| There's simply no reason not to love wine. Apart from being such a staple beverage to have on a dinner table, with all its brilliant health benefits and lusciously fine tastes and fragrances, wine can also be practical to use in your home. From being a useful disinfectant in the kitchen, to acting as a product for beauty care, these tips might give you another reason to keep wine around, and believe me - that's not bad news at all! |
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1. Use it to clean your fruit and veg |
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| Some of us use water to rinse fruit and veg, whereas others choose to use disinfectants. It turns out that wine-lovers don't need to buy the latter anymore - wine can act as a disinfectant itself, due to its fantastic antimicrobial properties. When compared to that hydrogen peroxide by the microbiologist Mark Daeschel (Oregon State University), the wine was found to be just as capable as an antimicrobial substance. |
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2. Use it to create a fruit fly trap |
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Are you tired of having fruit flies flying around your kitchen? Just as vinegar can create a great trap for these pests, so too can wine provide a perfect solution. Grab a mason jar, fill it with some wine, stick a funnel-shaped neck inside and leave it around. The flies are bound to be attracted to its smell and find it hard to escape once they're inside. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
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3. Bathe in red wine to reap anti-ageing benefits |
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It's not the first time red wine has been used for baths because of its antioxidant properties. In fact, since the 1990s, people have believed that the compounds found in wine, derived from the grapes it's made from, can help improve circulation; and today, it's used in many spas for "vinotherapy". Source: Tony Bailey / Flickr |
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4. Make a DIY facial mask |
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| The antioxidants found in red wine are also brilliant for facial care. Make a DIY facial mask by using the mixture suggested here, or by simply dabbing a cotton pad in red wine and applying it to your face. You'd be benefitting from properties skin care products can provide you with, such as soothing sun damage and alleviating the effects of wrinkles and sagging. |
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5. Use it for polishing and stain-removal |
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| With its cleansing and anti-bacterial qualities, wine can even be practical when it comes to cleaning and polishing. White wines are not only known for fighting red wine stains, they can even be used in the kitchen to clean tops or glass windows. It can practically replace any cleaning disinfectants, but it also brings some plusses - including the fact that it doesn't leave sticky residue, and there are no harsh chemicals involved. |
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6. Make your own fabric dye |
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In the same way white wine acts as a great stain-remover, red wine can stain strongly. On the bright side, this makes it a terrific dye for fabric. Simply place the fabric inside a wine-filled stockpot and put it over high heat. Once it boils, let it simmer and reduce the wine by one-third. Soak the fabric for up to 24 hours - and there you go, your very own DIY dyed fabric. See more detailed instructions here. Source: Basheer Tome / Flickr |
| 7. Use it to heal bruises |
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| Wine contains flavonoids, which are types of antioxidants that can relieve inflamed body tissue. By using a sponge and some left-over red wine, dab the bruise to soothe the damaged skin. Next time you're about to look for an ice-pack to heal a bruise, turn to your storage and reach out for the wine bottle instead. You'll find it's probably more handy! |
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8. Use it as a hair conditioner |
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| Another component found in red wine is resveratrol, which is known for having various benefits to our health, including the prevention of hair loss. In order to reap this benefit, many people like to give their hair a final soak in red wine after their usual shampoo and conditioner wash routine. |
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9. Make it your plant fertilizer |
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Wine is after all a natural alcohol made from fruit, so using it in your garden will do no harm at all. In fact, many use red wine as a composting agent to help activate the resident bacteria. Add some drops of red wine into your compost bin and you'll be giving your garden that extra push to achieve successful results. |
H/T: LittleThings
