Coffee filters are used every day to produce your favorite morning cup, but they also have a variety of other applications around the house. Continue reading to learn how to use coffee filters to clean your glasses, protect food in the microwave, and more!
Clean cast iron
There are a lot of ways to clean cast iron skillets, like with coarse salt. You can also use a coffee filter to soak up any remaining moisture after washing it. The coffee filter will help prevent rusting.
Make an air freshener
Out of all the uses for coffee filters, this might be the easiest! Fill a coffee filter with baking soda, twist-tie it shut and you have just made an air freshener. Make several and tuck them into shoes, wardrobes, the fridge or wherever else they may be needed.
Clean your specs
Next time you clean your glasses, try using a coffee filter instead of a tissue. Good-quality coffee filters are made from 100% virgin paper, so you can clean your glasses without leaving lint. You can also use them safely to polish mirrors, TV, and computer monitor screens.
Create a non-medical face mask
The coronavirus pandemic has seen new (and previously unforeseen) uses for coffee filters: They’re one of three common household items you’ll need to create a DIY face mask. Follow the step-by-step instructions in the video above to see how coffee filters, hair ties, and a bandana can be used to assemble a non-medical face mask for your next trip to the grocery store—no sewing required!
Line a sieve
If you save your cooking oil for reuse after deep-frying, line your sieve with a basket-style coffee filter to remove smaller food remnants and impurities.
Make your own tea
If you drink a lot of tea and like to save money then you might want to consider transforming coffee filters into tea bags. Sure it requires a little extra effort, but if you’re in a pinch it’ll work like a cinch!
Dry glassware
Water spots can be a real annoyance. You clean your glassware and think it’s been dried properly only to pull out a foggy, spotted glass that no one wants to drink out of. Enter all the uses for coffee filters. Because of the quality of paper used to make coffee filters (after all, who wants paper bits in their morning joe?), coffee filters don’t leave any lint or smears behind. This makes them perfect to fully dry off your glassware without a trace.
Clean stainless steel
Because coffee filters won’t leave any lint or residue behind, they’re a great cleaning tool. One of our favorite uses for coffee sheets in our cleaning repertoire is to use them to clean or polish our stainless steel for a perfect streak-free finish.
Prevent soil leakage
When you’re repotting a plant, line the pot with a coffee filter to keep the soil from leaking out through the drain hole.
Make an instant funnel
Cut the end off a cone-style coffee filter to make an instant funnel. Keep a few in your car and use them to avoid spillage when you add a quart of oil or two.
Treat a fever
The many uses of coffee filters also extend to your health! Soak a few filters in brewed tea or cold water and chill in your freezer. Fold the filter up to make a cold compress to tame a headache or puffy eyes.
Protect stacked plates
Whether storing your fine china on the shelf or packing your everyday dishes for transport, layer some coffee filters between each plate to prevent nicks and scrapes.
Make a colourful goodie bag
Use some washable markers to draw a pattern on a coffee filter, then lightly mist it with water from a spray bottle. Fill the filter with candy or coins, fold it into a pouch, and tie up the top with a ribbon.
Polish without a mess
Absorbent and durable, coffee filters are perfect for removing nail polish from your fingernails or spreading shoe polish on your boots.
Face oil blotting sheets
The uses for coffee filters also include beauty—they’re great for using on your face to remove oil or for use on your skin. Coffee filters are way cheaper than blotting sheets and will work just as well because they made from nearly the same material. You can get extra crafty and cut up some coffee filters into squares to carry around in a tin so you have some in stock anywhere you go.
Empty coffee grounds into your garden
Rinse your coffee grounds out to remove extra acids—you can do this with the old filter to make things easier. Then mix with your soil in a flowerbed or garden! The grounds will add valuable nitrogen to the soil without altering the pH balance too much and without rotting. It’s one of the best waste items to use in your garden.
Filtering water
Filter out solids through a coffee filter before purifying water.
Carry messy food
A cone filter is a perfect size for holding a pita, quesadilla, or another hot pocket on the go.
Serve snacks, dish-free
A basket filter becomes a perfect makeshift bowl for popcorn, candy, chips, and other movie night favorites.
