5 Ridiculous Home Ideas That You've Never...But Should

Every day is seems that we hear a new handy little tip that homeowners should do to either improve their home, manage it a little better, general house cleaning, or fix something that's broken. You know the ones: only run your dishwasher when it's full (saves energy), put dry towels in the dryer (it helps dry your clothes quicker), have your bed, and your desk, face the door (it's very Feng Shui). While these items are fantastic and should be used whenever possible, here are 5 great items that you might never have considered, but are good ideas to keep in your back pocket.

1. Use That Dryer Lint. First off, you know you should clean the lint trap in your dryer after every load, right? The real tip is that you can use this lint. This lint is great as kindling for fires. If you think about it, this lint is mostly super-dried, dense cotton, and it is ready to catch fire. Stick it in your fireplace, your wood stove, even your chiminea outside, and you have homemade fire starter.

2. How Astronauts Clean Dishwashers. You guessed it. It's Tang. Just run some Tang, in powdered form, through your dishwasher on a regular cycle. Don't put any dishes in here, just run it empty. This will help dissolve the mineral deposits and clean your dishwasher in general.

3. Getting under the Fridge. Want to know a good way to clean under your refrigerator? Put an old sock over the head of a flyswatter. The flyswatter is typically long enough to reach pretty far back under the fridge, and of the course, the sock will grab all of the dust—and help pull anything else that isn't dust—out from under the ice box. Most people don't even throw this on the list of house cleaning items. But cleaning under the fridge just got a lot easier.

4. Keep Pets from Making Return Visits. If you have wood floors or tile or some other type of non-carpeted flooring, and you have a pet that has used the bathroom on this floor, you need to clean the spot with vinegar after you have cleaned the mess. This house cleaning tip will keep your pet from recognizing her or his scent, which will keep her or him from a repeat performance in that spot.

5. Diapers Can Stop More than You Think. If you have a pipe that begins to leak, either from freezing or a loose seal, fasten a disposable diaper around the leaking area. While this will not cure the problem, it will help contain the damage until a plumber can arrive and save the day.

There are tons of others, but these were the 5 that we wanted to highlight. If you have any other items that are well off the beaten path, but still effective, please email us at homefrontfeedback@servicemagic.com. We'd love to hear the tips you have.