One turn of the bowl with toilet cleaner will do
The amount of toilet bowl cleaner recommended on the back of the bottle varies depending on the brand, but Wirecutter staff writer James Austin said around 4 to 6 ounces is enough to effectively clean your toilet bowl. Measuring out a specific amount of cleaner, however, can be a little difficult since most toilet bowl cleaners come in a funny-looking bottle designed to more easily apply the cleaner under the rim of the bowl. To save yourself the trouble of measuring it out, James said one squeeze of the bottle all the way around the bowl usually provides more than you need.
Measure your sunscreen by the ounce
Chances are, you’re not wearing enough sunscreen—and if that’s the case, you’re not alone. A 2014 study showed that most folks typically use a quarter to half as much sunscreen as they should be using to meet the advertised sun protection factor (SPF). To get the full protection of the SPF listed on the bottle, you need to use 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin. This amounts to about 1 ounce of sunscreen for the average-size adult’s near-naked body. It’s harder to judge how much sunscreen you’re using if you get it from a spray bottle, especially if you’re applying it on a windy day. Spray sunscreen manufacturers typically recommend holding the bottle 4 to 6 inches from your skin, but Wirecutter found that in order to apply it effectively you may need to spray it even closer, and you still need to rub it into your skin. They’re also easy to accidentally inhale, which poses health risks.
The cap on that detergent bottle is way too big
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Stop using so much laundry detergent. Though the back of almost every detergent bottle suggests using a capful of detergent, senior staff writer Andrea Barnes says that’s way too much. Detergent residue builds up in your clothes over time, turning your soft wardrobe stiff if you use too much detergent. You need only 2 tablespoons per load to effectively clean your clothes, and that’s for large loads weighing 12 pounds or more. An average load of laundry weighs around 8 pounds and requires even less detergent—1 tablespoon is enough to thoroughly clean your clothes.
A little dish soap goes a long way
You might be using too much dish soap if you continuously squeeze dollops of the cleaner onto your sponge while hand-washing your dishes. A more effective way to get the chore done is to fill the sink with soapy water. We’ve found that sometimes you need only as little as a teaspoon of dish detergent in a sinkful of water to produce a healthy layer of foam on top. Wirecutter’s Anna Perling suggests starting with the least-dirty dishes to preserve the soapy water for as long as possible. Once the water turns brown or loses suds, drain it and replenish it with another teaspoon of soap.
