Top 10 Uses For Used Coffee Grounds
By DIY Maven
10. Deodorizer. Dry them out on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer, or rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.
9. Plant food. Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Also, grounds can add nutrients to your compost bin.
8. Insect repellant. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. The little buggers will move on or stay away. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.
7. Dye. By steeping grounds in hot water, you can make brown dye for fabric, paper and even Easter eggs.
6. Furniture scratch cover-up. Steep grounds and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture scratches with a Q-tip.
5. Cleaning product. As they’re slightly abrasive, grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects.
4. Kitty repellent. To keep kitty from using the garden as her personal powder room, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.
3. Flea dip. Follow up Fido’s shampoo with a coffee ground rub down, working them down to his skin. Not only are the fleas suppose to vamoose, but puppy’s hair will feel soft too.
2. Dust inhibitor. Before you clean out the fireplace, toss wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep the ash dust under control.
And, finally, the #1 use for used coffee grounds....drum roll here....
Cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. While standing over an old towel or newspaper, apply the mixture to your "problem areas". Next, wrap the areas with shrink wrap and leave on for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and then shower with warm water. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice a week. A little weird to be sure, but as high priced cellulite creams have coffee in them, it just might work.
For even more uses of spent coffee grounds, visit cocoajava.com, essortment.com, rd.com and finally, mrsomalleys.com, who, if #1 works, should not have one jot of cellulite on her thighs. And if you have any secret uses for your used grounds, please share!
(Coffee magnet pictured above available through AllPosters.com for $4.99)
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Self-proclaimed Maven of DIY, I'm up for anything from gonzo rehab to dressing a room. Although...
tfernsle
Combed out four fleas again yesterday, rubbed her down with Italian roast, and got seven fleas this morning. I've made extra care to get the fleas' favorite spots (base of tail, armpits) but that's still where I find them. I'm gonna call the coffee grounds as flea repellent idea a bust. Maybe if I used the crud they serve at work, keeps me away...
inkbot
thanks to you and panda for conducting the coffee ground experiment! glad no animals were harmed in the making of your post. :D
DIY Maven
She sounds delicious! ;)
tfernsle
Rubbed Panda down with Italian roast yesterday. Combed out four fleas today, I've been combing out 4-10 fleas/day. No behavior change, it did soften her fur. The cat has let her alone, could be the smell, or just general hatred. Hard to tell.
DIY Maven
I like inkbot's argument. ;) I'd like to know how the coffee dip works, so, yeah, please post your results. Love your profile pic, btw! The hints were complied from the websites listed at the end of the post.
tfernsle
inkbot,
Those warnings about things dogs should stay away from stem mostly from their ability to eat much more by body weight percentage than humans can. Wolves are supposed to be able to eat a week's worth in one sitting. Thus if there is something slightly toxic in their food and they are allowed to eat as much as they want they have a good chance of poisoning themselves. Same goes for cyanide in fruit pits; we'd get full before we ate enough pits to kill ourselves, but a dog can poison themselves just fine.
Back in college my dog got into my roommate's stash and ate 2 Pounds of chocolate in a sitting. She didn't feel so good but was otherwise fine. If she was a four pound chihuahua it might be a different story, but she was a 90lb Malamute. Dogs can of course have allergies, that's a different story.
Anyway we've got a flea problem and the poisons are scary and not very effective. I'll post my results.
inkbot
i'm curious about the source of the coffee grounds flea dip for dogs. coffee grounds are highly toxic to dogs and are on every list for them to avoid along with chocolate, certain fruit pits, etc. i realize that you're not recommending that they ingest the grounds, but i certainly would not rub coffee grounds all over my dog merely on the basis of skin absorption. and i drink a lot of coffee! and would love to do something useful with the grounds! luckily, you have other tips, but i thought it was worth bringing up. maybe you could post your source to quell any doubts...
cheers,
inkbot
cindyAtStaged4more
huh. i only know #10 & 9 since my parents do that. *but make sure you dry the grounds or they can get moldy. ;( i love these tips. i will definitely try #6.
cheers,
cindy
greenbriel
threadbanger
gigoit
pineapplegirl
DIY Maven
Chrisjob
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