33 Crazy Household Uses for Aluminum Foil

If you thought aluminum foil was just for wrapping food than I’ve got a treat for you. That shiny roll can solve many of your household dilemmas.

Aluminum Foil is a common household item, found in many kitchens across America. Aluminum foil first made it’s appearance in our kitchens around 1913. Prior to that it was made from tin, it’s kinda funny, but some still refer to it as tin foil.  Aluminum replaced tin because it was cheaper to make, it’s more pliable and it doesn’t leave a tinny taste to food.

Over the years, our frugal and creative mothers and grandmothers have found many ways that they could use aluminum foil for things besides cooking.

Kitchen

1. Brown Sugar – to soften, wrap the hard brown sugar in aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.
2. Cakes – to create shaped molds, double up on heavy-duty aluminum foil to form your desired shape. Place the shaped aluminum inside a cake pan and fill with your favorite batter.
3. Celery – to make it last longer, wrap it in aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator.
4. Funnel – to make your own, double up a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and form it into a cone shape.
5. Ice Cream – to keep crystals from forming, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
6. Oven – to keep clean, layer aluminum foil over the racks to catch splatters and spills.
7. Pastry Bag – to make one, use heavy-duty aluminum foil to create a cone shape, making sure to fold the edges over well to avoid messes.
8. Pie Crusts – to keep the crust from getting over done, cover the edges with aluminum foil.
9. Platter – to make a disposable platter, cover a piece of cardboard with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
10. Pots and Pans – to scrub, crumble up aluminum foil to act as a pot scrubber.

General Cleaning

1. Chrome – to shine, crumble up aluminum foil, with the shiny side out, and using a little elbow grease rub to a shine.
2. Grill – to clean, while the coals are still hot, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the grates, which will help to burn off the stuck on food. Once the grill is cool, crumble up the aluminum foil and scrub.
3. Fireplace – to clean, place a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil across the bottom of the fireplace before starting a fire. When you’re ready to clean, just fold up the aluminum foil and throw away.
4. Jewelry – to clean, line a small bowl with aluminum foil. Fill the bowl with hot water and a couple of tablespoons of powdered laundry detergent. Place the jewelry in the bowl and let it soak for a couple of minutes, then rinse and air-dry.
5. Silver – to polish, line a baking pan with aluminum foil. fill the pan with cold water and two teaspoons of salt. Place tarnished silver into the solution and let it soak for a couple of minutes before rinsing and drying.
6. Silver – to deter tarnishing, store freshly cleaned silver on top of aluminum foil

Laundry Room

1. Ironing – to remove wrinkles quickly, place a piece of aluminum foil under your ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat so that you won’t have to make as many passes to remove the wrinkles.
2. Iron – to clean, run you hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil.
3. Wool – to remove wrinkles, place a piece of aluminum foil under the item. Using the steam setting on your iron, hold the iron an inch or two above the item.

Miscellaneous Uses

1. Crafts – aluminum foil can be used in all kinds of craft applications.
2. Lighting – to improve brightness, make a reflector to place behind the light using the shiny side of aluminum foil.
3. Paint – to keep it from getting a skin, trace the can on a piece of aluminum foil, cut out the circle and place on the surface of the paint.
4. Painting – to easily clean roller pans, cover the pan with aluminum foil before using.
5. Pets – to keep them off of the furniture, place sheets of aluminum foil on the furniture. They hate the noise.
6. Radiator – to produce more heat, wrap a piece of insulation board with heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side out and place the board behind the radiator. The board helps to keep the heat from absorbing into the wall behind the radiator and will reflect the heat back into the room.
7. Scissors – to hone (sharpen), fold a piece of aluminum foil several times. Then cut the aluminum foil several times with the scissors.Television – for better reception, place aluminum foil on the antennae. A more modern application is to place a sheet of aluminum foil between the TV and DVD box and/or cable box.

Cast Iron Grill Pan

Steam Iron

Scissors

Mixing Bowls

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** If, by some small miracle, you worked at Amway in Ada, MI in the 1980’s and were the person my mother loaned the notebook to, please contact me. The notebook is a small (aprox. 6″x9″) black leather, 3-ring binder, and contains hand drawn patterns (teddy bear), recipes and household tips and tricks. It would mean so much to my family to have it back.