Dental Floss: Doing Double Duty

Not only is dental floss a necessary item used in your daily dental hygiene routine but it can be used in a pinch for numerous other things. Dental floss is something you get from your dentist each time you get your teeth cleaned, usually every six months.

• A Clothesline-If you are somewhere and need to dry some clothes, it can be used as a clothes line. Just attach it to two stationary objects and throw your clothes over it. Two places this might come in handy is in a hotel or while camping.

• Fishing Line-It may also be used if you feel like fishing but do not have a pole or fishing rod.  Attach a safety pin or a dangly earring as a hook and you are all set!

• Stringing Popcorn-Dental floss is great to use when stringing popcorn and cranberries around the holidays. It is strong enough so it doesn’t break when you try to wrap the tree with it.

• Eyeglass Repair-Have you ever lost one of the tiny screws to the stem of your eyeglasses? Well a quick fix until you can make it to the eye doctor’s office is to string dental floss through the hole and tie tightly and cut off excess floss. This will then allow you to wear your glasses until you can get them fixed.

• Shoelace Replacement- Shoe laces always seem to break at the most inopportune time. Dental floss can easily replace a broken lace until you can purchase a replacement.

• Picture Hanging-Dental floss is strong enough to place on the back of a picture instead of wire for hanging.  It can also be used to hang other household items such as ornaments.

• Photo Removal from Old Albums-Old pictures tend to be stuck very well to the photo pages and a piece of dental floss slid between the picture and the page should allow you to remove the picture easily without damaging the photo.

• Cookie Removal from a Hot Pan- If you need to remove cookies from a baking sheet while they are still warm use dental floss. Use the dental floss to help prevent crumbling by sliding it between the pan and the cookie then slide onto a serving tray.

• Cutting Food-Floss may be used to cut items that tend to squish when using a knife, such as fruits, cheese, hard boiled eggs and slicing a cake. Take the dental floss and tie it around the item and pull softly to create a perfect slice.

• Fire Starter- Waxed dental floss burns so wrap some around a piece of dry kindling and light it and place under larger wood to start your fire.

• Sewing-Floss may be used to fix a button or repair a hole if necessary. It may also be used to reinforce coat buttons and repair torn screens on doors or windows.

• Kitchen Tool- If you need something tied before cooking, such as a roast or chicken; use unwaxed and unflavored floss to tie the item as needed.

• Dripping Faucet Bothering you?-If you happen to be somewhere there is a dripping faucet when you are trying to work or sleep, take a piece of dental floss and tie it around the bottom of the faucet and then guide string down the drain. The water will now slide along the string into the drain rather than dripping constantly.

• Cleaning Between Small Cracks and Crevices-Hold floss the same way you would to clean your teeth to remove dirt and other substances that get stuck in tight places, like between piano keys and cracks found on some pieces of furniture. Also use on bathroom faucets if there is build up around the actual facet handles.

• Remove Stuck Rings From Fingers-Use waxed floss to wrap around your finger from the tip down to the ring. The idea is to reduce the size of your finger without cutting off your circulation. The ring should then slide over the dental floss so it may be removed easily.

We hope you enjoyed these few tips for other uses of dental floss. You may never think of dental floss in the same way again.