Home appliances usually have just one core function, leaving other appliances to do their own specific jobs. But sometimes, just sometimes, you find an appliance that can do so much more…
When you buy a waffle maker for your home, you’re probably expecting one thing: waffles! So when Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman used his wife’s waffle iron in 1971 to experiment with rubber soles for footwear, he probably wasn’t expecting to start one of the biggest sporting brands on the planet. But that’s exactly what happened.
While most of our humble household appliances are not going to help us earn millions of pounds, I’m sure we’ve all had our moments of glory when our appliances have become legends in their own right. So, we’d love to hear how you’ve found creative (and safe) uses for your home appliances.
Unusual uses
A quick email sent around the Which? office asking ‘which appliances do you use unusually?’ led to quite an astounding response. There were some brilliant ideas, some strange ideas, and some ideas that come with a warning: don’t try this at home!
So, for some ideas that you may not have considered (and probably don’t want to), here’s how we’ve broken the mold by using:
- a steamer to make a Victoria sponge cake
- a George Foreman grill for toasting raised focaccias
- an ice cream maker to make a frozen cocktail
- a hand blender for scrambling eggs
- a slow cooker for making rice pudding
- a freezer as a cocktail cabinet
- a breadmaker to make jam, pasta and pizza dough
- a kettle to cook frankfurters (in water)
Dust off your appliances
Now, if you’re used to packing an appliance away in the cupboard for months at a time, I hope I’ve inspired you to bring it out a little sooner to solve some wider domestic issues.
And now it’s time to share your own ‘out of the box’ moments. Have you found any unusual uses for your common household appliances? And if you’ve found an unusual use be sure to only share safe and practical examples here.