A Breath That Could Peel Paint
John Klase breaths on paint before sealing the can to keep it fresh longer; Ellie Spada soaks the wooden handles of old tools in PVC pipe filled with boiled linseed oil to preserve the wood; Candy Homer noticed spreading ashes in the garden keeps grubs and pests away; David Kelly uses toothpaste to remove fish odor from his hands; Angel Gonzalez collects co-workers fruit and vegetable scraps for her home compost pile; L.A.T. uses lint from the clothes dryer as a wiping cloth; Keith Bellinger waxes his shovel so snow won't stick; Hugh Williamson made a flexible extension for his caulk gun.
February/March 1994
By the Mother Earth News editors
COUNTRY LORE
A dab of toothpaste will do more than prevent cavities in your mouth.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Here's a way to keep paint in good condition after you've opened the can. Before sealing the lid and storing the paint, take a good-size breath, hold it for a moment, and then breathe into the can. The carbon dioxide will displace the oxygen that causes skin to form on the paint.
-John W. Klase
Fiddletown, California
Soak and Save
Here's a way to rejuvenate the wooden handles of old tools that have become dry and brittle. Remove the cap from one end of a 2.5" PVC pipe (approximately 4.5' long) and fill it up half way with boiled linseed oil. Then insert the handle of the tool (rake, hoe, shovel, etc.) into the oil. Tie the pipe to something sturdy (I use a post in my cellar) and continue filling the pipe with the oil until all of the wood is sitting in it.
Check every few days. You'll notice that the oil level will go down as the wood soaks in more and more of it. Fill the pipe up again and leave for at least two months. I usually have a few pipes working their magic at a time. After you're finished, put the cap back on the pipe and use again next year. The results are terrific!
-Ellie Spada
Brick, New Jersey
Ashes to Plants
Years ago I spread the excess ashes from my wood stove on my garden during the winter. Unfortunately the garden was so big that I never had enough ashes to cover it entirely. So I spread the ashes on only certain areas. To my surprise, the next growing season there was a definite lack of grubs and pests attacking my root crops (potatoes, carrots, etc.) on the plants near the ashes. I marked out where the ashes were spread that year and planted all my root crops in those areas the following planting season. Voila-no bugs!
-Candy Homer
Baltimore, Maryland
Fisherman's Advice
If you've ever handled fresh fish before, you know that it can be almost impossible to remove the stinky odor from your hands. After years of fishing, I have finally come up with an easy solution: toothpaste. Squeeze a small amount of toothpaste onto your hands, moisten with water, and gently rub your hands together to create a lather. Then rinse the odor away.