You probably have a box or two of aluminum foil buried somewhere in your pantry. But are you making the most of it? It’s a known superstar for wrapping food or lining baking sheets, but most people have no idea that aluminum foil can actually do so much more.
First produced in France in 1903, it quickly became apparent that aluminum foil was excellent for packaging foods such as candy bars and Life Savers candy. Fast-forward to World War II, when the military accepted this product for all kinds of uses. For example, foil strips were dropped from bombers to confuse enemy radar tracking systems. Take it, Hitler!
Of course, there are many uses for aluminum foil that fall between the obvious (food packaging) and ultra-innovative (military). For those of you who haven’t parked a bomber in your garage, try some of these 9 cool uses for aluminum foil! You will definitely be amazed. Chances are you’re inspired.
Table of Contents
1. Scrub Fan
If your entire pan is covered in crusty, grilled food, but you don’t have a pot scrubber, don’t despair! All you need to do is get enough foil to crumple it into a fist-sized ball, then scrub it with soap and water as usual. Do not do this on copper cookware of any kind or other cookware coated with a non-stick material. Best used with aluminum, steel or glass pots and pans. Who knew aluminum foil could act as a towel on steroids?
2. Make Your Own Panini Press
The Reynolds Wrap expert’s inventive foil hacks create a delightful panini that rivals most delis. Make a sandwich first, then wrap it in aluminum foil. Place on one cookie sheet and place another cookie sheet on top of the sandwich. Next, wrap the bricks in foil (if you have one, use a heavy oven-safe pan). Place a brick or heavy pan on top of a cookie sheet in the oven. The sandwich is then grilled until the desired degree of doneness is reached.
3. Polish Silverware
You’ll never have to buy smelly silver polish again! You can easily clean your silverware by lining a plastic tub with aluminum foil. Make sure the shiny side is facing up. Then put the silverware in the trash can. Add 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of washing soda (this is not the same as baking soda, for reference) and 1 gallon (3.79 liters) of boiling water to a jar. Stir the mixture and let the silverware soak for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The tarnish should “fall” off the silverware onto the aluminum foil!
Or try the following method. Line a bin or roasting pan with foil and fill with cold water. Stir in water with 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of baking soda and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Carefully place the silverware into the solution to avoid touching the sides of the pan. You can see bubbles forming. Soak for a few minutes. Be sure to rinse with water and dry.
4. Keep Birds in the Bay
Even if you don’t like birds or don’t want them playing in your fruit trees, it’s easy to scare them away humanely. All you have to do is hang a piece of aluminum foil on a tree branch. Those feathery friends must keep their distance.
5. Protect your garden
If you’re having fun in your home garden and really want to spoil it, add strips of aluminum foil to your mulch to ward off pesky little bugs. This should provide good insect protection while reflecting precious light back onto the plant!
6. Create creative cake shapes
There is no need to buy expensive novelty cake pans that you will only use once. Instead, flex those creative muscles and use aluminum foil! All you have to do is make a double layer of all this aluminum foil, then you can manipulate it into any shape you want, like a heart, liver or something else. Put it in a cake pan, fill the foil with the batter and bake!
7. Make a DIY Funnel
It’s not like you don’t have a funnel on hand when you really need one. Make a cone-shaped funnel out of aluminum foil to fill the empty space. easy!
8. Sharpen your scissors
If your old scissors become too dull to use, you can easily fix them with a foil base. Peel off a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold into quarters. This will create 4 foil layers. Then you just have to cut the foil over and over again. This will give you shiny, sharp scissors blades!
9. Speed up the ironing process
Sometimes ironing is just too tedious. Reduce ironing time by putting aluminum foil under the ironing board cover. This will reflect heat effectively and make wrinkles fall much faster.
Obviously aluminum foil wants to make your life easier. So let go! You won’t regret it.
