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Omaha Magazine

WD-40 Household Uses

Jun 20, 2013 10:54AM ● By Bailey Hemphill
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:

  • Protects silver from tarnishing
  • Removes road tar and grime from cars
  • Loosens stubborn zippers
  • Untangles jewelry chains
  • Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing
  • Keeps scissors working smoothly
  • Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and in homes
  • Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers
  • Rids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises
  • Lubricates tracks in home windows and makes them easier to open
  • Makes umbrellas easier to open and close after spraying the stem
  • Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles
  • Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans
  • Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling
  • Keeps rust from forming on saws, saw blades, and other tools
  • Lubricates prosthetic limbs
  • Keeps pigeons off of balconies (they apparently hate the smell)
  • Removes all traces of duct tape
  • Cleans and removes bugs from grills and bumpers
  • Displaces the moisture and allows a car to start after spraying the distributor cap
  • Removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor without harming the floor’s finish
  • Removes bug guts from the finish on cars
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