Surprising Uses for Coffee Filters

DIY 4 Minutes

On a trip to Walmart, the coffee filters we usually buy were not to be found anywhere.  Instead, they had “natural” ones which quite frankly looked already used—light brown in color. I bought them anyway in case we ran out.  They’ve been in the pantry since then and I wondered if I could use them for anything else.  Lo and behold, I found an article on The Spruce detailing such uses!

From The Spruce:

Coffee filters aren’t just for coffee makers anymore. The inexpensive filters are perfect for tasks from the kitchen to the garden because of their bowl shape, strength when wet, absorbency, and they are lint-free.

We gathered 17 clever uses for coffee filters around the house, and after reading, we’ll bet you find many more reasons to keep the filters on hand.

Protect Dinnerware from Scratches

Constantly stacking dinnerware can cause tiny scratches on the surfaces that look unattractive and weaken the material. Place a single coffee filter between each plate when storing or moving dinnerware to help protect the finishes.

Catch Popsicle Drips and Taco Spills

Eating can be messy, but not if you keep some coffee filters on hand. Cut a small slit in the center of a filter so you can slip in the wooden stick of a popsicle before you hand it over to be enjoyed.  The round filters are also a perfect fit to hold a taco or burger if you’re standing up at a party or eating on the run in your car.

Prevent Rust on Cast Iron Pans

Dampness is the enemy of cast iron pans and cookware. After washing and drying your favorite pan, slip a coffee filter inside to absorb any moisture that might linger. A bonus is that the filter will protect the interior surface from scratches if you stack the pans.

No More Messy Hands When Baking

Most bakeware should be greased before adding the batter to prevent sticking. The process can result in messy hands but not if you use a coffee filter to spread the butter or shortening. Simply use the filter to evenly spread the butter, toss it in the trash, and keep on baking.

Absorb Grease from Foods

Most people use a paper towel to absorb excess grease from bacon, French fries, or fried chicken. But, a few coffee filters work just as well. Line a plate with the filters and watch them soak up the oil.

Make Glassware Sparkle

If your drinkware has spots after removing it from the dishwasher, use a coffee filter to make it shine. The filters are lint-free and slightly textured so they gently scrub away the minerals that leave water spots.

Tip

Coffee filters work well on shower doors and bathroom mirrors with water spots.

Save the Cost of a Plumber

Coffee filters won’t unclog a sink, but they can save you the cost of a plumber to remove the clog.  When cleaning vegetables or scraping plates after dinner, put a coffee filter over the drain. It will catch the small pieces of food and debris that might create a clog. When you are finished at the sink, gather up the filter and toss it away.

Remove Dust from Electronics Screens

The screens on electronics are sensitive and easily scratched by gritty cleaning clothes and stiff paper towels that can leave lint. Coffee filters are perfect for quick clean-ups of television, laptop, and gaming screens. Just use a light touch and dust and fingerprints will be gone.

Prevent Microwave Splatters

We’ve all done it; placed a dish of leftovers in the microwave uncovered and then discovered an oven filled with splatters. Use a coffee filter over foods to catch the mess before it happens.

Spout Some Seeds

If you enjoy fresh chia seed sprouts for salads or just want to get a head start on the successful planting of some types of seeds, use a coffee filter.  Dampen the filter, sprinkle on the seeds in a closed container (glass jar or plastic bag), and place in a warm spot. The seeds will sprout with ease.

Line a Plant Container

Drainage is essential in a plant container but you don’t want soil leaking out of the drainage holes. Whether you are planting a pot or a hanging basket, place a coffee filter (or a few) in the bottom of the container before you add the soil. The water will drain out easily but the soil will stay in place.

Shine Stainless Steel Until it Is Streak-free

After cleaning a stainless-steel appliance or piece of cookware, use a coffee filter to buff the finish. Work in the direction of the grain and because the filters are lint-free, you’ll get a great shine.

Tip

After you clean a stainless-steel kitchen sink, dry it with a coffee filter to prevent water spots and streaks.

Protect Treasured Holiday Ornaments

Even if you have customized containers for storing heirloom holiday ornaments, use a coffee filter to wrap each one to add protection from dust and scratches. The filters are inexpensive and easy to use. You’ll enjoy unwrapping each one year after year.

Get Streak Free Windows

Coffee filters are the perfect last touch when cleaning windows. They will leave a lint-free, streak-free finish as you dry the glass. They also work great on car windows, mirrors, and glass tabletops.

Corral Small Pieces When Assembling Furniture

When you open a DIY furniture kit, use a coffee filter to hold the small screws and pieces. The bowl shape will help you keep them from rolling away and the filters are inexpensive enough that you can use several to sort the pieces. The same tip works great for kid’s game pieces.

Create Pressed Flowers

Coffee filters work beautifully to absorb moisture when pressing flowers in a book or a flower press. The smooth texture will not leave “dimples” like some embossed paper towels and no dye transfer to delicate petals.

Make a Shoe Freshener

To help keep sneakers and shoes smelling fresh between washings, make some odor absorbers using coffee filters.  Put about one-fourth cup of baking soda in the center of a filter. Gather up the edges and tie them with some string or use a rubber band.  Place the pouches in the shoes to absorb odors. After about a month of use, toss the filters and make a fresh batch.

SOURCE: THE SPRUCE: Mary Marlowe Leverette

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Published by pat frederick

Published

140 thoughts on “Surprising Uses for Coffee Filters”

  1. Morning All!
    we’re at 18* this morning. got another dusting of snow but i can sweep that off. still waiting for the rest of the snow to come off the roof. should be a tad warmer this week so maybe then.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Morning, Pat. I dropped down and posted this: the white coffee filters are bleached, the natural ones are not. Therefore, be careful using them in planters and other places where bleach can be deleterious. Very little snow left here now, if any; 26 at the moment but it will be in the 50’s for most of the week.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Nope, not one – I saw the black calico yesterday chasing a rabbit – I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran Wheezer off since he is a good bit bigger than him.

          Liked by 1 person

  13. new bill introduced to give states standing to sue federal government when executive branch fails to follow immigration law

    A new bill has been filed to give state attorneys general greater authority and legal standing to sue the federal government when it fails to enforce federal immigration law established by Congress.

    Republican U.S. Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Dan Bishop of North Carolina introduced the Standing Up to the Executive Branch for Immigration Enforcement Act, or “SUE for Immigration Enforcement Act,” on Wednesday. The six-page bill is being marked up by the House Judiciary Committee.

    It was filed in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last July that held that Texas and Louisiana did not have standing to challenge a policy implemented by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which effectively ended most deportations of illegal foreign nationals.

    A federal judge ruled Texas and Louisiana did have standing because the states would incur costs due to the federal government’s refusal to enforce federal immigration law. He also vacated the deportation policy, arguing it was unlawful. Rather than argue the merits of the case, the Supreme Court ruled the states didn’t have standing, or a legal right, to challenge the policy.

    Roy’s and Bishop’s bill would give state attorneys general standing to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security when the federal government refuses to enforce federal immigration law. It would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow attorneys general to sue when the federal government does not follow existing law and detain and remove illegal foreign nationals in their states. It includes language regarding a state or resident being harmed by federal policies, including defining harm to include financial costs exceeding $100. It also would direct the courts to advance on the docket and expedite the disposition of a civil action.

    It takes the opposite approach of a Senate Democrat bill, championed by Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, which would have stripped states’ ability to sue. The bill, which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said the House would not even consider, would have prevented judges in federal courts in any state from ruling on lawsuits filed by states over Biden administration border policies. The Lankford-Democratic bill instead gave sole judicial authority to the left-leaning U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which would have prevented states like Texas, Florida, Louisiana and others from winning their cases. Federal judges in these states all ruled against Mayorkas’ policies in lawsuits over the last three years.

    Roy said their bill was important because the Biden administration “has consistently ignored the laws on the books that require operational control of our border in pursuit of an open-borders agenda, creating the invasion we have watched for years at our southern border.”

    It was imperative that Congress “re-affirm the states’ constitutional ability to defend their own borders,” he said, by authorizing state attorneys general to challenge federal policies directly.

    Bishop said President Joe Biden and Mayorkas, whom he and the Republican House majority voted to impeach, “are pursuing a disastrous open borders policy at any cost, including repeatedly and flagrantly violating federal immigration law,” and “relentless[ly] pursu[ing] lawlessness, chaos, and destruction.”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/new-bill-would-give-states-standing-sue-federal-government

    Like

  14. Sure, sure….you were tricked! MY ASS!!!

    “St. Patrick’s Cathedral: We Were Tricked Into Tranny Whore Funeral”

    National Pulse: “St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City has issued a scathing statement following its hosting of a funeral ceremony for transgender prostitute Cecilia Gentili this week. The “service” drew over 1,000 mourners, hundreds of whom were transgender, and who desecrated the holy space by wearing items of clothing such as “glittery miniskirts and halter tops [and] fishnet stockings,” reported The New York Times. The sacred space was further desecrated with the Spanish words for “transvestite,” “whore,” “blessed,” and “mother” — paired with the text of Psalm 25 — encircling an image of a halo-adorned Gentili displayed near the altar. 

    Now, St. Patrick’s is punching back, claiming the organizers of the funeral were “scandalous” as well as “sacrilegious” and “deceptive.”

    The Very Rev. Enrique Salvo, Pastor at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral issued the following statement: 

    “Thanks to so many who have let us know they share our outrage over the scandalous behavior at a funeral here at St. Patrick’s Cathedral earlier this week. The Cathedral only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral Mass for a Catholic, and had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way. That such a scandal occurred at “America’s Parish Church” makes it worse; that it took place as Lent was beginning, the annual forty–day struggle with the forces of sin and darkness, is a potent reminder of how much we need the prayer, reparation, repentance, grace, and mercy to which this holy season invites us. 

    “At the Cardinal’s directive, we have offered an appropriate Mass of Reparation.” 

    Cecilia Gentili, originally from Argentina, led a life as a degenerate activist and organizer and even made an appearance in the FX series, “Pose.”

    Liked by 1 person

  15. “The Modern Evil Empire”
    CLANDESTINE
    FEB 18, 2024

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “The West claim they are righteous, therefore incapable of wrongdoing. They believe they are entitled to overthrow Ukraine, create a puppet regime, and put an army on Russia’s border, all in the name of “Democracy.”

    Just like The Crusades, war was justified in the name of “God,” when it was really about conquest. Soldiers were given free rein to murder, pillage, and rape, under the guise that they were God’s righteous warriors, would be absolved of all sin, and granted safe passage to heaven in the afterlife.

    The West are no different. They view themselves as infallible. They are willing to steal elections, brainwash the planet, overthrow sovereign nations, release biological weapons, traffic humans, force medical experiments, and sacrifice as many lives necessary… all in the name of “Democracy.” The ends always justify the means, no matter how heinous.

    It’s a religious cult, void of any logic or reason. Their “God” is the State. The sheep believe the State’s word as gospel, and all those who question the State’s holy word are heretics that must be shamed and excommunicated.

    The West are nothing but the newest iteration of the evil empire. It knows only death, destruction, and deceit. If you still support them at this point, you are part of the cult.”

    Liked by 1 person

  16. This is an interesting detail i missed before. before when fannnnni repaid others for her expenses, she used cash ap…but with her lover? strictly untraceable cash. so she lied that she always uses strictly cash…
    FTA
    Ms. Willis (and Mr. Wade) claims she reimbursed Mr. Wade with cash she just happened to have lying around the house. Apparently, she doesn’t have a checking account. In virtually every other instance where she reimbursed others for her personal expenses, she used Cash App instead of paying with actual cash, but in the instance of reimbursing Mr. Wade for far more money, she used actual currency — currency that never shows as being deposited into Mr. Wade’s bank.
    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/02/the_love_song_of_da_fani_willis.html

    Like

  17. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/major-victory-russian-army-ukraine-forces-flee-eastern-city

    Our Take: “So, let me get this straight:

    Just a week after the most-watched Tucker Carlson interview of all time—and perhaps one of the most-watched interviews of any kind in history, especially since the advent of the internet, goes viral for all the right reasons where it concerns the exposure of the REAL Vladimir Putin, and thus, the real Russia, to awakening western minds who’ve never considered the prospect that it is a real place with a real leader with real end goals that do not include world domination, Putin’s top political opponent ends up dead, the western media industrial complex launches a coordinated narrative op to take advantage, the establishment attempts to use said ‘tragedy’ to fundraise the Ukrainian Proxy War … AND …

    Said Proxy War suffers its grandest defeat yet (for globalist interests) with the Russian Federation finalizing a pseudo land bridge from eastern Russia to the Crimean peninsula, solidifying its grasp on the lands it said it wanted to annex when all this madness kicked off two years ago.

    Strange. Everything Russia (and Putin) forwarded from the advent of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine appears to be coming true.

    Not sure I can say the same for the other guys …” — Burning Bright

    Liked by 1 person

  18. ROFLMFAO….so much for “scientific journals!”

    https://modernity.news/2024/02/17/leading-scientific-journal-publishes-fake-ai-generated-paper-about-rat-with-giant-penis/

    EXCERPT: “A leading scientific journal faces humiliation after it published a completely fake paper, purportedly written by Chinese researchers, which contained AI generated images of a rat with a penis bigger than its own body.

    The Telegraph reports that the journal Frontiers in Cell and Development Biology published a paper that claimed to show the signaling pathway of sperm stem cells, but depicted a rat sitting upright with a massive dick and four giant testicles.

    The illustration was reportedly created by using Midjourney, the AI imaging tool, which added labels to the ridiculous diagram using terms that don’t exist, including “dissilced,” “testtomcels” and “senctolic.”

    Another ludicrous image to the right of the rat displays “sterrn cells” in a Petri dish being spooned out.

    […]

    Remarkably, the paper found its way into the journal, where it was read by scientists who immediately recognised the images and descriptions were not grounded in “any known biology”.

    The journal retracted the paper, issued an apology and announced that it is working to “correct the record”. — Modernity News

    Our Take: “The geniuses that populate the peer review system were not able to catch a giant rat dick labelled with literal gibberish, or the fake paper that surrounded it. These are the modern gods being referenced when we are outcast as anti-scientific, white supremacists spreading dangerous disinformation.

    I couldn’t help but think of Helen Pluckrose, mathematician James Lindsay, and philosopher Peter Boghossian’s work infiltrating academia with fake papers when I read this article (better known as the ‘Grievance Studies’ or ‘Sokal Squared.’)

    For those of you who don’t know, they wrote peer reviewed and published academic papers on intentionally absurd and/or immoral theories such as: a case for guys using dildos to self-penetrate in order to lessen transphobia, a study on the males who frequent ‘breastaurants’ such as Hooters and studies on the prevalence of rape culture among dogs in Portland dog parks.

    It was a phenomenal experiment successfully exposing woke academia as moronic and low grade nonsense upheld by no meaningful standards at all.

    These operations exposing the false authorities we have been trained to rely on for everything from what to put in our bodies to how to think about our bodies are sorely needed. We have suffered generations of operant conditioning telling us that peer reviewed studies can and should replace our own inner authority and the wisdom gathered from our direct, empirical experiences.

    One might argue that this is a win for China, who has been caught infiltrating North American academia on many levels for decades, but the truth is that this class of academia needs to burn. These alleged Chinese agents are performing the same function as people like Pluckrose, Lindsay and Boghossian. We have been gaslit by so called ‘expertise’ to our own detriment for generations.

    I’m here for it being destroyed, one dick joke at a time.” — Simon Esler

    Liked by 1 person

  19. “How Joe Biden’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention is directing the war on guns—A Special Report”
    LEE WILLIAMS
    FEB 19, 2024

    EXCERPT: “The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention has become a significant threat to our guns and our civil rights. When the office was unveiled in September 2023, President Joe Biden said it would, “centralize, accelerate, and intensify our work to save more lives more quickly. That’s what it was designed to do. It will drive and coordinate a government and nationwide effort to reduce gun violence.”

    The office wields tremendous power but operates in secrecy, without oversight. It has no website. Its budget has never been made public. Its staffing levels are not known. Only three actual members have ever been identified — the director and two deputy directors. All three are radical anti-gun zealots. One has a long association with former President Barack Obama.

    Neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris, who oversees the office — at least officially — has ever clearly articulated what the office is supposed to do, other than “reduce gun violence” and “build on historic actions taken by President Biden to end gun violence.”

    Biden’s “historic actions” are well known and include calls for red flag laws; universal background checks, which would open the door to firearm registration; banning popular semi-automatic firearms and standard capacity magazines; revoking licenses of gun dealers for minor clerical errors; and pushing Congress to pass laws that would force gun owners to comply with firearm storage regulations, which would likely be followed by mandatory home inspections to insure compliance.

    Using open-source and other data, the Second Amendment Foundation examined the office’s key personnel, budget and operations. The findings reveal a Star Chamber of sorts, designed to come up with ways to chip away at the Second Amendment and then push them out to the states, without any scrutiny from Congress, the courts or the public….”

    https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/how-joe-bidens-office-of-gun-violence

    Like

  20. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/burnsville-shooting-is-8th-incident-since-april-of-officers-hit-by-gunfire-in-and-near-minnesota/ar-BB1itLxg

    “Cops are quitting in droves and they better get out while they can. When the tyranny gets hard, as it did when COVID mandates were here, it will be the Law enforcers, enforcing the law of the tyrants. The people as a whole, and the ones who used to be on the side of the cops, have had enough.

    We all know that when gun control comes, some slick ass politician isn’t going to be showing up on your door at 3 A.M. We all know that when the Feds are rounding up j6 people, they are doing it with the help of the locals. The cops have cracked one too many heads and thrown their ass around one too many time on plain to see videos.

    The cops have lost the support of the people they need most ; Those that they are sworn to protect and serve. No thanks, we will protect ourselves and our neighbors and neighborhoods if we have to.”

    Liked by 1 person

  21. i dunno…this sounds unrealistic to me…he needs them IN CASE someone else needs them–and instead of the approved NARCAN?
    FTA
    The chief medical officer for Customs and Border Protection pressured his staff to order fentanyl lollipops for him to take to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York in September, according to a whistleblower report sent to Congress on Friday.

    The whistleblowers said Dr. Alexander Eastman’s staff raised questions about why he would need to order fentanyl lollipops to take with him, and he answered that it was part of his duties to make sure that any injured CBP operators were cared for, making the argument that the lollipops would be necessary for pain management should an emergency occur.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/cbp-doctor-tried-order-fentanyl-lollipops-helicopter-mission-new-york-rcna139116

    Like

  28. deport deport deport

    they are not looking for a better life. can’t be said enough. they are not grateful, not refugees, not civilized! they just bring their shit here

    Belle

    February 19, 2024 8:49 am

    Slowly at first:

    You may have heard about the riots in The Netherlands by Eritrean refugees. What hasn’t made much of a splash in the MSM is that there was a riot Saturday in Charlotte, NC by Eritreans that started at a “cultural event” when rival groups rioted for 10 hours. The following article has more details about The Netherlands’ riots and the one in North Carolina.

    thttps://www.foxnews.com/us/charlotte-protesters-attack-officers-set-tractor-trailer-fire-riot-eritrean-cultural-event-police

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Not surprising!!!

      Wiki: “…officially the State of Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi),[20][21] and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.”

      Liked by 1 person

  32. Liked by 1 person

  36. I’ll tell you…I will NOT vote if Vivek is on the ticket for VP!!! I will not vote for anyone who is Constitutionally ineligible! Period! Pat, did you see the “invitation” from General Flynn to a fund raiser at Mar-A-Lago honoring Vivek???

    Like

          1. gosh i remember an episode on MASH about korean kids. they ran thru some fields and got scrapes and cuts, so the docs gave them some serum (can’t remember what–tetanus?) anyway the kids developed reactions to it and the colonel said it was because they ate horse meat regularly…???
            or something like that…lol my memory is foggy

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Risk of Toxicity

              When it comes to eating horse meat, there is often a risk of toxicity, depending on where the meat came from. Horse meat from the United States isn’t officially approved for human consumption by a reliable agency. This means that the meat might have drug residues that are harmful to human health.

              Most horses today are used for leisure, entertainment, or sporting purposes. Throughout their lives, these animals will receive a variety of drugs to keep them in good condition and health. A few examples are dewormers, antibiotics, painkillers, steroids, and diuretics, most of which are labeled “Not for use in animals used for food.”

              The biggest issue is with ex-racehorses that often wind up on the way to a slaughterhouse. Many of these horses will still have performance-enhancing drugs in their system, which can be detrimental to human health.

              As a result, any horse meat you come across in the United States is likely to be bad for you. Horses that have been put down by a vet are also unfit for human consumption, as the toxin from the lethal injection will still be in the meat.

              If you’re an equestrian, you probably know what it means if a horse is “on Bute”. Phenylbutazone, or Bute, is a common painkiller that most horses will encounter at some point in their lives. However, if these horses are slaughtered, their meat has the potential to cause cancer or other fatal diseases in humans.”

              https://horseyhooves.com/why-dont-we-eat-horse-meat/

              Liked by 1 person

    1. I was later in the day yesterday – I unplugged the router/antenna and ran thru the cleaning process on my computer. We’ll see what happens today – so far, so good. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

      Liked by 1 person

  49. Hi Miss Pat – great topic!

    I use cone coffee filters to strain and drain yogurt in a coffee funnel to make yogurt cheese.

    They would also be good to drain other moist foods – either the round or the cone ones.

    Liked by 1 person

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