Vegetable oil is a big bottle that sits in your pantry most of the time, and you probably don’t use it very often. It’s great for seasoning pans or adding to bread or cake, and it can even be used as a healthier alternative to butter. But what you may not know is that there are dozens of uses for oil that have nothing to do with cooking.
Usually, this oil refers to canola oil or olive oil. Canola oil is derived from a plant called rapeseed. But that’s far from the only vegetable oil you can find on the grocery store shelf.
If you’re not a fan of canola or olive oil, there are many other oils you can try. Avocado, sunflower, safflower, corn, and palm oil are all great choices as well.
As it turns out, you can use vegetable oil for much more than just cooking. In fact, you can use it in every room in your house! It’s a great moisturizer for skin and hair, so make sure you add it to your medicine cabinet, too. There are even uses for vegetable oil during your next camping trip. It’s a hugely versatile substance for a super cheap price!
If you have wooden spoons or cutting boards, they probably start to look dull and chapped after a few years of use. Shine them up with a thin layer of vegetable oil to make them gleam again.
Cold weather is rough on dry skin, and perfumed lotions can often cause irritation. If your hands are dry and chapped, massage a tablespoon of vegetable oil into your skin to get instant relief.
If you want the most luxurious bath you’ve ever taken, add a few cups of olive oil to your bath water. You’ll end up with incredibly soft skin. Just be careful not to slip!
Have you ever desperately hunted for your lip balm to help with drying and cracking? The next time that little tube goes missing, just reach for your vegetable oil and rub a small amount on your lips.
Believe it or not, you can use olive oil and other oils to make bar soap. There are even recipes online that show you how to do it in your slow cooker! Your whole house will smell amazing.
Oil is a natural moisturizer, making it great for skin and hair. If your hair is getting dry or brittle, just add a little vegetable oil to your shower routine. You’ll end up with super silky locks after just a couple of applications.
Lots of makeup wipes can dry out your skin and cause irritation. To avoid this, just add a little vegetable oil to a cotton ball and wipe gently. You’ll be able to remove your makeup and moisturize your skin all at once.
If you have a baby, you know how miserable a diaper rash can be for a little bottom. To soothe pain and protect the skin, rub on a little vegetable oil. It will help your baby feel better and stop the rash from getting worse.
There are few things worse than having skin that goes from dry to cracked, especially on your feet. To get relief from pain and protect dry, split heels, rub some oil onto your skin. For the best results, put on a pair of socks after the application and wear them throughout the night.
If you’re painting for fun or doing a home renovation, you’re bound to get paint on your skin. It won’t hurt you, but it’s annoying and silly-looking. Fortunately, just a small amount of vegetable oil can remove it.
If you have a squeaky door that’s driving you nuts, you probably know that it needs lubrication. Fortunately, you don’t need anything fancy — just add a little bit of vegetable oil to help it move smoothly and quietly.
A zipper that gets stuck on your clothes is quite annoying. If you need to lubricate a stuck zipper, put a couple of drops of oil into it to make it slide freely.
Vegetable oil is a perfect polisher for wooden furniture and all your stainless-steel appliances. Several drops on a dry cloth and these will start to shine again.
Candle wax drips are obnoxious to try to clean. Before you start, loosen them with a little bit of vegetable oil. You’ll be able to remove the wax with almost no effort.
Vegetable oil is a great polishing agent for wood and metal, but that’s not the only thing it can shine. To remove stains and keep your leather shoes looking new, just buff them with a few drops of oil.
If you have a toddler, they’ve probably put stickers on your furniture before. And you know how hard those can be to get off! A couple of drops of vegetable oil will help remove sticker glue so you can take them off easily.
Hopefully, it doesn’t happen often, but occasionally, you (or your child) might get something sticky in your hair. A little bit of vegetable oil can loosen it up in no time.
Garden tools live a long life, but they also tend to get rusty from outdoor exposure. Loosen and clean rust off with a quick scrub of vegetable oil to get them shining again.
Just like you get chapped skin in the winter, your pup’s paws can also get sore, too. But many kinds of lotions aren’t safe for dogs. Luckily, vegetable oil is both soothing for raw pads and completely safe for dogs to lick and swallow.
Grated cheese is delicious on almost anything, but cleaning a cheese grater can be difficult. Make it super easy to clean up cheese residue by giving the grater a quick rubdown with some vegetable oil before you prepare dinner.
You’ve probably heard of seasoning cast iron pots and pans but you also need to occasionally give your non-stick pans some TLC. The best way to get them back to new condition is by giving them a quick buff with some vegetable oil
It can be so annoying to fight the sticky lids on jars of honey, syrup, molasses, and more. To make them easy to open, wipe the inside of the lid down with a couple of drops of vegetable oil.
Splinters are irritating, and they are even more frustrating if you have to dig and pick at them to get them out. Prep your skin for splinter extraction by softening it with vegetable oil.
Bird baths are lovely additions to a yard but standing water often attracts mosquitoes and mosquito larva. Keep your bath bird-safe and bug-free by adding a capful of vegetable oil to the water.
When you’re working in the garden, it can be annoying to have to stop and clean dirt off your spade every few minutes. Make your garden tools “non-stick” by rubbing them down with some vegetable oil before you start working in your garden bed.
Mowing your lawn is an important way to cut back on ticks but mowed grass can stick to the blades and clump up your machine. Polish the blades with some vegetable oil to make sure nothing sticks to them.
You’ve probably heard of old-fashioned oil lamps, and guess what — they still work! In an emergency, vegetable oil works in much the same way as a candle, offering light or heat.
If you’ve ever struggled over trying to light a campfire, bring some olive oil on your next camping trip. It will add natural fuel to your fire to keep it going strong.
Vegetable oil is pretty much the universal furniture polisher. That even applies to the inside of your car. To keep your steering wheel, dashboard, and seats shiny and clean, just buff them with a couple of drops of oil on a regular basis.
Wicker furniture is lovely but it can also be prone to cracking and fraying with age. Rubbing your wicker furniture down with some vegetable oil makes it shiny and protects it from damage.
32. Add some to pet food for shinier coats and hairball prevention.
Dogs and cats have no problem eating vegetable oil, and it’s actually good for them! To improve their fur and break up hairballs, add a few drops of oil to their food on a daily basis.
If you’re an experienced outdoorsman, you know that a survival kit needs to include some food and basic first aid. Adding some oil to your food reserves is a good way to up your calorie intake in an emergency.
If you’re a baker, you know how annoying it is to try to put sticky ingredients in measuring cups or spoons. To make clean up easier, grease them with vegetable oil beforehand.
If you have frequent problems with hangnails and ragged cuticles, moisturize with some vegetable oil. It will soothe any irritation and help smooth out your skin.
Not only can vegetable oil help moisturize your face, but it may also help clean it. This is because gently moisturizing with oil before washing helps pores to open, which removes more dirt.
There is mixed evidence about the benefits of oil pulling for whitening teeth, but it may be worth a try. Just swish around in your mouth for a few minutes each day with oil to remove stains.
Having a ring get stuck on your finger is both annoying and uncomfortable. If this happens to you, don’t panic — just work a little bit of vegetable oil underneath and slide it off.
40 Easy And Surprising Ways To Use Vegetable Oil Around The House
Cedric Jackson
05.27.19
Vegetable oil is a big bottle that sits in your pantry most of the time, and you probably don’t use it very often. It’s great for seasoning pans or adding to bread or cake, and it can even be used as a healthier alternative to butter. But what you may not know is that there are dozens of uses for oil that have nothing to do with cooking.
Usually, this oil refers to canola oil or olive oil. Canola oil is derived from a plant called rapeseed. But that’s far from the only vegetable oil you can find on the grocery store shelf.
If you’re not a fan of canola or olive oil, there are many other oils you can try. Avocado, sunflower, safflower, corn, and palm oil are all great choices as well.
As it turns out, you can use vegetable oil for much more than just cooking. In fact, you can use it in every room in your house! It’s a great moisturizer for skin and hair, so make sure you add it to your medicine cabinet, too. There are even uses for vegetable oil during your next camping trip. It’s a hugely versatile substance for a super cheap price!
