15 Surprising Uses For Vodka You Never Imagined

Vodka is one of the world’s most popular spirits – and for good reasons. Besides being an immensely versatile alcohol, vodka has loads of other uses besides drinking. (Though the drinking use can be good, too.) Though most people are familiar with its uses in cocktails (or are longing to forget it), vodka can serve as an effective household product for anything from disinfecting counter tops and bathrooms to improving our cooking. Whether it’s the cheap bottle of vodka a cheap friend brought to the party or a bottle you’ve had in the back of your liquor cabinet and will never use, now is the time to break it out. It’s more useful than you may think. For uses from the kitchen to the garden, from the window to the wall (ok, just the window), here are 15 home uses for cheap vodka beside drinking. 1. Shampoo with it. Add an ounce to your bottle of shampoo to fight oil buildup. (And don't worry; since vodka is odorless, you won't walk into work smelling like a bar.) 2. Make your flowers last longer. Here's something I'm going to do to my vase of peonies as soon as I get home: Add a few drops of vodka and a teaspoon of sugar to the water in your flower vase. 3. Painlessly remove a Band-Aid. Take a cotton ball and soak it with vodka, then saturate the bandage; the vodka will dissolve the adhesive. 4. Heal cold sores. Dunk a cotton swab in some of your favorite vodkas and dab it on a pesky cold sore to help it heal faster. 5. ...and jellyfish stings. Use some of that Stoli from your beach picnic to soothe a jellyfish sting, in case of emergency. 6. Use it as homemade Febreze. Vodka is so strong that it kills odor-causing bacteria. Just put some in a spray bottle and spritz your clothes, then hang them to dry in a well-ventilated area. 7. ...and as DIY Windex. Dilute vodka in a spray bottle and spritz your windows for some chemical-free (and streak-free) shine. 8. Make your own mouthwash. Find out how here. Here's What You Need: 9. Kill weeds without using gross pesticides. Combine an ounce of vodka, a few drops of liquid dish soap, and two cups of water in a spray bottle, and you'll be able to get rid of pesky weeds without using harmful chemicals. 10. Get gooey residue off things. Dab a scouring sponge with some vodka, scrub and rinse with some liquid dish soap. Bye bye, goo. 11. Shrink pores. To make DIY toner, brew a cup of green tea and add ¼ teaspoon of vodka once it's cooled. Dunk a cotton ball and use the concoction to really deep-clean your blackheads. 12. Clean jewelry. Soak any jewelry comprising diamonds, emeralds, or other crystallized gemstones in vodka for five minutes, then rinse and dry. 13. Make a pretty good insect spray. For a DEET-free insect repellent, put some vodka in a spray bottle and spritz away. 14. Make a homemade, reusable ice pack. Put ½ cup of vodka and ½ cup of water into a zip-close freezer bag, and freeze for an ice pack you can use time after time. 15. Unstink your feet. Soak your dogs in vodka — you might want to use the cheap stuff — to give them a deep clean and to deodorize. Credits: buzzfeed.com