Rubbing Alcohol Uses: 12 Ways You Can Use It In Your Home (You've Never Thought of These)

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Although you may think that rubbing alcohol doesn’t have a lot of purpose in your home besides removing nail polish, there are a lot of uses for it.

From removing stains to removing hairspray from mirrors, there are quite literally a dozen ways for rubbing alcohol to be used in your home. Here are a few ways you can start using rubbing alcohol in your life.

Stain Remover

When mixed with water, rubbing alcohol can be used as a stain remover on your skin or clothes. For example, you can avoid spending a lot of money on stain removers at the grocery store, when you can use water and rubbing alcohol to remove coffee stains from your favorite shirt.

All you have to do is mix one part rubbing alcohol and two parts water in a small spray bottle. Once this mixture is sprayed onto the stain, let it sit for about 10 minutes and put it in the wash to fully remove the stain.

Melts Frost

It’s annoying enough to have ice collect on your windshield every morning, that last thing you need to do is delay your commute by taking out the ice scraper and scratch your windshield to death.

However, you can melt the frost on your car without turning on the defrost by filling a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spraying it on your car’s glass. Now, all you have to do is wipe the frost and snow easily off with a wipe of your arm of hand.

Shoe Deodorizer

No need to worry if your shoes or sneakers start smelling bad, with the help of rubbing alcohol, you can get rid of the nasty smell. Mix rubbing alcohol and water and pour it into a spray bottle.

Next, spray it into your shoes and make sure the interior is completely covered. Once you allow them to sit for roughly 12 hours, they should be clean, dry, and smelling better than before.

Remove Ticks

Ticks are pesky arachnids that cannot only spread diseases to pets, but for us humans, as well. However, you can use rubbing alcohol to help you remove it from your or your pet’s skin.

The rubbing alcohol works to stun the tick, so it loosens its grip, and you can remove it easier. To remove a tick, dampen a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and gently rub it around the area where the tick is.

Next, use tweezers to remove the tick and flush it down the toilet. However, you should also use rubbing alcohol to disinfect the area afterward.

Nail Polish Remover

If you don’t want to spend money on nail polish remover or ran out of your own, you can use rubbing alcohol as nail polish remover. Although you may need to use a little more elbow grease than ordinary nail polish remover, it’s just as effective.

All you have to do is dampen a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub it on your nail until the polish is completely gone.

Disinfect Garden Tools

If you have dirty garden tools that were being used to remove dead plants, it’s essential that you disinfect these tools to prevent harmful bacteria from being applied to healthy plants.

Although there are garden tool sanitizers available to use, rubbing alcohol is more available and more affordable to use. Simply clean off the tools with soap and water, and then soak them in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes.

After, wipe them down with a clean cloth and let them dry before using them again.

Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Bed bugs can become a serious problem for your home. Unfortunately, bed bugs are immune to most pesticides, making them incredibly hard to get rid of.

Although if you treat your home for bed bugs in time, you can prevent an infestation, if you don’t, you’ll require the services of an exterminator.

However, rubbing alcohol has been proven to be a powerful solvent and very effective towards eliminating bed bugs from your home. It works by destroying bed bugs eggs and drying them out, killing them.

However, rubbing alcohol can also be used to prevent insects from laying eggs or crawling in crevices in your home. To use rubbing alcohol to get rid of bed bugs in your home, fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray it on your bed and other furniture in your home.

Sticker Removal

If you’re trying to remove a sticker from a piece of glassware, you’ll know how hard it can be to do. However, it can be hard to get rid of sticky residue left behind from stickers.

But, when you use rubbing alcohol and let the solution sit on the residue for at least 10 minutes, the residue will be easier to get off.

To learn how to use this method to remove old stickers and sticky residue, watch this YouTube video:

De-Greaser

Rubbing alcohol can be used as an affordable and effective de-greaser for your home stove. To use rubbing alcohol to get rid of grease, pour a small amount on a clean rag and wipe down the grease marks.

However, in some cases, rubbing alcohol can actually work better to de-grease areas of your home than the ones you can buy in store. Plus, not only can they clean off appliances in your home, but chrome as well, leaving them looking the day you bought them.

You also do not need to rinse off the appliances afterward because the rubbing alcohol dries on its own.

Grass Stain Remover

Although grass stains can be incredibly hard to get out of clothing, rubbing alcohol can give you a hand. All you have to do is rub some of it on the stain for 10 minutes and put in the wash as you would normally do.

Repeat this process until the stain is completely gone.

Homemade Ice Pack

An ice pack can help relieve swelling, inflammation, and other conditions from injuries. However, if you don’t have an ice pack to use around the house, you can use rubbing alcohol to make one.

All you have to do is combine one part rubbing alcohol and two parts water in a Ziplock freezer bag. Once it’s frozen, apply to your injury for instant relief.

Remove Hairspray from Mirrors

If you’re using hairspray on a day-to-day basis, it’s likely that some residue has made it onto your personal mirror. However, once this residue has built up enough, you won’t be able to use your mirror as well.

Instead of grabbing a glass cleaner, all you have to do is wipe the glass down with rubbing alcohol to get it clean and clear again.

Conclusion

Although it doesn’t seem like such a useful tool in your home, rubbing alcohol can be used to solve quite a few problems. This includes cleaning your mirror, be used to create an icepack, and clear off nail polish.

The next time you think about using an expensive cleaner, you should instead consider how useful rubbing alcohol would be for the job. It’s not only just as effective as the products you can buy in a store; it’s more affordable too.

So why not try a few of these unique uses around your home? You never know which new use will be your favorite.

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