11 surprising uses for soap bars

Leftover slivers of soap are often wasted and thrown out. But there's actually quite a lot you can do with leftover soap! Are there any that we missed?

Lubricate nails, screws and saw bladesRubbing soap on these items before you get handy will help them penetrate wood easier, which means that it will be less likely to split .

Use soap slithers to mark hemlines for sewing. Soap residue is easily removed from most fabrics and you won't need to buy sewing specific chalk.

Loosen stuck zippers Soap is a great lubricant for zippers that won't move! Slide some soap up and down the full length of the zipper and slowly (and gently) work it free.

Stop squeaky floorboards If your floorboards are creaking you can work some moist soap into the cracks between the boards and they should be quiet as a mouse!

Loosen a tight ring Most of you probably know this one already, but soap is a great way to work off a ring that has become too tight. Just rub soap over your fingers and the ring and it should slide off once you wash you hands.

Loosen a stiff lock The ring tricks works for stiff doors as well. If you key has trouble when you try and turn it, rub it on a bar of soap before and it will slide in.

Stop your glasses from steaming If your glasses are continually fogging you can rub each side of the lens with soapy fingers, give them a rinse and a polish and you'll have 20/20 vision again! This works with mirrors and other glass surfaces too.

Deodorise stinky shoes If your shoes are smelling a bit worse for wear wrap a bar of soap in some scrap fabric and leave it in your shoes overnight. By morning they'll be smelling like a treat (kind of).

Make a soap pin cushionStack all your old soap slivers slithers on top of each other and wrap then in an old stocking (or decorative fabric if you want it to look a bit nicer). The soap will lubricate the pins for easier insertion.

Fix squeaky drawers or stuck sliding doors By now you've probably realised that soap can lubricate almost anything. If you have old drawers that don't want to open or a sliding door that is continually stuck, you can rub soap along the runners so that it will slide across with more ease.

Fill nail holes in the wall Moving out and trying to get your bond back can be a nightmare! If you've done some renovating and you need a quick clean up you can rub a bar of soap (the same colour as the wall) in a circular motion on the hole, then wipe away the soap smear left on the paint. see it in action here.

Read this next: How you can use coconut oil for (almost) anything.

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