Breaking in new leather shoes can be a painful process, but you can avoid the blisters by simply using a hairdryer. Put on some thick socks, then put on the new shoes and blow-dry the tight areas for a few minutes. Walk around until your feet cool off to loosen up the leather.
It’s important to note that this method is for genuine leather shoes; it can work with some synthetics, but be careful as the heat might damage certain materials if the hair-dryer is set on a high heat setting.
If you recently got new glasses and they are too tight or too loose, your hair-dryer can help with that, too. Set the hairdryer to hot and blow the hot air on the part of the glasses that hooks over your ears until it bends easily with gentle pressure. At that point, you can carefully adjust the fit - bend up to loosen or down to tighten. Voila.
You can use the hairdryer on the nose pads of the glasses as well. Heating up that area will allow you to bend the frames just slightly, which will make the frames fit more closely.
It can be a real nuisance when you purchase a pan and the label sticker won’t shift, or when you pick up a present for someone and the price tag sticker seems stuck there forever. All you need to do is blast that pesky paper with a hairdryer for about 45 seconds. After 45 seconds of direct heat, test a corner of the sticker and see if it peels away easily. If it doesn’t, continue the hairdryer treatment for another 45 seconds or so, and then start peeling off the sticker.
That same trick also works with band-aids - just blow some hot air on it and peel it off painlessly.
Related: 4 Genius Hacks to Help Remove Bugs and Stickers From a Car
If you have a completely wrinkled up cotton garment on your hands, you will require an iron. But for anything else, a hairdryer can definitely do the trick. Hang the garment up, spray a little water on it, and then blast it with hot air from an inch or two away until the wrinkle disappears. If you’re in a hurry, you can even do this -carefully! - with your clothes on.
Using your hairdryer as an iron also works with plastic tablecloths, which tend to wrinkle easily in storage. You can blast away those wrinkles by holding your hair dryer at least 12 inches away from your tablecloth.
Related: 10 Additional Uses for Dryer Sheets
Sometimes young artists have the urge to let their creativity loose, which a lot of the time ends with crayons all over the walls. Trying to clean crayon marks off the wall can be a frustrating experience, but a bit of hot air will make it much simpler. Simply use the hairdryer to blow hot air on the crayon marks and the wax will begin to melt from the heat. Then use a cleaning cloth or a paper towel with a little liquid dish soap and gently wipe away the marks.
This method is safe to use on most wall surfaces, but test it on a hidden spot first to be sure.
Who doesn’t occasionally watch a video on their laptop while eating? If this made you suddenly spot all the crumbs and other random bits stuck in your keyboard, don’t worry. It’s a common issue, just make sure to clean it every now and then. A standard air dryer can easily remove built-up dirt on and under the keys, just make sure to set it in cool air to avoid melting the keyboard.
Related: 8 of the Dirtiest Household Items and How to Clean Them
Achieving that bakery-style frosting really isn’t that difficult. To gloss the frosting on a freshly baked cake, lightly blow warm air over the top and the sides of the cake until the frosting melts a little. When it cools, the surface will stay shiny for a professional finish.
When your hot compress cools down it becomes less effective and needs renewing. To make things easier, you can keep a compress hot by pointing your blow dryer at the towel and leaving it running for a few minutes. You can also keep the towel wet by misting it with a spray bottle every once in a while.
You’ve just had your morning shower and you’re in a big rush. Naturally, you will need to use the bathroom mirror to finish getting ready. Alas, it is completely covered in steam. Most of us just wipe a small circle through which we can see our reflection, but that is less than ideal because it leaves streaks on the mirror. Pointing your hairdryer at your mirror for about a minute does a far better job, and you will be able to clearly see your reflection again.
Salt and pepper grinders are one of those things we should all wash more often. The problem is when you do, you must make sure the shaker is completely dry before putting more salt or pepper in, and that can take a while. Blowing some hot air into the grinders with a hairdryer is an easy way to speed things up.
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