For the past few weeks I've been writing down ideas to share for reusing dental floss instead of simply throwing it away after using. Here is what I've come up with which also gave me more ideas for uses beyond reusing after flossing. LOL!
After making the list, I decided to look online to see if I could find some other clever uses and the first one I am listing here is actually something I never would have thought of, but is important to keep in mind and the second one listed here that I found online made me giggle really hard. ;-)
Please share any other ideas you might have for reuse or use of dental floss.
By Deeli from Richland, WA
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Great ideas Deeli.
I've been using dental floss for sewing on buttons (especially on winter clothing that is made of heavy fabtrics), and I've restrung beads and pearls on it, but other than those things, teeth and gums, I've never given it much thought. I will now though. I've begun looking at everything in new ways, and realize I've been missing quite a lot.
Thank you for sharing.
Pookarina
All great ideas, and I admit I've done some of them myself over the years.
But oh dear, only for FRESH floss! Even if washed and cleaned in alcohol, I think "reusing dental floss instead of simply throwing it away after using" is taking recycling to a further level than I'd ever go!
Hey, it occurred to me that you could tie two wooden dowels at each end of a length of floss to slice through modeling clay, too. Not sure if that's what my art teacher many years ago used, though.
Oh may I really thought that was a misprint about reusing used dental floss and you just meant you were thinking of different ways to use floss when using it for your teeth until I reread it and realized I had read it right the first time. Reusing dental floss is just a little too extreme for me. However some of your ideas I would try using FRESH dental floss.
Don't use dental floss to play with cats, they may eat it and I could kill them.
Having worked as a dentist in the department of corrections, I can tell you that inmates are not allowed to have dental floss because of the alleged escapes using it. Please use unused floss for the suggested uses and throw the used floss in the trash.
Those are good ideas but I would never use dental floss that has been in your mouth or any one else's mouth. Buy new and use it, you can buy it at the dollar store.
Brides to be...before the wedding, resew the button and loop on your train. The trains are often quite heavy and if you have ever watched a bride try to "carry" around her train through the reception...trying to dance with it tossed over her arm so it won't drag, you know what I mean.
Be careful when using mint-flavored dental floss if you have cats. Apparently they like the flavor! A friend's cat who had been very healthy, suddenly became sick and died. An autopsy showed that dental floss was wrapped around her intestines and they had become strangulated. I know it sounds like a freak accident but you know how cats are into everything and it could easily happen.
A word of caution about using dental floss for buttons on coats. I tried that, but once the floss got wet in the rain, it came apart rather quickly.
I would prefer to use a good fishing line from my hubbys tackle box.
When I was involved in Belly Dancing in the 70's we would make our own costumes. We found that sewing the coins on the costumes with dental floss kept them on better than using thread. The constant movement of the coins when dancing would wear through thread, but not dental floss.
The ideas for using dental floss to cut cheese, reinforce button holes, etc., are good. But I hope nobody is reusing dental floss. Gross!
Whatever you do with dental floss, don't flush it down the toilet. Throw it in the trash.
Years ago, my husband and I had separate bathrooms, and his toilet kept stopping up. I knew he wasn't flushing the same things I was, and mine never did, so we couldn't figure out what was wrong. He finally got a plumber's snake to try to fix the problem.
My son was about three or four and he came to get me, saying, "Mom, you've got to come see this." I figured he and my husband were trying to prank me, but I went along. Well, my husband had pulled what looked like an old hemp rope out with the snake.
Both of us were saying, "What the H is that???" Then he said, "It's dental floss."
My response was, "You FLUSH dental floss??" Believe me, he stopped after that. We joked about the "dental floss monster" for years.
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