Whether you prefer to call them cotton swabs or Q-tips, there’s no denying that those paper sticks with the cotton ends are a highly useful item to have around the house.
1. Remove Hair Dryer Lint
Lint build-up in your hair dryer can create a potential fire hazard! Help keep it clean by swabbing the air vent on the rear of your hair dryer with a damp Q-tip.
2. Clean Up Messy Manicures
A cotton swab is the perfect tool for cleaning up at-home manicures. Simply dip a Q-tip into some nail polish remover and use it to wipe away any errant bits of polish!
3. Keep Products Sanitary
Every time you dip your finger into a product that is stored in a pot or jar, you’re introducing bacteria into the container and the product itself. To limit the amount of germs in your products, use a cotton swab to scoop out the amount you need instead.
4. Clean Electronics
We use many of our electronic devices every day, yet we rarely think about cleaning them! Use a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol to clean the nooks and crannies of phones, tablets, and desktop computers. They’re also useful for cleaning the crevices between the keys of your keyboard!
5. Apply Spot Treatments
Use the tip of a Q-tip to gently apply eye creams underneath your eyes, or spot treatments to blemishes. This is especially useful when you don’t want to get your hands dirty (or if your hands aren’t particularly clean.)
6. Unstick A Zipper
Stuck zipper? Dip a Q-tip into a small amount of lip balm, Vaseline, or cooking oil and swab it onto the zipper where the pull is stuck. The greasy substance will lubricate the zipper and help it slide freely.
7. Clean Up Chalk Smears
Creating a beautiful chalkboard sign that’s smear-free can feel like a tall order, but not as long as you have a few cotton swabs on hand. Once the lettering or art is complete, use a few Q-tips (or several!) to wipe away smears and smudges for a clean, professional finish.
8. Use A Cotton Swab To Buff Out The Self-tanner In Spots That Are Prone To Darken
When applying a self-tanner, your cuticles, knuckles, knees, ankles, and elbows are likely to soak up more DHA (the ingredient that creates with the amino acids on your skin to make you tan), making you darker in those areas. To prevent this from happening, wipe away excess product before it has a chance to set it using clean cotton swabs and circular motions over those spots.
9. Fix A Scuffed Patent Leather Shoe By Rubbing A Cotton Swab Dipped In Nail Polish Remover On Top Of The Scuff Mark
If your patent leather shoes are scuffed, soak the end of a cotton swab in nail polish remover, and rub the end in a circular motion on top of the mark to easily remove it.
10. Easily Get Rid Of A Pimple With Two Cotton Swabs & Hot Water
If you have a pimple that has come to a head, take a hot shower and after you’ve dried off and your skin is still soft and supple from the hot water, take two cotton swabs and gently press them against the zit toward each other. The contents of the pimple should come out with ease, but don’t force it if it isn’t ready.
11. Perfume-covered Cotton
Spray the ends of a few cotton swabs with your favorite perfume, and put them in a plastic sandwich bag before stashing them in your purse to touch up throughout the day. Carrying around a bulky perfume bottle in your bag all day is impractical. But popping a few perfume-covered cotton swabs in a plastic bag (which will lock in the scents for several hours) is totally doable. That way, when you want to freshen up your fragrance midday, you just whip one out and run the scent-covered end over your pulse points (on the inside your wrists and elbows, the sides of your neck, and behind your ears and knees).
