20 Brilliant Steel Wool Hacks

Steel wool is one of the most useful items that we have hanging around the house. Most people think that the only good uses for steel wool involve cleaning your dishes or pots and pans. Truth is there are tons of ways that you can use it. It can be useful in the garden, in your workshop, as a crafting material, and all kinds of other things. Here are some amazing steel wool hacks to teach you how to use steel wool around your home.



20. Make Your Tires Look New: Super fine steel wool and a spray lubricant can work wonders on your tires. After you wash your car just spray on the lubricant and use the steel wool to scrub.



19. Sharpen Scissors: Have dull scissors around the house? Use a steel wool pad from your kitchen as a sharpener, just cut the steel wool with the scissors to bring them back to life.



18. Hush Your Motorcycle: You can use a bit of steel wool to help muffle the volume of your engine. Be sure when using steel wool in your exhaust you do not fully block the pipe from properly venting.



17. Prep Wood For Painting and Staining: You can rough up your wood surfaces with steel wool to make the surfaces be able to hold pain and stain better, just make sure you use fine grade steel wool so you don't do damage to the wood.



16. Clean A Rusty Cast Iron Skillet: Using some fine grade steel wool, a bit of elbow grease, and an appropriate cooking oil is a quick way to clean up and re-season a vintage piece of ironware. Make sure you season your pan fully before storing to keep the rust away.



15. Polish Brass: Extra fine steel wool, a little lemon juice, and salt can bring them life and shine back to any brass that you happen to have around the house. Just make sure you use this on real brass, not brass plating.



14. Clean Grill & Patio Furniture: #000 grade steel wool is great for cleaning the surfaces and edges of all your outdoor patio furniture. Be careful around painted surfaces.



13. Crayons on Wallpaper: Damp steel wool and a touch of water is perfect for removing crayons from your wallpaper, just make sure that you rub lightly and don't over wet the area.



12. Clog Prevention: Place a little steel wool in your drains while bathing your pets. As they shed the hair in the bath, the steel wool will catch the hair and stop your drain from getting all clogged up.



11. Keep Out Rodents: Steel wool stuffed into holes can keep rodents from crawling through by providing a barrier that they cannot chew through or move without harming themselves.



10. Wood Staining: Mix steel wool and vinegar in a jelly jar, the react to each other to create an ebonizing stain. This is great for lots of wood surfaces and costs a fraction of what you'd normally spend.



9. All Purpose Cleaning: Using some fine grade stool wool you can clean a number of steel and aluminum surfaces in your home including many metal sinks and kitchen fixtures. Before going all in test the effects of scrubbing on a small section of your metal surface to prevent scratching.



8. Clean Scuffs: If you happen to get boot or chair scuffs on your floor, use a little water and steel wool to pull those marks right up without harming your floor and without much effort.



7. Clean Your Car’s Headlights: The finest grade of steel wool and a little window cleaner can do wonders on your car’s headlights and get rid of sticky things like bugs and sap quickly and without scratching.



6. Cleaning Gardening Tools: Whether it’s your rakes, shovels, or pruning shears, steel wool is amazing at cleaning them up and keeping them in pristine condition. You can even use it to get a quick sharp edge on them as well.



5. Shine Up Your Bike: #00 grade steel wool can be used to buff up aluminum and steel surfaces on your bike frame, bringing it to life once again.



4. Bye Bye Rust: It won't work on major jobs, but small rust spots are a cinch to be fixed with steel wool! Just use a little water and scrub away. The rust will lift right off!



3. Clean Your Shoes &Sports Equipment: Is the white rubber around the soul of your shoe getting discolored and dirty? Use a little soap and a steel wool pad to clean your shoes and they will be looking new again.



2. Securing Screws: One of the awesome handyman uses for steel wool is to use a small amount of steel wool in screw holes that are a little too large. The steel wool will lock the screw in place and hold securely. 



1. Starting a Fire : Did you know that if you touch steel wool to the terminals on a 9 volt battery you can create a spark that can light a fire for you? Try this when camping for a quick campfire starter. (Disclaimer: Playing with electricity and fire can be dangerous. Be safe and make sure you have adult supervision at all times.)

As you can see there are many creative uses for steel wool. If you know how to use steel wool, you will find it to be one of the best assets around your house and will keep it around for all kinds of crafty projects. Whether you are a handyman or someone who enjoys just keeping things nice around your home, you will find that steel wool is a product you cannot live without.