7 Uses For Your Slow Cooker That Don’t Involve Food

The slow cooker is one of the greatest inventions ever. Dump your ingredients in before work and come home to the house smelling like pot roast. What’s better than that?

Though the crockpot is great for making time-saving meals, if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re actually not using it to its full capacity. Did you know that the slow cooker can actually make tons of other things—and serves many other purposes as well?

Here are a few surprising things you can do—and make—with a crockpot.

  1. An air freshener

    Don’t waste your money on store-bought potpourri; you can actually make one that smells even better in your crockpot! You can use any of your favorite scents, but some of our favorites include cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, oranges, thyme, and rosemary. Fill the crockpot with some water and these spices and turn it on low. You won’t know what hit you when you get home later in the day!

  2. Get rid of odors

    Besides making the air fresh, you can also get rid of bad smells entirely. Whether your dog peed on the carpet or the fish smell is lingering from dinner, this trick works wonders: Add water and about a quarter of a cup baking soda to the slow cooker and turn it to low. Keep the lid off and the bad odors will vanish!

  3. Remove paint from metal

    If you have paint all over any type of metal hardware, you know the struggle of trying to get it off. Place the item in your slow and fill it with water. Leave on high a relatively long time—we recommend overnight. Once you take the item out, you should be able to peel or scrub the paint off super easily. Just make sure to do it right away since the pain will harden again as it cools.

  4. Clean jewelry

    Have any tarnished jewelry? Turn your slow cooker on high and add about 2-3 cups of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Then place the earrings or necklace or whatever it is into the water once hot. After a few minutes, remove the jewelry and polish it with a cloth. It’ll look brand spankin’ new!

  5. Homemade humidifier

    Have a cold? Humidifiers can be expensive. Instead of purchasing one, fill your slow cooker to the top with water and turn it to high and cover. Once hot, remove the lid and the moisture will go into the air. Bonus: Add some essential oils or aromatherapy for a nice scent.

  6. Crayons

    All those broken crayons your kids have around finally have use: To make more crayons! You’ll need some old crayons and a muffin tin or candy mold for this kid-friendly hack. Peel off all the wrappers from the crayons, break them into small pieces (if they aren’t broken already) and place them in color-coordinated tins. Put the tin or mold into the crock pot, cover, and turn on high. About an hour or two later, the crayons will be nice and melty. Refrigerate the pan for about a half hour or until hard. Then just pop ‘em out. They’re just like new!

  7. A candle

    For this, you’ll need a mason jar and some wax. Fill the jar with wax and place it in your crockpot with some boiling water about one inch up the jar. Leave it on high for about two hours. then stir the wax, which should be pretty melty, and then add more wax, and keep alternating until it’s almost to the top. Put the lid back on and let it sit for another two hours. It’ll be a melty consistency again. Here’s where you can add any fragrance oils you wish and stir. Once it sets, place the wicks in and let it cool. Magic!

Did you know the crockpot could do all of these things? Which one will you try first?