10 amazing ways to use Q-Tips that don’t involve your ears

Q-Tips is one of a very short list of products routinely purchased for the purpose they explicitly No use for (seriously-don’t clean your ears with them). But if you shouldn’t use Q-Tips to clean your ears, what’s the point of them? Well, they were initially marketed as a safe way to swab a baby with everything you need to swab a baby. lots of beauty productsBut your average cotton swab has far more uses than you might imagine.

Your decision to stop using them to clean your ears will use up thousands otherwisehere is a method put them use.

cleaning Kitchen tools

Things we use to prepare food get pretty messy and difficult to clean. Waffle irons and similar appliances are difficult if you can’t put them through the dishwasher. And then there’s the opener. Can openers are still an essential tool in modern life, but you’ll be pretty oblivious to how dirty they can get after years of use.However Cotton swabs are very effective for cleaning can openers It’s also great for cleaning things like waffle makerTo avoid possible botulism, dip a cotton swab or cotton swab in the case of a can opener in isopropyl alcohol and wash thoroughly.

detailing

Cotton swabs are absolutely ideal for all kinds of close-up details. Q-Tips and low volume cleaning solutions are great for getting into various small gaps and crevices and sweeping away dust and dirt. The list of things you can effectively clean with a cotton swab is endless. Hair dryers, air conditioning vents, earbuds (quite an earwax nightmare), light switches, keyboards, And many times.

paintbrush

As any school teacher or daycare worker can tell you, cotton swabs make great paintbrushes. Cotton swabs are great for applying precise polka dot punches to your artwork, providing another tool for creative expression. Also great for small home repair paint jobs where the paint on the walls and other spots has chipped off. Instead of loading up on brushes and rollers, open up your spare paint and touch things up in a minute with a swab.

Product use

The science is: our hands are dirtyBut hands are also the main way products are applied to the body, whether they are lotions, ointments, or medicines. To make things a little more hygienic, use a cotton swab to apply them all and stop dipping your finger in germs in every jar of product you own.

zipper repair

Zippers are great gimmicks, but they can be very annoying when they fail. If your zipper is stuck and you want to know if you can live in those jeans for the rest of your life, rejoice. A cotton swab and some kind of lubricant (lip balm works great!) can help keep the zipper in place. freedom. Use a cotton swab to dab the lubricant into the zipper teeth. Loosen things until the zipper works again.

jewelry cleaning

Jewelry is delicate by nature and is often very intricate in design, with many small crevices and spaces for dirt to accumulate. Cotton swabs are great for cleaning rings, earrings, necklaces, and other jewelry as clean as possible, but be gentle without risking damaging small clasps or bending decorative ornaments.

pilot lighter

If you’ve ever had a stove, water heater, or boiler pilot light go out (or have had a tall candle with a wick that burned deep into the container), a long match or a long-necked lighter. When soaked in alcohol, Q-tips burn like small torches, often long enough for pilots to light them. If it’s a little short, you can use various tools such as kitchen skewers and tongs, or tape it to any kind of stick to bring them closer together. Please keep the

Repair worn leather

Refurbish your shoes and leather furniture to look like new without the need for extensive polishing and care. Grab a cotton swab, petroleum jelly, and nail polish. Dip a cotton swab into the nail polish remover and gently wipe away scuffs and scratches. Let it dry, then dab the petroleum jelly with another cotton swab and wipe the area to give it a quick buff to get rid of the scuff marks.

repair chipped tiles

Floor tiles in high traffic areas take a hit. Nothing is more frustrating than dropping an object or having him chip one tile due to some other accident. Scraping out a single tile isn’t fun and you’ll need to have a spare tile on hand to replace. Then take your trusty cotton swab and apply the coat to the chipped area. Allow to dry, then repeat as needed to apply a new finish layer. A successful repair depends on how accurately you can match the colors, but it’s much easier than replacing an entire tile.

refresh grout

Grout, the sandy substance found between wall and floor tiles, can get quite dirty over time. slowly turns into a dark path of despair. But with some cleaning products and some Q-tips, you can clean those grout lines. dye them a new color, if you want). Cotton swabs are ideal for applying cleaning solutions and other compounds to grout lines with precision, and the results are very impressive.