12 Creative Ways to Use Old Coffee Grounds

In the US after the war, coffee was the most consumed beverage. A survey report reveals that every American consumes two cups of coffee daily which makes the coffee industry $15 billion per annum. So the idea that more coffee consumption will create many Coffee Grounds is correct. They have many beneficial aspects. People have discovered many creative ways to use old coffee grounds. Theory recycle used coffee grounds and reap many benefits including, boosting your skin care routine and making mosquito repellents. Most Americans use the coffee grounds for making mugs of coffee to make their morning drink but we have compiled a detailed description of the most creative ways to recycle your coffee grounds and give them a new lease on life. So if you’re wondering what to do with old coffee grounds, we have formed a list of 16 creative ways to use old coffee grounds. These are all creative and practical things. It would help if you tried these innovative ideas.

Gardening and Plant Care

You can use coffee grounds in your garden to change it from drab to flourishing because coffee residue is good for plants. There are many beneficial effects of coffee grounds for your garden, including the following:

Fertilizer and Compost Coffee grounds make your garden a fantastic addition to compost, by breaking down the organic matter present in the soil. They’ll also add various minerals to your compost including nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. 

Fertilizer: Many nutrients are added to your soil giving your plants a fresh look. These grounds enable your plants to absorb heavy metals that could be present in your soil. Mixing coffee grounds in your soil keeps it moist for longer and also helps it hold water. 

Worms: Worms of soil are great for aerating the soil in your garden. These grounds help to attract these worms into your soil.

Carrots: You can add coffee grounds to grow larger, sweeter, and healthier vegetables like carrots or reddish because coffee grounds are a carrot’s favorite food. Add some to your carrot or radish crop to get a better yield. 

Pest Control

Coffee grounds are an effective source to repel pests from your house or garden. After enjoying the morning coffee, use the grounds to repel the following pests: 

Natural Pest Repellent

Coffee contains chemicals that are toxic or hazardous for the insects. Various members of the insect family are affected by coffee compounds including mosquitoes, fruit flies, and cockroaches.

Slugs: Sprinkling coffee grounds around your plants is an effective way to keep them from becoming slug food. The coffee has acidity that is particularly attractive to slugs.

Cats: Spreading some coffee beans outside your house will keep feral cats at bay because the feral cats dislike the odor. So if you have feral cats that cause problems in your neighborhood, use this trick.

Seed Germination

 Grow Mushrooms

Mushrooms need specific conditions to grow and are also taken as challenging to grow. They require a nutrient-rich substrate layer. These grounds are best for making a fertile substrate layer, as they’re full of nutrients mushrooms love. The brewing process aids the sterilization and speeds up the growing process. 

Cleaning and Deodorizing

Nitrogen and carbon compounds found in Coffee grounds, which have amazing power to remove unwanted smells. In other words, you can make a strong friendship bond with coffee grounds to fight odors in your home. Use your used coffee residue to help vanish the following odors:

Fridge or Freezer Odors: Placing a bowl of coffee grounds in your fridge or freezer will help you say goodbye to unwanted odors and add a refreshing smell to it.

Home and Car Spaces: Putting coffee residue in old socks, pantyhose, or other fabric containers and placing them in your car, drawers, and gym bag is an effective way to remove the unpleasant smell of these things. 

Cooking: Cooking at home is great but cutting onions by yourself may cause a pinching smell in your hands. So use wet coffee grounds to scrub your hands and vanish the raw onion odor. 

Pet Odors: Put a few spoons of dried coffee residue in a coffee filter paper and Make a few bundles by securing the top with rubber bands. Now leave these bundles on pet stains overnight to remove the odor. 

Clean Your Appliances

Coffee grounds are naturally abrasive, therefore these can be used to remove dirt and grime from hard-to-clean surfaces. Their antibacterial characteristics are effective for cleaning and sanitizing surfaces using them. You can replace chemical cleaners with coffee grounds to clean metal objects like sinks and cookware. Mix them with dishwashing liquid to add an extra shine to your cookware and cutlery and brighten your kitchen appliances. 

Reinvigorate Your FurnitureWhenever you feel fed up with observing unsightly scuff marks on your furniture and want to make your furniture fresh and shiny, try coffee grounds to reduce the appearance of unsightly scuff marks. Rub a paste of coffee residue and water onto marked areas of furniture with a cotton swab. Let it sit for up to 15 minutes before wiping it off. The coffee cleans the freshly exposed areas into a darker brown, and you can apply the mixture until you find the desired shade. 

Clean Your Fireplace

Having a fireplace is lovely until it becomes a headache for you. Whenever the time comes to clean it, you feel exhausted and unhappy as it is a hard task. Don’t worry, coffee grounds come to the rescue. Spread them across the ashes, they add moisture to the soot thus preventing it from drifting into the rest of the room. The grounds also add weight to the ashes, so that you may scoop up and remove them easily from the fireplace. 

Cooking and Baking

Drinking coffee is your favorite hobby but have you ever considered cooking with it? Besides preparing delicious beverages, you can also use coffee residue for cooking and baking in the following ways:

Tenderizing Meat: Some natural acids and enzymes are present in Coffee that act as meat tenderizers, and its acidic nature enhances the meaty flavor. So try this trick and add coffee grounds to your dry rub to give your red meats a rich, smoky flavor. 

Marinade: You can use coffee grounds to marinate meat before cooking. This Can be done by reviewing the used coffee grounds and allowing them to cool. This recipe will give you an enhanced taste of meat.

Make Ice Cream

Coffee grounds are also used to make delicious coffee-infused ice cream with heavy cream. Adding a little vanilla or almond essence is good for extra flavor. Put The mixture in an ice cream maker for a delectable summer treat. 

De-Ice in Winter

You can use them to de-ice your driveway in winter. Just save the coffee grounds in warmer months, as they are nitrogen-rich, they are excellent for melting ice. Use them in winter to get rid of icy floors but their use may be harmful for some plants and can pollute the groundwater. So use it carefully. Coffee is not hazardous to the surrounding environment, and its rough texture also creates an extra gripping ability for your feet to prevent slipping. 

Arts and Crafts

Make Coffee Scented Candles

Recycling the used coffee residue and using them for making scented candles is a creative idea and fun way especially if you are a lover of art and crafts. But If you’ve never tried making coffee-scented candles, you must try,  it could be an excellent opportunity to take up a new hobby. Natural coffee grounds give an authentic scent to candles. As the candles burn, the flame releases a rich coffee aroma when the grounds are exposed to air.

 Make Natural Air Fresheners

Air fresheners are loved by all but if you like to use something natural or recyclable you must try coffee residue. They have natural scents to refresh the air in your house or car. Take a suitable beautiful container and put a mixture of coffee grounds with vanilla, essential oils, and almond essence. Hang the container in your car or at home for an enchanting coffee odor throughout the day.

 Beauty and Skincare

Coffee grounds are good natural exfoliants as they have a coarse texture that is full of potent antioxidant properties. Mix a bit of water with your dry coffee residue and scrub your skin, you can also add some coconut oil or or mix with a little honey to target your lips. In addition, caffeine present in it helps protect your skin from pollutants and sun damage. Body scrubs made of caffeine or coffee grounds are also effective remedies for skin dryness. Make a simple coffee and salt scrub to rejuvenate your skin.

Treat Your Hair

Coffee grounds have several benefits for you but its natural property of being an effective natural hair product is the most preferable. Let’s have a look, at how coffee residue affect your hair and give it a healthy life:

Exfoliate Your Scalp: With the use of shampoo and conditioners having harsh chemicals, dead skin cells in your scalp make a dirty mass. Adding coffee residue to your hair care routine protects your scalp from accumulating dead skin cells.

Stimulate Hair Growth: The caffeine in coffee residue enhances your hair growth and stimulates blood flow in your scalp. 

Deepen Dark Colors: If you like, you can add some richness to brown shades with a coffee residue dye job. 

Remove Hair Product Residue: Many hair products contain chemicals that can damage your hair by making them dry. To remove this dryness, mix some coffee grounds with your regular hair products,  product residue will attach to the grounds instead of your scalp and give you a nourished, clean scalp. 

 Reduce the Appearance of Cellulite

With the growing age, women face a problem of Cellulite that affects women aged 35 to 45. applying topical caffeine in the form of coffee grounds could help to break down fat cells, increase blood flow and reduce the appearance of cellulite. Mix your homemade body scrub with coffee grounds and scrub the affected areas once a day. You will find amazing results but one thing to remember, the coffee grounds help you to reduce cellulite, they cannot remove it. Caffeine present in coffee, temporarily makes the cellulite less visible by dehydrating the cells.

Treat Dark CirclesThe skin surrounding contains very little fat tissue and is very delicate and soft. It is one of the prominent places where you might see signs of aging. Various factors can contribute to the development of dark circles and puffiness under the eyes, including poor circulation, inadequate skin quality, and fragile blood vessels. Coffee residue are used as a promising solution due to their high antioxidant content. In addition, its anti-inflammatory properties stimulate blood circulation in the affected area, reducing swelling. 

Studies show that skincare products contain antioxidants and caffeine that help to reduce puffiness and darkness of the skin surrounding the eyes. In particular, caffeine stimulates blood circulation around the eyes, which can help reduce the appearance of dark circles and swelling. The antioxidants present in the coffee can also help fight free radicals, which cause skin aging. 

Are Coffee Grounds Safe for Health?

Several health benefits are linked with drinking coffee, such as the decreased risk of some types of cancer, stroke, and diabetes type 2. So it is a prevailing thought that coffee grounds may have the same positive impacts on health but some doctors have different opinions. A group of doctors support the idea that coffee beans contain cafestol, a substance that can increase blood cholesterol. Although these compounds are removed by filter paper, their traces are still found in the ground.  So more scientific research is required to prove coffee grounds have health benefits.

 Conclusion

Coffee grounds are the residual of coffee and are often discarded as waste but many advantages are linked with it. For example, the caffeine and antioxidants in coffee grounds are good for combating cellulite, under-eye circles, and other signs of aging skin. Coffee residue are also packed with essential nutrients required by plants and deter pests in your garden. Furthermore, they are used as a great cleaning scrub around the house.

Next time you make a cup of coffee, consider reusing the coffee grounds considering one of the ideas in this article.