19 Brilliant Wax Paper Hacks You Never Knew About
Wax paper is great for cooking and baking. But did you know that there are other ways to use wax paper around the home? Keep reading to learn about some brilliant wax paper hacks that you probably never knew about before!
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Thomas Edison is often accredited with inventing was paper. However, it was actually introduced in France in 1851 by Gustave Le Gray. He used it to wax paper photographic negatives before exposure. (Edison was just a little boy back then!)
Nowadays, we use wax paper in the kitchen for easy cleanup and while baking.
But, did you know that wax paper is great for other household uses, too?
Keep reading for 19 brilliant wax paper hacks that you probably never knew about!
19 Brilliant Wax Paper Hacks
1. Clean a can opener
Run wax paper through the gears of your can opener to keep them clean. Do this on a regular basis to keep your can opener running smoothly.
2. Line cabinets
Wax paper is great for lining cabinet shelves, but don’t forget about the top of the cabinets, too. It’s great at grabbing dust so instead of scrubbing the top of the cabinets every few months, just change the paper. Put some on top of the fridge, too!
3. Keep ice cream ice-free
Don’t you hate it when your ice cream gets icy, and frozen solid? The next time you eat ice cream, place a piece of wax paper on the top before putting the lid back on. It will keep your ice cream ice-free!
4. Shine up chrome faucets
After cleaning your faucets and drying them completely, rub them with a sheet of wax paper to make them shine! A little bit of residue might be left behind, but lightly wipe it off with a soft, dry cloth and enjoy the shine.
5. Seal wooden utensils
Buff wooden spoons and other utensils with a balled-up piece of wax paper to seal and protect them. It works on wooden cutting boards, top!
6. Make fridge-cleaning easier
Line the drawers and shelves of your refrigerator with wax paper. If something spills, just change the paper!
7. Make a funnel
There have been a lot of times when I needed a funnel in the kitchen and couldn’t find one. Until I learned that wax paper works perfectly as a funnel! Refilling spice jars is so much easier with a wax paper funnel!
8. Make a wood transfer
Printing pictures on wood is so easy with this wax paper hack. Cut a few sheets of wax paper the same size as standard printer paper. Reverse the image on your favorite computer program, put the wax paper in the printer, and hit “print”. Place the wax paper image onto the wood and rub the edge of a credit card across it.
9. Stop splatters in the microwave
The next time you heat up a bowl of leftover chili in the microwave, cover it with a sheet of wax paper first. It will keep the chili from splattering all over your microwave. No more scraping hard chili splatters off microwave walls! This is one of my favorite wax paper hacks!
10. Keep cheese fresh longer
Rewrap a block of cheese in wax paper to let it “breathe” and keep it fresh longer.
You can read more about how to make foods last longer here.
11. Clean your iron
I rarely use my iron unless I’m crafting with fabric. And sometimes it gets dirty, especially when I’m using hem tape. Pouring salt on wax paper and ironing it cleans the sticky residue right off!
12. Fix a stuck zipper
Rubbing the teeth of a zipper with wax paper will give it some extra sliding power. Make sure to get the wax paper as close to the pull as possible.
13. Use as a duster
No more Swiffer Sweeper cloths? Just fold a long piece of wax paper in half and fit it onto the sweeper to collect dust. It works just as good and it’s cheaper, too!
14. Start a fire
The next time you go camping, shred some wax paper into a zip-top bag and bring it with you. It makes an awesome fire-starter!
15. Protect your candles
When storing candles, roll them in wax paper before putting them away. This keeps the dyes from bleeding onto other candles. A huge help for those Christmas candles!
16. Line cake pans
This is one of the best wax paper hacks I’ve ever learned. Before pouring cake batter into your cake pans, line them with wax paper first. I place my cake pans on top of the wax paper and cut around the bottom of the pan to get an almost exact fit. Sprinkle flour on top of the wax paper, then pour in the batter. When the cake is done and cool, it will slide out of the pan easily.
17. Make pretty candles
The next time you’re at Dollar Tree, grab a few of those plain white pillar candles. To make them pretty, print out images onto wax paper (see above), then cut the image out. Wrap the image around the candle and heat it with a heat gun or hairdryer until the image brightens. These make great gifts, too!
18. Make shower curtains glide smoothly
Rub wax paper onto your shower curtain rod so the shower curtain rings glide more smoothly!
19. Prevent rust on garden tools
Prevent rust and easily remove dirt and grime from garden tools by rubbing them with wax paper.
What are your favorite wax paper hacks?
Looking for more amazing home hacks? Check these out:
20 Creative Uses for Paper Clips
Amazing Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide
12 Ways to Use a Toothbrush for Cleaning
Laundry Hacks for Longer Lasting Clothes
I’ll have to try that swiffer one!
Yes! It works really well! 🙂
This is so helpful. I did not know many of those.
Thanks Michelle ?
I’m so glad you found this helpful! 🙂
I can’t wait to try the swiffer idea, much cheaper. Thanks Michelle.
I agree! Those swiffer pads are expensive. Thank you for reading!
Wow, Michelle, I never knew wax paper had so many uses…. I was familiar with a few of them, but there were so many I would never even have thought about. Thanks for some great tips!
It’s so neat the many uses you can get out of a roll of wax paper. And for cheap, too! 🙂
You always have the best ideas! Blessings Michelle!
Aww, thank you so much!
I love your tips. They have inspired me numerous times ?. Do you have a post about how to clean the cooking plates on an old-fashioned electric hob with alternative means by any chance? I am in need of some suggestions ??♀️?
Aww, thank you! I don’t have a post about that, but I’ll keep an eye out for suggestions for you. 😀
Thanks so much. That would be wonderful ?♀️
This site has some helpful information: https://www.ovenclean.com/blog/top-hob-cleaning-tips-how-to-clean-an-electric-and-gas-hob/ and also this one talks about using baking soda and water: https://www.maids.com/cleaning-hacks/how-to-deep-clean-your-gas-stove-burners-using-natural-cleaners/
I hope those help! I use baking soda for a lot of different things. Vinegar also works well for cleaning. I try to cut out the chemicals in my home and so far vinegar has been my favorite to clean with. If you don’t like the vinegar smell, you can always dilute it with a little bit of water and add some essential oils. 🙂
Oh, thanks this is brilliant. We clean our oven with vinegar and soda but I wasn’t sure if it’s ok for the top too. Will check both links out soon. ?♀️?
So many great tips!
Thank you!!
awesome…
Thank you!!
I had no idea wax paper had so many uses! Can’t wait to try it on my garden tools and iron! They need all the help they can get! 🙂 Pinning!
It’s fascinating how many different uses you can get out of roll of wax paper. 🙂 Thank you for pinning!! 🙂
This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! I will definitely be trying these out!!! 🙂
Thank you! I’m so glad you found them helpful!! 😀
🙂 I used to keep a lump of beeswax in the kitchen to do a lot of these things, but waxed paper sounds easier.
My favorite use is the simplest. I wrap sandwiches, and if I want to ID one from another or just look festive, I add a yarn tie.
Weekend blessings!!
That’s a great idea to wrap sandwhiches with wax paper and tie them with yarn. Thanks for sharing! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Some great ideas here, especially the ice cream.
Thank you so much!
Nice!! There are a lot of helpful uses here!
Thank you! I’m glad you found them helpful!
So many ideas to try!
I’m glad you found them helpful!! I hope you’ll try some. 🙂
What??? This is a great list, Michelle, who knew??
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Wow, that zipper trick is a game changer!!
Right? It’s amazing how it unsticks a zipper.
I had no idea there were so many fantastic uses for wax paper, Michelle! These all sound like so much fun to try. The sealing wooden utencils and zipper hacks are blowing my mind. Can’t wait to try these out! Hugs and thanks for the list, CoCo
Thank you! It’s quite amazing how many uses you can get from a roll of wax paper. 🙂 I’m so glad you found them all helpful!
Fire starter! Brilliant!
Isn’t that the neatest idea? 😀
Yes I never would have thought of that!
Wow! This is unreal! I had no clue wax paper did all of this! I’m with you on filling the cake pan with a fitted sheet of this stuff first though! First time I did this — couldn’t believe how much easier baking life was! 😀
As a duster? No kidding? I never in a million years would have thought to try that! You’re right, it would definitely be more economical and pretty easy to find too!
The cheese, garden tools, and funnel ideas are definitely ones on my must try list. If I were gifted with crafts, I’d also be making those candles you mentioned. They would make perfect gifts! 🙂
Another awesome post, Michelle! Thank you for sharing these tips! ♥ I’ve tweeted and pinned!
I thought the same thing when I used wax paper to line the cake pan. Baking life suddenly became better! lol!
Isn’t it amazing how many uses a roll of wax paper has? And it’s cheap, too! 🙂
Thank you so much for reading and sharing! I appreciate your support!
I’m way behind, sorry about that Michelle! This is great post, I need to try that swiffer idea. Actually I’m going to try a few of them! Keep it up Michelle and have a great weekend!??
That’s ok… no worries! 😀 I’m glad you’re going to try some of these! Let me know how they work for you! I hope you have a great weekend, too! 🙂
Thanks Michelle, I will let you know how things work out. Thanks!??
Amazing! ? I thought wax paper had become unpopular and is no longer being sold.?
We still have plenty around here. Maybe it is in some places? I’m not sure. ?
There’s not a lot of usage for wax or foil paper as in previous years. I believe baggies and other forms for preserving foods (including shrink wraps) became more useful and posed fewer safety and health hazards.