Coffee is a beverage consumed widely around the world. Once you have brewed your morning cup of coffee just the way you like it, you will be left with coffee grounds. Now, most of us will dispose of them without a second thought, but you will be surprised to know that they have a lot of practical uses.
It is better to reuse them than to dispose of them. There are a number of ways you can do this, some of which are given below.
1. Use Coffee Grounds to Fertilize Your Garden
Plants use up the nutrients present in the soil of your garden. This means that the soil depletes over time, and plants don’t get enough nourishment to survive. A good way to add more nutrients to the soil in your garden is to fertilize it using fertilizers.
Coffee grounds are a good natural fertilizer as they contain many important minerals that can help promote plant growth. Simply sprinkling the soil in your garden with coffee grounds will help make it more mineral-rich. This is a good alternative to non-organic fertilizers.
2. Repel Pests
Coffee grounds contain caffeine and diterpenes, which can be toxic to insects, making them effective in repelling pests. Simply sprinkle some of them around the area you want to repel insects from. This should help keep pests away from that area. You can also sprinkle some of it on the ground of your garden to keep snails and slugs away.
3. Eliminate Odors
Coffee grounds are also very useful to eliminate foul odors. Simply put some in a bowl or make sachets of them. Then place the sachet or bowl in the effective area, and after a little while, the odor should be gone. You can use this trick to remove odor from your fridge or freezer.
You can also use coffee grounds to scrub away any smell from your hands after chopping vegetables such as onions or garlic.
4. Exfoliate Skin
Exfoliating your skin can be very helpful in unclogging clogged skin pores. It can help keep your skin healthy. As these grounds are coarse, they are a good natural ingredient that can be used to exfoliate. Mix some coffee grounds with water or oil and then exfoliate using the mixture.
5. Scrub Cookware
Coffee grounds are abrasive; hence they can be very useful in scrubbing cookware and cleaning any buildups. You can use them to clean the floor, sink, or your grill, etc.
They are a good alternative to using cleaning products with harmful chemicals in them. However, it is advised not to use coffee grounds on a porous surface, as it can result in stains.
6. Keep the Dust and Ashes Down
When cleaning away dust, clouds of dust can arise, spreading it all over the place. You can counter this by spreading some coffee grounds on the dust before cleaning it as they will weigh the dust down, reducing the formation of dust clouds.
This method can also be used to weigh down ashes in your fireplace as it will prevent the ashes from scattering around the room while cleaning the fireplace.
7. Repair Scratches on Furniture
It is common for wooden furniture to get scratched. There are many products that can cover up the damage. Coffee grounds can also be used to make the scratches blend in and not stand out.
Make a paste of water and grounds, and rub it into the scratch and leave it there for a little while. Once dry, wipe away the paste. The paste should dye the exposed wood to a dark brown color. Keep reapplying the paste until you get the color that best conceals the scratch mark.
8. Make a Natural Dye
A natural, inexpensive dye can be made using coffee grounds to give papers or clothes a vintage look. It can also be used to cover up any existing stains.
To create the dye, simply wet the coffee with water. Now you can use this all-natural due however you like.
9. Unclog a Drain
Clogged drains can be very inconvenient. Luckily, you can utilize coffee grounds to unclog your drains. This method is less expensive than buying chemical products off the market.
Coffee grounds are abrasive, so when you pour them down the drain along with some boiling water and dish soap, they can scrub the pipe clean. This method of unclogging drains is easy, convenient, and inexpensive.
10. Make Meat More Tender
The natural acids and enzymes found in coffee can help tenderize meat. Many people prefer tenderizing their meat to get a softer texture. Add some coffee grounds to any dry-rub recipe, and then apply this rub to your meat a couple of hours before cooking it.
Conclusion
We owe it to our environment not to waste the resources we have. Coffee grounds can be utilized as an inexpensive and natural alternative to many products that are harmful to us and our environment. It is amazing how something so ordinary can have so many practical uses. By knowing the several ways to reuse coffee grounds, you can apply these environmentally friendly and inexpensive solutions in your daily life.
