13 Unusual Uses for a Hair Dryer

Step 13: Defrosting Food

I have had bags of peas freeze to the side of my freezer.  Its super frustrating and I hate having to chip away at ice mounds with my hands.  Make this process easier by melting the ice with a blow dryer. 

Comments

[cody.lomas]

they also make a great forge motor for black smithing

[koolfool]

Just saw this tip on, "The Doctors". Use a hair drier to remove band-aids and/or adhesive medical tape. Haven't tried it myself, but it seems like a good idea, especially for kids.

[jstarkmuth]

For the dust removal purpose, it would be a good idea to use an old dryer that only blows, but does not produce heat any more, in order to save energy and money - and to protect heat-sensitive targets. In that case, you could also add a nozzle (made of paper or similar) with a smaller opening to get a stronger air stream.

[pcooper2]

Most hair dryers have no-heat setting, or at least a low-heat setting that uses little power.

It's a dubious use of the hair dryer, anyway. All it does is redistribute the dust in the house. If I have something with intricate contours that needs to be dusted, such as my desktop computer, I take it outside and blow it clean with a compressed air at about 40 psi.

[kedwa30]

Using compressed air on electronics boards is not advisable since you could end up blowing the dust under the chips or deeper into the appliance. The age old custom of dusting was just that... redistributing the dust off the furniture so that more of it would settle to the floor where it could be swept up. Nowadays we would hope one has central air with a filter. Any dust blown off ones nick knacks would get sucked into the filter. If you can't have a feather duster, then using a hair dryer for multiple purposes is the next best thing. :-)
It's just like a leaf blower but for dust!

[pcooper2]

"Using compressed air on electronics boards is not advisable since you could end up blowing the dust under the chips or deeper into the appliance."

40 psi with a rubber-tipped blowgun is sufficient to remove all dust, even UNDER the chips. It is less likely to cause damage than most other methods. Sometimes I help the process along with a 1-1/2" natural bristle paintbrush, particularly if the dust has caked a bit due to exposure to moisture, since natural bristles don't generate an appreciable static charge. As an electronics industry professional, I've been doing this successfully for many years with no damage to any devices.

[jblanton1]

Actually, the old feather dusters did not just redistribute the dust to the floor, the static electricity in the feathers attracted the dust and it would cling to the feathers. You need to periodically take it outside and "redistribute" the dust that it has collected outside the house by shaking it or beating it on the side of the house or whatever.

[jstarkmuth]

There are special dusters with plastic fibers which really attract a lot of dust - you can rub them on a wool carpet to charge them electrostatically before use. Though I'm not sure whether that electricity would pose a threat to electronics if you touch the components directly. But I use that duster to clean all my devices, lamps etc. from outside. Even if a part of the dust is just redistributed, it will mostly settle on the floor or other areas where it can be more easily removed later.

[pcooper2]

You're correct to be concerned about static charges in the duster damaging sensitive electronics. In classes and technical seminars we were taught that the charge build-up on a Styrofoam coffee cup just brought NEAR MOSFETs or CMOS circuits without actually touching could create enough of an electric field in the devices to damage them. Sometimes they'll still work, but then experience latent failures. Once installed on a circuit board and surrounded by resistors and other passive components they're less vulnerable, but I prefer not to take chances..

[SrvKS]

Brilliant !!! :)

[kedwa30]

Yet another use is as a make-shift food dehydrator. You cut a hole in the lower corner of a box to fit the tip in and tape it there with duct tape, then stack the food in the box on cookie cooling racks or squares of hardware wire etc. close the box except for vent holes at the top.

I have used a hairdryer as supplemental heat at a cheap motel before and tripped the breaker after an hour. Those old wires in the walls will heat up given current and enough time. The hair dryer has many flexible uses, but is not the best at energy efficiency.

[DustySeven7]

I use a Dual Heat Hair Dryer in my electronics tool box. It works well for heating shrink tubing to protect solder joints. I also use it to speed up drying times on epoxy and crazy glue. Also works well for heating up thermo plastic for shaping.

[theRobertBush]

fun fact: crazy/super glue is a polymer that cures by getting wet. it is the moisture in the air/your breath that really "dries" the super glue.

[edwoodard]

Hair dryer and a tin of "Dubbin" do a great job of water proofing older golf shoes.

PS don't overheat that furniture finish - you won't like it.

[shebden1]

use to dry wounds (especially post operative, eg c section) rather than pat dry with a towel

[Pitin]

You forgot one important use:

14# Piss off cats: Just point out your hair dryer to a cat... and you will see how it runs.

No, not really, forget about that one... I love cats... I just wrote this to point something "funny"... Great 'ible... Greets :D

[sconner1]

The wax removal is a great Idea.
Now we just need a way to wick it out of that fabric tablecloth it dripped on.

[ThatFictionWriter]

You put a towel under the spot and news paper on top then run an iron over the thing.

[mrflumps]

you forgot the most important use of all. heating BBQ coals so they are evenly red hot all over!

[dysynchronous]

You taught me 1. IOU. Hardryer & BBQ pit, dag I should of thought about that> (green with envy)

[AlphaRomeo]

I use blower part of our vacuum cleaner

[freewheel]

Rad idea for an instructable! I use mine to shrink film package items, pump hot air into my forge, and when I was particularly broke, I used one as a heater in my tiny closet of a bedroom.

[redcore4]

I agree using it for a heater can be good - but NEVER do this whilst drunk. I have a friend who came in after a couple of beers, and put the hairdryer on under her duvet to warm her feet, then fell asleep like that and woke up with serious burns.

[Scarlettred41816]

Great Ideas! Love the one about the wax on the furniture!

[Carleyy]

Thanks! I was actually so surprised how well that one worked!