WD-40 Household Uses

You may have seen an article floating around on the internet claiming 40+ unique uses for the water-displacing spray WD-40. Well, Snopes.com—a website dedicated to debunking urban legends, myths, rumors, and misinformation—decided to follow up on this article and see if the presented tips were true.

“The WD-40 brand of spray lubricant is one of those ubiquitous products that is both found in a large percentage of households and put to a wide variety of uses (not all of them recommended by the manufacturer),” Snopes’ website says.

Snopes was able to contact the manufacturer of WD-40 to learn if these 40+ uses were legitimate. Interestingly enough, the response Snopes received back from the manufacturer included a shorter, corrected list. Still, a surprising number of tips were left on this new list.

Here are the manufacturer-confirmed uses for WD-40 beyond degreasing and water displacing:r

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• Protects silver from tarnishing

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• Removes road tar and grime from cars

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• Loosens stubborn zippers

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• Untangles jewelry chains

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• Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing

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• Keeps scissors working smoothly

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• Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and in homes

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• Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers

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• Rids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises

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• Lubricates tracks in home windows and makes them easier to open

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• Makes umbrellas easier to open and close after spraying the stem

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• Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles

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• Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans

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• Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling

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• Keeps rust from forming on saws, saw blades, and other tools

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• Lubricates prosthetic limbs

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• Keeps pigeons off of balconies (they apparently hate the smell)

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• Removes all traces of duct tape

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• Cleans and removes bugs from grills and bumpers

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• Displaces the moisture and allows a car to start after spraying the distributor cap

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• Removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor without harming the floor’s finish

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• Removes bug guts from the finish on cars

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