Brilliant Uses for Tennis Balls You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner
Updated: Oct. 06, 2020If you're only using tennis balls on the court, you're tapping just a fraction of their potential! Find out how to put them to work all around the house (and even in your car!).
Fluff up feathers
Throw one or two tennis balls into the dryer the next time you dry down-filled items like pillows, comforters and jackets. They’ll ditch the flat look they get from the washing machine and puff right up again.
Relieve sore feet
Take a load off your aching feet and give them a treat. Put a tennis ball on the floor, remove your shoes, and place your foot on top of the tennis ball. Now roll the ball around with your foot for quick relief.
Check out more home remedies to soothe foot pain.
Massage your back too
Drop a few tennis balls into a long tube sock and tie the end shut. Now pretend the tube sock is a towel and move it across your back the way you would if you were drying off after a shower.
Find out more smart uses for old socks.
Make a mini toolbox
Cut a slit in a tennis ball and squeeze it to widen the split. Toss in some nails, then stop squeezing the ball to close up your new mini-toolbox. Carry it with you around the house or in the yard and squeeze it anytime you need a nail. Genius!
Check out our best-ever home improvement hacks.
Save your socks
Don’t toss your sock just because it has a small hole in the toe or the heel. Place a tennis ball in the toe or heel (wherever it needs to be mended). The tennis ball will stretch out the surface of the sock so that sewing it will be easier.
Find out more simple home hacks that could save you as much as $500 a year.
Keep your bike level
Help your bicycle’s kickstand do its job (keeping your bike standing) and prevent it from sinking into the grass or mud by using a tennis ball. How? Cut a slit in the ball and slip it over the end of the kickstand. If you ever find yourself at the beach with your bike, this trick will stop the kickstand from sinking into the sand too.
Here are more $1 solutions for life’s little dilemmas.
Open bottles with ease
Twist-off bottle caps never seem to come off the way they should. To make it easier, cut a tennis ball in half, then cover the bottle cap with one half and twist it off without a problem. If it isn’t a twist-off, use these sneaky ways to open a beer without a bottle opener.
Soften a hammer’s blow
Whether you need to gently nudge some woodwork back into place or tap a nail into soft wood, place a tennis ball with a slit in the middle over your hammer. The tennis ball will treat your job gently.
These yard tool hacks will make your life so much easier!
Park perfectly
Parking your car in the garage is an art: You have to pull only so far forward (but far enough!) and only so close to each wall (but not too close!) Take the guesswork out of the equation by hanging a tennis ball on a string from the ceiling or rafters of the garage so that it hits the centre of your windshield when you park correctly. You’ll never have to guess where the car goes.
You’ll have even more room to park if you never store these things in your garage.
Stop snoring
People who snore tend to do so more often when they sleep on their backs. Stop a back sleeper in their tracks by attaching a tennis ball to the back of a person’s pyjama top (safety pin a sock on the PJs and insert a tennis ball, or sew a pocket in the back of the pyjama shirt). When the snorer turns onto his back, the tennis ball will prevent him from getting comfortable and he’ll return to his side (where he may snore less).
Find out what causes snoring—along with more tips on how to stop it.
Sand curvy furniture
Curvaceous furniture is pretty but refinishing it can be an ugly job. Make it easier by covering a tennis ball in sandpaper and using the ball to sand the curves.
Put any leftover scraps to work with these smart uses for sandpaper.
