Ten Amazing Ways to Use Q-Tips That Don’t Use Your Ears
Q-tips are one of a very short list of products that are commonly bought for purposes they are clearly not intended for (seriously , don’t clean your ears with them ). But if you shouldn’t be using cotton swabs to clean your ears, what’s the point? Well, they were originally marketed as a safe way to smear babies with whatever you need, and they are apparently used in combination with many beauty products . But the regular cotton swab has many more uses than you might think.
If your decision to stop using them for ear cleaning leaves you with a few thousand to use in other ways, here’s how to use them.
Clean kitchen tools
The things we use for cooking can get very dirty and difficult to clean. Waffle irons and similar appliances are tricky if you can’t run them in the dishwasher and there are can openers. Can openers are still an essential tool in modern life, and yet we can overlook how dirty they get after years of use. But cotton swabs can be very effective at cleaning a can opener , and are also perfect for cleaning things like waffle irons . As for the can opener, dampen a Q-tip or other swab with a little isopropyl alcohol and rinse it thoroughly to avoid botulism.
Detailing
Cotton buds are perfect for any close-up drawing. Cotton swabs and a small amount of cleaning solution are ideal for getting into any tiny gaps or crevices to wipe out dust and dirt. The list of things that can be effectively cleaned with cotton swabs is endless: hair dryers, air conditioner vents, headphones (which quickly turn into nightmares of ear filth), light switches, keyboards, and so on.
Brush
As any school teacher or day care worker will tell you, cotton buds make great brushes. The cotton swab is perfect for applying precise color polka dots to your artwork, providing you with another tool for creative expression. They are also perfect for small home paint jobs when the paint on the walls or elsewhere has peeled off. Instead of loading a brush or roller, simply pop open the spare paint and touch it up with a swab in a minute.
Product Application
The science is that our hands are dirty , but our hands are also the primary way a product is applied to our body – be it lotion, ointment or medicine. To make things a little more hygienic, use a cotton swab to apply it all and stop dipping your microbial fingers into every jar of product you have.
zipper repair
Zippers are amazing gadgets, but when they fail, they just drive you crazy. If you’ve got a zipper stuck and are wondering if you can live the rest of your life in these jeans, rejoice: a Q-tip and some lubricant (lip balm works well!) loose. Just use a swab to apply some lubricant and rub it into the teeth of the zipper. This will loosen things up enough to zip it up again.
Jewelry cleaning
Jewelry is a delicate material and is often very intricate in design, with many tiny crevices and spaces where dirt collects. A cotton swab is ideal for cleaning rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry as clean as possible, but be careful not to damage tiny clasps or bend decorative elements.
pilot lighter
If you’ve ever had a burner on your stove, water heater, or boiler go out (or if you’ve had a tall candle whose wick has burned deep into the vessel), you know it can be difficult to light it again without a long match or candle. lighter with a long neck. Immersed in alcohol, cotton swabs burn like tiny torches and are often only enough to light a pilot. If they are a little short, you can use various tools to bring them closer, such as kitchen skewers or tongs, or tape them to any stick. Just have a cup of water handy to fill them up as soon as the flame is lit.
Repairing worn leather
You can get shoes or leather furniture looking like new again without having to go through a full polishing or refinishing process. Just take cotton swabs, Vaseline and nail polish remover. Dip a swab in nail polish remover and gently wipe over scratches and scuffs. Let dry, then soak another swab in Vaseline, rub the stain for a quick polish and the scuff will disappear.
Repair chipped tiles
Floor tiles in high traffic areas wear a lot and there is nothing more annoying than chipping one tile from a dropped object or other accident. Cutting down a single tile is of little interest and requires you to have a spare tile on hand to replace. Instead, find a bottle of nail polish that matches the color of the tile as closely as possible. Then take out your trusty Q-tips and apply a layer to the chipped area. Let it dry, then repeat as needed to create a new layer of finish. The success of your renovation will depend on how accurately you can match the color, but it’s a lot easier than replacing the entire tile.
Refresh Solution
Grout, the gritty material between the tiles on your walls and floors, can get quite messy over time. This is especially noticeable in hallways, kitchens and bathrooms, where debris is slowly turning those bright lines into dark paths of desperation. But with some cleaners and a few Q-tips, you can clean up those grout lines (and even paint them a new color if you want). Cotton swabs are ideal for applying cleaning solutions and other formulations precisely to the grout line, and the results can be quite impressive.