Yes they are fluffy and soft and used mostly for cosmetic reasons, but cotton balls have a multitude of uses around the house!
1. Rubber Gloves: We’ve all poked holes in our rubber cleaning or gardening gloves leaving us with soapy wet pruney fingers or dirt ground under our nails. What should have been a multiply use pair of gloves, are now ready for the trash. Place a cotton ball in the finger-tips of your gloves to protect your nails and gloves.
2. Corner Cleaner: For those hard to reach corners in the shower and tub, especially where there’s mildew, use a cotton ball. Simply soak them in bleach, then place in the corners or other difficult spots. Leave cotton ball there for at least an hour. The cotton will release the bleach into the hard-to-reach crevices, finish by rinsing with warm water.
3. Deodorize your Refrigerator: When your refrigerator isn’t smelling fresh, simply dampen a cotton ball with Vanilla Extract and place it on a shelf near the back. You’ll find it acts as a deodorizer, emitting its own pleasant scent.
4. Prevent Blisters: When you’re breaking in a new pair of shoes, stick a cotton ball inside wherever it’s rubbing against your skin to add some cushioning and keep your feet pain-free. If a blister has already developed, just use a cotton ball as a barrier between the wound and your footwear.
5. Ant Repellant: Ants are a hot topic and I think we can all agree that there can never be too many ways to get rid of the unwanted pests, especially in places like cabinets and window seals. One natural repellent is peppermint. To use it to get rid of ants, simply soak a cotton ball with peppermint oil. Then, place the soaked cotton ball in the corners of cabinets and window seals. For a permanent solution, mix together a tablespoon each of hot water and sugar, then add half a teaspoon of borax. Soak a cotton ball with the solution, and place it where ants are gathering. The sugar will attract the bugs, and the borax will destroy them.
6. Water spots: Over time, faucets can get caked with mineral deposits from the unfiltered tap water. To dissolve those white marks, soak a few cotton balls in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water, and place them on the area for several minutes. Rinse the faucet and dry with a soft cloth.
7. Poison Ivy Relief: When you have a bad case of poison ivy, drying out the rash can help. Brew a strong cup of tea, then soak a cotton ball with it. Rub it over the affected area and let the spot air-dry. Feel free to repeat as needed if you didn’t get the relief you wanted.
8. Fragrance Diffuser: Take a handful of cotton balls and drizzle a few drops of vanilla extract or your favorite essential oil, then leave the cotton balls in a pretty bowl and place them on a shelf in your bathrooms, closets or garbage can. The scent is mild but will keep things smelling fresh. Place a few of the cotton balls in your vacuum cleaner bag and when you vacuum, the scent will be released gently permeate the room.
9. Rabbits Be-Gone: If hungry bunnies keep nibbling your garden, keep them away with some cotton balls soaked with distilled white vinegar. You can either leave the cotton balls out in the open around your plants, or place them in a small containers, empty medicine bottles, zip-lock baggies, with holes poked in them.
10. Daffodil plug: You can make these seasonal blooms last longer by filling their hollow stems with water, then plugging with a cotton balls. It functions kind of like those mini water tubes that florist place on individual stems or come with mail-order flowers.
11. Mice Bait: Forget cheese…instead, bait your traps with a cotton ball doused in a few drops of vanilla extract.
12. Protect Little Fingers: Place cotton balls between the back- front of your children’s drawers. This will prevent the drawer from closing completely and keep them from catching their fingers as the drawer slides shut.
13. Relieve a Toothache: Soak a cotton ball in a mixture of whiskey, clove and some vanilla extract (just for the fragrance, since it’s going up in your mouth); and place the soaked cotton ball on the affected tooth. The whiskey and clove will neutralize the pain.
14. Protecting Ears: They make great earplugs to block out sound. In addition you can use them to clean earring posts and ear lobes for pierced ears. Or if you need to put drops in your ears, saturate a cotton ball with the liquid and place inside the ear. They also prevent water from
getting in the ears when bathing and washing your hair. They don’t help as much when swimming due to the fact that if a head is submerged into water, so is a cotton ball.
15. Germinate your seeds: All you need is a glass jar, few cotton balls and your seeds! Fill your jar with the cotton balls. Next, place a seed on each side of the jar. Add water to the jar, just enough to dampen the cotton balls, but do not drawn them. Over the next few days, you’ll be able to observe how well your seeds are becoming plants. After about five days, the plant will be ready to be transferred into the soil.
16. Jewelry: Cushion breakable, fragile jewelry. You can spread the cotton balls out or even unroll them and use the cotton to cushion your jewelry and other small items. Dampen a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and clean your jewelry after use.
17. Nail Polish: Beyond using them to remove nail polish, you can also use them to separate your piggies while painting your toes.
18. Lighting a Candle or Starting a Camp Fire: When your jar candle wicks are too short to reach with a match or lighter, take two cotton balls, unroll them, twist together, light the end and you have a longer reach. Camp fire starters, take several cotton balls cover with petroleum jelly, place on logs, then light them on fire as you’re getting your fire going. The cotton balls will burn for about five minutes, giving you a chance to build a larger flame.
19. Lingerie Drawers: To make your lingerie drawer smell heavenly, try spritzing your favorite fragrance onto a cotton ball. It will retain and disperse the scent and save you money. You can also try putting a few drops of an essential oil like lavender on a cotton ball and tucking it into
your pillow case. Sweet dreams!
20. Crafts: Crafts tend to be the one of the most common uses for cotton balls. You can use them as fur on animals, hair for people and snow. You can color the cotton balls for different colors using washable
markers or paint.