apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Like we said, there are some tried-and-true home remedies on the list that have become common ways of dealing with disaster. For example, taking your cell phone's battery out after it decides to take a dip or restarting your X-Box after the red-ring-who-shall-not-be-named shows up. But others were a little less familiar to us...

If you're frustrated that a DVD won't play, head to your minibar and take a swig of vodka before turning the natural solvent on to your disk. Gently rubbing the underside of the disk with some alcohol-based mouthwash will get the job done, too.

Another solution provided for really cleaning those CDs and DVDs is to place them upside down at the bottom of the toilet bowl, then flush. The suction of the flushing water will produce a small cyclone in the disk's tiny hole that will pull water over the whole surface.

For DVDs that are stuck in the player, try covering a nail file with tape with the sticky side out. Once you cover the top with paper, you should be able to slide the file into the DVD tray and pick up the DVD like some twisted crane game.

And lastly, even if you knew about every one of these tricks unlike me, the whole article is worth it because of a link to this DIY project to make your own Wi-Fi reflecting antennae. Brilliant!

[ Image from Brokinhrt2@Flickr ]