I recently received a forwarded e-mail on the purported many uses of WD-40. As it turns out, this little wonder-in-a-can can be used to remedy lots of little things around the house. The list below is what was contained in the e-mail I received; I simply re-organized the information to read more logically. I have not researched whether the claims below hold true, so if you have any experience in using WD-40 for alternative purposes, leave a comment to let us know!
Photo by ocean yamaha.
On your car
- Removes road tar and grime from cars.
- Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
- Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
- Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
- If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
In the kitchen
- Protects silver from tarnishing.
- Gives floors that ‘just-waxed’ sheen without making them slippery.
- Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
- Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
- Keeps scissors working smoothly.
- It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn’t seem to harm the finish and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
- Removes splattered grease on stove.
Outdoors
- Keeps flies off cows.
- Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
- Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
- Gives a children’s playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
- Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
- Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
- Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
In the bathroom
- Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
- Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
Laundry
- Removes lipstick stains. And, if you’ve discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash.
- Loosens stubborn zippers.
- Removes tomato stains from clothing.
- Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
In the garage
- Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
- Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
Kids’ stuff
- Restores and cleans chalkboards.
- Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
- WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
Around the house
- Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
- Untangles jewelry chains.
- Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
- Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
- Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
- Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans
- Removes all traces of duct tape.
Alternative health care
- Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
- Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
repurposeful 
Oh my..There around around 6 things I wished I knew this could help with. I am going to write this stuff down for the next time something happens..thanks for sharing..
I found out one thing you shouldn’t use WD-40 for lubricating bicycle chains. I used it on my bike chain and later had to take it into a bike shop to get a flat fixed. The bike shop guy said WD-40 dries out the chain. He said I should have used sewing machine oil if I didn’t have bike chain oil. Oops!
While these things all sound very interesting PLEASE READ THE LABEL! It says on the label “DANGER” and ‘BREATHING HAZARD” “Do not breathe vapor or spray mist.” “Use only in a well-ventilated area. It also says “SKIN CONTACT: Wash with soap and water” So unless you have a door and a window wide open in your kitchen, i wouldn’t use it in there and I wouldn’t spray it on your skin, it is thin and absorbs what you put on it. It contains “PETROLEUM DISTILLATES.”
And thanks for the tip on the bicycle chain, I had just bought some for that as a tip from a friend, now I’ll get the proper bike chain spray.
Peace
Also its “CONTENTS ARE FLAMMABLE: keep spray away from heat, sparks, pilot lights, open flames, etc.” I wouldn’t dream of using it to remove grease from my stove.
Just a little caution
Wow I wish I stumbled across your blog earlier…I wrote a post a few weeks ago about reusing (part of reduce, reuse, and recycle) and was searching the web for new ideas. I love how useful your blog is and I will be sure to be back anytime I have a “what else can I use this for” moment.
Yes, I agree that some of these should be cautioned against. Always read the label and do some research before using it on something that might be valuable or that could injure someone.
I have found that spraying it on a rag and cleaning my shower curtain rod with it makes my fancy hooks slid much easier and keeps them from popping off. Plus it gets rid of all the grim build up and black tarnish! Use to drive me crazy when they were always popping off since they are hooks and always getting caught up on the grim. I bought them and not the round ones because I always have a horrid time trying to get them on and off when changing the inside liner. The hooks make it so much easier and they are a nice wrought iron mediterrian style.
Oh, and I remember asking Papa to put some on our squeaky bedroom door and after about a month I finally grabbed the can to spray it. He sat there and told me that I needed to “Pop the pins” in order for it to work. “that is why I have not done it…it is a hassle” Imagine his disbelief when the sqeaking stoped by just spraying a tiny bit at the top of the pins….LOL! You do not have to remove the door pins in order to spray them to get rid of the sqeaks.
Sometimes men think it HAS to be HARD to be done right. LOL!
[…] WD-40…apparently it fixes more than squeaky door, […]
I wouldn’t use WD-40 on the floor at all, for the same reason that it works so well on a playground slide.
I do love to use it to remove labels and other sticky stuff – it’s far better than goo-gone or any other similar products. And WD-40 comes in a handy pen form for precise application.
My boyfriend uses it to remove all sticky things. He saves me glass jars for my office (he also spray paints the lids silver so they all match and look pretty) and he uses WD-40 to get the gunk off that’s left over from the labels. If I have anything with sticky residue I just hand it to him with a pretty please and a smile.
It will also get crayon out of carpet and upholstery. Even the regular, not-washable crayons scribbled really hard (in red!).
actually, about the sticky- things comment- I use natural nail polish remover (suncoat makes a fantastic chemical free corn-based nail polish remover). That and water and we are good to go!
so no nasty chemical spray (which in fact, DW40 is…). 🙂
You can also use it to remove dried liquid nails (industrial/construction adhesive). Just spray the spot liberally with wd-40, wait a bit, and then gently scrap it off. Removed it easily from our bathroom tile and wood molding.
also excellent for froxen locks! my dad had to use it on our car all the time when we were kids because we live in buffalo, ny, and parked in the driveway year-round.
As they, WD 40 is good for everything.:)
Hi there, just wanted to say, I loved this article. It was helpful. Keep on posting!
I loved all your handy tips. Thanks!
Hi, i believe that i noticed you visited my site so
i got here to return the favor?.I am attempting to find
issues to enhance my site!I assume its good enough to make use of some of your concepts!
!
[…] WD-40… apparently it fixes more than squeaky doors […]