45 Aluminium Foil Hacks That Everyone Should Know About
Aluminum foil is mostly used to wrap food in the oven or for lining cookie sheets. But, there are many other hacks and uses of this multi-purpose aluminum foil than we knew about. These shiny sheets are actually capable of doing a lot more than just wrapping up leftovers to store in the fridge. You can use it to polish silverware, protect doors during painting, and even protect your plants; these thin aluminum foil sheets are actually really handy to use around the home. You can even use them to decorate things, make a funny DIY birthday hack, and so much more. In this article, we are going to explore the fun, useful, and plain amazing ways to use this thin sheet of aluminum.
Melty Ice Cream
Everyone loves ice cream, from little kids to adults – it is the most favored sweet treat to eat in the summertime. But, the saddest thing about ice cream is how quickly it melts. Most ice cream parlors give a napkin with the cone, but that doesn’t usually work to contain the spill.
However, no matter how many napkins you wrap around the cone, your hand somehow always gets sticky. You are then left with bits of the sugary cone and the sticky bits of tissue paper. One amazing hack is to wrap the cone with aluminum foil. It doesn’t stick to the cone and makes eating the ice cream easy.
Rushing For Work
When you are rushing for work, the one thing you need the most is your outfits to be ready. Choosing what to wear for the day is another thing, but the clothes should be ironed and wrinkle-free. A great way to set the tone for the day is to leave your house in a neatly ironed shirt.
There is a trick that involves aluminum foil, which can help you here. You can put a sheet of aluminum foil under your clothes that you want to iron. This will help you get it done quicker as the foil reflects the heat.
Garden Mix
Growing plants require a lot of patience and time. Even after putting in a lot of effort, the plants might struggle to survive because of pests and insects. You can cut up little bits of foil, which can be pretty beneficial for the garden.
The bits of foil acts as a reflector and shoots sunlight back on to the leaves. The reflecting light will also repel pests and insects because of the extra light. Insects usually like to roam around in the dark, so the foil will really help to repel them naturally and without needing to use any harmful chemicals..
Stovetop foil
Everyone knows that aluminum foil is a great protector for food in the oven. However, did you know that you can also cover your stovetop or pans with aluminum foil? This helps to minimize the amount of cleaning that the stovetop and pans will need.
You can steam some veggies or even cook spicy jerk chicken wings for game day. If you have a dinner date coming, cook a special Paella for her/her. It will be easy with a foil covering up the stove. Just cover the surface, cook on it, and discard the used foil later on.
Painting It Out
If you plan to do a DIY painting job, you know how difficult it is to protect your furniture and even door handles from paint splashes. Paint spilling over is one of the most major difficulties while doing the paint job.
A simple hack here is to use aluminum foil on your door handles and knobs to protect them. Not only is it cost-effective, but it is efficient as well. After wrapping your doorknobs, you will be worry-free about your painting job.
Protect your Pie Crust
Baking pies are a great way to celebrate the holidays, although we don’t really need an occasion to bake and enjoy a good pie. The best part is that the ingredients can be as basic as you want. Still, pie baking can prove to be challenging, especially when the crust gets burnt.
This is another place where an aluminum foil can help. All you have to do is place foil over the edges of the crust to prevent it from burning or overcooking. This will help bake the rest of the pie perfectly, and the crust will come out super crispy too.
DIY Cookie Cutters
Cookie baking can be a fun, stress-buster activity with your friends or kids. You can always make cookies in different shapes, which makes it very interesting and creative. However, what if you do not have the different shaped cookie cutters?
Fold the aluminum foil into thick strips by laying them down on the kitchen rack. Then you can make any type of cookie-cutter from hearts to stars and even unicorns. You can also turn it into a fun game and think about all kinds of shapes you can make.
Soften Brown Sugar
Brown sugar can be a great addition to your morning coffee. However, it can be a nightmare if you have forgotten to seal the packet or put it in a separate box. You can always melt the brown sugar easily, though.
Just place the brown sugar on a wad of aluminum foil, wrap it up and toss it in the oven for a few minutes. This should be done at a low temperature, though. Another trick is that you can line a piece of foil in a jar and place a damp towel on top of it. This will also moisten the sugar.
Keep your Bread Warm
As we have already learned, aluminum foil is very versatile. One of the best ways to use this thin aluminum sheet is to keep your food and bread warm. What makes the aluminum foil so versatile is its thin and shiny surface.
The aluminum foil reflects both light and oxygen, thus making it easy for food to remain fresh. It also maintains the temperature by holding on to thermal energy. You can easily keep your bread and rolls warm at a party if you want to.
Polish Silverware
Another cool trick which you can try with aluminum foil is to clean your silverware. The way you can do this is to line the bottom of a plastic container with a layer of foil. After that, you will have to boil 1 liter of water.
Pour the water into the container and add baking soda. Then carefully place the silverware in the container and wait for the magic to happen. Once the silverware is polished and shiny, remove it carefully with a tong. Cool and dry off afterward.
Steel Wool Pads
Stubborn grease on pans and baking trays is difficult to remove. That is where steel wool pads come in useful But, even these steel wool pads rust or corrode after just a few uses. It is not cost-effective to have to keep replacing them with new ones.
Another of our hacks can prevent rust and corrosion from forming on the steel wool pads, and, of course, it involves aluminum foil. All you need to do is wrap your steel wool pad in aluminum foil and put it in the freezer.
Cleaning Hack
Another useful accessory for cleaning is the sponge. However, scrubbing away stubborn grease and food from pots and pans can be downright exhausting. There is a straightforward hack that can help you with cleaning utensils. Your arm will definitely thank you for this.
Just add some water to the pan and crinkle up some foil into a palm-sized ball instead. The abrasive surface will help with removing all the dirt and grime easily. Not only is it an easy hack, but an inexpensive way to clean your utensils.
Keeping Your Oven Clean
An oven is one of the most versatile appliances which you have in your kitchen. From baking to making pizzas and pies, an oven can do it all. However, one of the major drawbacks is how dirty it gets because of scraps of food falling.
A quick hack is just to cover the base of the oven with a sheet of aluminum foil. That way, whatever falls or spills over, only does so on the foil. You can just pick up the foil and replace it with a new one as needed!
Increase Heating
Winters can be brutally cold, and sometimes even radiators are unable to do the trick. To maximize the heating capacity of the heating unit, there is another hack that you can use. You can tape up aluminum foil behind the radiator.
Taping up a long sheet of aluminum foil behind the radiator will reflect the heat back into your room and won’t get absorbed by the walls. You can also cover a piece of cardboard with foils for those cold nights.
Protecting your mattress
When potty-training toddlers, parents can use this neat little trick to minimize the mess on their mattresses. This is a perfect housekeeping hack if you don’t have a plastic sheet. What you can do is layer the mattress with foil
After that, place some beach towels. Over the towels, place the mattress pad and top it off with the sheet. This will help to minimize the dirt on your mattress, and you will feel less concerned when there are accidents on the bed.
Mirrors Hack
Mirrors can add so much to the room by making the space seem bigger. It reflects the light back and also helps in balancing out the energy flow. However, it isn’t very pleasant when there are a few spots on the mirror.
It feels as if the entire mirror is dirty, and hasn’t been cleaned for a while. To make the mirror look new again, you can place a small piece of aluminum foil behind the worn spots; this will help make the mirror look as good as new!
Clean your jewelry
Like aluminum foil can help with cleaning your silverware, it can help with cleaning your jewelry. However, the process of cleaning your bling is a little different than cleaning your silverware. Let us explain the process in detail.
First, you need to cut a piece of foil that is big enough to wrap all your jewelry in. Place your bling in the center and fold it over. After that, mix 2 two tablespoons of salt into a glass of water. Place the jewelry in the glass and leave it overnight. That’s it!
Moving Furniture
Another great feat that aluminum foil is capable of is helping you move around furniture easily. If you love scrubbing floors from every corner and need to move around your furniture often without damaging the floors, this hack is for you.
Just wrap the legs of your furniture with aluminum foil (shiny side up). This will help the furniture be more slippery on the ground, and it will not damage the floor either. Just make sure that the non-shiny side is facing the floor.
Battery Devices
Battery-powered devices are great. Not only are they portable, but they can be used at any time. But, there is one universal problem with the devices. The springs in the battery holder always break, and then the batteries do not work.
But, there is a great hack that you can use to fix these battery-operated devices. Wherever the spring has broken, you can fold some aluminum foil and place it between the battery and the conductor. Voila, you won’t have to throw the device away.
Accidentally Dying Your Specs
It is always fun and empowering to dye your hair in fun colors. But, those with glasses have a different struggle altogether. While dying your hair, many a time, you dye your frames as well, and that can be a total bummer.
Aluminum foil can help you here as well. In the same way that you wrap your doorknobs while painting your house, you can wrap your specs as well to avoid any mishaps. Aluminum foil is sure super handy and helpful.
Cleaning Fireplaces
Fireplaces can be such a godsend in winters. Not only do they provide warmth to your home, but they make the home look and feel super cozy. But, it can be a total pain to clean up all that soot and ash from the fireplace.
Here is where aluminum foil can come in handy. Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, place some heavy-duty aluminum foil under the grate. Aluminum is known to work well in high temperatures, so you don’t have to worry. Cleaning will now be a total breeze.
Helping Plants Grow
Having plants around the house just makes the entire home look so much more lively. The green adds a lot of character and warmth to any living space. However, caring for plants can be difficult. They need sunshine and constant water too.
If you live in a home with less sunlight, then there is a hack that can help your plants grow better. Add shiny sheets of foil on the inside of a cardboard box where you are growing plants. This will help create a great sun box.
DIY Plant Incubator
Everyone remembers the first time they grew plants from just seeds. It is an incredibly memorable experience to grow something from a tiny seed. You can also use aluminum foil to help incubate a plant. Let us see how.
You can line a cardboard box with aluminum foil and cut some holes in the box for drainage. Fill the box halfway with soil. After that, you can put the seeds in the soil. The plant box will be the perfect environment for the plants to grow.
Cleaning BBQ
A barbeque is the best way to celebrate summers. Just invite your friends over and throw some steaks or burgers onto the grill. The worst part of BBQ is the residue that gets left behind after the cooking is done. It is really a pain to clean it.
It can take all your energy to scrub off the residue off the grill. A ball of aluminum foil can really help here. You can heat the grill for a few minutes so that the residue loosens up, and then remove the grates and scrub off the grime.
Fresh Bananas
Keeping bananas fresh is really difficult. They can go from the green stage to the brown stage in just a day or two. The yellow stage can be really short-lived. However, there is a hack that can help keep your bananas fresher for longer.
Wrap some foil around the banana stem to stop the stem from coming into contact with the air. This slows the decay of the banana and keeps them fresh for longer. Some grocery stores also do this to keep the fruit fresh.
Cleaning An Iron
Irons can tend to get dirty after they have run over stains or even some graffiti on T-shirts. It can also be a tough appliance to clean. If you find your iron getting dirty, you can clean it using a scrunched up ball of aluminum foil.
Just gently run the scrunched up aluminum foil over the surface and scrape off any dirt or grime that is there. This can scratch your iron, but at least your iron will be clean from any stains. Isn’t it amazing what aluminum foil can do?
Reseal A Chip Bag
You have bought a huge bag of chips for movie night, but you are unable to finish the pack. A bag of stale chips is probably the worst thing ever. There are many devices on the market that claim to be able to seal a chip bag.
Just fold a strip of aluminum foil over the bag where it was opened and use a hot iron over the same. You can also use a rubber band or a binder clip over the bag to add a further layer.
Boost Your Phone Signal
We have already seen how aluminum foil can boost the WiFi signal. So, if your phone lacks a boost in the signal, you can use foil here as well. If you place some aluminum foil near the WiFi receptor, it can help to strengthen the signal.
You can see how just placing that foil will help to boost your WiFi signal. The key here is to bend the aluminum foil in the direction you want to increase the signal. This inexpensive way to boost your signal can really help you with internet speeds.
Protect Your Credit Cards
Credit Cards now have a tap function to make shopping and transactions easier. This function does not require the customer to add the ATM pin when shopping. But, this makes it easier for thieves to steal information.
Guess what? Aluminum foil can protect your card too. All you need to do is create a card case material by wrapping the foil around the card. This will act as a barrier between your card and anyone who is trying to steal information.
Glue Gun Hack
A glue gun is probably one of the best inventions ever. It is so handy and can be used to stick with just about anything. It is perfect for sealing, sticking, among many other things. But, there is one problem that exists with these guns.
A lot of glue gets deposited on the tip of the glue gun, and it is next to impossible to clean it. The problem is that the glue is too hard at room temperature and too hot when it’s in molten form. Aluminum foil can help in removing all the sticky gum from the tip of the glue gun safely.
A Neat Fishing Trick
If you have ever tried fishing, you know that fish get attracted to the sunlight and shiny objects. Catching fish is not at all an easy task and can require a lot of patience. But, we have a hack that can help you speed up the process.
Since the fish get attracted towards the light, just wrap a bit of aluminum foil around the fish hook and see the difference. Many more fish will get attracted towards your fish hook, and it will be a successful fishing outing every time.
Painter’s Woes
Painting can be a total stressbuster, even if you are not good at it . It is a really relaxing activity which will make you want to paint every day. But, there is one issue with painting that every budding artist can relate to.
If you lost the lid of the paint color, it dries out in no time and then can not be used anymore. But, here is where an aluminum foil can be a life-saver. Just cover the lid with the foil and it will prevent oxidation.
A Portable Frying Pan
There is nothing like camping under the stars with a bonfire lit in front of you. But, what if the entire plan was impromptu and you forgot to pack cookware? There is a solution for that too. Of course, it involves aluminum foil.
Stack a few pieces of aluminum foil together and bend them in the shape of a pan. There you have it, your own DIY frying pan. Now you can put any food in it and cook easily without any worry.
Vinyl Tile Problems
Vinyl tiles in bathrooms and kitchens have a habit of coming loose after some time. It can be a big chore to call an expert and get them re-attached. However, there are ways in which you can do this repair yourself.
What you can do is cover it with an aluminum foil and then iron it. This will help melt the adhesive and stick it to the wall easily. Who would have thought that a simple sheet of aluminum foil can help mend so many things?
Photography Hack
As a beginner photographer, getting all the gear and lighting equipment can be tough and expensive. But don’t let that stop you from taking beautiful, professional-looking photos. You don’t have to compromise on quality just because you don’t have the correct light equipment.
Wrap a few aluminum foil layers around cardboard or any other surface that can reflect light on to the object. This will help enhance the natural light in the room and focus all the light on a single object.
Matchstick Containers
Matchsticks are ingenious things. Almost as important as the invention of fire itself, matchsticks still have proven themselves to be a household staple and essential item. They help light candles, start fires, and many other things. They are also instrumental when camping or BBQing.
It is tough to light a fire using stones, but matchsticks make this task super easy. But, if you are going to a humid place, the matchsticks aren’t going to stay dry. To help them moisture-free, you can just wrap them in foil.
Sharpening Scissors
When sharp things like scissors go blunt, it can be highly annoying. You reach for your scissors when you urgently want to cut something, and then you are just left struggling with it. There is a solution that can help keep your scissors sharp.
You can grab some aluminum foil and start cutting it with scissors. After some time, you will notice that the cuts become smoother, which means that your scissors are becoming sharper. How cool is that! It is inexpensive and convenient too.
Soap Bar
Maintaining good hygiene by washing your hands with soap is a must. However, after a while, the soap becomes very thin and starts accumulating residue. This makes it tougher to wash hands with it. Here’s a trick to help you.
In order to keep the soap useable, attach a small piece of aluminum foil behind the soap. This will help absorb the harmful chemicals and also clean the residue on the soap. If you make this a habit, your soap will always remain firm
Distributing Light
Well-lit places look not only great but keep away the tiny insects as well. If you have limited lights in your home or garden, then read on. There is a way to maximize the light coming from an outdoors lamp.
Take a lamp or some kind of hanging light and attach some aluminum foil to it. With a little trial and error, you will be able to determine the best location to attach the foil where you can maximize the light. You can direct the light to a particular spot or any part of your garden.
Cake Decorations
Cake decorations on cakes look absolutely beautiful. Not only does it elevate an ordinary cake and give it a professional feel, but it can be customized to your choice. You can create those beautiful decorations and embellishments at home easily with a little guidance.
All you need is aluminum foil. What you can do is cut the desired shape from a piece of foil and then coat it with icing. Your cute cake decoration is ready! Just make sure that your guests don’t eat these.
Teflon Spray Alternative
Have you ever tried to cook omelets on sticky pans? It can make the entire cooking experience quite tragic. Also, if you want to quit using butter and oil, then it can be really tough to find a healthier alternative, here we have an easy solution for you to try.
What you can do is cover the entire pan with sheets of aluminum foil. This way, you can avoid the stickiness, plus clean the pan with ease later on too. Aluminum foil is totally something everyone should have in their homes.
Keeping meat fresh
When it comes to freezing food, it can be really tricky to get the containers sealed well enough to spoil. If meat goes bad in the freezer, not only does it smell bad but it is a waste of money too. Aluminum foil is great for wrapping up any kind of meat in the freezer.
The next time you put something in the freezer after cooking, just wrap it up in the aluminum foil, and you will see how food remains fresh for much longer. You can even wrap up your leftovers in the foil.
Lifting pans
Cooking can be a great stress-buster, but sometimes you end up burning your hands while picking up hot pans. That can totally ruin your mood. If you don’t have a cloth to hold the pan, you can use foil.
What you can do is make a sling out of the aluminum foil and wrap it around the handle. This will help in protecting your hands and make it easier for you to pick up hot pans. Now that you know, we hope you stay safe!
Scaring Birds
If you have a fruit tree, then you know how birds try to come and eat the fruits right off the branches. It seems that birds are scared of shiny things. What you can do is use shiny aluminum foil on the tree to deter them.
The shiny foil on the tree will act as a repellent for birds and all your healthy fruits will remain safe. Even light-sensitive pests would street clear of your lovely fruit tree. Try this out and let us know how it works for you!
Protecting Tree Trunks
Trees can be such a great blessing in your backyard. But, trees bring with them mice, squirrels, and even rabbits. Sometimes the occasional fox could also use the tree trunks as a shelter which causes problems in the tree’s development.
Use some shiny old aluminum wrap all around the tree trunk. What this will do is act as a light reflector and also prevent tiny animals like mice from g their homes in the trunks. Once spring comes, you can remove the foil.
