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Best Uses for Peanut Butter | The Old Farmer's Almanac

Best Uses for Peanut Butter

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Julia Sudnitskaya/Getty Images
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Unusual Ways to Use Peanut Butter Around the House

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Peanut butter is delicious, but did you know it’s useful, too? From shaving cream and leather polish to mousetrap bait, here are some of the best uses for peanut butter.

Warning: If you or a family member suffers from a peanut allergy, please do not try these solutions.

According to the National Peanut Board, Dr. George Washington Carver developed more than 300 products from the humble peanut. They include face powder, shampoo, paper, shaving cream, hand lotion, insecticides, glue, charcoal, rubber, nitroglycerin, plastics, and axle grease.

Household Uses for Peanut Butter

Today’s peanut butter, a staple in most pantries, can serve an astonishing variety of household purposes. Try these:

  • Use a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth to rub off label adhesives.
  • Massage a bit of peanut butter into the hair to remove a wad of chewing gum.
  • Use a thin coat as a substitute for shaving cream. (Really! Hydrates and moisturizes.)
  • Polish leather and vinyl items using a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth. Buffs up wooden items, too.
  • Hang pinecones stuffed with a mixture of peanut butter and coarse cornmeal as a treat for winter birds.
  • Smear it on garden tools (including wooden handles) as a winter preservative.
  • Apply it to lawn mower blades as a lubricant.
  • Annoyed by a squeaky door hinge? Rub a bit of peanut butter on the joint to lubricate it and stop the squeak.
  • Spread some on a slice of apple or a scrap of bread for a good mousetrap bait.
  • Encourage your dog to swallow a pill by sticking it into the center of a little gob of peanut butter.

Note: Smooth peanut butter works best for these uses.

Tasty, nutritious, and packed with antioxidants, peanuts-only peanut butter can also serve as a healthy butter alternative. If you like the taste, simply substitute smooth peanut butter for the butter in recipes for baked goods calling for butter.

More Useful Household Items

About The Author

Margaret Boyles

Margaret Boyles is a longtime contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She wrote for UNH Cooperative Extension, managed NH Outside, and contributes to various media covering environmental and human health issues. Read More from Margaret Boyles

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