Now don’t get us wrong, we love a good hack here and there. Unfortunately online is packed with ridiculous and just plain bad hacks that no one should try at home!
The Opposite of Nailed It!
Who doesn’t love a sensible party nail accented with glitter? Chunky or fine, it just adds a little something extra á la Elle Woods. While glitter will definitely elevate any manicure — don’t go crazy though — it’s a pain to get rid of.
Well literally painful with his hack which tells you to soak a cotton ball in polish remover, place it onto your glitzy nail, and wrap it all up in a square of aluminum foil, wait a few minutes for the glitter to melt off. Bye-bye, glitter...and your fingernails. This hack is hazardous to your nail health! Avoid!
Block That Bleach
Any hack that tells you to use bleach on any type of eating surface or appliance should be avoided at all costs and is never a good idea. And yes, this does include the inside of your appliances, like your coffee maker—the surface is a different story; you can freely use a mild bleach-and-water solution to make the outside sparkle and shine. So never use bleach to clean the brewing device of a coffeemaker.
Rather, you can run white household vinegar through the brew cycle to clean out lime-water buildup. Then run through a few cycles of water to eliminate any residual vinegar before you brew coffee again.
Lazy Loophole
Sometimes being lazy just means you're going to find an alternative route to get to the goal. We are all for working smarter not harder but this is just ridiculous. Just wash your dishes people!
We guarantee that coating your bowl in aluminum foil will take up more time in your day than just simply washing your bowl. Not to mention...what a waste of foil!!
Time to Hit the Gym, Kid
If the kids are tired, they start to demand things. This guy didn't have the arm strength to hold his phone up, so the dad of the family co-opted a glass table to use as a stand as the kid lay on the couch. Yes, this is a dad-hack...but it's also a dad-giving-up.
Here's a hack to try, move that table and go play a game of catch with your kid!
Hair Spray Can Remove Static, But at What Cost?
In theory, using hairspray to free any static between clothing or drapes works. If it works for your hair, why wouldn’t it work for fabric? Right? However, the spume that spews out from the chemicals in the spray will leave you with a sticky feeling, so it doesn’t seem worth it.
If you’re in need of a quick and easy solution, you can just try rubbing a little water, as a touch of moisture will help calm the static.
Soda Scrubber
“Ahhhhhh.” The sound we love to hear after taking a sip of a cold Coca-Cola. The beverage has been around since 1885, when Civil War veteran John Pemberton created coca wine (a beverage containing wine and cocaine) as a substitute for morphine. Today, the company is the worldwide leader in soda, and its red-and-white emblem is universally recognized.
But while billions across the globe enjoy the carbonated soft drink with a meal, some swear by using Coca-Cola around the house to tackle chores in the kitchen, laundry room, and even the garage. While it may be effective at cleaning surfaces, it replaces grit and grime with...ants!
Using a Banana Peel to Polish Your Shoes
Can a banana peel be used to polish your shoes, or is that just a myth? As it turns out, one of the main ingredients found in shoe polish is potassium, which bananas contain a lot of; this is probably where the idea of using bananas to wipe your shoes came about.
Technically, using the inside of a banana peel can work on polishing your shoes when you’re squeezed for time—but keep in mind that you need to buff it afterward with a cloth, just like regular polish. Also, it brings that slippery peel far too close to your shoes, making that slap-stick slip on the peel inevitable. AVOID!
The Kylie Jenner Lip Hack
For those of you who are unaware of this terrible lip-enhancing hack, the concept is simple and stupid. Teenagers insert their lips into a glass cup and suck out the air, creating a suction, and hold the glass to their lips for a few seconds.
When they finally release the glass cup, their lips look much bigger, almost twice the size. Not only can this bruise your mouth area, but it's also risky and can cause serious damage if overdone. Leave your lips alone people!
Hair Raising
It's come to attention that there are people out there using aluminum foil to curl or straighten their hair. How? They divide their hair into half-inch strands, roll it upwards from the ends, and wrap the curl with some aluminum foil. They then clamp the foil with a hot straightening iron for just a few seconds.
Please don't do this! Heat styling is bad enough for your delicate hair, but add tin foil to the mix and you're just asking to destroy your precious strands. Let's try some old-fashioned overnight curlers?
Father Time-Saver?
When you're a parent, you figure out all sorts of hacks to things. Take this father, for example, who figured out that a video game controller could be used to play video games AND to prop up his baby's bottle.
Attention all dads out there...PUT THE GAME CONTROLLER DOWN and focus on feeding your baby.
Does Vinegar & Baking Soda Actually Work?
Baking soda combined with vinegar makes for a great natural and easy DIY cleaning solution that has been around for quite some time. But does it actually work? The truth is that the reaction between vinegar and baking soda does give surfaces an immediate 'clean' look, but we will see we're just left with saltwater when we take a closer look.
The agitation of the fizzy reaction itself can better break up and carry dirt away, but there's not much long-lasting help. While this blend can be used for cleaning, but keep in mind that it's not the most effective for sterilizing and sanitizing.
Clogged Up
A clogged toilet is one of the biggest bathroom problems. You get a big mess, and you can't even answer nature's call. A plunger is one way to deal with it, but there is another hack out there that claims to do a better job.
You're supposed to cover the toilet with plastic wrap and make sure there is no way for air to get in or out. Flush the toilet, and press down on the plastic wrap. The pressure should press against whatever is clogging the toilet and sending it on to its correct destination. Try to get it right the first time – wrapping it wrong might leave you with a bigger mess than ever.
Are You Forking Kidding Us?
This hack promises to keep garden critters away if you place plastic forks in your yard...
There’s no guarantee that they’ll actually keep critters out of your garden or potted plants, but some people still insist it works for smaller pests. The thing about inserting a bunch of plastic forks upside down in your front lawn is this: it looks super tacky. Plus it means fewer utensils for you!
Not A Fan of This One
Here's a fragrance hack to NOT take seriously. If you need to get your home smelling sweet but are short on time, this hack tells you to strap car air fresheners to a household fan.
The moment you start that baby up, your house will be smelling like a...a new car? This hack just looks and smells wrong to us!
Flammable Doritos
Whoever came up with this hack must hate matches for some bizarre reason. Apparently, the salty triangles are actually pretty flammableand that burning Doritos is a "good" alternative to matches.
The main problem with this hack is that in times of trouble you're more likely to have matches nearby and not a bag of chips (well, hopefully). Stick to chomping on the chips and burning the matches, please.
Make Duct-Tape Shoe Covers
Do the kids love to play outside when it’s raining, and then track everything right back inside, all over your nice, clean floor? This hack claims to be a fun family craft project that saves floors from the wrath of muddy shoes.
While you may protect your floors, you won't be protecting your kids from being bullied for their odd show chocie. Instead, just have them take off their muddy shoes before coming in the house...SIMPLE.
Iron Your Shirt Away
Those who iron everything (including their underwear), and those who don't even have an iron. If you are amongst the ones who do, please avoid this dangerous hack
People say to use your (or your neighbors') hair straightener to iron your shirts and pants. What they don't tell you is that it's a massive fire hazard. Hair straighter s are built for...HAIR, not your clothes. Just use a normal clothing iron, please!
Coffee or Tea for Laundry?
Technically, coffee and tea have been known to keep dark clothes dark or even “dye” them; actually, using them in your washing machine has been proven to be pretty ineffective. The myth about adding one cup of black coffee to your laundry load is futile because of how much water your machine uses to wash your clothes.
In other words, for those coffee and tea drinkers out there, don’t waste your precious tea herbs and coffee grounds for laundry. It would be better to keep your delicious caffeinated drinks to satisfy you in the morning and keep you energized to do your chores around the house.
This is A Flip-FLOP
Picture it: It’s a scorching hot day, the sand feels like hot coals, sidewalks aren’t much better, and one of your flip-flops straps pulls through the little hole. It sucks, but using a bread bag tie to fix your flip-flops won't be much help.
Not only will the bread tie inevitably break, but you'll look pretty silly walking around with a bread tie on your toes.
Eyeliner Trick
This eyeliner hack tells you to press a spoon over your eyelid and trace. While this makeup tip will allow you to draw perfect lines when applying eyeliner, it also puts your precious eyeballs in harm's way.
We can believe we have to say this but...keep utensils away from your eyes!
Yawn!
There's a hack floating around online that says to use makeup to paint realistic eyes on your eyelids so it looks like they are open even when they are closed during meetings! Warning, this hack may result in you losing your job! Sleepy people are endlessly resourceful when it comes to catching a few more Zs.
Use this hack at your own risk, we wouldn’t want your boss to fire you. You can make it look even more realistic if you print out actual pictures of your eyes. Still, don't try it!
Pizza Please
If you are lucky enough to have leftover pizza, please avoid this ironing hack.
The hack tells you to use a clothing iron to heat up your cold slice. Ew! Not only is this dangerous but it will also ruin the taste of your pizza. Just use a microwave instead!
LEGO NO
We like to imagine there was once someone who looked down at all the LEGO pieces sprawled across the floor and thought to themselves, "This could end badly, what if I build my own shoes made entirely out of LEGO?!"
Parents are probably all too familiar with the inevitable pain that comes with having a LEGO set at home. Now, imagine, no more writhing in pain after accidentally stepping on a seemingly innocent piece of LEGO. Just put on shoes people!
Bad Belt
Some school uniforms are more casual, but with one caveat — you need to wear a belt at all times. So what happens when you forget your belt at home and you're already at school?
You fashion a new one made of paper and put it through the belt loops as if there was nothing wrong. Did someone say detention?
Spoonful of Silly
Sometimes we find ourselves without a proper spoon, like when we buy a snack such as some yogurt or even a little meal to eat, only to realize we forgot to also get cutlery.
In this case, we've seen the hack to you can turn aluminum foil from your yogurt lid into a makeshift spoon by folding it to the right shape. Just grab a spoon!
Humans Will Be Humans
Being human sometimes means you're just going to behave badly, as our list can confirm. But at least these little misadventures show just how creative humans can be.
Even if that creativity comes in the shape of a lengthy straw, just so they can drink their beverage while swimming at the pool.What a waste of straws...and brain cells.
Aesthetic Aluminum
There are many creative and clever uses for aluminum foil, from keeping your electronics safe or sharpening knives, but this is NOT one of them. We are all for unleashing your creative spirit but this is just ridiculous.
Unless you are trying to make your living room look like a spaceship from a bad high school play, then we suggest keeping aluminum foil in the kitchen!
Making Your Own Sunscreen
If you’re unprepared for the summer and think you can make your own sunblock, first you should refresh your understanding of sunscreen. While you can make your own sunscreen by combining zinc oxide with natural oils and gels, it sure is risky and can be expensive to make it by yourself.
The bottom line before you throw caution to the wind is to consider how important your skin is to you.
The Audacity of This Fix
Not having access to the proper power or charging cord for a device means...well, you can't use it, can you? You'll have to watch the battery meter drain, or you can't turn it on at all. This person decided that not having the proper cord wasn't too bad, since all he had to do was attach a couple of random cords and tape them on.
Big no-no. We're sure he knows what he's doing, but we want to repeat that this isn't something you should do unless you really, really know what you're doing. If you don't know what you're doing, just use the proper cord.
Good News and Bad News
The background for this image is that the trigger mechanism for a car's horn went out, and the person in charge of the car decided he would do a little bit of handy work to get it functional again. He or she installed a unique switch by screwing it into the center of the wheel.
All you'd have to do to let other cars or pedestrians know you're coming is hit the button in the center, just like normal. However, we have to imagine this does change the effect of the airbag that is contained within every steering wheel. In a bad way.
Perm-anently a Bad Idea
Yes, DIY hairstyling is tempting since it saves you an expensive visit to the hair salon. However, when it doesn't work, (you know, because you're not a trained hairdresser or beautician) the results can be hair-raising, to say the least! A perm is a particularly brave hairstyle to DIY because of its texture-changing and enduring nature.
Sometimes at-home jobs just aren't worth the money you save. We think we can speak for everyone when we say that we wish we could see photographic evidence of this less-than-picturesque perm!
Book Smart
We wish that book-to-human osmosis was possible. It would be the study hack to end all study hacks. Unfortunately, if you don't study and just rely on sleeping on your books, it's highly unlikely that you'll ace your test.
The best fool-proof way to boost your grades is to move your books from your pillow to your desk, open up them up, and...well...study.
Use a Clean Diaper to Soak Up Spills
Since diapers have the purpose of being super absorbent, you can actually use them to soak up a spill before it stains your upholstery.
What's wrong with this hack? Firstly diapers are way more expensive than using regular paper towels and secondly, you will look so silly doing it!
Evil Exfoliator
In case some people needed to hear this, skin is not like a wooden table. And contrary to the expression, more is not better, especially when it comes to exfoliating your skin. Don't follow this hack to use sandpaper as an exfoiliator!
When you use exfoliators that are too rough, you can actually damage blood vessels beneath your skin. Use some sugar and olive oil instead.
Permanent Marker for Chipped Nails
Eighth graders may think this is a genius hack, but ultimately, this shortcut to make your nails look less chipped is not worth the final outcome.
For those who haven't tried this before, permanent markers only make your nails look way worse than before.
Using Oreos in Mascara
It’s bad enough when people waste food, but what's worse is when people try to repurpose delicious snacks into makeup.
It should go without saying that Oreo cookies may be safe to eat but that doesn't necessarily mean they are safe to apply around your eye.
Horse Shampoo
Apparently, we no longer want to use shampoo meant for human hair but instead want to use something made for horses. In case people haven't noticed, horses have incredibly dense and thick hair that traps a lot of dust and hay.
To keep their hair clean, horse shampoo contains high levels of silicone — way too much for humans.
Using Raw Potatoes on Your Skin
We are huge supporters when it comes to using natural ingredients, but for the uninitiated, raw potato should not be applied to your skin.
Simply put, there's no scientific evidence to prove that placing raw potatoes on your skin will clear up breakouts or relieve inflammatory conditions.
Cat Litter on Your Face
Something many people need to hear is that their beauty products don't need to be outlandish to be effective. We have to say this because there are those who have been using cat litter, (yes, you read that right) for their face.
This first become a thing when people realized that clay-based cat litter contains two ingredients — bentonite and silica — which are also found in skin-care products meant to retain moisture and absorb surface oils. But what they didn't realize is that cat litter also comes with other ominous ingredients you don't want anywhere near your face.
Nail Polish Instead of Eyeliner
Using makeup hacks shouldn't be a dangerous proposition, no matter how well-intentioned that hack may be. Take this one, for example, all nail polish bottles clearly have warning signs that read "Keep away from eyes."
So why in the world did someone come up with this hack? We're not sure but we think it might have something to do with getting more exposure for being totally crazy.
Bite of Bad Advice
If there's one thing the entire planet can collectively agree on, is that mosquitos are the worst! They sound annoying and they leave behind itchy bite marks. What's not to despise? We're not surprised that there is an array of DIY hacks to try to relieve an itchy mosquito bite. Aloe vera and oatmeal are some popular remedies touted online.
However, scotch tape is certainly an outlier, and for good cause. We can't imagine scotch tape alleviating any discomfort and since it's not made to be left on the skin, we aren't surprised that it made Kate's situation even worse.
Using Mayo in a DIY Face Mask
Myths prevail in the world of cosmetics, and it's about time some of them get busted before it comes back to clog up our pores, generate more oil, and bring about more acne.
Many DIY face masks will recommend you use mayonnaise in your recipe as it's incredibly moisturizing, but it's not the right kind of moisture for your face. Oil and fat can overdo it when it comes to the delicate pH balance of your skin, so keep mayo out of your skincare routine.
Using Beer on Your Hair
Many of these hacks contain everyday food and drinks that claim to have beneficial value for us beyond being digested. This is where beer comes in, which is said to plump up your locks.
This might work if the pH levels of beer were a good match for your scalp, but every beer is different so you'd have to try a few out to see if it actually works. Just do yourself a favor and have a beer after a long day of work instead of dunking your hair into it.
Using Glass Jars for Cleaning Products Can Do More Harm Than Good
There’s nothing like finding ways to be more eco-friendly and reusing your glass containers and jars. However, the best thing to do when it comes to cleaning solutions is to keep them in their own personal containers with proper labels. Why? Firstly, because with the original container, you have immediate access to the product’s warnings and how to deal with an accident caused by the cleaning solution.
Another safety issue is that cross-contamination between cleaning products can be fatal, too. Some diluted liquid bleach solutions are susceptible to degradation. High temperatures, contamination, and even exposure to sunlight can cause the liquid bleach active to degrade into salt and water.
Turmeric to Whiten Teeth
Turmeric is a great spice to add flavor and color to your dishes, but it's just as harsh as baking soda, which is probably why this kitchen spice is sometimes found in DIY cosmetics.
Unfortunately, abrasive ingredients like turmeric can cause more damage to the enamel of your teeth and slowly break down their protective layer which can lead to even more cavities. Yikes!
Vinegar as Toner
If you're "too clever" to buy toner for your skin, then you might as well skip the whole skincare routine because vinegar is not doing you any favors.
All kinds of vinegar are very acidic and will dehydrate your skin which can cause premature aging, and why create more problems down the line than is necessary?
Coffee Spray Tanner
Using tanning products means you have to damage your skin, but that doesn't mean DIY options are better than the UV rays from the sun.
Spraying coffee all over your body is one way that people have been going about it, but is it really effective and safe? There are so many other options we recommend you use, like bronzer, body shimmer, or actual self-tanner.
Using Sharpie for Eyeliner
There are plenty of new makeup hacks to get excited about but this is not one of them. Sharpies should never, ever, ever be anywhere near your eyes, or near your face for that matter.
Sharpies have a felt-tip that may contribute to a truly striking eyeliner, but the chemicals from the fragrance alone will make your eyes burn. On the other hand, cosmetic eyeliner is exclusively formulated for use around your eyes, so stick with that.
Pimple Popping With Needles
The only thing worse than getting a pimple is trying to pop it with an unsterile needle and leave a scar. This is like begging for something to go wrong.
Your skin is probably the most vulnerable organ of your body, so why risk infecting it with a pin?
DIY Chemical Peels
While it's perfectly ok to get a chemical peel from a trusted aesthetician, it's definitely not ok to do it by yourself.
Even though we can nowadays find all sorts of facial peels online, experts strongly advise leaving these chemical treatments to qualified professionals.
Gorilla Glue as Hair Spray
You may be tempted to try out this Tik Tok trend, but we strongly recommend you don't! For those that don't know, Gorilla Glue is used for craft projects and furniture repair and is said to be the strongest adhesive there is.
One Tik Toker went viral for using it to style her hair and landed up in the emergency room. She has since recovered, but please do learn from her mistake.
A Turmeric Mask for Peach Fuzz
At some point, there was a viral video circulating that explained how a face mask made of turmeric could help curb excessive facial hair growth in women.
Well, fortunately, experts stepped in and proved that it was a false claim. Now you can quit pasting turmeric on your face and keep it where it belongs — in your kitchen.
Using Milk of Magnesia Instead of Primer
If you prefer matte-looking skin, then your natural skin probably doesn't work for you, which is why primer was invented. Primer is spread over your face to create a smoothing effect that boosts makeup coverage and to 'prime' it for foundation — all while targeting oily skin.
Still, many have chosen to forgo quality primer in favor of an antacid, Milk of Magnesia, which has a lot of sulfate in it.
Brown Sugar to Straighten Hair
This hack claims that if you mix a few spoonfuls of brown sugar with a cup of water and spray it on damp hair, it should air-dry straight.
But we're calling this totally bogus. Brown sugar would be better used as a texturizer, but definitely not as an ingredient for a straightening treatment.
Lemon and Baking Soda
Lemon and baking soda might be popular cleaning agents in many kitchens but if you're thinking of using lemon and baking soda to get rid of the dark spots under your arms, think again.
This supposed age-old beauty hack was never any good. Yes, lemon and baking soda will definitely lighten your underarms, but it comes at a price – as baking soda proves to be quite dangerous and this mixture can burn your skin.
Using Deodorant as a Primer
Antiperspirant deodorant keeps you from sweating too much, but not oil production so if you’re looking for an alternative product for your skin, it's best to try something more suitable.
Deodorants often have many chemicals and artificial ingredients that are meant for your underarms and not for the skin on your face.
Peanut Butter as Shaving Cream
We can’t stress this enough: Avoid peanut butter as a cosmetic product at all costs! Using it as shaving cream will only clog up your razor and leave a thick and sticky mess on your skin.
For shaving cream, you want to go with something light and airy, which is why shaving cream was invented!
Using Floss to Take Out Blackheads
As more people become obsessed with the appearance of their skin, more skincare tutorials have been appearing on the internet. One hack that we would be happy to see go is this one that's been showing people using dental floss to remove blackheads.
Not only is this ineffective but you're more likely to damage your skin by applying so much pressure with a very thin string of floss.
Hairspray to Set Your Makeup
This has to be one of the most cringe-worthy trends yet, and we have no idea why anyone would think this is a good idea. Even though hairspray might seem like a promising product to keep your makeup in place all day, it's filled with harsh ingredients that will only irritate and clog up your pore.
Here's a tip, if you're really desperate for your makeup to set, it's best to stick to setting sprays meant for your face.
Using Dishwashing Liquid on Your Face
At some point, reasonable people who used regular facewash decided that dishwashing liquid was the only rational way to clean their face. Sure, it makes sense on paper as dishwashing liquid can remove grease from pots and pans, but sometimes you shouldn't apply dishwashing logic to your own skin.
The skin on your face is sensitive, and it can't handle the type of stripping chemicals you put on your stainless steel pots.
Elmer's Glue?
We never thought we'd need to state this but glue should not be anywhere near your face or cosmetics!
Apparently, some people have been making face masks with Elmer's glue to make them more cohesive. While Elmer's glue might not be toxic, it will certainly clog your pores with unwanted ingredients that are definitely not meant to be on your face.
Vinegar for Marble Cleaning?
Vinegar can be one of the most effective products to use when you’re cleaning since it’s strong, affordable, and natural. Nevertheless, you want to be careful with what you use it for.
When it comes to cleaning up your spectacular countertops, be they marble or granite, vinegar is the last thing you want to use, as acidic cleaners may scratch the granite top and leave a dull or uneven color behind.