The Many Uses of Aluminum Foil

Featured Pro: Carter Oosterhouse
Category: Home Décor
Time: 2:50


CARTER OOSTERHOUSE: Did you know that aluminum foil has been around for more than a century? Now, most people are familiar with using it in the kitchen to wrap up leftovers. I’m going to discuss a few of the practical and creative uses for this household staple.

I’m Carter Oosterhouse, and this is your GMC Trade Secret.

Now, aluminum foil has a ton of properties, and you can use it in a lot of different areas. But because it’s so shiny and you can fold it into so many different shapes, right here you can see I’ve used it for wrapping paper. And it has a nice, tight crease at the top, as well as folds. And this ribbon at the top works great for a little decorative touch.

And you can see on these greeting cards what I did was I put a leaf that I got from outside. I actually used a little glue on the back side of the leaf, put that down first, and then put the aluminum foil on the outside, pressed it down, and the leaf shines through, which is really cool.

And then on this card it’s sort of the same thing. I just put this aluminum foil on top, and then I took the back side of a marker to press on whatever word or creative thing you want to write. And I just put “Thank You,” and you can see that it really pops.

Now, here’s a fun one. Aluminum foil can also be molded into any shape that your creativity can conjure up. So instead of Play-Doh, let your kids use aluminum foil to make some shiny art creations.

Aluminum foil is handy in the garden too. Now, wrapping the base of tomato plants in aluminum foil detracts cutworms from ruining your plants. Foil will also protect many other plants. Now, mix foil with mulch to keep slugs out of your garden, or wrap tree trunks with it to deter rodents from chewing on the bark.

Here’s another one. Aluminum foil works just like steel wool to clean a dirty barbecue. So there’s no need to buy a special brush to clean your grill.

Now, if you don’t like charred veggies on the grill, try wrapping them in a foil pouch and steaming them on the barbecue.

Now, there are many uses for foil in the kitchen beyond preserving leftovers. So if you need a funnel in a hurry, foil is the perfect substitute. Also this works great as an impromptu pastry bag to pipe frosting onto a cake.

Foil also works great to polish metals. Try aluminum foil to polish up cutlery, knives or even pots. And watch this. Stack up six or seven sheets of aluminum foil and cut through it with a pair dull scissors to sharpen them.

Aluminum foil is also miraculous at cleaning tarnished silver jewelry. Place your silver in a glass or a bowl on top of a piece of foil. You want to add salt and baking soda, then pour in some hot water. Now, you’ll see a chemical reaction between the water, the soda and the salt. This chemical reaction is called electrolysis. And it will chemically remove the tarnish from your silver and transfer it to the foil. You want to then let the silver soak for about 15 more minutes. And you’ll be amazed at how clean it gets your flatware.

You can use aluminum foil for creative and constructive projects around your home and in your garden. And when you’re done, just throw it in the recycling bin.

I’m Carter Oosterhouse, and that’s your GMC Trade Secret.