11 awesome ways to use aluminium foil you may not have realised

Aluminium foil is a brilliant and versatile material that isn’t only useful for wrapping food or baking trays. You probably had no idea how useful this ordinary kitchen product could be – it can clean, protect, shape, grow, polish – the uses are endless!

Take a look at these clever ideas for foil! Which one will you try first?

1. Soften brown sugar

Wrap a piece of hardened brown sugar in foil and bake it in the oven at 150C for five minutes.

2. Move furniture with no damage

Place foil on the bottom of the legs and then slide your furniture to its new home. It’s cheap, easy and it protects your floor and furniture from scratches. There’s no need to buy furniture sliding pads just to adjust your furniture

3. Create unique cake pans 

Form a thick heavy-duty aluminium foil into your desired shape inside the pan – heart cake, Christmas tree shape or whatever you like!

4. Grow untangled cuttings

Start cuttings growing by covering them with a sheet of foil. Just poke a few holes and insert cuttings and watch them grow uncluttered!

5. Scare birds away

Dangle foil from a fruit tree or post in your garden to scare away pesky birds. Some birds are afraid of shiny things so will stay away from your lovely fruits.

6. Preserve steel-wool pads

How many of you have used a steel-wool pad and the next day it’s rusty so you have to throw it out? To prevent this, just wrap the pad in foil and put it in the freezer.

7. Scrub your pots 

Crumple up foil and use it to scrub your pots. You can even use the same foil from cooking your casserole to clean up the dish.

8. Fix batteries

Fold a small piece of foil in the battery compartment to hold the batteries in place. The pad should be placed between the battery and the spring.

9. Clean your iron 

We bet most of you have never cleaned your iron! If you do have melted plastic or other chunks stuck on the plate, simply turn the iron on high over a piece of foil with salt on top. The abrasion from the sail will get the unwanted plastic off your iron.

10. Sharpen your scissors

What can you do with those clean pieces of leftover foil you have hanging around? Use them to sharpen up your dull scissors! Simply fold the strips into several layers and start cutting. Seven or eight passes should do the trick.

11. Clean jewellery

To clean your jewellery, simply line a small bowl with foil then fill the bowl with hot water and mix in one tablespoon of bleach-free powdered laundry detergent. Put the jewellery in the solution and let it soak for one minute then rinse.

Did you know that aluminium foil was so versatile? Which one of these suggestions will you try first? Share with us below.