People are constantly scrolling through Pinterest, pinning helpful tips and tricks and ideas that they may not ever even need, but there are those random moments of dire need when you can look to Pinterest and put those life hacks to the test and see if they actually work.

They might turn out to be a complete disaster, or really helpful. Luckily, I’ve tried a few, so they might come in handy for you and help you figure out which ones to not even bother attempting.

1. Scratched DVDs. Ever have a scratched DVD that won’t play no matter how many times you try to clean it? My precious Breakfast Club DVD was so scratched, I thought it was a lost cause, but I turned to Pinterest in the hopes of finding a solution. The directions said to rinse the CD with warm water, carefully dry, then rub a good layer of mint toothpaste on the CD and let it sit for five minutes and rinse it off. I have no idea how, but my Breakfast Club DVD was brought back to life and has been playing ever since. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I might as well enjoy it while it does. 

2. Drying nails. I am really meticulous with my nails, which is why it takes me 20 to 30 minutes just to paint them. By the time I’m done, I don’t have the patience to wait for them to dry completely, and end up messing up my perfect manicure and those past 30 minutes just went to waste. I figured Pinterest must have a solution to this common problem, so I whipped out my laptop and did some searching. Turns out, a small bowl of ice water will instantly dry your nails in just three minutes! 

3. Removing splinters. For whatever reason, I got about four splinters this past summer and removing them was so difficult. I figured since the past few Pinterest hacks have been a success, I'd give it a try. By the end of the night, my hands were covered in a baking soda and water paste, Elmer’s glue, banana peels, and duct tape. It was a disaster. Not only was my kitchen a mess, but the splinter only got deeper and deeper. Luckily, a simple pair of tweezers did the trick after a while. Skip Pinterest on this one, at least for now.

4. Rainbow cake. My little sister and I decided to make a rainbow cake that we found on Pinterest and it was awful. After we tried to marble all of the colors, it quickly transformed from what looked like would turn out as a beautiful rainbow, to a sad mixture of brown pastels. Not as appetizing as we had hoped. We figured it would still taste good even though it didn’t look pretty, but we were so wrong. It tasted like flour and fell apart the second we cut into it. I’m not the ace of cakes, but I expected the cake to turn out a lot better than it did. 

Pinterest can be a hit or miss, but there’s always a chance that Pinterest will save the day!