Ice can be surprisingly handy for some fairly weird things around the house.
- You know those indentations your furniture makes in the carpet? Put ice cubes on them. After they melt, you can brush up the fibers. This works much better with pile carpet than berber, and may not remove the indentations 100%, but it does help.
- Put a few down a garbage disposal that’s sluggish and turn it on. Crunching the ice will usually push through whatever’s clinging on down there.
- Put them in plant pots to water the plants slowly and prevent overflow and spillage. This can also be much easier than trying to get a watering can in there.
- Prevent foods like rice from drying out in the microwave. Add an ice cube to your dish before putting it in the microwave to keep it moist.
- First aid numbing: if you’ve got to remove a splinter or perform any kind of first aid that hurts, ice the area first and it’ll hurt less.
- Apply ice cubes to burns to keep them from turning into blisters. Even better than running cold water over burns.
- Reduce swelling. From puffy eyes to the swelling around a minor injury – just wrap ice cubes in a thin cloth, paper towel or put them in a plastic sandwich bag (whatever you find most comfortable) and hold them against the swollen or puffy area.
- Put wrapped ice cubes over your closed eyes for a few minutes to soothe eye strain symptoms like burning or itching.
- Rig a DIY air conditioning system. For a less complicated version, just stick a bowl of ice in front of a fan so the ice cools the air as it blows toward you. Great trick for hot summer nights without air conditioning.
- Remove chewing gum from clothing or carpet by freezing. You can stick the gum-encrusted item in the freezer if it’s small enough, or use ice cubes to freeze a small area at a time. When frozen, the chewing gum peels off easily.
- If you have an overweight dog and the vet has recommended you cut back on treats, try an ice cube. Dogs love the crunch. This is especially good for them in the summer when they need to stay hydrated.
- Other pets enjoy ice when it’s hot, too. Put a cube in their water dishes.
- Instead of trying to smooth a caulk seam with your finger, which can make it pretty messy, use an ice cube to make a nice, smooth, even line. Just run it along the caulk.
- If you spill food or drink on your clothes, the very best thing to do is dip a cloth in soda water or regular cold water and dab at the area. But this stuff isn’t always around when you need it. If you’ve got a drink with ice cubes, just fish one out, suck on it to remove any drink residue that could add to the stain and dab the cube on the spot to remove it and prevent staining.