Aluminium foil can help your candles burn brighter and longer: 8 smart ways to use it in household work

Aluminium foil has become a mainstay for most households. Although these shimmery, lightweight sheets are most commonly used to wrap leftovers, according to homemaking experts, they have uses that are far more versatile than just the kitchen! From helping your candles burn evenly, to sharpening scissors to helping you iron your clothes more effectively, aluminium foil can assist you in several household chores!

Iron Your Clothes Faster

According to Reader’s Digest, a lot of iron’s heat is absorbed by the board itself, thereby making it difficult to remove wrinkles on clothes. Place a piece of aluminium foil beneath the lid of your ironing board to expedite the process. Wrinkles will be smoothed more quickly because the foil will reflect heat back through the clothes.

Make Your Silverware Look As Good As New

Your silverware looking a bit lacklustre these days? Line a pan with a sheet of aluminium foil, fill it with cold water and add two teaspoons of salt. Soak your silverware in the mixture and it will look as good as new. This works due to ion exchange, a molecular reaction in which the aluminium acts as a catalyst.

Keep Your Scissors Sharp

According to Southern Living, aluminium foil can be used to sharpen your scissors. To sharpen the blades, take a 12- to 14-inch-long sheet of aluminium foil and fold it over itself until it is five or six times thick. Then, use the dulled shears to cut down the length of the foil, making full-length cuts so that the entire blade is in touch with the foil. To get the blades back to their ideal sharpness, repeat this procedure as necessary.

Safeguard Your Plants From Pests

Believe it or not, aluminium foil can actually keep your plants safe from invasive pests. According to Southern Living, if you shred aluminium foil and mix it into the mulch, it can act as a pest repellent. The reflective foil prevents unwanted insects and slugs from approaching your plants but attracts butterflies! Moreover, the refracted light from the foil can also increase photosynthesis in your plants.

Keep Your Paint Brush Moist

When you need to stop painting, cover the brush or roller head securely with aluminium foil to retain moisture and keep the paint from drying and your brush from becoming stiff. Simply unwrap the brush and resume painting when you're ready to take it up for the next coat.

Move Furniture Easily

According to Readers Digest, aluminium foil can come in handy if you are moving furniture. In order to slide large pieces of furniture over the floor, place small pieces of aluminium foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down, as it is more slippery than the shinier side.

Loose Batteries Begone

Your remote control or a child’s toy malfunctioning? The batteries may be the culprit. After some time, the springs holding the batteries in place may become less taut, allowing the batteries to come loose. To create a pad thick enough to absorb the slack, fold a tiny piece of aluminium foil. Put the pad in between the spring and the battery.

Protect Your Matches

When travelling, cover your kitchen matches with aluminium foil to prevent moisture buildup and reduces risk of breaking. Candles can also be repaired by wrapping the edges in aluminium foil.

Make Your Candles Burn Longer & Brighter

Candle tunnelling occurs when the wax melts around the wick of your candle, but not across the whole surface. It usually indicates that some wax is wasted, and it may eventually become hard to light the wick as the tunnel gets deeper. According to Prosperity Candles blog, you can fix candle tunneling by using aluminium foil to reflect heat back down to the candle's edge to assist in melting the wax. Using some sheets, wrap the foil around the exterior of the candle so that the top extends inward over the unmelted wax while leaving the centre burning. The aluminium foil reflects and directs the heat downwards helping the wax on the edges melt and level out. This prevents further tunnelling, ensures a long lasting burn and prevents wax from going to waste.