It seems like I’ve had more than my share of seemingly impossible-to-clean messes in my house—one particularly memorable one involved a Valentine’s Day dinner and glitter… so much glitter.
When even my vacuum cleaner seemed to be fighting a losing battle against all that glitter, I suddenly remembered my trusty lint roller. I don’t think our house is EVER without a lint roller, and in this case I was especially grateful for that.
And wouldn’t you know it, the glitter didn’t stand a chance against my lint roller. One swipe and the glitter was gone. It was a miraculous victory, and it got me to thinking about what else these sticky marvels could help me clean up around the house. Here are a few ideas!
13 Things You Can Clean with a Lint Roller
1. Crafting Debris
As I mentioned earlier, glitter is one of the hardest things to clean up in any room—it seems to stick to everything. But glitter and many other types of debris from crafting are easy to clean up with a few swipes of a lint roller.
Next time you’re faced with a mess of glitter, paper punch debris, confetti, or any other tiny troublemakers, grab your trusty lint roller and swipe them away.
2. Dusty Lampshades
Lampshades can be so frustrating—you can’t throw them in the washing machine, vacuuming them is tricky without the right attachment, and cleaning them by hand is time-consuming. Dusting lampshades is probably my second-favorite cleaning application for lint rollers—just roll one over your dusty or fur-ridden lampshades, and you’ll be amazed at how much dirt and dust you collect.
3. The Bottom of Your Purse
Where in the world does all that random debris that gathers at the bottom of our purses come from? It seems to collect down there no matter what I do!
Fortunately, a quick swipe or two with a lint roller will take care of it. It works just as well in diaper bags, briefcases, backpacks, and gym bags too.
4. Drawers
Drawers are another area where random debris can build up—all those dark, hard-to-clean crevices are perfect hiding spots for dust, hair, and other grime. A lint roller can come in handy here, too—just roll it across the bottom of dirty drawers to clean them up in no time.
5. Underneath Heavy Furniture
Sometimes you just need a really quick clean for furniture and carpets. Lint rollers can come to your rescue here, too — they’re great for getting lint and pet hair off the furniture, and they’ll even work on wood and glass. (A lint roller may even fit under your sofa couch and chairs so you don’t even have to move them—just swipe it underneath furniture to pick up dust and hair!)
6. Car Crevices
Like purses and drawers, cars have a lot of little crevices and hard-to-reach places (like wherever your phone ends up when you drop it.) A mini lint roller is perfect for cleaning those areas, and you can keep it in the glove box so it’s always handy when you need it.
7. Broken Glass
It’s almost impossible to clean up all those tiny (and dangerous!) shards of glass that get left behind after you’ve picked up all the big pieces after breaking a dish or glass. But you can carefully use a lint roller to pick up what remains after sweeping up the larger pieces.
8. Christmas Tree Needles
Needles from your Christmas tree may evade your vacuum cleaner, but they’re no match for a lint roller!
9. Loose Hair After a Haircut
No matter how well your shoulders are covered during a haircut, those itchy bits of hair always find a way to get onto your shoulders and neck where they can irritate your skin. Luckily, a lint roller can help you get those itchy bits off of yourself fast.
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10. Dusty Drapes
No need to make the trip to the dry cleaner—use a lint roller to get the dust off your drapes. It works like a charm!
11. Textured Ceilings
Got dust and fuzzies all over your textured ceiling? Here’s a trick: put a lint roller refill on each end of a paint roller with a long handle. Then you’ll be able to roll your ceiling clean.
12. Paint Roller Covers
Speaking of paint rollers—to get the smoothest finish when painting, go over your paint roller covers with a lint roller before you start painting.
13. Stuffed Animals
Lint rollers are a great way to clean stuffed animals—they’ll pick up any loose lint and dust that may have collected on the surface.
Bonus Lint Roller Tip: If you find yourself cleaning hair and lint off your furniture and carpets often, you might want to consider a reusable lint brush like this one. They’re easy to use, less wasteful, and they’ll save you money in the long run.
Now that you know some of the best ways to use a lint roller for cleaning, you may want to keep one at home, in your purse, in your car, and even in your desk at work!
Do you use your lint roller in any unconventional ways?
NEW! Can you guess the 5-letter word related to today’s post?
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I bought a bag of dried chamomile flowers. What are some things I can do with them?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hello there! This article could not be written much better!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He constantly kept talking about this. I most certainly will
forward this information to him. Pretty sure
he will have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
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Great lint roller ideas, esp. for someone with arthritis because you can no longer pick up tiny up thin items like appt. cards that you are forever dropping. Beats looking for the tape, yardstick to retrieve little things, etc. which I now do. Also easier on sore joints than brushing furniture. Thank you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have a long handled paint roller and put two lint rollers on. I have carpet in my sewing room so must use it to pick up threads, etc before vacuuming. If you forget and get threads or anything else wound around the vacuum roller, use a single edge razor blade CAREFULLY or scissors if you can get the tip under the threads, to made a crosswise cut. Then you can pull the threads off easily.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.1. I sell clothes on eBay… always use lint roller to make sure no hair or fuzzies attached before shipping out.
2. Keep a lint roller on my porch to clean outdoor furniture.
3. And I keep one on hand when my toddler grandson comes for a visit. Amazing what his knees can pick up on my clean floor. :) Lint roller to the pants. He thinks it’s funny.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for all the clever tips. Here are a few more- I use my lint roller to pick up beads or sequins if I spill them. It is also great to hold seed beads for me till I get ready to thread them onto my jewelry creations, much easier than picking them up one by one! I also use my lint roller to get dried grass off my dog’s sweaters.
Enjoyed finding new ideas! I have 4 cats and quilt.When a quilt is completed, I use the long handled roller twice each way over the QUILT. Quilt is on plastic tablecloth half,use other half to cover when clean and roll clean quilt up to keep any more fur from attaching to the QUILT.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I get knots in my back under my scapula. One day I stuck the lint roller to my back (vertically) while I was in the car and could roll it and use it as pressure as I pushed against the car seat. It worked wonderfully since I could stick it where I needed it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.After I use the lint roller to remove hair from my shoulders, I tear off the section and use it to pick up loose hair from the bathroom sink and countertop.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please don’t lint roller the spiders and bugs that are alive!! Yikes. As much as I dislike spiders and bugs in my house, I try to catch them and let them go outside. I get the heebie jeebies from the insects but I do it anyway.
Of course, it is snowy and 10 degrees here today so the spider would freeze outside. Those poor little guys can’t catch a break! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I sell vintage clothing and before I use a re-cycled box I run the roller over the clothes and then over the INSIDE of the box to catch any stray pet hair or stuff that might attach to the items. Even if I place them in plastic bags sometimes a hair or so might get on something.
Another hair remover—shower squeegee. Use for your upholstered items and your floors–even after vacuuming I am astonished at how MUCH pet hair comes up. Some rugs etc have a NAP–and not the one you might think you see!—with using these so check each direction. (Also good on human hair—prevents clogging of vacuums!)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The tip about rolling over spiders cracked me up. I am not afraid of spiders but I have a lot of friends who are and they would not get close enough to a spider to run a lint roller over it! Some of them actually hide in other rooms and close the door, like the spider is going to run after them and attack them! LOL. Lots of great tips though!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I thought you were talking about the lint rollers that you rinse off after you use it. Those are much more environment-friendly. I got a set of 3–the smallest is purse size. I think these are more practical.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My life is forever changed… Thank You!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great for notes, write on the non-sticky side. STAYS in place and removes easily.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you “J” for all the good things you bring us on your web site! ALSO, I would like to tell you that not only does the “sticky roller” remove “dead bugs and fleas” from your pet but I have an adorable small built JackRussell that sheds when she’s under stress, wrong diet or just plain hot here in our Arizona weather. I, run the roller or her and then brush her little short coat and then roll it over her little body once again. It does work for awhile until I can get her bathe in the next few days, and it works well when traveling in the car. She is not a good traveler and becomes anxious so that is one little soother that helps her plus a “relax treat”. Thanks again for you great web site!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Si
Great list, I’ll have to keep one in my car now.
Just to be this person, number 21 doesn’t really fit into your category since it is just rolling lint. :)
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