10 Surprising Uses for Paper Towels You Never Knew About
Most people use paper towels once and throw them away, or at most use them to wipe countertops. But actually, this sheet of paper has far more uses than that.
I discovered this potential by accident during a big cleaning session. At the time, I had run out of tissues at home and had to use paper towels for various cleaning tasks. The more I used them, the more I realized what a treasure this thing is. Here are some hidden uses I’ve personally tested and found effective, shared with you all.
1. Refrigerator deodorizer
Roll paper towels into small balls and place them in refrigerator corners to utilize their adsorption capacity, helping remove odors from the fridge. Change weekly, and the fridge will be much fresher—much cheaper than buying specialized deodorizers.
2. Absorb excess oil
After frying meat or cooking greasy dishes, lay paper towels at the bottom of the plate to quickly absorb excess oil. This technique is especially useful when cooking chicken breast, preventing it from becoming dry.
3. Emergency steaming cloth
When steaming eggs or buns and you don’t have a steaming cloth at home, I’ve used paper towels as a substitute several times. The method is simple: dampen the towel and lay it on the steamer rack to prevent food from sticking to the bottom. The only thing to note is not to steam for too long, or the towel will disintegrate.
4. Wipe away rust
For light rust stains on metal utensils, wrap them with damp paper towels overnight, and the rust will visibly fade by the next day. Not many people know this use, but it really works.
5. Absorb moisture
For shoes that haven’t been worn in a long time, stuff paper towels inside to absorb residual moisture—more convenient than specialized shoe inserts, and the towels themselves have a light scent that keeps shoes fresh.
6. Speed up soap drying
Soap that’s wet after use tends to dissolve easily. Place paper towels under the soap dish, and they’ll quickly absorb moisture, significantly extending soap usage time.
7. Remove crayon marks from walls (surprising, right?)
Parents with children at home know that crayon marks on walls are a nightmare. I accidentally discovered that gently wiping with damp paper towels removes crayon marks much more easily than you’d imagine. This was probably the most surprising discovery in this article.
8. Clean range hood filters
Wrap paper towels around the filter, then run the range hood for a few minutes. The towels will absorb some of the grease, reducing the difficulty of subsequent cleaning. Consider this a pre-treatment step.
9. Planting aid
When sowing seeds for germination, first place seeds in damp paper towels—they’ll sprout faster than planting directly in soil. Once sprouts appear, transplant them for much higher success rates. This method works especially well with beans.
10. Emergency oil-absorbing sheets
If you need to attend an important occasion and your face is oily but you don’t have oil-absorbing sheets, paper towels are an emergency substitute. Gently press rather than wipe—while not as effective as professional products, it’s better than having a shiny face.
Above are my “non-mainstream” uses for paper towels. Many of these methods were discovered by accident in daily life and then verified as effective. Sharing them with you all, hoping they help you make fuller use of this ordinary sheet of paper.