20 Ways To Repurpose Rubber Gloves Around Your Home

Whether you're a fan of rubber gloves for heavy-duty cleaning tasks around the house or just like to keep a few pairs on hand for those unexpected messes that pop up, it's no surprise that they have earned a spot in the utility closet in most homes. Rubber as a whole is an incredibly durable material, but it is still susceptible to damage, especially when it comes to gloves. It's not uncommon for rubber gloves to suffer from holes or worn areas after some use, which are both key signs it's time to replace them. Instead of tossing them out to the trash, there are numerous ways to repurpose rubber gloves around the house to help with everything from cleaning to growing herbs.

Additionally, by finding ways to repurpose rubber gloves, you're helping to keep them from sitting in a landfill. In fact, there are an estimated 100 billion disposable gloves used globally every year, and most of them likely end up in the trash. Combine this with the fact that disposable gloves can take years to degrade, it's clear that upcycling gloves is important when it comes to the health of our planet. In addition to this, many of these DIYs are beginner-friendly and require no specialized tools to complete. Most projects need only a pair of sharp scissors to cut through the gloves to use the material around the house.

Keeping your clothes looking their best can sometimes require more than just a washing and drying routine. You can even take the time to hand wash items, but some materials are just more prone to pilling and gathering lint than others. Specifically, polyester and other synthetic materials. To remedy this, use the textured side of a rubber glove and attach it to a sponge. Now you have a handheld device that is effective at removing lint from clothing.

Standard soda bottles come with twist-on caps that make saving leftovers easy, but what do you do when dealing with glass or wine bottles? If you don't have another storage container with an air-tight lid, you risk the product losing its flavor and quality from being left open. One simple way to keep drinks fresh is to use the tip of a rubber glove as a makeshift cap. You'll need to use some plastic wrap as the barrier before covering the opening with the tip. Now you have a secure covering to keep drinks fresh.

Enjoying a cup of tea should be a relaxing time, but it can quickly turn frustrating if you're dealing with a tea bag string that keeps falling into your mug. You might notice this when stirring milk or sugar into the tea. To avoid this issue, cut out a band from a rubber glove and use it to secure the string in place.

Similar to making a DIY lint roller, a rubber glove can be used to help remove pet hair that's built up on furniture or clothes. However, the key to this hack is adding a small amount of water to the surface of the gloves before gently rubbing it across the surface covered in pet hair. This will help the hair to clump together and make it easy to rinse off the glove.

Working on DIY projects in the house or garden can be hard work, especially during the warmer months. If you're caught in the middle of a task just to find out you don't have a hair tie on hand, there is a simple solution you can try. Start by grabbing an old rubber glove and use a pair of sharp scissors to cut off the elastic portion at the wrist. This piece of the glove can be used as a makeshift elastic hair tie when you're in need of one.

Instead of relying on the products available at your local big-box store, you can find ways to repurpose old rubber gloves into cheap and easy Halloween decorations you can DIY. This specific project is ideal for setting up when you plan to have guests over or when you need an extra pop of spooky-themed decor. All you need to do is use the rubber glove as a mold to make hand-shaped ice cubes that can then float in your red fruit punch. Add edible eyeballs or spiders for a creepier effect!

Faux flowers are a great way to keep your indoor or outdoor space filled with color, no matter the season. They don't require any real maintenance outside of swapping out materials when they start to look worn or damaged, which is ideal for busy individuals with no time to tend to a garden. For this DIY, you'll cut out the base of the glove and cut thin petals from one end before wrapping it around a thin stick that will act as the stem. 

When it comes to casting your own planter pot, the possibilities are virtually endless. So endless, in fact, that you can repurpose household items into a DIY planter. In this case, you'll be using rubber gloves for a truly one-of-a-kind statement piece. You'll need to pour cement into the gloves and let them set before finishing with your choice of decorative paint.

Plastic cutting boards are an affordable way to make food prep just a bit easier. However, the slick material combined with a sleek countertop surface is a recipe for disaster when it comes to the board slipping and sliding. Add in the fact you're more than likely using a knife during this, and it's clear a safety upgrade is needed. Place a large piece of the glove under the board to help create grip and keep it from sliding while in use.

Are you tired of your trash bags constantly slipping down into the can every time you throw something away? Instead of having to reach in and fish them out, you can upcycle an old rubber glove into a DIY method for holding bags in place. After cutting a long circular strip out from the main portion of the glove, carefully stretch the material and place it over the lip of the can to keep the bags secure.

It's easy to toss your kitchen knives into the storage block and feel confident that the blades are concealed. But what do you do with other sharp tools like a utility blade or scissors? It's convenient to keep these items on hand and close by in food prep areas, but there's the risk of accidentally injuring yourself if they don't have a cover. Instead, you can use the finger portion of a rubber glove to act as a DIY cover. For extra protection, use additional pieces of the glove as a band to secure in place.

There are countless types of furniture leg covers and floor protectors available on the market. However, if you're dealing with a lot of square footage and furniture to fill that space, you'll need a lot of these pads to make sure every leg is covered. Instead, take the finger portion (for small furniture legs) or hand portion of the glove and slide it over the bottom of each leg. Now, your floors and furniture will be protected for a minimal cost.

An item that is always helpful to keep on hand is rubber bands. These small but powerful office tools can be used for a variety of tasks, both in the house and garden. Still, having to keep repurchasing new rubber bands every time you run out can get costly. If you've got a pair of rubber gloves, you have the main material needed to make your own DIY bands. Just cut your sections out from the glove in your desired thickness, and they're ready to use.

Rubber gloves are probably one of the last items you think of when it comes to making your own DIY tabletop decor. However, with a bit of sprucing up, you can upcycle old gloves into a stunning statement piece that others won't easily be able to replicate with a simple purchase at a store. Create a floral base and match the glove color to create a complementary design. Then, add your favorite embellishments to tie the piece together.

We've all been there — you're just trying to clean up, and that pesky broom keeps falling over no matter how you try to lean it against the wall. One way to repurpose rubber gloves and stop that frustration is to use a piece of the rubber as a topper on the broom handle. This will provide some friction for the broom against the wall and help prevent it from sliding over and crashing against the floor.

It might seem like starting a new herb garden will require a lot of open ground space, but with this hack, you can repurpose rubber gloves and make a hanging planter all at once. This is the ideal project for gloves that are in relatively sturdy condition but may have pinholes or small areas of damage. You'll need drainage holes anyway (often positioned at each finger tip), along with some labels to keep things organized.

We all know how incredibly frustrating it can be to open up your favorite snack, only for the leftovers to go stale a few days later while sitting in the pantry. You might have folded the top of the bag over, but sometimes this isn't enough to keep air from getting into the packaging. Another way to repurpose rubber gloves is to cut them into small sections and use them as a band to close the packaging for optimal snacking in the future.

Painting is a messy job on its own, but add in trying to navigate completing this task directly from the can, and it's even more complicated. One of the ways to reuse rubber gloves is to cut out a section of the glove and slide it over the opening of the can. Now, you can use this as a surface to wipe the brush against to remove excess paint. This DIY eliminates having to use the side of the can to do this, which often leads to drips of paint leaking down.

While most kitchen utensils are shaped in a way that make them easy to store in drawers, pieces like tongs can be a challenge if they're designed with no locking mechanism. Instead of fighting with your utensils to get the drawers open, cut a section of an old rubber glove out to use as a DIY rubber band. Wrapping this portion of the glove around the tongs will keep them closed and easy to store when not in use.

It seems like every new item comes with its own charging cable, leading to them building up in every corner and drawer. One tip to organize loose cords around the home is to use sections of a rubber glove as a band to keep them secure. You can use a portion of the finger section of the glove if you're dealing with a small charger, or opt for the wrist or palm portion for more bulky cords.