1984 wrote: »

who on earth reads the instructions on how to pull a cracker.

You should do, they're very dangerous items (allegedly!).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1096529/M-amp-S-refuses-sell-Christmas-crackers-student-explosive-risk.html

Taffybiker

pillar wrote: »

I always ignore the toys and gadgest which say, do not use rechargeable batteries. Ready to be enlightened if anyone knows why they say that.

There is actually a valid reason for this:
Rechargables are in the region of 1.2 volts as opposed to the 1.5 volts of standard types. This reduced voltage means that in order to achieve the same power as required by the item, the current has to be increased. In many cases this is not a problem but in others it can cause unneccessary heating of the item and could lead to damage.

I say again. Not a problem in many cases, but if your item is expensive I would definately play it safe and stick to standard batteries.

DCFC79

Widewall wrote: »

We always use dishwashing tablets that don't have a lump in the middle so they can be scored with a serrated knife and snapped in half. Lidl's W5 tablets are excellent. You get twice as many tablets from a box, and in our water area the cleaning of the pots is just fine. Nor do we add any salt or rinse aid.

i do this as well but i just jam a tablet in a drawer then a force it to break which gives me 2 tablets which are fine to use if the pots are'nt all that dirty,

Debt_Free_Dreamer

andymac34 wrote: »

:j I heard on a major radio station that you don't need shampoo to keep your hair clean as hair is self cleaning (after a month). It just needs washing regularly in clean water. I stopped using shampoo a year ago not only have I saved a load of money, but after being bald for 25 years, my hair has now slowly started to grow back. Let's hear from the shampoo companies explaining that one!!

I watched a documentary once about a girl who did not wash her hair. It went horrible to start with (as you would expect) but then started to 'self clean'. The grease stabalised as her hair was not continually being stripped of its nutrients and at the end of the trial her hair was in better condition than previously.

Mercenary

I only ever wash my hair once per time and use a mild cheap shampoo. Expensive shampoos are a big con (like expensive face creams ....which simply can't penetrate further than the very top layer of skin, contrary to their claims). Hair above the scalp-line is a dead substance akin to nails and horn and cannot be revived back to life with vitamins and suchlike :rolleyes: . Also, I read somewhere that Philip Kingsley (the famous trichologist) suggested that the optimum number of massaging actions during shampooing should be 20 or less as it damages the hair cuticles if it's rubbed too much.

I never use washing tablets as they're far too much for a load of delicates or a smaller load. Powder is much more adaptable to varying loads. I use about a third of the 'recommended' amount. And I use cheap vinegar for the rinse as a softener. Bottled fabric softener gunks up the machine. God knows what it does to the clothes.

Like another poster a page or so back, I loathe and despise the growing air-freshener industry. Take what they advertise with a HUGE pinch of salt. You do NOT need sweet-smelling chemicals to be sprayed at you constantly. They are surely contributing to the growing breathing problems that are affecting more children these days. Just open a window every once in a while, for heaven's sake! It's free and works much better.
I have sensitised lungs after a bad flu bout years ago and anything like sprays or smoke etc in the air will make me cough for hours after being in contact :mad:.