Repurposing Ideas: 5 New Uses For Potatoes

Potatoes are a pretty common staple of many people's diet. But there are other uses for a potato, and we're not talking about potato salad or hash browns. There are tons of odd ways people have found uses for potatoes outside of the kitchen, and here are some of our favorites. If you have some, please share...no spuds about it!

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Broken Light Bulb Remover
If you've ever wound up with a broken light bulb in a lamp socket, don't panic. Instead, get a potato. Press the potato into the broken bulb. It's thick enough to protect you from the glass, and you can use it to unscrew the bulb. When you're done, you can just throw out the potato and not have to worry about cutting yourself.

Potato Stamps
You can use a potato to make your own stamp. Cut one in half and carve out the shape or design you'd like the imprint to be. Then dip the potato-stamp in paint so you can decorate whatever surface you'd like. It's very simple to do and it leaves behind a pretty textured pattern.

Plant Food
Did you know that potatoes are one of the more nutritious foods for people? Well, it turns out that potatoes are nutritious for your flowers as well. It's an old home garden tip that geraniums love potatoes. When you plant your flowers in the ground, place some small slivers of a potato around the root. As the potato breaks down, it releases nutrients into the soil that the flower is more than happy to soak up.

Remove Tarnish On Silverware
Check out eHow for the exact details, but you can use a potato to clean the tarnish off of your silverware. Take half of a potato and dip the unskinned side into some baking soda. You can then rub this onto your silverware, gently of course. The baking soda helps break the tarnish down and your potato absorbs it.

Hot Or Cold Compress
There is a reason why we play the game hot potato. It turns out that potatoes do an excellent job at both retaining coldness and heat. So depending on what you need, you can make a nice compress out of a potato to help an aching body part. Just put it in the freezer to make it cold, or microwave it to get it hot. Your back or knee will thank you later!

For more great uses for everyday items, check out our previous installments of "5 Uses For..." in our slideshow below!

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Comments

[L I Beral]

05:21 PM on 10/26/2012

A small chunk of potato in my pipe tobacco pouch keeps the tobacco from completely drying out. Use too much and the tobacco will be overly moist and hard to keep lit.

[Samwise1948]

10:43 AM on 10/19/2012

I saw this work first hand, my brother had jumped off a roof and stuck a rusty nail in his foot. Few days later he had a red streak running up his leg from the foot to the knee. We did not run to the doctor for every little thing in those days, besides, antibiotics were not as common then as they are now, so our father had our mother scrape a potato with a knife and wrap the scrapings in a moist cloth and put it over the wound on my brother's foot, changing it every few hours.. It drew out all the poison in his leg in just a couple of days.

[frankieboy26]

07:40 AM on 10/06/2012

Baked, scolloped, au gratin, roasted, garlic-mashed, twice-baked, french fried. That's how I use my potatoes. I unscrew broken light bulbs using a thick garden glove....AFTER turning off the electricity.

[musikmom43]

07:10 AM on 10/06/2012

Years ago people use to use corn cobs to remove a broken light bulb! I'm talking "Old Timers" here!!!

[Introspective1]

03:00 AM on 10/06/2012

Please do not use a potato to remove a broken bulb,
it is too hard, it will only break it further.
instead- make sure plug is pulled from
the wall and then get your needle nosed
pliars and hold onto the metal part
of the bulb and turn to unscrew it..
it is easy..
I like my potatoes french fried.!

[Albert Gazalooch]

01:20 AM on 10/06/2012

People starving in Africa and we're wasting potatoes to remove a broken lightbulb? Try usinga cup full moist dirt!

[metusmetu]

06:09 PM on 10/05/2012

Best thing to do is "Shut the Electricity OFF", or UNPLUG the lamp FIRST! Then slip on a heavy leather work glove, and remove the broken bulb. No sense in wasting a good potato. If the rest of the glass happens to break off on you, you're going to need a pair of pliers to get the base of the bulb out.

[MikeIng]

05:51 PM on 10/05/2012

I Suggest you turn off the Circuit Breaker,or pull the Fuse,or "It will Light up your LIFE & END IT ! I usually grab the metal piece screwed into the fixture with a "Needle Nose Plier & unscrew it ( remember "Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosy")

[madeye1]

07:30 PM on 10/05/2012

I tried using a potato for just that purpose one time, and it broke the rest of the glass out, leaving the metal part still in the lamp. NN pliers worked then, and that's all I have ever used since (not that it happens all that often). It's just a waste of a potato as far as I'm concerned.

[lthrnck68]

05:03 PM on 10/05/2012

Anyone that has seen Home Improvement knows about the potato as lightbulb remover.

[paperbeach]

07:46 PM on 10/05/2012

My grandfather knew it - and too, that a dry bar of soap will free up a sticking drawer and keep it from squeaking by rubbing the soap along the inner runners. He also used bar soap to make it easier to insert a screw into wood, by slightly coatting the screw "ribs" with the dry bar. When a door would start rubbing the floor (especially the bathroom), he opened the door halfway, lifted it while placing 4 to 6 quarters under the edge of it, then re-tightened the hinge screws. Worked.

[lthrnck68]

09:31 PM on 10/05/2012

My father usually used beeswax for sticking drawers. Should have seen what they looked like afterwards. All sorts of gouges and nicks in the beeswax. Probably just like the soap as far as looks go.

[mostark45]

03:03 PM on 10/05/2012

New, for unscrewing a bulb? Good grief, this(doubt able use) is been around for years. And I do agree that you have to have very soft potato to even do this.

[Raejeanowl]

06:22 PM on 10/05/2012

Agreed on the age of this tip. Also, I've heard that you need to cut the potato in half and not try to press the cut bulb through its skin.

[Presson]

01:48 PM on 10/05/2012

I remove broken bulbs all the time with potatoes. Learned it long ago.

[brialtous]

01:41 PM on 10/05/2012

To put a potato in a light socket not knowing if it is live or not, is playing russian roulette.. A potato is largely made up of water!!!
What ridiculous advice to give anyone!!!

[rsushm]

02:42 PM on 10/05/2012

It works. I have done it countless times. The potato does not conduct electricity without adding metals. Far cry from Russian Roulette. It was once mentioned on the show "Worse Case Scenarios"

[brialtous]

07:04 AM on 10/06/2012

You ADD metal as soon as the potato makes contact with the broken elememt!

[hard2swallovv8]

01:46 AM on 10/06/2012

It's worked for as long as people have been getting broken bulbs. You don't put the potato in the socket, you cut the top off then press the flat end onto the broken light bulb. Then simply unscrew it. And always be sure to turn off the power FIRST!

[metusmetu]

01:41 PM on 10/05/2012

I can't believe the article didn't say anything about "Making Sure The Electricity Is OFF"!, before attempting this.........

[sindfetish]

03:55 PM on 10/05/2012

I was wondering this also...I like baked potatoes....but NOT like this

[brialtous]

01:35 PM on 10/05/2012

What stupid advice re emoving a broken bulb with a potato...........Potatoes are largley made up of water....you are virtually telling people to stick their finger in a light socket without first checking that the power to the light is OFFFFF

[ogates]

01:15 PM on 10/05/2012

I use a small dry towel folded just thick enough to unscrew the broken bulb--works for me--not crazy about suggesting a potato that has so much moisture for those who forget to turn the off the power!

[brialtous]

01:44 PM on 10/05/2012

You are soooooo right....ridiculous advice !!!

[englishman545]

03:21 PM on 10/05/2012

Plus using a potato could cause shards of bulb to break off into your eye.