Multiple Uses for Aluminum Foil
Pop quiz: What is the difference between the shiny side of aluminum foil and the dull side?
Did you answer that foil can keep heat out when wrapped with the shiny finish facing out, and keep heat in with the shiny finish facing inward? Sorry, but both sides function identically.
Aluminum foil has a shiny side and a matte side due to how it is rolled during production and packaging. It is difficult to produce rollers with a gap fine enough to cope with the small gauge of foil.
So, for the final production pass, two sheets are rolled at the same time, doubling the thickness of the gauge at entry to the rollers. When the sheets are later separated, the inside surface is dull and the outside surface is shiny.
The one difference between the two sides is in light reflection. The reflectivity of bright aluminum foil is 88 percent versus 80 percent for the dull side.
But the stuff is 100 percent useful in so many ways around the house and in preparedness. I’ve listed some unique uses:
- Fold foil in quarters, then cut with a scissors to sharpen the scissors blades.
- Double wrap meat, vegetables and seasonings in a foil pouch, cook on the grill for 20 to 30 minutes for a simple and delicious BBQ dinner. Or place directly on campfire coals.
- Heat cotton swatches within a foil envelope to create a char cloth. Foil is a great work surface for starting a fire with petroleum jelly and cotton.
- Keep matches and tinder dry by wrapping them tightly in foil.
- Don’t have a pot to boil water? Line a hole in the ground with foil and fill with water. Use tongs to pull rocks from a campfire and transfer them into the water. The water will soon boil.
- A layer of foil beneath a sleeping bag prevents moisture from seeping in while you are sleeping.
- In the woods, strips of foil hung at eye level make great trail markers, especially at night when they catch flashlight beams.
- Use the reflectiveness as a mirror, to signal for help
- Fold a small piece of foil several times into a small square and insert it into the space between a battery and the loose spring to hold the battery in place and complete the circuit.
- Wrap a piece of plywood in foil. Place it behind your radiator to reflect heat into the middle of the room.
- Crumple foil into a ball to rub rust spots off surfaces such as shower curtain rods and car bumpers. Also works for cleaning pots and pans.
- After grilling, use a ball of foil to scrub the burned food bits off the grill.
- Clean silverware in a shallow pan lined with foil. Add two or three tablespoons of baking soda and boiling water, then drop in tarnished silverware.
- Strips of foil hung from string to twist and flash in the wind and sun can scare off birds and protect garden crops.
- Secure a loose peel-and-stick vinyl tile with a sheet of foil and a clothes iron. Cover the tile with foil to protect the finish, then iron it to soften and reactivate the adhesive.
- A sheet of foil lining the bottom can keep baking tins looking new and, in a pinch, substitute for a cookie sheet.
- Wrap doorknobs in foil to catch splatters when painting.
- Create a custom-shaped cake pan (cartoon character, name, heart, etc.) by reshaping the inside of a regular cake pan with foil.
- Wrap the heating element of an oven or toaster oven to protect it during a thorough cleaning.
- Cut ironing time in half by placing a sheet of foil under the ironing board cover. The reflected heat from the foil lets you iron both sides of a garment at once.
Isn’t it great how such a simple thing can be useful for a variety of purposes. What can you say about these aluminum foil uses? What ones have worked for you?
So, I first wrap the food I am going to cook,, grill, etc in parchment paper then place it and wrap in aluminum foil. Can then use on grill, in oven etc and not worry about whether the aluminum is toxic or not.
I use a folded piece of foil and a hot iron (kind used to press clothes) to seal plastic bags. Just slide bag between foil layer and place iron briefly and bag is healed
I don’t see Aluminum floating in hundred mile ares in the ocean like the plastic everyone uses. This country has everything in it that wil lkill you because the elected criminals are whores who have always been bought off by companies and re-elected by fools who don’t know better. so sad our great country has become stupid and is collapsing in on itself why the rich get richer making junk in chinaand the people, sheeple worry about themselves. Time now is to worry about yourself but your survival not who’s ass you can kiss, or back you can stab for more
wrap used sos or brillo pads and place in freezer and they will not rust can be used again and again
Thanks, Frank. I love washing dishes. However, the
time I don’t want to use elbow grease to scrub my
baking pan, I shall line it with foil.
A Jewish businessman in Brooklyn decided to send his son to Israel to absorb some of the culture of the homeland. When the son returned, the father asked him to tell him about his trip. The son said, “Pop, I had a great time in Israel. Oh, and by the way, I converted to Christianity.”
“Oh, my,” said the father. What have I done?” He decided to go ask his old friend Jacob what to do. Jake said, “Funny you should ask. I too sent my son to Israel, and he also came back a Christian. Perhaps we should go see the rabbi and ask him what we should do.”
So they went to see the rabbi. The rabbi said, “Funny you should ask. I too sent my son to Israel. He also came back a Christian. What is happening to our young people? The three of them prayed and explained what had happened to their sons and asked God what to do.
Suddenly a voice came loud and clear from Heaven. The Voice said, “Funny you should ask. I, too, sent my Son to Israel….
Good joke!
Aluminum is the third (3rd) most prevalent element on Earth. It is a light metal, yet can be made strong. It can catch fire (it can burn).
There are so many poisons in our food & water supply that to worry about aluminum cookware is slightly paranoid. Aluminum is NOT the cause of Alzheimer’s as has been reported for years, amyloid plaques (certain protein deposits within the brain) are the cause. Aluminum is a highly useful metal for humanity’s benefit. I could go on and on, but do your own research.
Nancy and blacky use it to make thier hats to protect themselves
I had a glass “BUSS” fuse fail on an old motorcycle I was riding…. it shut down the whole bike and I did not have a spare fuse on me. I found a piece of foil in a cigarette box someone had discarded on the ground nearby. I pulled out the foil lining, rolled it into the shape of the blown fuse, and put it into the fuse holder. It worked… bike started and got me home. Neither safe nor recommended, but it’s a true story. God always provides. :-)
Just don’t put any foil on your head or you might be accused of being a tin foil hat wearing type of person.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tin-foil-hats
Make a foil “pocket” to slide your new chipped credit or debit card in. Our wool protect from electronic thieves.
Shredded Foil mixed into leftovers from the fridge makes an EXTREMELY Effective Rat killer… Do not use if you have household pets!
Would it work to kill mice?
I uses wadded up tennis size aluminum foil balls in the dryer to soften clothes and prevents static cling. They are way less expensive than dryer sheets and last about 2 months. If you want to sent the cloths you can put a drop of essential oil on a swath of cloth or add to a used dryer sheet.
All Aluminum is toxic to humans and animals. I no longer use aluminum foil for any cooking. We get enough toxins as it is.
Aluminum is toxic – yes! It is one of the causes of Dementia and Alzheimer’s in the elderly. Powdered aluminum hydroxide is used in antacids and a few other drugs. This is, to me, a fast way to the end of life.
Aluminum foil is NOT toxic. However, if you are cooking with tomatoes be sure to remove food right after cooking, acidity foods and aluminum are not best friends but still isn’t toxic, just that the food will develop an aluminum taste if allowed to sit too long after cooking. Same with aluminum pots and pans.
wrap foil around the handle of your knife, then gently slide off. Twist one end and fold the twist to make a field expedient drinking cup. You need at least two laps to make it even remotely water tight. Poke a hole in the top edge to hold it with your knife or stick. Great for when reaching into hard to get to areas to grab some water. No, I am not getting into a sanitize the water rant.
Can aluminum foil be used to deflect radio waves from the gas/electric meters away from the house?
I’d like to know the answer to this question also.
Placing hot rocks in water can crack and, or expload learned this from personal experience.
When you do this you need to make sure to pick the right type of stones. Fir example if you use a porous one, such as sandstone, it will indeed crank and/or explode. You need to select dry stones that are non-porous such as granite. Definitely do not use stones taken from it near a body of water as they can absorb a lot of water and will also explode. Hope this helps, because this is a valid and good way to boil water, but as in most things care and common sense are always good to use.
aluminum foil is just like aluminum pot and pan they are toxic when heated up. aluminum is a poison to the body
Yes!!!
No it is not toxic, you are not eating the aluminum you are only cooking in it. If aluminum were toxic they wouldn’t make pots and pans out of it. I have a very expensive set of aluminum pots and pans and I have used them for years for everything from soups to nuts and never had a problem.
Frank, there’s a monumental use for aluminum foil you overlooked — for DIY making of a Copenhagen style solar panel cooker that is 1) dirt cheap, 2) super lightweight, 3) has free making, setting up, aiming, and using instructions on YouTube, 4) is even backpackable. You’ll need to decide whether you want to use clear Pyrex bowls for the “greenhouse” effect, or clear “turkey” bags normally used for baking — to enclose your choice of cookpot. You’ll want to make a folding trivet to raise your dark (flat high temp black is the best) cooking pot so the bottom is about 3 inches above the Copenhagen cooker’s inside floor. Even a little fancier is to get a round, super shiny, stainless steel serving tray for use under the trivet, so it doesn’t tear up the foil under it. Look at ALL the YouTube videos on making, setting up, aiming, and using the Copenhagen design solar panel cooker. Once you learn how to make one with aluminum foil strips, removeable spray adhesive (foil does wear out – get ripped – turn dull, etc), four pieces of poster board, a couple of scrap pieces of cardboard or coroplast, and a couple of shoestrings or thin strips of velcro (I prefer the velcro) — all for way under $10 — you can then decide if you’d rather spend $48 on eBay for the commercially available version, or DIY it at your convenience, anytime, anywhere.
Aluminum foil should not be used with food. Aluminum is a chemical. Cooking or baking with it should not be done.
Sodium is a chemical. By your reasoning, salt should not be used with food. My father worked as an engineer for Reynolds Aluminum for 30 years, so our family used aluminum foil in many ways. My mother lived to age 99 with all her marbles intact.
Yes!!!
He ignored these posts because he is still emailing today using it with food!
Both aluminum and sodium are naturally occurring elements, not chemicals. Chemicals are combinations of elements. Just for the record.
Cut it like a bowtie just long enough to reach battery termimals if there is enough capacity the narrow section can ignite tinder when contact is made.
Thanks for that additional use, Sam.