25 uses for Coffee Filters...

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by CRC, Feb 15, 2010.


  1. CRC

    CRC Survivor of Tidal Waves | RIP 7-24-2015 Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Just a few tips I got in my email today....FWIW....

    Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

    1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

    2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling. (I've have done this...Coffee filter, with a Vinegar/water mix in a spray bottle..Cheap and works great!)

    3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

    4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

    5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

    6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

    7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

    8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

    9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

    10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

    11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

    12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

    13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.

    14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

    15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

    16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

    17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

    18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

    19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

    20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

    21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

    22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

    23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

    24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..

    25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
     
    T. Riley and arleigh like this.
  2. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Cool tips thanks.

    I'll add one, use as a "pre-filter" for your water purification system, wont get everything out, but will help extend the life of you water filter.
     
    3cyl and arleigh like this.
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Also can be used as a gun cleaning patch in a pinch.
     
  4. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Great list. I would never have thought about some of those. Thanks CRC. The lowly coffee filter is elevated to the status of an all purpose piece of paper.
     
  5. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I was gonna mention gun cleaning patches.......

    I also strain stored gas through a coffee filter, to prevent the trash and varnish chunks getting into the vehicle's tank.

    Coffee filters are SO useful, and cheap! [applaud]
     
    T. Riley and arleigh like this.
  6. fireplaceguy

    fireplaceguy Monkey+

    Great stuff! Several things on that list I had never thought of. I stock these in bulk, from Sam's or Costco, which makes them REALLY cheap. That addendum about pre-filters for water filters is what got me started with them - they work great for this!


    FWIW, the one thing I don't use them for is brewing coffee. The permanent gold screen filters let a bit of the dissolved solids through and add a lot of interest to the cup.
     
  7. mikemarlow

    mikemarlow Monkey+

    Good list! Thanks. I have seen some of those before, but not all of them.
     
  8. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Make a prom dress using coffee filters LMAO!!!!

    http://www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1684557

    UNDATED - She's known as "the girl with a coffee cup." Aimee Kick, who spends lots of time in coffee shops, took her moniker to the limit, crafting an elaborate senior prom dress out of coffee filters. The senior at Missouri's Francis Howell North High School says she wanted to wear something creative that wasn't fabric. Because she wanted to dance and be comfortable at the prom, she eliminated the idea of making her dress out of vegetables, tea bags, stamps, bubble wrap or aluminum foil.
    "When I really started to notice how into making the dress I got was the day before a large (and tedious) research paper was due, I kept saying to myself, 'Just finish the paper and then you can work on the dress as much as you want,'" Kick says.
    Kick, who's taking three AP classes, an online class and working part time, spent about a month on her gown.
    She had to fold and cut the coffee filters, as well as stain, dye, sew and blow dry them.
    Some days she worked at it for six hours.
    "Each and every filter is sewn onto a fabric base that I made," she says in an article posted on the school system's Web site.
    "Most filters have multiple seams over them, save for the bodice, which was all hand sewn."
    She calls making the dress a "stimulating challenge."
    Others might find it to be a full percolated project.
    (Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

    [​IMG]
     
    T. Riley and arleigh like this.
  9. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    I use them as a sandwich wrap (inside the baggy or plastic container) so the sandwich doesn't get soggy in his lunchbox.

    They're great for greasing a pan before baking!

    We've used them for popcorn in the office forever. Not very good for juicy fruits, but a great apple slice holder.

    Unless you're spoon isn't wet when you're cooking, I don't suggest them as a spoon rest (tried it!). Everything leaks through and the filter sticks to the spoon the next time you use it. I use a small plastic lid, then toss it in the dishwasher when I'm done cooking.

    If you're using them for bacon/chicken/greasy foods: turn them upside down and use a lot of them. It keeps the bottom layer off the plate below (for a while).
     
  10. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    A coffee filter can hold small parts when working on vehicles, cleaning guns, or most any other project!
     
  11. Good list, I always knew they were handy, but I haven't thought of all those uses before. Thanks.
     
  12. dmp55

    dmp55 Monkey+

    Thanks, Several I have never seen.
     
  13. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Thought I would add this here. I used some coffee filters in the bottom of my containers for my seedlings. I noticed that when I transplanted to the garden, almost all of the coffee filters were gone. No, I didn't get that desperate for coffee, I think they just dissolved away.

    So if your gonna use coffee filters for house plants, be aware they my disappear on you!
     
  14. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    I used them this weekend to put between cheese slices to go on our outing. Kept the cheese from sticking and made it very easy to grab.
     
  15. draynes

    draynes Monkey+

    I thought I had seen them all, but there's some new ones for me there.
     
  16. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I've made a multiple filter of them (stacked 4-6) in a funnel to "rack" wine...
     
  17. Akheloce

    Akheloce Monkey++


    I was just going to add... don't forget sparging/ racking beer and wine!

    I go throug more filters that way than for coffee that's for sure.
     

  18. Strain your gas thru an old felt hat and water is removed also.
     
  19. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I have read that chamois cloth will also do this. If we could find something that could easily and cheaply remove the danged Ethanol from modern gas, THAT would be excellent!
     
  20. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I just came across an expanded list of coffee filter uses. This list has make your own dryer sheets using coffee filters. I have always read that the Bounce sheets are toxic but never found a substitute.
    The list in the link also suggests using coffee filters as a portable pet bowl. This is a great idea and will add a few filters to my backpack.
     
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