8 Things We Never Knew Sugar Could Do Around The House

Grab a bag of organic, unbleached cane sugar and put it to use.

by REBECCA STRAUS APRIL 28, 2016

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PHOTOGRAPH BY GAYVORONSKAYA_YANA/SHUTTERSTOCK

You may be trying to eat less sugar or at least staying within therecommended sugar intake, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should ban it from the house altogether. To start, it makes a great exfoliating face scrub, as we revealed with our DIY Facial Cleansers For Every Skin Type. It’s also a handy addition to your cleaning arsenal because it’s cheap, nontoxic, and absorbs odors—but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Click through the slideshow to see the unexpected ways you can use sugar around the house every day.

1. Keep Cut Flowers Fresh

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DMYTRO VIETROV/SHUTTERSTOCK

1. Keep Cut Flowers Fresh

Sugar can lend a hand in keeping your fresh-cut spring flowersperky by giving them some of the nourishment they’re missing. Expert gardeners at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden recommend mixing a teaspoon each of sugar and bleach, plus two teaspoons of lemon or lime juice, with a quart of lukewarm water and adding it to the vase. (The bleach keeps bacteria from building up, and the citrus adjusts the pH so it’s easier for the stems to absorb the water.)

2. Heal Wounds

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHEPKO DANIL VITALEVICH/SHUTTERSTOCK

2. Heal Wounds

Rubbing sugar into open wounds like bedsores, ulcers, and amputations can decrease pain and significantly speed up healing, according to research done in British hospitals. The sugar helps to dry out the wound, which promotes tissue healing, and dehydrates bacteria that could cause infection. In fact, packing sugar into a laceration is an old folk remedy that’s still widely used in developing areas of the world, and the research suggests that it may be even more effective than some modern antibiotics. 

3. Clean A Coffee Grinder

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PHOTOGRAPH BY KLEVO/SHUTTERSTOCK

3. Clean A Coffee Grinder

If you’ve got an electric coffee grinder, you can also use it grind up fresh spices, but you definitely don’t want your morning dark roast tasting like cumin the next time you to grind some beans. So how do you clean it since you can’t submerge your grinder in water? Easy—grind up some sugar instead. The sugar will absorb oils and odors trapped in your grinder so your coffee won’t have any unwanted flavors.

Related: Cheap Coffee Isn’t Worth It—Here’s Why

4. Keep Cheese From Getting Moldy

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PHOTOGRAPH BY MARINA KUTUKOVA/SHUTTERSTOCK

4. Keep Cheese From Getting Moldy

Sticking a couple of sugar cubes in with your artisan cheddar can keep it from getting moldy. Apparently, the sugar will attract moisture and mold spores, therefore, diverting them from the cheese.

5. Remove Grass Stains

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PHOTOGRAPH BY AKKARADET BANGCHUN/SHUTTERSTOCK

5. Remove Grass Stains

Got stubborn grass stains on your jeans from kneeling by the flowerbeds? Mix two tablespoons of sugar with a little water to form a paste, and rub it into the stain. Let it sit for about an hour before washing normally, and your jeans will be good as new.

Related: 5 Raised Bed Designs You Can Make In An Afternoon

6. Stop Hiccups

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6. Stop Hiccups

Swallowing a teaspoon of sugar can actually halt your hiccups. Experts think the trick works because dry sugar is difficult to swallow, and it modifies the nerve muscles that are causing the diaphragm to contract spasmodically when you hiccup.

7. Get Cooking Odors Off Your Hands

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANGEL SIMON/SHUTTERSTOCK

7. Get Cooking Odors Off Your Hands

The scent of onion or garlic can linger on your hands for hours after cooking, no matter how many times you wash. Sugar absorbs odors and oils—plus it exfoliates—so it’s way more effective than just soap on its own. Scrub your hands with about a spoonful of sugar and some dishwashing liquid, and you’ll be good to go. 

8. Keep Cookies Crisp

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA KUHMAR/SHUTTERSTOCK

8. Keep Cookies Crisp

If you like a snappy gingerbread or a crunchy peanut butter cookie, add a couple of sugar cubes to your storage container. Sugar attracts moisture, so it’ll prevent your crispy cookies from going limp.