Ways to Use Coconut Oil in Your Home

As you probably already know, coconut oil is somewhat of a magical elixir. People use it for all sorts of things, from using it as a hair mask or conditioner, to cleaning their teeth and gums with oil pulling. Just about every aspect of your life can be healthier with coconut oil. It is often used for its many health benefits, where people will add it to food or drinks, create natural skin cleansers or shaving cream, even going so far as to make their own balm for bug bites and headaches.

While it is no mystery that it can be used for health and beauty, something many don’t realize it how beneficial it is for your home. There are actually many ways to use this healthy oil in the home and have a cleaner and more lustrous home to live in each day. It is great for cleaning and polishing furniture since it is completely natural and won’t leave behind chemicals or residue. This also makes the areas safe for pets and young children since no chemicals are used in making the products.

Where Coconut Oil Comes From

Before getting into the different ways you can use coconut oil in the home, it is helpful to first understand exactly where it comes from and why it can be so great for you. Coconut oil comes from the coconut, similar to coconut milk, coconut water, and coconut shavings. It is made by pressing the meat of the coconut, which is the white part on the inside. Since it has a large amount of its calories from saturated fat, coconut oil comes in a solid form as opposed to liquid. 

This is why when you get a container of coconut oil, it is looks more similar to butter as opposed to a bottle of cooking oil. This is also why you should only use it in small quantities.

When choosing your coconut oil for the home, you want to go for unrefined, organic, raw, virgin or extra virgin coconut oil. This means it doesn’t go through any additional processing other than the basic processing required to extract the oil directly from the meat of the coconut. There is no real difference between virgin or extra virgin coconut oil, so either is fine if you see it on the label.

Now that you understand a little more about coconut oil, we can talk about the different ways you are able to use it in your home.
Remove Sticky Labels From New Products

The first way that coconut oil is helpful in the home is by removing any sticky labels or residue from items that once had stickers or labels. While there are store-bought products also meant to provide this, they can get pricey, and are often made with ingredients that are not natural. As long as you keep a big container of coconut oil in your home at all times, you will always have a way to get rid of the residue. 

How to Remove Residue With Coconut Oil

Whenever you buy something new for your home, such as new cups or plates, it probably comes with a sticker on the bottom from the barcode and price. These are often a pain to remove, but it is super easy to pull them off and get rid of the residue with coconut oil. All you need to do is first remove the sticker or label the best you can, then get out your coconut oil. You can use it in its solid form. Remove a small amount and apply it directly to the area where the sticky residue remains. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, then get either a paper towel or a cloth and remove the oil. The residue should come off with it. You might need to use a damp towel to get rid of all the residue, but it still works great.

Season Your Cast Iron Skillet

Another thing you can use coconut oil for in the home is for your pots and pans. But not just any pans; you want to use it with your cast iron skillets. These skillets can last a lifetime and provide really amazing and tasty food, but you have to know how to use them properly. One thing you have to do with cast iron skillets is season them, which is done with oil. You need to do this after each time you clean the pans, or your food will not turn out right.


How to Season a Skillet With Coconut oil

If you have a cast iron skillet and you want to go ahead and season it with coconut oil, it is really easy to do. Before we get into the simple instructions, just make sure you are seasoning it at the right time. This is preferably either when you purchase a new cast iron skillet and before it has been used, or after you have washed it. Excessive washing of a cast iron skillet is not only not necessary, but not recommended either. Once you are ready to season your skillet, follow these easy directions to do it with your coconut oil.

Turn your oven on and set it to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Get out your coconut oil and coat the inside of the pan liberally with the oil, using a plastic spatula or other tool that will allow you to coat it.

You can also get some of the oil with your hands, put it on the pan, then rub it around with a paper towel.

Put the cast iron skillet into the oven immediately, while it is still cold. Let it sit in the oven until it reaches the desired temperature, then set a timer for 30 minutes.

Leave the pain in the oven after turning it off, letting it cool off first. Once it is cool, it is ready to remove from the oven and can then be used.

This is a great option for seasoning your cast iron skillet since the coconut oil is food-grade, but doesn’t add any fat to the pan like if you were to use butter or lard to season it.

 Remove Stains From Clothing and Linens

Your clothing and linens will also benefit from having coconut oil in the house. Leave a container of coconut oil in your garage or laundry room so that you can easily remove stains shortly before putting your clothes in the washing machine.

Coconut oil is great as a stain remover because it is completely natural and can be combined easily with other ingredients that are also good for removing those tough stains. You also will not be using harsh chemicals or additives, so even when washing pet beds or clothing for your children, you aren’t worried about what you are adding to their fabrics just to remove the stains.

Making a Coconut Oil Stain Remover

To make a stain remover for clothing and fabrics by using coconut oil, you want to have baking soda available. You will mix baking soda and coconut oil together, making sure they have equal amounts. Combine them in a bowl and mix well. You might find that it is easier to melt the coconut oil first. You can do this by placing some coconut oil in the top of a double boiler for just a couple minutes. This will allow you to combine the stain removing ingreidnets much more easily. 

Once you are done mixing together the ingredients for the stain remover, put it in a container that can be used every time you need to use it on a stain. To remove stains with this mixture, just apply it directly to the stain, then let it sit for a few minutes. At this point, you can either put the garments or linens into the washing machine to wash as you normally would, or just wipe away the mixture and rinse the area, then let it dry.
As with many other natural products, you can also add in some essential oils if you want to stain remover to be scented. This is actually a great way to remove odor from whatever stained the clothing, plus it gives it a refreshing scent. Lavender and lemon are both really good essential oils for stain removing scents.

Wash Your Floors and Walls

This is something not many people think about or realize they can do this with their coconut oil. Washing your walls especially is something that many people forget about, but think about how often people are touching the walls. Your wall switches and outlets are probably used multiple times a day, your kids might get their little fingerprints on the walls, dogs sometimes stand up with their front paws on the walls to let you know they need out. There is a lot of debris, fingerprints, dirt, and buildup that might be hiding on your walls and you don’t even know it.

While floors do tend to get washed more often since it is more obvious when they are stained, this is another area of your home that can definitely benefit from coconut oil. Coconut oil is an ideal cleaning product when you want something natural that doesn’t leave behind a really harsh smell. You can use the coconut oil on its or combine it with other ingredients for even more cleaning power. Here are some different ways to use coconut oil on your walls and floors.

Remove Scuff Marks From Tile and Wood Flooring

Your first option for using coconut oil on your floors is to remove all those scuff marks. These are usually the result of family members walking on the hard floors with their shoes, possibly running or skipping, or maybe turning around while grinding the bottom of their shoes into the floors. Luckily, coconut oil can help remove all those scuff marks. All you need to do is add some coconut oil to a cloth, and wipe away the scuff marks. It really is as simple as that.

Get Crayon Marks Off the Walls

If you have young kids at home, crayons and walls seem to go hand in hand. The big walls look like a giant art canvas to young children, especially toddler and preschool age. They might find a moment when you aren’t looking and attempt to create a masterpiece. Instead of trying to scrub away with soap and water, which rarely works on crayon marks, try coconut oil instead. This is another situation where just plain coconut oil works. Instead of applying it directly to the wall, dip a cloth in melted coconut oil, rub it on the crayon marks, then wipe away with a clean and damp cloth. This might take a little scrubbing to get rid of all the crayon marks.

Wipe Off Fingerprints and Smudges From the Walls

Why not try using the coconut oil on those pesky fingerprints and smudges on your walls? This works both on the walls and areas like outlets and light switches. These areas actually tend to have a lot of marks on them from being used constantly. Start with just the coconut oil to see if that works on the smudges. If they are still not coming up, try mixing in just a little bit of baking soda, as this can help to give you some scrubbing power on the more stubborn smudges.

Keep in mind this works everywhere in your house you might have some spots or smudges, from the chair rails and baseboards, to your stair hand rails.

Remove Stains From the Carpeting

Lastly, you can also use coconut oil to remove stains from your carpets and rugs. It is the perfect natural solution for removing different types of stains. While straight coconut oil works on minor stains, it is better to mix it with something else. You can try vinegar when it is a stain that also needs deodorizing, just as pet accidents or vomit. If it is a stuck-on stain that needs a lot of scrubbing, using your baking soda mixed with the coconut oil is the best option.

Moisturize Leather

Not all home uses for coconut oil have to do with cleaning your home or removing stains. You can also use it for moisturizing and polishing purposes. The first way is to moisturize any leather items you have. This might be leather shoes, bags, or belts. You can even use it to moisturize and polish your leather furniture, such as couches or chairs.

Why You Should Use Coconut For Leather

Before we get into how you can moisturize the leather with coconut oil, it helps to understand why you might want to use this. People tend to use regular shoe polish in the bottle when they want to shine or moisturize their leather belts, shoes, or handbags. While this also works great, it can be messy and leave behind a strong odor you might not be a fan of.

Aside from not being as messy, coconut oil is also completely natural, raw, and organic. It is inexpensive, a small amount goes a long way, and you probably already have it in your home. There are a lot of different benefits to using it for moisturizing your leather items.

How to Moisturize Leather With Coconut Oil

It is actually really easy to moisturize your leather items or furniture with coconut oil. The great thing about this is that you don’t even need to melt the coconut oil. While you can soften it a little bit, you should avoid having completely liquid oil, or it might be a little too messy. Instead, get a small amount of the solid oil out of the tub, then rub it on the leather shoes or other items and furniture. Let it sit there for a few minutes to moisturize the leather, then wipe it off with a cloth.

Polish Your Furniture

There is also a way to use coconut oil to polish your other furniture, not just your leather furniture. As you can see by now, there are so many ways to use coconut oil in your home. If you want to use it to polish your other furniture, you might want to mix it with some other ingredients, depending on exactly what you are polishing. Here are some different options to get you started.

Wood Furniture

You can first try using coconut oil to polish your wood furniture. Don’t worry – it is safe to use and should not leave behind any residue or stain the wood. However, it is still a good idea to test the coconut oil on an area of the furniture first just to be sure. For example, underneath a wood coffee table would be a good place to test it since any negative effects would not be seen anyway. When testing, let it soak in the wood for a bit before wiping it away to make sure it is not going to cause discoloration.

When you have tested the coconut oil on your wood furniture, you can then start using it to polish the furniture. All you need to do is put some coconut oil on a rag, then wipe the furniture just as you would any other wood polish. You can also put it directly on the furniture, then wipe it around the furniture with your rag. You don’t need to rinse off the oil unless it is too slick and you feel that you might have accidentally used too much. You can also polish your wood flooring, but be very careful not to use too much and of course test it out first.

Bronze Accent Furniture and Accessories

It is also possible to give any bronze in your home a nice sheen and even deepen the color. This is perfect if you have side tables with bronze legs or a bronze tabletop, or even for accessories in your home like vases or lamps. However, with bronze, just straight coconut oil might not cut it. You should combine it with some other natural ingredients.

Lemon Juice – One way to polish bronze with coconut oil is by combining it with lemon juice. Use about 2 parts coconut oil to 1 part lemon juice. Melt the coconut oil first so that it is easy to combine with the lemon juice. An easy way to do this is by pouring the melted coconut oil into a spray bottle, followed by lemon juice, putting the lid on and shaking it up. You can now spray the bronze furniture or accessories, then wipe it thoroughly with a clean cloth.

Lemon and Vinegar – If you want to add another ingredient, white distilled vinegar works great. Not only does this work even on the oldest bronze to make it shiny and bring out a richer color, but it gives it a nice scent as well. These scents combine smell clean and deodorize the old furniture and accessories, without being too overwhelming to the senses. 

You will make this the same way, adding some melted coconut oil, white distilled vinegar, and lemon juice to a spray bottle, then mixing it up. You can wipe it on the bronze and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it off.

Line the Bottom of Kitty Litter Pans

Yes, even your pets at home can benefit from coconut oil! You already know that coconut oil is really good at removing pet stains from the carpet and floors as a result of your dogs and cats, but cats have another big benefit. You can use coconut oil in their kitty litter pans. Here are a couple different ways coconut oil is helpful with the kitty litter pans.

Keep the Litter From Sticking

This is one of the more popular ways to use coconut oil with cats in the home. Before you add the cat litter to the pan, coat the bottom of the kitty litter pan with coconut oil. Use enough to where it is completely coated, but not so much where it causes your litter to become wet or the scent too strong for your cats to want to use it. It might take a few tries until you figure out the perfect amount.

By adding coconut oil to the bottom of the pan before the litter, it keeps the litter from sticking, which makes the pans a lot easier to clean when you are dumping the litter for a new batch.

Deodorize and Clean the Pans

The coconut oil can also be used in the litter pans to clean and deodorize them. When it comes time to clean the pans – which would be done often – you want to first dump all the old cat litter, then take the pans outside. You should not clean them in the sink because the litter still left in the pan might cause clogging of your pipes.

Take a hose or high-pressure nozzle to rinse out what is left in the pan. This shouldn’t be too difficult if you lined the bottom of the cat litter pan with coconut oil. You can now add some oil to the bottom and get a rag or sponge to clean it thoroughly. This not only gets it clean, but it helps to get rid of the odor at the same time.

Make a Natural Laundry Detergent

You already learned how you can remove stains from fabrics and linens with coconut oil, but don’t forget it can also be used as laundry detergent! The laundry detergent combines regular bar soap with coconut oil, and essential oils if you want to use them. This is going to give your clothes a fresh, airy feel, while being a lot less expensive than the regular store-bought brands.

How to Make the Natural Laundry Detergent

To make natural laundry detergent with the coconut oil, start by grabbing a bar of soap. This can be any soap you like, preferably leftover bar soap instead of a brand new one. You just need to grate the bar soap into small flakes, then add it to a container that has coconut oil and mix it well. This is often easier to do when you have the oil melted. Or you can add the soap and oil in a pot and melt them together. Once this is done, remove it from the heat, but keep it in the pan. 

Add some drops of essential oils so that your natural laundry detergent also has some scent to it. You can now use this when you want fresh laundry without using your regular laundry detergent.

You now understand why coconut oil is so perfect for the home! There are so many different options to use this magical oil elixir in the home, from cleaning walls and floors, to deodorizing old furniture and polishing your leather shoes and handbags.

Keep a large container of coconut oil in your kitchen, or small containers in different areas of your home so you also know where to get it for cleaning and removing stains. Don’t forget about the many other uses of coconut oil as well, including the following:

Consuming coconut oil for proper digestion
Helping with pain from sore joints as a result of arthritis
Getting soft and silky hair overnight
Doing coconut oil pulling to clean your teeth and get fresh breath
Rubbing the oil on your skin to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles
Helping to minimize the look of stretch marks
Using coconut oil to make healthy treats for your dogs
And many more options!

I hope this information was helpful in providing ways to use more coconut oil at home. Also remember to get the organic, raw, virgin or extra virgin type of coconut oil. This will be best for you and for the different uses.
