Aluminum foil is one of those things a kitchen just can't do without, but it's mainly used for cooking and wrapping food. Well I'm here to tell you that this household item has many more uses than just those two, and can help you in a number of areas, for instance...
Brown sugar is a great product, but hard to work with as it tends to harden into lumps. If that happens, wrap a lump of brown sugar in metal foil and put it in the oven on 150 degrees celsius for about 5 minutes. The sugar will soften and separate.
2. Protect pie dough
Sometimes, when we bake a pie in
the oven, the filling hasn't finished cooking, but the dough at the
edges is getting burnt. Fold a piece of metal foil over the edges of the
pie dough to prevent them from burning up.
3. Make cakes in various shapes easily
To bake cakes in many special shapes, simply make the shape in a regular baking pan and use 2-3 layers of aluminium foil to strengthen and fix the internal pattern. It will hold and bake in that shape.
4. Keep the oven clean
The worst kind of dirt to clean in
the oven is the fat that drops from meat and onto the base. Cover your
oven's base with aluminum foil to protect it from hard-to-remove stains.
Try to make it thick so it doesn't melt and stick to the oven base.
5. Protect your solid soap
Cover the bottom of a soap bar with aluminum foil so it doesn't melt and become a lump.
6. Keep birds away
Many birds get frightened by shiny
objects. Hang pieces of aluminum foil on your fruit tree, and most
birds will pass it by, looking for an easier meal. You can also draw
eyes on the foil to make it even more effective.
Note: This won't work with crows and magpies, as they love shiny things and may actually steal the foil.
Use this method to get rid of stains on your silverware. Lay some foil in a shallow pan and pour some hot water on it. Add a little salt and baking soda to the water. Now, put the silverware in the pan and make sure that they are touching each other and are all touching the foil. After soaking the silverware for a few hours, wash in cold water and dry with a cloth.
8. Easily scrub pots
It's fun to use a pot, not so much
fun cleaning it afterwards. Make a ball (not dense) from aluminum foil,
and use it to scrub the pan. You can use this method for all kitchen
tools that need a serious scrubbing.
9. Move furniture with ease
Sometimes we need to move heavy furniture pieces and have a hard time sliding them on the rug. Place a bit of foil under the legs of the piece of furniture to help it slide easily along.
10. Sharpen your scissors
Return the sharpness to your old
pair of scissors with this method: Fold a piece of foil into 8 layers,
and then cut it using the old scissors. The more you cut, the sharper
they will become, as the foil will remove a layer of the old metal and
make it sharp again.
11. Prevent static electricity on your clothes
If you hate it when your clothes come out of the dryer full of static electricity, add a ball of aluminum foil into the dryer next time, and it will prevent this from happening.
12. Quick ironing
Wrap the iron board with aluminum
foil to shorten the process of ironing. The foil will return the heat
from the iron to the clothes, so you're actually ironing both sides at
the same time.
You can use the aluminum foil to clean the bottom of the iron from any dirt that has clung to it. Spread out a piece of foil and sprinkle a little salt on it. Heat the iron and use it to 'iron' the foil. The combination of metal and salt will easily clean the bottom of the iron.
14. Protect table legs
Usually our table legs tend to be
full of scratches and bruises. You can use foil to cover the lowest
points of the table legs to keep them intact.
15. Fix devices that work on batteries
One of the most common problems in battery operated devices is that the little spring in the battery compartment loses its elasticity and becomes flat, which prevents the battery from connecting to it well enough to operate the device. Fold a piece of aluminum foil a few times and stick it between the battery and the spring to conduct the electricity and easily fix the problem.
16. Use your radiator more efficiently
When you have a radiator that is
placed against a wall, half of its heat is wasted on the wall. Instead,
take a thin plank of wood, wrap it in foil and place it behind the
radiator, thus directing all the heat back in your direction.