Cleaning Chemicals

The lingering smell of cigarette smoke can bother just about anyone, including smokers themselves. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to mask or completely get rid of the smell altogether. While you can go through extremes like washing and even repainting the walls in yo ...more

Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months' time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before y ...more

Salt is one of my favorite ingredients, by far, and also one of the most overlooked foods in the kitchen. This is probably due to the fact that it's an essential component of almost any recipe; because salt is a necessity, it's easy to forget how dynamic and versatile it can b ...more

If you're anything like me, you probably think it's borderline sacrilege to even think about a sandwich or a burger that doesn't have a layer of smooth mayonnaise. But I don't just keep a jar of it in my fridge for lunch—it's also there for practical purposes. I learned this ...more

You're in the middle of cooking and a car alarm, cute kitten, or neighborhood brawl made you step away from the stove for a few minutes longer that you should have. It happens to almost every home cook. Most of the time, nothing dramatic happens, but every now and then, you en ...more

There are countless methods and cleaners aimed at eliminating stubborn stains from everything to clothing, carpet, and furniture. But completely removing every last trace of a stain doesn't require an arsenal of chemical cleaners and repeated cycles in the washing machine. Mos ...more

After months of waiting, the iPhone 11 is here. At an event in Cupertino, Apple unveiled the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro max. You probably have a lot of questions after reviewing the specs sheet, including wanting to know more about the IP68 rating that all three phones have. ...more

They're finally here. Apple announced three new iPhone models at their "Gather Round" event in Cupertino, and they're all absolutely gorgeous phones. With bezel-less screens and polished titanium edges, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are truly marvels of engineering — but perha ...more

In case you didn't catch the big event in Cupertino, Apple just unveiled two of the most cutting-edge phones ever made — the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. Out of the many glorious specs that were rattled off on stage, one stands out for being just a little confusing: Both models ...more

The next time you suffer a cut or abrasion, think twice before you reach for the Neosporin. It's time, and mom, tested — you get a cut, you wash it carefully, then apply some triple-threat antimicrobial ointment. You may or may not slap on a band-aid. We won't cover it here, ...more

In the summer of 1976, 4,000 American Legionnaires descended upon the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a four-day convention. Several days later, many of the attendees experienced symptoms of severe pneumonia. By the beginning of August, 22 people ha ...more

How do I get rid of these zits?! Whether its pimples, blackheads, or whiteheads, the name is the same, and the name is acne. If you have acne, you are not alone. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, about 50 million people are impacted by acne vulgaris each year. ...more

Coconut oil must be sent from the gods themselves, because this stuff is made of miracles. If you ever wondered why your mother always has it around, it's because she's smart enough to know the countless uses for it. Whether you need a beauty remedy, help with weight loss, or ...more

Hopefully you never have to deal with a grease fire, but if it happens, how you handle it is important. A grease fire isn't like a regular fire, and trying to put it out the same way can make it worse. Grease fires are caused by letting oil get too hot, so the best way to prev ...more

You probably already know that cooking involves a ton of chemistry. Bread rises because of the reaction between the flour and leavener, and the delicious crust on your steak is formed by the Maillard reaction. Understanding the chemistry going on behind the scenes is one of th ...more

To make soap, you need fat, and if you've seen Fight Club, you're probably well aware of where soapmaker Tyler Durden got his fat from. Liposuction clinics. If you're not willing to go that far for a perfect bar of homemade soap, you can just use some drain cleaner and America ...more

Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science. It requires precise measurements since the outcome is based on chemical reactions. Using too much or too little of one ingredient can be the difference between perfect, crunchy-yet-chewy cookies and the dreaded "one big cookie." ...more

Here's how to make dry-ice at home, or wherever you feel like it! All you need is a pillow case, and a CO2 fire extinguisher. Video: . WARNING: Dry Ice is extremely cold! (-78C/-109F) and can cause instant frost-bite to exposed skin. This project should not be attempted withou ...more

Ever see those cars so covered in dirt, dust, and grime that someone writes "Wash me" on it using their finger? Well, for those cars' sakes, as well as cases less extreme, a word of advice: procrastination is not a solution — it can only compound the problem. Self-cleaning car ...more

Food labeling is a tricky beast. For instance, when I read the words "cage-free" on an egg carton, I think it means that happy chickens frolic in a sunlit meadow all the livelong day until they're gently herded into a clean, sweet-smelling coop to lay a few dozen eggs—which I ...more

Most of us have conducted an investigatory science project without even knowing it, or at least without knowing that's what it was called. Most science experiments performed, from elementary to high school students and all the way up to professional scientists, are investigato ...more

When you think of nail polish, it's probably almost always in the context of a manicure. I mean, that's what it's made for, right? But there are plenty of other things you can use clear or colored nail polish for besides painting your nails. Even if you're a guy living on his ...more

Getting hot and steamy can be awesome, as illustrated in the 1997 smash hit Titanic. But having the bathroom mirrors fog up during a nice hot shower can be very annoying. Getting ready in the morning can already be rushed, and wiping down your mirrors after your shower wastes ...more

About a third of the methane released into the environment comes from the production and transport of natural gas. The gas leaks as it moves along the transport chain from gas wellheads to market. To trap methane and produce a useful product in the process, a group of scienti ...more

Significant strides have been in the race to find antibiotics to treat superbug infections — those caused by bacteria resistant to the antibiotics used to treat them. Now, an international team of scientists has discovered a new antibiotic produced by a microbe found in Italia ...more

An innovative new wound dressing has been developed by a research team at Lodz University of Technology in Poland that uses crustacean shells to create a bandage that packs an antimicrobial punch — and even more potential to help solve a global problem. Bandages typically hel ...more

Where in the world did it come from? All of a sudden, one day, someone had an infection with flesh-eating bacteria. It captured headlines and worldwide attention because it was such a severe, strange, uncontrollable, and really disgusting condition. We still might not know wh ...more

Winter and the winter holidays in general are a time of joy, laughter, and love… but not for everyone. For some, the stress of preparing for parties, hosting family, traveling long distances in bad weather, and just keeping up with your daily routine can start to bring you dow ...more

There are certain foods and beverages that can actually brighten your smile or improve your dental health when you chew or sip them. Once you understand their chemical properties or textures, you can look to items you already have in your cupboards or refrigerator to help keep ...more

If you're anything like me, your day doesn't start until you've sloughed away your grogginess with a scalding hot shower. That perfectly-heated water can clear stuffed sinuses, relax the muscles, and make pretty much anyone feel squeaky clean. However, a cold shower can do eve ...more

I used a plastic water filter for years. Who wouldn't? It cuts down on buying bottled water, which, as it turns out, is pretty much the same as unfiltered tap water. Plus, bottled water is terrible for the environment and your wallet, too. Water that costs only pennies a day a ...more

Hello there, people. Today, I am going to show you how to extract the essence from a useful plant, using either alcohol or olive oil. This is how you take a plant and turn it into a useful (and preservable) medicine. For those of you who know nothing about herbal medicine, let ...more

Exposed to hormones, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals, the beautiful wild fish in Canada's Grand River have taken on some pretty odd characteristics—they're turning into females. A long-term study suggests using bacteria to manage polluted water could turn the tide for fem ...more

A terrifying antibiotic-resistant superbug, one thought to only infect hospital patients, has made its debut in the real world. For the first time ever, the superbug carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infected six people who hadn't been in or around a hospital in at ...more

If I were to write a snickerdoodle FAQ list, the top question would undoubtedly be "Do I really need to use cream of tartar in my snickerdoodle cookies?" Don't Miss: 5 Baking Substitutions Every Home Cook Should Know I dug deep into the baking science world to find out why ...more

One of our favorite kitchen items, hands down, is a good old-fashioned wooden spoon. It's practical, versatile, and can last for decades if cared for properly. There are specific ways to nurture wooden utensils in order to keep them from cracking and to help them maintain thei ...more

The idea of a no-churn ice cream seems like the ultimate dessert hack. But, in fact, this concept has been around for at least the past 100 years in what Italians call semifreddo. The food linguist in you might think this dessert is just “semi” or “half “ cold. Despite the co ...more

Ever since the much-lauded effects of the Mediterranean diet became widely known, people have been buying olive oil by the gallon. A diet that prevents heart disease, is based on fresh, seasonal foods, and includes a tasty as hell fat like olive oil? Duh—that's a no-brainer. ...more

If you have a cat, trying to get all of the little clumps out of the litter probably feels like an impossible task. It pretty much is, but we've found the best cat litter scoop that gets more of those tiny pieces out than any other scoop. Plus, it's sturdy, degradable, and eth ...more

Minor mishaps occur all the time in the kitchen, whether you cut your finger while dicing an onion, scorched your hand in a grease fire, or burned the roof of your mouth because you were to eager to taste-test your killer pasta sauce. While the old standbys of ibuprofen, band ...more

Two slices of whole-wheat toast with lots of butter. Two eggs, poached to a firm yet custardy texture. The yolks should absolutely not be hard-cooked and the whites should be tender, not rubbery. That's my idea of the perfect breakfast. A golden, runny-but-not-liquid yolk, cre ...more

Many of the beauty products you buy at drug and department stores are loaded with potentially toxic ingredients like parabens, while their active ingredients are made of things like glycolic, lactic, malic, and alpha hydroxy acids and retinoids, which are all derived from food ...more

Living in Los Angeles has given me the opportunity to attend a bunch of really cool events. I've been to Dodgers, Lakers, and Clippers games, a few concerts at the Staples Center, and a plethora of smaller joints. In all of these places, I've found a consistent annoyance—I wa ...more