Non-food uses for rice you might not have realised!

Rice isn’t just a yummy side dish – it has some amazing household uses!

You can clean things, fix things and even warm yourself up. Don’t let your extra rice go to waste, or if you don’t have any, it is a low cost idea for the below uses!

Here’s 10 of the best non-food uses for rice:

1. Clean vases and bottles

Cleaning vases and bottles with slender necks is very difficult, but all you need to do is drop in a couple of tablespoons of rice, pour in some warm water, and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Then shake, pour it out and rinse.

2. Rescue wet electronics

If you have accidentally dropped your phone in water, don’t despair. Simply put your phone or tablet in a bag of rice overnight to dry it out.

3. Clean coffee grinders

Keeping coffee grinders clean can be difficult but rice is the answer! Simply cover the dirty area with rice, and run it through the grinder. The rice will magically absorb a lot of the buildup.

4. Make a hot pack

Using an old pillowcase, cut it into thirds and sew up along the lengths of the sections. Fill with long grain dry rice and sew the opening closed. Put the pack in the microwave to heat for a few minutes and use as a hot pack.

5. Check if oil is hot  

Want to check the temperature of the oil you’re using? All you need to do is drop a grain of rice into it. If the rice pops up to the surface of the oil and begins cooking, the oil is ready for frying.

6. Keep salt separated

This is a classic restaurant trick. Simply store a few grains of rice in your salt shaker to prevent clumping.

7. Ripen fruit fast

Just can’t wait for that fruit to ripe? Store fruit in a container of rice to speed up the ripening time. Just make sure to check on it twice a day so it doesn’t get too ripe.

8. Get glowing skin

If you have some leftover rice water from your boiling pot, put it to use! Let it cool, refrigerate, and use to it wash your skin. For best results use brown rice water and use within 3 days.

9. Sharpen blender blades

If your blender doesn’t seem to be breaking up ingredients any more, fill with a half cup of uncooked white rice and pulse. After about two minutes the blades will be sharp and you can dispose of the rice.

10. Prevent your tools from getting rusty

Place some uncooked white rice in an open container in your toolbox to absorb moisture and prevent your tools from rusting.

Share your thoughts below.