5 Things To Do with Paper Towels
Updated: Mar. 20, 2019Paper towels are handy for cleaning up messes. But did you know you can also use them to microwave bacon, keep produce fresh, and prevent cast iron from rusting?
1. Mess-Free Bacon Zapping
Here’s a sure-fire way to cook bacon in your microwave oven. Layer two paper towels on the bottom of your microwave. Lay slices of bacon side by side, on the paper towels. Cover with two more paper towels. Run your microwave on High at 1-minute intervals, checking for crispiness. It should take 3-4 minutes to cook. There’s no pan to clean, and the towels absorb the grease. Toss them for easy cleanup.
2. Keep Produce Fresh Longer
Don’t you hate it when you open the vegetable bin in the refrigerator and find last week’s moldy carrots mixed with the now-yellow lettuce? Make your produce last long enough so you can eat it. Line your vegetable bins with paper towels. They absorb the moisture that causes your fruit and vegetables to rot. Makes cleaning up the bin easier too.
3. Clean a Can Opener
Have you ever noticed that strange gunk that collects on the cutting wheel of your can opener? You don’t want that in your food. Clean your can opener by “opening” a paper towel. Close the wheel on the edhe of a paper towel, close the handles, and turn the crank. The paper towel will clean off the gunk as the wheel cuts through it.
4. Keep Cast-Iron Pots Rust-Free
Stop rust from invading your prized collection of cast-iron pots. After they’re clean, place a paper towel in each to absorb any moisture. Store lids separately from the pots, separated by a lining of paper towels. No more ugly surprises when you reach for the pot again.
5. Test Viability of Old Seeds
You’ve just found a packet of watermelon seeds dated from two springs back. Should you bother to plant them or has their shelf life expired and they’re best planted in the garbage can? To find out for sure, dampen two paper towels and lay down a few seeds. Cover with two more dampened paper towels. Over the next two weeks, keep the towels damp and keep checking on the seeds. If most of the seeds sprout, then plant the rest of the batch in the garden.
