Aluminum foil does not only help you to cook your favourite foods. Discover all the other fantastic uses of this material.
Everybody owns aluminum foil in their kitchen. The contrary would be surprising: this is a very practical thing to have around, and it’s so cheap too! We have to give credit to its inventor, the Swiss Robert Victor Neher, aluminum foil is very useful in and out of the kitchen. It’s hard to believe his invention has been around for almost 110 years now. Foil itself is even older, as it was previously made of tin—that’s why aluminum foil is sometimes referred to as tin foil!
Let’s face it, everyone, from elders in retirement homes to college students, always has some lying around; we’ve incorporated aluminum foil in our kitchen essentials, amongst utensils, pots and pans. Well, you know what, surprisingly aluminum foil can be used outside the kitchen too! Here are 20 interesting things you can do with this material. You will quickly realize that aluminum foil is essential to your life if you hadn’t before.
21. Replace a funnel
If you need to pour some liquid in a water bottle, don’t risk spilling it all and having to go to the store to purchase some more, make a funnel with some aluminum foil.
20. Wrinkle-free clothes
Put some aluminum foil under the clothes that are being ironed. The aluminum foil will become hot very rapidly, so your smart corporate clothes will be wrinkle-free on both sides in no time. That’s what we call being time and energy-efficient.
19. Sharpen your scissors
If your scissors don’t work as well as they used to, don’t throw them away to purchase new ones. Sharpen them or get rid of the rust by cutting a piece of aluminum foil 7-10 times.
18. Extend your batteries life
If you have dead batteries and you don’t have any other, use some aluminum foil. Place the aluminum foil as shown on the image above and you’ll be able to power just about anything in the apartment you are renting.
17. Remove the static from your clothes
Place balls of aluminum foil in your dryer to get rid of static from your clothes. This will also help your clothes dry faster. No need for all these fancy and pricey products available on the market.
16. Clean your iron
Trade harsh cleaning products for a ball of aluminum foil to make your iron shine again.
15. Clean your silverware
To clean your silverware, forget about purchasing expensive specialized products. Place some aluminum foil at the bottom of a container. Add some baking soda, salt, and boiling water. Soak your silverware an hour in the container, and you will see your silverware will be magically cleaned afterwards.
14. Move furniture easily
To move furniture more easily, place bits of aluminum foil under the furniture legs as shown above. This will help slide the furniture and make moving in your newly acquired real estate a lot easier.
13. Get better wifi signal
Aluminum foil can help improve the wifi signal. Fold it a few times, and place it behind the wifi modem like a screen. This is something every college student should know.
12. Clean a glue gun
You can easily clean a glue gun with a piece of aluminum foil and go on building that new model kit you just purchased.
11. Protect food when you’re cooking
To protect your food from sticking to the pan, place a coat of aluminum foil in the bottom of your pan. It is also a great way to cook without using oil which, in turn, is good for your health. Think about it, you could save on health insurance thanks to aluminum foil. Crazy.
10. Remove rust from chromed surfaces
Make a ball with some aluminum foil and scrub it on the rusted surface; increase the value of your furniture and real estate.
9. Seal plastic bags
If you need to seal a plastic bag, place a long piece of aluminum foil on the top, like shown above, and iron it shut. Perfect to save money and save yourself a trip to the hospital to get treatment for food poisoning.
8. Use aluminum foil as a touchscreen
Surprisingly, touchscreens react with aluminum foil. If you coat a pen with some aluminum foil, you can make your own touchscreen pen. If you don’t have touchscreen gloves, add aluminum foil to your fingertips and use your smartphone with normal gloves.
7. Make your own cookie cutters
You can make any shape you would like in a few minutes with this material. Perfect for any crafty college student on a budget looking to get creative in the kitchen.
6. Whiten your teeth
Mix some baking soda with some toothpaste and put a thick coat of the mixture on an aluminum foil strip. Place the strip on your teeth. Remove it after an hour and rinse your mouth. It’s always great to have dental insurance to get proper whitening treatments, but if you can’t afford it, this could help.
5. Protect your doorknobs
Do you need to paint a room that has a doorknob? You can quickly cover your doorknobs with some aluminum foil to protect them instead of using traditional tape. The aluminum foil will protect your doorknobs from paint splatters also. Makes moving into your new apartment a lot more simple especially if the person who was renting before you had strange wall colour tastes.
4. Throw out your cooking grease
If you have cooked very greasy food, coat a bowl with some aluminum foil and pour the grease into the bowl. Close the aluminum foil together and place it in the garbage… Works well, but we don’t claim this is ecological.
3. Always have a clean oven
To make sure you always have a clean oven and to avoid having to constantly clean your oven and spend on special products, add a layer of aluminum foil to the bottom of your oven. This trick also helps to avoid food burning and distributes heat well.
2. Clean your barbecue grill
Forgot to buy a grill scraper? You can clean your barbecue grill with a simple aluminum foil ball. All you have to do is scrub the grill to get rid of grease stains.
1. Curl your hair
If you want to curl your hair while protecting them from too much heat from your curling iron, place a piece of aluminum foil between your iron and your hair. No need to purchase a curling iron!
Sources:
- Bright Side
- Astucito
