Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dry

shredding shreds

anonymous78 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:21:51 -0800

How can I save the shreds in my shredded jeans? I recently bought a pair of jeans with some shredded patches. Every time I wash them, some of the threads snap. I don't want the shreds to turn into holes so what can I do to stop/minimize the thread snapping when I wash them? Would dry cleaning make a difference?

Avocado oil for dry skin?

thewalrus — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:50:12 -0800

Dry skin and Avocado oil: My wife has excellent results with with an Avocado oil based product designed to prevent dry and flaking skin on her face during winter. We bought a tiny bottle of it at the cosmetic department of a department store that cost 55 euros. After reading the ingredient list it seems a bit of a ripoff... So we went online and got a half litre size bottle of pure "cosmetic grade" Avocado oil on eBay from a cosmetics/oil seller with hundreds of 100% positive feedback, for less than twenty bucks. The tiny and expensive product is this:

Sans Soucis Deep Moist Depot

Reading the ingredients on the back of the bottle and the marketing copy, it says this:

"Deep Moist Depot’s unique formula allows mineral-rich algae extract and hyaluronic acid to penetrate rapidly into the skin without any added binding agents. Then, Vitamin E protects the skin against free radicals and enhances its ability to store moisture, while an organic silicon compound firms facial contours. Thermal spring water from Baden-Baden and pure avocado oil leave your skin naturally revitalized, soft, and supple"

The Sans Soucis bottle when it is unshaken appears to separate exactly like any oil and water, it's 50% avocado oil and 50% water. The vitamin E is already contained within the avocado oil, so I don't think that was an added ingredient.

If we take 250ml of the big eBay avocado oil, put it in a half empty 500 ml squeeze bottle and add 250 ml of bottled water, then keep it stored in the fridge, will we not have produced effectively the same product? Particularly I am wondering about the "hyaluronic acid". Various sources say that avocado oil is good for up to one year of storage, but any first hand experience on how long it actually lasts (at room temp or in a fridge) would be helpful too.

Natural Dry Scalp 'killer' shampoo.

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:41:56 -0800

I'm currently suffering from a moderate bout of dry scalp (not dandruff). Could someone recommend a natural shampoo, free of SLS's, etc, that will combat dry scalp?

hopping to conclusions

Toekneesan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:37:15 -0800

Have you ever grown your own hops? And if so, how do you know they're ready to harvest? This is my first year and I've never grown them before. I thought and read that I wouldn't get much this first year but that's not my experience. Cascade hops, if that makes a difference, and I'm in central Pennsylvania, if that makes a difference.

I've found a bit online about smell and other seemingly esoteric measurements, but if anyone has wisdom on harvesting and drying hops at home, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Sweating the small stuff, the big stuff and everything in between

Cat Pie Hurts — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:53:22 -0800

Sweat management: help keep me from drowning during an interview. I have an interview this afternoon. It's slated to be one of the hottest days to date - mid 90s. I was asked by the recruiter to wear a full suit and tie to the interview (I think it's overkill, considering the very casual nature of the company, but what do I know). While my suit is very lightweight, it's still a body oven. Combine these factors with the fact that I am bug guy who is a rather sweaty individual in general, and you get a very, very damp interviewee.

Some other things to include: I keep my head shaved, so the fountain flows straight down. I picked up an undershirt that claims to have superior wicking capabilities so hopefully my trunk will avoid the heat-reflection induced torso-water extraction caused by the dress shirt.

Here's what I'm planning on:

driving to the interview rather than taking the train (expensive parking is worth it. My experiences on the T tell me that the AC works 50% of the time at best)

I'm bringing a cloth with me for the sopping.

I picked up a chemical icepack that I'll keep in my bag for quick application to my wrists. I looked for ice wristbands, but couldn't find any such creature.

My everpresent bottle of water will be at my side.

Does anyone have other tips to help me stay dry(ish)?

Let me finish this by saying: I'm looking for things to increase my comfort level, not the interviewer's. This is supposed to be a heavily technical interview, so I just want to be able to focus on the work and not the drip, drip, drip. I really don't care what the interviewer may think; it's going to be freaking hot and if the interviewer has an issue with my cooldown methods, then I don't want to work for them anyway (ok, ok. I suppose I can accept no naked time :()

*bonus question! I'm considering bringing my courier bag in to the interview with me as it will be holding my water, ice pack, dry cloths and various other things. Anyone see a problem? It's a Bag of Holding, so it could only score points, right?

How can I fix my really dry knuckles and fingers?

fourmajor — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:07:30 -0800

I am a 25-year-old male, and I have a problem with dry knuckles and fingers. I don't have a problem with dry skin anywhere else, but my knuckles and fingers crack and itch they get so dry. Putting on petroleum jelly at night helps some. I put on lotion during the day but it doesn't help much. I live in San Francisco now, and didn't have this problem when I lived in Maryland where it is much more humid. In fact, I recently went back for three days to Maryland, and my hands were almost completely better by the time I came back. Would a humidifier at home and/or the office help at all? Is there some sort of great hand lotion that I can use during the day (that won't leave my skin greasy like petroleum jelly)? Or should I just schedule an appointment with my doctor?

my powdered milk cup overfloweth

chickadee — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:08:24 -0800

what the hell do i do with three pounds of whole-fat dried milk? so, someone at work was throwing away a whole bunch of whole-fat dry milk, originally a sample from a company but not needed anymore.

well, gosh darn it, i thought, what a shame! modern-recession-frugality dictates this need not to go waste! so i brought a big ol'bag of dried milk home. i realized halfway through the bike ride home i have NO IDEA what to do with dried milk. it has been sitting in the fridge for a couple of days now.

Google brings up a lot of lame things, like "add to hot chocolate". LAME. i am also not really interested in drinking powdered milk straight up.

so, mefites, help a sister out! do not let this rescue mission go south!

what are the most awesome things I can achieve with this dried milk?

do you have delicious and tasty recipes that use a lot of dried milk? what about potentially mind-blowing baked goods? art projects? 1980s-yuppie-coke-themed party? that home-made playdough stuff that hippie parents make? i like edible things the best.

(also, the fact that it is supposed to be used for large-scale food processing - relevant?)

SteakFilter: Help us wow our Mom's with a great steak recipe for Mothers Day!

pghjezebel — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:34:33 -0800

SteakFilter: Help us wow our Mom's with a great steak recipe for Mothers Day! The Mom's in our family have requested steak for Mothers day dinner. We're tired of cooking the same old stuff (dry rubs, BBQ, plain grilled). What we need is a recipe that will wow them!

If it helps, so far the side dishes ideas being tossed around include:
Cauliflower Popcorn
Garlicky Greens
Polenta Fries or Spinach Mashed Potatoes
Salad

Help us wow our Mom's!

So dry for me. Dry like a desert.

bradly — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:56:17 -0800

Does anyone have experience with punctal plugs (eye plugs) as a solution for dry eyes? Would you recommend the procedure? Dry eyes are killing me. It's really uncomfortable to wear contacts, and I prefer them to glasses. I find myself blinking constantly, and it's an overall uncomfortable experience. Even with glasses I still have problems. FWIW, I eat a balanced diet and plenty of water. A family member mentioned this procedure as an option. I'm curious about what MeFites have to say. Google provided mostly irrelevant information, and the few threads that mention the procedure on here are quite old.

Thanks in advance.

Is it normal she's being picky?

sunshine arakhan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:11:00 -0800

Why has our new dog stopped eating her dry food? My partner and I (well, ok, me) adopted a new dog a few days ago... she's a 3 year old Staffy x Mini Foxy named Hope, sweetest little thing.
Her previous owner gave us all her current food that she's been eating and explained that she pours a little hot water over her dry biscuits and lets it sit for a few minutes to soften up before adding her meat, and that Hope is normally quite a little guts!

However she doesn't seem to be eating her dry food and is disinterested in it all together. I know because she's in a new environment she may just be a little nervous about eating, but she's eating up her meat with gusto, so I'm not too sure why she is turning up her nose at it. I've never had to soak dry food for any of my previous dogs so am I soaking it too much? Too little? Or am I just overanalyzing? She has regular meals times and is healthy and happy in every other way.

(FWIW her dry food is Optimum "Heathly Weight Management - with chicken, rice and vegetables". She's been eating it for most of her life, and is a little bit chubby)

This is probably a really duh-brain question, but thanks in advance!

Itchy skin on areola

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:38:45 -0800

What is this dry, itchy patch on my areola? I know you are not my doctor and I will go back to see my doctor (or another doctor!), but I wondered if anyone out there has any idea what this could be.

For over a year now I've had a patch of dry, itchy skin on my areola. I saw my doctor about a year ago. He thought it was tinea and prescribed a prescription anti-fungal cream (clotrimazole and betamethasone). That didn't work. I saw another doctor. I explained the previous treatment. She said to try Lamisil, which contains clotrimazole but no betamethasone. I have been applying this twice a day as directed for over three weeks now, with no change to the condition.

Both doctors did not think that the condition was serious - ie. not Paget's disease of the breast. I don't have children, so this wasn't caused by breastfeeding.

Make my legs stop itching Oh God please

schroedinger — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:33:48 -0800

Why are my legs--especially calves--itching all the time? I know it's winter, so things are dry, but I moisturize religiously and it happens during the summer too. I've tried Bag Balm, Eucerin, body butters, shea butter, aloe, hydrocortisone, exfoliating, not exfoliating, Cetaphil, jojoba oil, cold showers, not using soap on them, not shaving, and not using stuff with cetyl alcohol in it. This has been going on for years now, getting steadily worse each year, and a dermatologist a while ago just told me to put on lotion. What next? Also, it doesn't look like eczema, and there's no flakiness or anything, just terrible, terrible itching.

Itchy sunburn

gttommy — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:56:50 -0800

I'm recovering from a body sunburn, most of the pain is gone but now I'm painfully itchy. Should I use some moisturiser cream or should I let my skin dry out to accelerate the process? The itchiness was so bad I could not focus and had to leave work. Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Help me save my sausage!

geodave — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:24:46 -0800

Two parts: If I have a big piece of dry summer sausage that's developed mould, do I have to throw it away? And, how do I properly store it? I bought a bunch of sausage from a place at a huge fair, same place I buy from every year. I got a big summer sausage that was wrapped in a sort of fabric, rather than a typical sausage skin.

Soonafter I cut a piece off and I'd been eating it now and again since, but I guess I'd left it in the cupboard (in a ziploc, with the fabric rolled down to wherever I had cut it) for about a week.

Today I took it out and started swearing because there were two inch-sized blooms of mould, one on the fabric about a half way down and one where the fabric meets the cut end.

So I pull off the whole fabric thing, and cut off about an inch of the sausage to get rid of the mould. (I know this might all sound disgusting, but oldschool salami is always always made with lots of mould on it, it's just how it's done).

My question is, should I throw away the whole thing? I'd love to not have to do that. Secondly, how can I properly store this so I wont have to worry about mould in the future? They were telling me I can store it at room temperature for a year, but evidently I missed something.

Dry cleaners destroyed dress, refusing refund

davebug — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:45:11 -0800

My girlfriend took a $200 dress to the dry cleaners, paid $9 for it to be cleaned, and it was returned with broken threads and missing beading. The dry cleaning place sited some Federal Trade Commission ruling that they say protects them from having to pay for the clothing. Three part question, all of which are important to me: a) What is the FTC ruling they're referring to? b) How difficult will taking them to court be? c) Are there any strategies to further the discussion of them simply paying for the dress?

After moving into my new apartment, I wake up feeling dehydrated and stuffy; what's going on?

steelbuddha — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:15:23 -0800

I recently moved into a new apartment. Every morning I wake up with a nose full of dry, scratchy mucous and my mouth is blanketed in something foul. What's going on? Initially, I thought it was the baseboard air conditioning, so I turned that off and opened the window. It has been humid outside and even rained, but no change.

The only major difference I can see between my old place and new that might effect me is that there are new carpets in the new place vs. hardwood floors in the old. The smell of fresh paint is also still intrusive.

About me: I sleep on my side with my mouth closed, but sometimes have minor apnea. I have a few very mild allergies, mostly to pet dander. I have no history of waking up with a nasty mouth.

What can I do to change this situation?

Where do you get your big dry erase boards?

4ster — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:02:56 -0800

Looking for suggestions for a good vendor for a large dry erase board in the US. I am looking for a large dry erase board for my office. I am thinking of something in the neighborhood of 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall, but I'm flexible on this.

Some other considerations:

- Something that erases easily, will last a long time, and doesen't leave a lot of "ghosting" marks would be nice, as would a white or wood frame instead of a metal one.

- Magnetic would be nice, but is not essential.

- I'm not really interested in making one myself or buying dry erase paint. I can see that idea turning into an expensive disaster.

- The cheaper the better, which includes shipping.

Thanks in advance.

need to dry car seat right now!

goethean — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:45:48 -0800

Need advice on drying out car seats quickly. Left my rear car window open about 2" today. Massive thunderstorm came through, with apparently horizontal rain. Rear car seat is damp. (Not a child's seat, a normal seat.) Leaving on a road trip tomorrow morning at 5 AM with three passengers. I already vacuumed it. I'm going to leave it in the garage with all the windows rolled down tonight. What else can I do? Should I leave towels on the seat?

Why do cold clothes feel wet?

robotot — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:14:27 -0800

Why do cold clothes feel wet? It's winter right now in Sydney, and cold. I put clothes on the line to dry, a day later I go out to collect what I assume are dry clothes, but they still feel wet, even though I know they are not (it hasn't rained on them, they are under cover, but still outside. I bring them inside and once they warm up to room temperature they feel properly dry.

What's going on here, in terms of physics etc?

Bad haircut plus dry and damaged hair. What should I do?

likeapen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:43:06 -0800

Bad haircut plus dry and damaged hair. What should I do? So i have armpit length, wavy, frizzy, coarse hair and a lot of it. I have been growing out my hair for the past year because of an awful haircut. Parted in the middle, the two sides do not pair up still. I want to keep it long so I am letting the one side catch up. I have only cut the ends every couple of months. I have colored my hair once this year. I always blowdry my hair or use a straightening iron. I like keeping my hair straight and sleek. Now it's dry, damaged and limp and it's screaming for help.

Does anyone know or recommend the following,

1) a treatment, conditioner anything to give my hair moisture and shininess, it can be a product or something I can make at home

2) a salon, hairstylist in New York City or Hoboken so I can get my hair cut and straightened. Max $125. That's my budget. I plan on cutting the ends only and possibly fixing the cut so it can look decent.

Plus any tips on how to keep it from getting worse or suggestions on fixing the haircut, should I style it now or let it grow til both sides are even?. Thank you.

ow! my face!

kidsleepy — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:50:06 -0800

I just started using Tazorac, and of course now my skin hates me (temporarily, I hope). Any recommendations for moisturizers? I've been using the Tazorac to treat acne for about a week now. I know that it's gonna get worse before it gets better (thanks to this earlier post). In the meantime, I'm on a quest for the perfect moisturizer. Tazorac makes my skin both incredibly dry AND incredibly sensitive (think sunburn). All the lotions I've tried feel good for about 1.5 seconds before the burning sensation sets in and I race for a washcloth. So far I've used a generic knockoff of Cetaphil, Jergens Shea Butter, Aveeno (regular formula), and plain sunscreen. These were what I had laying around the house; I'm a bit of a product junkie.

What's the best lotion for my sensitive, dry, acne-prone skin?

How do I stop losing my shirts?

blackjack514 — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:08:50 -0800

I've come to realize that I am not paying as much attention to detail as I should when I drop off shirts at my dry cleaners. It seems like I end up losing 3 or 4 shirts a year to the ebb and flow of having my shirts laundered. Is this truly because of my lack of attention or do others have the same problem? How common it is for shirts to be lost at the dry cleaners? Beyond a greater attention to the checkin and checkout of shirts, does anybody have any advice on stemming the tide of lost shirts?

How do I wash this sweater?

penciltopper — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:58:05 -0800

Grownup has never washed a nice sweater. Help. OK, so I got a couple of nice merino & cashmere sweaters for Xmas. Maybe as a hint that the wool/woolblend sweaters I owned were no longer socially acceptable, having been worn for years & never been washed. (blush)

I poked around a bit on the boards, and there are lots of things mentioned for sweaterwashing, then contradicted, then ???

So I need some votes:

1) Drycleaners, espcially with the cashmere
2) Dryel at the laundromat
3) Wash 'em in the sink, then spread out to dry
3a) with woolite
3b) woolite is death, buy special goo at the yarn store
4) write in candidate here

I have another sweater question while i'm at it.
All my sweaters, cotton, wool, whatever, make me look like I've got a "muffin top". (Chest fits, waist at hem/ribbing fits - but they bag out above the waist so that it looks like I'm trying to smuggle a bicycle tire underneath.)
I don't actually have a muffin top, and if I tug the hem down, everything is fine for a few minutes until it rides up and I'm back to dumpy again.
What am I doing wrong here?

Where can I get dry ice in Berkeley/Oakland area?

mikeand1 — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:28:23 -0800

Where can I get dry ice in Berkeley/Oakland area? Where can I get dry ice in the Berkeley/Oakland area?

thanks,
Mike

Where is there a full service laundromat in Quincy, MA?

pikaboy202 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:51:28 -0800

Does anyone know of a good full service laundromat in Quincy or Milton in Massachusetts? I live on the border of Quincy/Milton in Massachusetts and I'm trying to find a full service laundromat. I'm looking for a laundromat that would do my laundry and fold it for me when I drop it off.

Currently I go to the one Wash n' Dry Center on Hobart Street in Quincy but they're expensive and I think they don't separate colors and whites because I've had several shirts come back stained.

Any suggestions?