Usually products are designed and created with a specific purpose in mind. They are perfected to deal with a particular issue or they are just commonly used for one thing. If you need your windows cleaned, there’s a specific product for that. You use salt to season your food and usually use bleach to take out stains from white clothing.
But all these products can be used for different intentions. A person whose nickname is secondhandsisters probably had that thought and went to Reddit to ask people “What are some lesser-known secondary uses for an everyday product?” And that created a big and very useful thread with people sharing so many products that don’t have to be used just for what they were initially intended to.
Do you have any advice that really works on how to use everyday items or products? Tell us about it in the comments and then upvote the answers that you will try out yourself!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
Condensed milk for those with chronic vomiting. Not only is it great for cooking, but I had a pharmacist tell me about adding some water till it is the consistency of thick soup. Get the person to sip small amounts of it slowly. It helps line the oesophagus to reduce vomiting, and allowing medication time to hit the stomach and work. Also provides much needed sugar. I’ve used it on kids and adults and it’s worked a treat every time
add salt to your hand wash to get gasoline smell off
Love,
Dad
I carry a garlic press in my purse so that when I'm out at a restaurant I can make a small amount of baby food out of any steamed vegetable.
As a mechanic, a flat-head screwdriver is a pry-bar, package opener, square-head (Robertson) screwdriver, hose-pick, a punch, test-lead, electrical bridge, scraper, chisel, and least importantly, a flat-head screwdriver.
Corn starch is a good blood coagulant if you need to stop bleeding
Clean mascara wands are used in animal shelters to soothe the animals by brushing, and to remove fly eggs and larva from fur.
If you have a landline telephone, the dial tone is a concert F.
By holding the phone to your ear and your finger on the first fret of the first string of your guitar (for example) you can use the dial tone as a reference pitch and accurately tune up without a tuner
Coffee grounds are quite versatile. Among other things, you can use them for:
A soil additive to improve the pH balance for plants
Place them in a refrigerator to neutralize odors
Scour pots and pans
De-icing your steps and driveway
An ant repellent
An exfoliating scrub for your skin
Hair conditioner as shaving cream
How very weird! Just this morning in the shower my can of shave cream died. Hair conditioner to the rescue! It works really well.
Load More Replies...
It moisturizes your skin better too. I haven't bought shaving cream in over a decade
Men’s shaving cream for shaving the legs. I know that they also sell “women’s leg shaving cream” but it’s less common and expensive.
Plain soap works too -- rub a lot on your hands, then work it into a foamy lather between your hands. Rub on wet face for 20 - 30 seconds to let it soak in and soften the hair before shaving.
I do this when I'm on vacation. One less thing to pack.
Load More Replies...
I found that one. My GF used all my shaving cream so I used her conditioner.
I'm at the age when I appreciate reminders of all the things I knew once and forgot!
Load More Replies...
Hand lotion mixed with a little bit of water to shave. Just rinse the razor with hot water after each use. When done, no need to rinse the skin off, just rub any remaining lotion in, the skin is smooth but also hydrated from the hand lotion.
I have very short hair son have no use for conditioner, so liquid soap is my way to go.
Load More Replies...
I never buy shaving gel any more. Just conditioner or lotion. My skin is so much happier for it.
Had to use it more than once. Especially in the Army where buying shaving cream sometimes was impossible. Also since I had so little hair, I really didn't use the conditioner too often. Another tip: try face cream as an aftershave. I use a "medical" cream of sort that works great.
Just about any slippery substance you're willing to put on your skin will work. Lotions, creams, oils (including cooking oils).
Also, using shaving cream to clean off poop, when dealing with animals, infants or the elderly. This is a secret known to many who work in nursing homes.
Hair conditioner is also best for removing head lice, they can't stick to the hair, so can be flea combed of without using nasty chemicals
Conditioners actually contain an ingredient (keratin) which makes your hair grow. Body wash works just as well (shave my legs n s**t*t with it) and doesn't add hair growth.
I use a perfume free bar of soap. Move it across my chin and cheeks when I'm showering and use a razor immediately after. At first I used a mirror – now I can shave without looking. Saves me a lot of time.
I used hair conditioner and a really good razor one time to shave my legs and cut the backs of my calves to ribbons. Looked like a suicide attempt - it wasn't.
Did this out of desperation once, and never used anything else since.
Any kind of cooking oil will easily get pine sap off of your hands. Just use it like soap.
I wrap those thick rubber bands (you know the ones that come around broccoli crowns) around tight jar lids to make them grippy and easy to undo.
Blue Dawn dish soap works really well on clothing stains.
I spent years in the Marina Industry and it works really well for zipping people down water slides as well.
Vagisil for chafing. It's antibacterial, lubricating, and an anesthetic. I learned that in the army
Vinegar is amazing. It can be used as a cheap household cleaner, refresh the coffee maker, and it can cure foot fungus and jock itch.
Please note that this refers to white vinegar (white wine or cider vinegar can work too) and definitely NOT balsamic like the picture. I use diluted vinegar with a few drops of essential oil as a spray for the garbage bin, and you can put it in the washing machine to get rid of musty smells in clothes. I always have a massive jug of white vinegar in the house, it's very useful. Oh, and for cleaning glass.
Your library card can do a lot more than let you borrow books.
It allows you to take free courses on Lynda, or learn a language, and even stream movies. A lot of libraries also have video game rentals, which a lot of people don't know about.
Bottom shelf cheap VODKA.... Put it in a spray bottle and squirt in on your bathroom walls to kill mold, squirt it on clothes to remove any odors, use it to clean mirrors, glass, windows.
If you do put vodka on clothes, you will smell like vodka. Is that a win?
Peroxide gets blood stains out
baking powder does the job as well. had some bad blood stains on my favourite pants due to bleeding while pregnant. when I came home after an emergency c-section I restored said pants the their former glory. but you have to put it in cold water beforehand.
Liquid Laundry detergent glows under blacklights but is clear under normal light. You can dip a qtip in some detergent and draw/write on your walls and only see it with a blacklight on. Different brands glow different colors. Lots of fun in dorm rooms.
WD 40 removes old adhesives from any thing with out damage or staining or discoloration
Use vet wrap instead of sports tape. It's basically the same thing but much less expensive.
If you have a French press for coffee, you can also froth milk in it after. Pour in hot milk and raise and lower the plunger until the volume of the milk has about doubled.
If you happened to buy the toy for frothing milk Ikea sells, you will do much better if you take quarter cup of milk, heat it for 10s on 800W in microwave and then froth it. (the milk does froth at about 40°C because the proteins start changing their shape and actually allow longer strands that are necessary to make the structure last.
put a somewhat thick layer of vaseline on the skin around your hairline and ears and neck when dying your hair. if you accidentally get dye on your skin, you can easily wipe it off.
My hairdresser always does this, for people who get perms too.
Keep a bag of cat litter in the trunk of the car, in case you need extra traction if you get stuck in ice or snow.
Bleach to keep away cockroaches. I used to get big ass cockroaches in the summer that came up my drain.
My exterminator told me to pour 1 cup of bleach down my drain each week. You have to pour it down the drain in the room you see them. I started 18 months ago and haven't seen a cockroach since.
(Don't do this if you have a septic tank)
If you have a highlighter that's dying, take the "pen" part of it out of the casing and soak it in nail polish remover. It will revitalize it to working like new
this will work only when the highlighter has dried out and the pigments are still in it. If you do use it out and do try this, it will eventually stop highlighting.
Any cooking oil is a great way to remove the residue from stickers.
Idk if this is recommended but if you get scratches on wood furniture I've always taken a matching washable marker, colored over the scratch, and then wiped it with a damp cloth (to effectively stain the wood back to match).
I use sharpies on wood scratches. They come in lots of colors, and if you're quick, you can still wipe away excess to get a nice blend. They're permanent, so there's no need to worry about it coming off on people's hands or washing away.
Makeup remover wipes are really good at getting bike chain grease off your hands.
A jeweler's loupe can double as a macro lens for your cell phone.
Shaving foam reducesstops misting on bathroom mirrors and car windows.
Also good for when you have a really sticky poop that you just CANNOT get off no matter how many passes you make with TP. Pop some cream on your TP, lather it around and prepare for a much easier job. Even works with hairy butts. (The only reason I needed to know this is because I'm a nurse and I wipe a lot of butts!)
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I feel like I got scammed here, never thought you would do this to me Bored Panda 🥺
Slightly amusingly, because of how the screen refreshes, I reckon I've probably seen at least four of these hacks just from the main page. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to keep refreshing until I get to all 37.
So far I've seen "cooking oil gets pine sap off your hands", "makeup remover wipes also remove bike chain grease off your hands", "adding salt to handwash removes the smell of gasoline", and "toilet seat covers are like blotting paper for oily skin" (unused, I hope, but without the full article we may never know...)
Load More Replies...
What do I think about this recipe? Disappointed - I thought I was going to learn some life hacks from this "recipe" & instead the page wouldn't display anything but "Did you make this recipe?, etc."
My best finding is that a cheap Amzn.to/3Forcl3 works super good on removing tree resin after using my hedge trimmer. Nothing can beat that.
What happened?? Bp is broken edit: it's fixed lol
My favourite is baby powder to remove grease stains on your clothing. Just jump it on the grease before you wash and it takes it right out.
I found a really great video that has a few of these tips and more in it. I’ve used a bunch of them. https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
I feel like I got scammed here, never thought you would do this to me Bored Panda 🥺
Slightly amusingly, because of how the screen refreshes, I reckon I've probably seen at least four of these hacks just from the main page. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to keep refreshing until I get to all 37.
So far I've seen "cooking oil gets pine sap off your hands", "makeup remover wipes also remove bike chain grease off your hands", "adding salt to handwash removes the smell of gasoline", and "toilet seat covers are like blotting paper for oily skin" (unused, I hope, but without the full article we may never know...)
Load More Replies... What do I think about this recipe? Disappointed - I thought I was going to learn some life hacks from this "recipe" & instead the page wouldn't display anything but "Did you make this recipe?, etc."
My best finding is that a cheap Amzn.to/3Forcl3 works super good on removing tree resin after using my hedge trimmer. Nothing can beat that.
What happened?? Bp is broken edit: it's fixed lol
My favourite is baby powder to remove grease stains on your clothing. Just jump it on the grease before you wash and it takes it right out.
I found a really great video that has a few of these tips and more in it. I’ve used a bunch of them. https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
