Useful right away in daily life! Surprising trivia and handy tips

If you poke a hole in a raw egg before boiling it, it will be easier to peel.

Boiled eggs are delicious in lunchboxes and salads, aren’t they? If you poke a hole in the egg before boiling, it becomes easier to peel.

Make the hole on the rounded end of the egg, not the pointed end.

Poke a hole in the center of the rounded end, deep enough to go through the shell.

A clean thumbtack works well for making the hole.

There’s an air pocket on the rounded end, and making a hole lets carbon dioxide, which expands with heat, escape.

As a result, water gets between the white and the shell, making the egg easier to peel.

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Nakajima Junko

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Dripping a small amount of vinegar onto kitchen scraps helps deodorize them.

Household food waste gives off a distinctive odor, doesn’t it? Until the trash is collected, you have to live with that smell—and on hot days it can seem even stronger—which can be a real everyday annoyance.

You can neutralize and reduce the smell of food waste by using vinegar effectively.

The method is to dilute vinegar with water and spray it on; by adding acidity to the food waste, it neutralizes the corresponding odors.

Note that it won’t work on smells that aren’t neutralized by acidity, and if you use too much, the vinegar smell itself can become noticeable.

Try it with an appropriate amount.

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Hang the bath towels without aligning their lengths.

Indoor drying increases in winter and during long rainy periods.

You want to get your laundry dry as quickly as possible, right? But items with thickness and length, like bath towels, can be slow to dry.

Here’s a handy tip: hang bath towels without lining up the hems.

This method is also called staggered hanging.

If you hang them with the hems aligned, a larger area of the towel’s damp sections overlaps, which slows drying.

By offsetting the hems when you hang them, the overlapping area is reduced, helping them dry faster.

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You can remove grease stains with beer.

Grease stains are one of the toughest parts of cleaning! You might also struggle with how to use detergents.

Did you know that the stubborn grease everyone hates can actually be removed with beer? The alcohol and vitamin E in beer help break down grease, so you can use beer to tackle oily stains.

The method is simple: soak a paper towel or cloth with beer and wipe away the grime.

It’s easy, so you can try it casually.

Start with a small amount to see how effective it is—that’s the recommended approach.

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You can remove soap scum and water stains by scraping them with a credit card.

Here’s a recommended method for those worried about grime around wet areas.

Soap scum and limescale can be removed by scraping with a credit card.

Around faucets, there are intricate spots where that brownish scale can be stubborn.

You can try a toothbrush, but it may not reach the tiny gaps.

In that case, cut a diagonal notch into a credit card and use it to scrape off the buildup.

By cutting it diagonally, you create an edge that can get into narrow gaps.

If you apply a cleanser or baking soda to the limescale or soap scum first and then scrub with the credit card, it should come off even more cleanly.

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You can remove lingering odors from Tupperware using rice-washing water.

Reusable storage containers are handy, but if you use them for a long time or put strongly flavored foods in them, they can pick up odors that won’t come out.

Still, the container itself is fine and you don’t want to throw it away… In that case, deodorize it with rice-washing water! Rice-washing water contains saponins that remove grease and odors.

The thicker the washing water, the more effective it is, so give it a try.

Rice-washing water is also a very useful item for things like watering plants and removing stains from clothing.

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