Pro tip: A weird trick for getting rid of that stubborn coolant smell on your hands

Honestly, I was ready to give up. After every shift, my hands smelled like rancid coolant for hours, no matter how much I scrubbed. My wife kept saying it was gross. I tried the usual stuff, dish soap, the orange pumice cleaner, even a baking soda paste. Nothing worked for more than a few minutes. Then, last Tuesday, an old timer at my shop in Dayton saw me scrubbing and just said, 'Use coffee grounds.' I thought he was messing with me, but I was desperate. I grabbed a handful of the used grounds from the break room, rubbed them on my wet hands like gritty soap for about 30 seconds, and rinsed. Ngl, the smell was totally gone. It sounds crazy, but it actually worked. Has anyone else found a weird fix like this for shop grime?

4 comments

4 Comments

samreed2mo ago

Always thought that was a myth, but coffee grounds really do work.

paulnguyen2mo ago

My grandma used coffee grounds in her rose garden for years. The thing is, they only help if you're trying to make your soil more acidic. If your dirt is already acidic, adding them can actually hurt your plants. It's not a universal fertilizer, it's for specific soil types.

garcia.wren17d ago

Paulnguyen you're totally right about checking soil pH first, I learned that the hard way after dumping grounds on my blueberries that were already doing just fine. It reminds me of how people treat all those TikTok gardening hacks like they're universal fixes. Like the baking soda thing for tomatoes or using banana peels for potassium, they work but only under certain conditions. I feel like we've gotten so used to quick fixes that we forget every garden is its own little ecosystem with different needs. Have you ever tried testing your soil before adding anything new?

wood.jana2mo ago

My azaleas loved coffee grounds last year, and paulnguyen is right about the soil thing.