Ice cubes can be found in nearly every kitchen. Turns out they have loads of unusual uses you might not know about!

From cleaning to cooking to beauty - there are so many uses! I've only included uses for ice cubes that I've personally tested or used before, but I know there has to be more uses out there. :D

Have an unusual use for ice cubes that I don't mention here? Tell us about it in the comments!

Step 1: Remove Gum From Clothing, Carpet and Hair

Ice cubes are great at removing gum from all sorts of surfaces. The ice cubes freeze the gum, which will allow you to chip the gum away. :)

If the gum is on a piece of clothing, put the clothing in the sink and cover it with ice cubes. Let the clothing and ice cubes hang out for a bit and chip away the gum once it's frozen! Check out this instructable for more in-depth information.

If the gum is on carpet, put ice cubes right onto and let them sit there until the gum is nice and frozen. Then you can chip the gum away with a butter knife.

Removing gum from hair is a little more hit and miss. Wrap the hair with the gum in it and some ice cubes up in a washcloth until the gum is frozen. At that point, you should be able to use your fingers to break apart the gum and free your hair.

If ice cubes fail for getting gum out of hair, try oil, peanut butter or mayo - those work really well but are definitely messier. :D

Step 2: Perfectly Reheated Rice

Just place an ice cube on top before microwaving! The ice will melt and then steam as the rice reheats. :)

I've also had luck doing this with pasta!

Step 3: Numb Your Tongue Before Taking Medicine

This is so so useful for choking down terrible tasting liquid medicine. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather take 8 million horse-sized pills before taking liquid cough syrup or painkillers. BLECH

Holding your nose definitely helps, but an ice cube will seal the deal.

Suck on a ice cube just until your tongue gets numb. Once it's numb, take the medicine immediately! When your tongue is numb you won't be able to taste the bitterness very much at all. :)

Step 4: Relief for Eyebrow Tweezing and Epilation

Ice cubes are a great way to numb your skin! If you hate tweezing your eyebrows (or epilating anywhere!), ice can really help out.

Wrap an ice cube in a wash cloth and hold it on the area you'll be removing hair from. Hold it there just until it's nice and numb and then get to plucking. Keep extra ice cubes nearby for when the numbness wears off. :)

You can also use ice after hair removal if the skin there is really sensitive to get some pain relief.

Step 5: First Aid for Bruising

If you're like me and bruise crazy easy (yay blood diseases!!!), ice cubes may be able to put a stop to it before it starts!

Bruising occurs when you damage the skin via blunt force and capillaries under the skin burst. These capillaries release small amounts of blood under your skin since it has no where else to go.

To help prevent and lessen the severity of bruises, apply ice right after an injury. Wrap ice cubes in a towel or wash cloth and hold the ice over the place the bruise is sure to form. The cold from the ice will close up the capillaries so you don't end up with extra bleeding and seeping, meaning you'll wind up with a smaller and less pronounced bruise. :)

Step 6: Less Painful Splinter Removal

Splinters are the worst. THE WORST

But ice cubes can help!

Next time you get a splinter, use an ice cube to numb the area before you start picking at it. This even works for the terrible ones you get under your fingernails. :)

Step 7: Skim Fat From Soups and Stews

If you have a metal ladle or a small metal container to put some ice cubes in, you can speed up the process of removing excess fat from a soup or stew. :D

Fill up the ladle or container with ice, and drag it across the surface of soup or stew. The drop in temperature will cause the fat to harden and stick to the outside metal. Use a paper towel to wipe the fat from the ladle and keep going until you're happy with how much fat you've removed.

Step 8: Help Fight Pimples

Ice cubes can help fight combat pimples because the cold lessens the swelling, irritation and redness that occurs!

I've also read using ice on a pimple can shrink it, but I'm not totally sure on that. I think what folks are really seeing is the swelling going down because the ice is reducing the inflammation in that spot - not the pimple being "cured." ;)

Wrap an ice cube in a washcloth or paper towel and hold it over the pimple for a minute or so. The cold will cause a temporary redness on the spot, but it will go away once your skin warms up a bit. You can repeat this as needed, just don't leave the ice on your skin so long that it starts to burn or hurt.

It's especially nice if you get deep cystic acne - I had a few years where I got cystic acne on my cheeks all the time and this really helped with the pressure and pain.

Step 9: Remove Dents From Carpeting

Note: This one can be a little hit and miss, but it can't hurt to give it a go!

This tip works best on higher pile carpeting - the lower the pile, the less it will be able to expand as it dries and fix the dents. :)

Place the ice cubes along the dent and leave them to melt. As they melt and the carpet begins to dry, it'll fluff back up and look normal again.

P.S. I could have sworn there was an instructable over this, but I can't find it anywhere! I think it has a weird title. If you know it, put a link in the comments! I'd love to give the original author credit.

Step 10: Makeup Primer for Smaller Pores

This is a great trick to use before you put makeup on. Wrap up an ice cube in a paper towel or thin washcloth and rub it all over your face.

The ice cube will reduce redness and shrink your pores so it's great for priming your face for makeup! Plus, it'll cool down your skin, which is perfect for putting makeup on during the summer. :D

This honestly feels so nice I might just start doing this all the time. Ha!