Recently, Reddit user u/rat-avec-london posed this great question to the AskReddit community, "What is a life hack that seems fake but is a true lifesaver?" Here are some of the top, best, and most mind-blowing results:
1. Use Windex to get a stuck ring off your finger.
"If your ring gets stuck on your finger, Windex will slide it right off. Worked at a jewelry store for five-plus years."
2. Use a dry erase marker to remove permanent marker from a dry erase board.
"If you’ve written on a dry erase board (or any glossy surface) with a permanent marker (like a Sharpie), just draw over it with a dry erase marker and it will wipe right off."
3. Put onions in the freezer before chopping to prevent crying.
"Put your onion in the freezer for 10 minutes before chopping it. It freezes the juices just enough to slow down the process of it turning in to a gas, giving you a few minutes to chop the onion without tears. I learnt this tip from a kid’s science show years ago and I haven’t had to deal with onion tears since. So many people don’t believe me, and then are genuinely surprised when it works."
4. Use a cheese grater for hard butter.
"Got fridge hard butter and you want to bake? Cheese grate it. It will still be work if you're hand mixing, but it's better than trying to chop it. Microwaves exist, but it sucks when the butter splits."
5. Use shaving cream to prevent surfaces from fogging.
"I used it on the inside of my motorcycle visor. Smear it on, let it dry, then rinse off and dry. It also works for bathroom mirrors. You can use it on a small spot so you can still see when you get out of the shower."
6. Or use shaving cream to remove the smell of urine.
"If you ever have to take care of someone who is old and/or sick and who wets the bed, a little shaving cream on a rag wiped over their buttocks after they are thoroughly cleaned up helps them really smell clean again.
It’s a bit of a sad tip, I know, but you never know when you might end up caring for someone who needs help with things like this. Nobody wants to smell. A dab of shaving cream to restore a bit of dignity? Priceless."
7. Use hand sanitizer to un-stink your armpits in a pinch.
"If you have funky armpits and need to fix them fast, use hand sanitizer. I figured this out years ago when I remembered that the smell comes from bacteria reactions — which antibacterial hand gel kills stone dead. Instant results and the medical smell lasts only a minute. Don't do this routinely, though, as it's delicate skin."
8. Use makeup remover on deodorant stains.
"Vixella randomly brought it up while talking to chat on Twitch. My husband has a lot of T-shirts with white/stained armpits, so I gave it a shot. It worked.
I should probably clarify that I used remover wipes, just a generic store brand pack of 'cleansing towelettes,' on my husband's old antiperspirant stained T-shirts from his bachelor days. He switched to a non-staining deodorant a while back."
9. Use Noxzema cream to treat sunburns.
"As soon as you realize you are burnt, rinse the area with cool water, pat mostly dry, and slather a thick layer of Noxzema on. Don't wash it off, just leave it. Once the cream has dried, you can rinse off and reapply if you want. It works surprisingly well."
10. Use Dawn to clean your bathroom...
"Dawn dish soap is better for cleaning tubs than any bathroom cleaner. Consider that when you bathe, you’re mostly washing off body oils/dirt/skin. Dawn is so effective at cleaning oil, it’s used to clean up after oil spills. You can use a small amount and it cleans pretty effortlessly with circles on a sponge."
"I keep one of those dish sponges filled with Dawn soap in my shower. Just a quick once over every other day or so. Always clean shower :)."
12. ...and pool filters.
"It also works to clean pool filter cartridges. Just rinse cartridge with a hose, then dilute a small amount in a big bucket of water, soak said cartridge for 15–20 minutes, and then rinse until absolutely no suds are left. Cheaper than commercially available cleaners and a hell of a lot safer than muriatic acid. (I work in a pool equipment and repair shop)"
13. Use nail polish remover to get permanent marker off skin.
"You know, in case someone draws a dick on your face."
"That's because lots of nail polish remover is acetone based, and that stuff is an amazing solvent."
14. Use a corn chip for kindling if you need to start a fire.
"All your kindling for a fire is wet and all you have is matches and snacks, any corn chip will light into a ball of flames."
15. Use vinegar to remove calcium and rust build up.
"Vinegar in a plastic bag with rubber band tied around any faucet will make the faucet like new. I'm talking decade-old rust and stuff gone...and water flows like the first day. This also works on showerheads. You can unscrew those and leave them in a bowl full of vinegar."
16. Use rubbing alcohol to remove chewing gum.
"I'd go through a 20-layer-deep marketing funnel to get to that tip because it really does work."
17. Use oil on your hands after cutting jalapeños or other hot peppers.
"It gets rid of the awfulness that would normally be left on your hands from the peppers. I rub my hands with oil and then wash it off with dish soap. I can totally remove my contacts after doing this. It’s crazy how well this works."
18. Use saran wrap to prevent paint can lids from sticking.
"When putting a paint can lid back on the can, first put down a layer of cling film (saran wrap). This will stop the lid sticking to the can once the paint on the lid has dried."
19. Use a SMALL pinch of salt to fix bitter coffee.
"If your coffee tastes too bitter, stir in a small pinch of salt.
"Emphasis on small. My mom once threw in a tablespoon of salt into my cup once because she saw me put salt in my cup a couple of times before. It was gross."
20. Use your phone's space bar to fix a typo fast.
"When you are on your phone and you messed up in the middle of the word instead of tapping in the middle of the word just hold your space bar and drag it."
21. And finally, "squeegee" yourself before getting out of the shower.
"I hesitantly submit squeegeeing yourself off before getting out of the shower. It's so simple I was dubious, but just use your hands to quickly wipe off excess water and bingo, you're not cold getting out."
"I do this every time. Also. It allows your towel to actually dry you off without becoming a wet rag."
Happy life hacking!
Do you have any amazing life hacks that are total lifesavers? Let us know in the comments below and it might be featured in a future BuzzFeed post or video!
Some submissions have been edited for length or clarity.