10 brilliant uses for floss

1 Help a bouquet stand upright

Your sister surprised you with a gorgeous bouquet of blooms. The only problem? Some of the flowers with weaker stems are flopping over the side of your vase. The save: Use a piece of clear dental floss to tie the stems together at the base of the blossoms. The invisible strand will keep the flowers in a bunch so they stay upright and beautiful.

2 Replace a broken shoelace

Your granddaughter asked you to tie her sneakers before you bring her to dance class, but when you tugged on one of the shoelaces, it snapped. The in-a-pinch fix: Replace the broken shoelace with a long piece of dental floss. The floss is sturdy enough to keep her shoes closed until you can get to the store to buy a new pair of laces.

3 Ensure a screw fits snugly

To fix the loose screw in your bookshelf, simply remove the screw and wrap a short length of dental floss around the threads of the screw, gluing the end of the floss to the screw, then reinstall it. The floss will make the screw wider so it fits properly in the hole.

4 Start a fire with ease

Nothing beats relaxing by a toasty fire on chilly evenings—if only it wasn’t such a struggle to get the flames going! To make the task a breeze, wrap a piece of waxed dental floss around your kindling and tie to secure. Then toss the kindling into the fireplace and carefully light as usual. The wax on the floss will quickly start burning to ignite the fire.

5 Easily restring beaded jewelry

Yikes! The thread of your necklace broke and sent beads everywhere. To the rescue: dental floss! String the baubles on a length of floss and tie the ends in a knot. The sturdy floss will help hold the beads together so your necklace looks as good as new.

6 Silence a dripping faucet

If the noise of a leaky bathroom faucet is driving you crazy, try this until you can get it fixed: Tie a long piece of dental floss around the end of the spout and place the other end of the string in the drain. The leaking water will travel down the floss and into the drain without making a sound.

7 Reattach a loose button

One of the buttons on your winter coat popped off—again. To ensure it stays put when you sew it back in place, use a length of waxed floss instead of thread. Just thread the strand through the needle and sew as usual. The coated floss is more durable than thread and won’t break down, so you can be sure your button stays in place for good.

8 Temporarily mend broken glasses

A screw fell out of your reading glasses, and you don’t have time to run to the drugstore for a repair kit. What can help: dental floss. Thread a piece of floss through the holes missing the screw, tie the floss in a knot near the frame, then snip off the excess. The floss will hold the glasses together temporarily so you can keep wearing them.

9 Pull off an adhesive strip

You like to hang photos with sticky strips instead of nails to protect your walls, but when you take the strips down, they can stick to the wall. To remove them without pulling off any paint, hold a blow-dryer on high over the strip for 30 seconds, then slide a piece of dental floss between the adhesive and the wall. The heat weakens the adhesive’s bond and the floss helps pull off the strip safely.

10 Get a keyboard spotless

To eliminate the crumbs and other debris gunking up your computer keyboard, skip the pricey electronic cleaning gadgets and reach for dental floss. Hold a strand with both hands and carefully slide it around and under each key. The thin thread fits perfectly into the small spaces to dislodge grime.