by Danielle Braff
Contributor
Aluminum foil is a Penny Hoarder’s BFF when it comes to preserving leftovers. But if you’re just using that handy foil to wrap up day-old food, you’re totally missing out on so many other uses for this extraordinary kitchen standby.
You might be dating yourself if you are still calling the kitchen workhorse “tin foil” though it’s not uncommon to hear that phrase. Foil was made of tin until just after World War II when the stronger and cheaper aluminum became widely used.
Read on for 10 clever and money-saving ideas.
Don’t toss a dull scissor: Sharpen it with aluminum foil, says Rachel Timmerman, a Virginia blogger with The Analytical Mommy. Fold a piece of 10-by-10-inch aluminum foil three times. Then, cut the foil about 20 times with the scissors to make them sharp.
Crumble a ball of foil and toss it into your dryer, says Gladys Connelly, technical writer for The HouseWire, a product review site. This works exactly the same as a dryer sheet would, Connelly says. “ It eliminates static and fluffs up your clothing,” she says. Spray lavender oil or your favorite scent into the middle of the aluminum sheet before you crumple it to make the foil smell just as good as a dryer sheet, Connelly recommends.
If you have cast-iron radiators, you can DIY a heat reflector out of aluminum foil. Tape some heavy-duty aluminum foil to a piece of cardboard with the shiny side up. That’s literally it. Place the heat reflector behind your radiator or under the radiator’s top. The heat waves will naturally bounce from the foil into the room instead of going into the wall behind the radiator.
Don’t toss your plastic paint tray after each use. Keep the tray clean by wrapping it in aluminum foil. When you’re done, just pull off the foil and your paint tray cover will look as good as new, Connelly says.
You can’t use acetone and a cotton pad to remove gel nail polish. Instead, you’re supposed to soak your nails in acetone. But it would be wasteful to use a bowl of acetone just to remove the polish. So Malaika Desrameaux, a Miami content creator with Self Care Sunday Love, figured out an aluminum foil method. Here’s how:
No need for a special polish or even any elbow grease to polish Nanny’s heirloom silverware. Place a sheet of aluminum foil into a pan, add cold water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Put silver into the pan, and leave it for two minutes. Rinse off with water and let it dry. The aluminum causes a molecular reaction, cleaning the silver for you.
Similar to the process for polishing silver, you can use aluminum foil to clean jewelry by creating an ion exchange (a molecular reaction with the aluminum). Place aluminum foil in a bowl, and fill the bowl with hot water and 1 tablespoon of bleach-free powdered laundry detergent. Soak jewelry in the solution for one minute, rinse with water and air dry.
You’re desperate for a battery to fire up the flashlight. Try aluminum foil, says Melanie Musson, a home safety expert with US Insurance Agents. “If your flashlight requires two C batteries but you only have one, you can fill the empty space with compacted foil,” Musson says. It may not be at full strength, but you’ll have a little light to get you by.
Aluminum foil will miraculously improve your green thumb. Birds are afraid of the shiny foil because of the noise it makes. So tie foil strips around the branches of your fruit trees, you’ll keep the birds from nibbling at the bounty. Same goes for mice and rabbits. These creatures don’t like the feel of the aluminum foil, so placing bits of it on your shrubs serves as a natural deterrent. Bugs bugging you and eating your plants? Nestle foil with soil or stones at the base of plants. Or mix some strips of aluminum foil in with your mulch. In both cases, the foil will keep the moisture in your soil and prevent the weeds from growing while keeping the pests at bay.
Don’t run to the store every time your child wants a cake that looks like something other than a rectangle. Need a dog-shaped pan? A heart pan? Make the shape out of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and place your DIY foil creation into a baking pan big enough to accommodate the shape.
Don’t bother purchasing pricey grill scrubbers when a rolled up ball of aluminum foil works perfectly well, Connelly says. The foil ball should be large enough – about 3 inches around – to hold comfortably with tongs (remember that the grill is hot). Grab the ball with the tongs and swipe back and forth across the grate before it has cooled. Food bits will be easier to remove when the grate is warm. If you already have stubborn burnt food on the grill, then put a piece of aluminum foil on the grates, and close the grill. Turn on the heat and let it run for a few minutes. Then, remove the foil, turn off the heat and try the original cleaning method. It should be easier now because the foil sheet trapped the heat to help loosen any stubborn debris.
Aluminum foil is a natural heat reflector. So if you place a piece of it under the cover of your ironing board, the aluminum foil will speed up your ironing time.
There are so many uses for aluminum foil and we’ve rounded up the answers to common questions about this common household item.
There is little evidence that aluminum foil is harmful to our health even though a bit of the material can leach into food. Aluminum is in other items we use in the kitchen including utensils and baking powder, plus some over-the-counter medications. It is considered safe by the Food & Drug Administration. Fun fact: Some foods have aluminum in them naturally, like citrus.
It actually doesn’t matter. The shiny and matte sides are determined by the machinery that makes aluminum foil. It does matter, however, if you are using non-stick foil. Thankfully, there’s a message embossed on the foil to tell the user which side is non-stick. If not, it’s the dull side.
According to Healthline, foil is made of paper-thin sheets of aluminum metal. Heavy machinery rolls and presses thicker sheets of aluminum until they are 0.2 mm thick. A sheet of paper is about twice as thick as that.
Aluminum foil has many uses and the most prized is in the kitchen for both storage and cooking. It’s non-porous surface helps keep food moist. It is often used to line baking sheets and other pans to make clean up easier. It has other uses around the house including as scissor sharpener and jewelry cleaner. Bits of foil tied to a wire or rope may keep birds from nibbling on fruit growing in your backyard.
Foil is perfectly safe in the oven when it is used as a baking pan or sheet liner or if it’s covering food to slow browning and lock in moisture. We are thinking specifically about lasagna whose cheesy top can burn if it’s left uncovered for the entire cooking time. It’s not a good idea to use foil to line the bottom of your oven to keep it clean because it can stick and cause an even bigger mess. Also, don’t cover racks with foil or you will impede cooking by blocking heat.
Danielle Braff is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.
Ready to stop worrying about money?
Get the Penny Hoarder Daily
Privacy Policy
© 2022 The Penny Hoarder. – All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy and Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Cookies Settings

source