Staying Fit
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Your dentist may remind you to use floss after every meal, but there are plenty of other reasons to keep a roll handy — particularly the unwaxed, unflavored kind that shoppers often pass over at the pharmacy or grocery store.
Dental floss has been commercially available since 1882, when the Codman and Shurtleft Company of Randolph, Massachusetts, made it out of unwaxed silk. The switch to nylon came during World War II, and wax-coated floss also debuted in the 1940s, according to toothbrush manufacturer Oral-B. Nowadays it is everywhere with U.S. consumers spending more than $1 billion a year on the lightweight, stretchy and surprisingly strong floss.
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Most is likely used to remove food debris stuck between our teeth, but you’ll want to keep a spool in your pocket once you see all the creative and handy ways dental floss can be used. Here are nine ways that it’s become the new duct tape.
1. Cut food
Slicing hard-boiled eggs, a wheel of Brie or even cheesecake can be accomplished with ease using a piece of tautly held, unwaxed floss. It’s also a perfect way to divide a cake into layers, according to Condé Nast’s Epicurious magazine. Position the floss around the outside edge of the cake, hold the ends tightly with both hands, then pull through. A couple of toothpicks placed along the edges halfway up the cake can act as a guide.
2. Save old photos
If you find a photograph stuck in a frame or an old photo album, you can use floss to remove it without tearing. Starting at one corner of the photo, place the floss between the picture and the surface it is stuck to, then carefully pull the floss between the two surfaces until the picture is freed, according to Flintlock Dental in Liberty, Missouri.
3. Hang a picture
Instead of using braided wire, which can mar your wall, tie dental floss across the back of a lightweight frame and then hang it on the wall, according to This Old House.
4. Seal connections
If you don’t have Teflon tape on hand, wrap dental floss around the threads on a leaky connection and then screw it back into place, recommends This Old House.
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