8 Surprising Household Uses for Razor Blades

Razor blades seem like a pretty straightforward tool on the surface: You can use them to remove hair from your body or slice open a package or box, and that’s about it, right? Wrong. From removing burnt food from your stovetop to battling stubborn stickers, you can do a lot more with razorblades around your home than you realise. Here are several of our favourites.

Remove burned-on food from your stovetop

If your stovetop is glass, you can use a razor blade to safely remove burned-on foods, according to The Kitchn. Use a gentle, even pressure with a plain old blade to scrape the mess off instead of trying to scrub it.

Scrape off painting mistakes

If you drip or swipe paint somewhere by accident, you can use a razor to remove it, according to Family Handyman. Bend the razor into a curve (after covering the edges in tape so you don’t cut yourself) for a perfect scraping device that won’t damage surfaces — provided you hold it straight.

Remove pilling from your sheets

This tip is courtesy of my boyfriend, who swears by it and does it every few weeks: Remove pilling from your sheets using a safety razor. It can even be an old one, so you can reuse something that you’d otherwise throw away — and you might want to, so you don’t accidentally slice your bedding. Just hold the sheets taught and hold the razor as you would shaving your face or legs and gently drag it down the sheet to remove pilling and lint, extending the life of your linens.

Get sticky goo off the floor

If you got a sticky mess on your counter or floor and aren’t sure what combination of cleaning materials will get it off, you might want to step away from the chemicals and grab a straight razor instead. It will lift the gunk with no scrubbing required, per The Kitchn.

Get crumbs out of small spaces

The Kitchn also recommends using a razor blade to get crumbs out of areas that are otherwise difficult to reach, like spaces between appliances or in small corners or crevices.

Remove painter’s tape

Have you ever finished a painting project and removed your protective tape only to see it take some of the dried paint along with it, leaving a ragged-looking line? You have to break the seal the tape made with the wall, which is where a razor comes in. Cut along the top and bottom to break the connection between your paint and the tape before you pull it off so there’s a straight line left behind, according to Family Handyman.

Remove stickers from glass

Stickers are annoying to remove from your glassware, but instead of soaking or scrubbing them, just use a razor, suggests The Kitchn. You can wet them first, but once you get the tip under the edge of the sticker, it should slide off pretty easily.

Clear windows and glass

Sap or other sticky things on your windows or windshields can be a huge headache, but not if you have a razor blade. You can safely scrape sticky substances off your windows with a light, even pressure, so your vision is no longer obscured, per The Kitchn.