9 Surprising Uses for a Can of WD-40
Named for its “water displacement” properties, WD-40 is typically used to drive out moisture, prevent rust, and lubricate surfaces (if you have a can at home, you’ve probably used it to take care of squeaky door hinges). But like many other household staples, you can also use WD-40 creatively in your kitchen.
Have a basically full can of WD-40 on hand, or just looking to try something new? Here are nine surprising ways to use WD-40 to take care of some common issues in your kitchen and around the house.
1. Wipe away grime from tile grout lines.
Like magic, a few sprays of WD-40 will remove grime from your tile floors or backsplash. Just spritz the affected area, allow it to sit for a few minutes, and clean up with warm, soapy water.
2. Remove gum from just about anything.
You’ll want a can of WD-40 around if you (or a little one in your house) happens to experience an incident with chewing gum. Spraying a bit of WD will make it ten times easier to remove sticky substances from anything you need to, whether we’re talking hair or your dining room rug.
3. Scrub stains from stainless steel sinks.
Have any stubborn stains preventing your stainless steel sink from shining? Try spraying WD-40, then scrubbing with soap and water, and watch the stain disappear.
4. Remove gooey label residue from glass jars.
Same premise here as the gum trick: WD-40 can remove sticky residue from just about any surface. If you want to repurpose glass jars, use WD instead of your standard warm, soapy water and you’ll spend way less time standing over the sink.
5. Remove tea stains from a kitchen counter.
Tea stains are no match for a spritz of WD-40. You can spray the stuff directly onto your counter or spritz a bit of WD-40 onto a sponge or cloth and wipe the stain clean.
6. Separate stuck glassware.
What’s more frustrating than a stack of fragile drinking glasses stuck together? Spraying some WD-40 in the crevices will lubricate the glass and make it easier to separate them. Just make sure to give the glassware a good wash before using them again.
7. Remove scuff marks from hard tile floors.
Tile floors are easy to clean, but they’re also easy to scuff. Take care of rogue scuff marks by spraying some WD-40 on the affected areas and scrubbing them clean with a wet rag.
8. Keep wooden gardening-tool handles free of splinters.
If you’ve ever sustained a splinter from handling wood-handled shovels, get ahead of the problem and lubricate your tools with WD-40. The lubricant will keep the wood moist, and prevent it from splintering for as long as you use it! Just something to keep in mind before gardening season starts up again.
9. Tone down the shine from wood floors in the dining room or kitchen.
Not into the ultra-shiny look after coating your wood floors with polyurethane? You can easily tone it down a notch. Simply wipe down the dry floors with a rag sprayed with WD-40.
Got anything else to add to this list? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!