Pool Noodles are lightweight, cheap, and synonymous with summertime fun. But you don’t have to be running to the public pool to make use of these handy contraptions. Some people are calling the pool noodle the next duct tape when it comes to universal purposes.
Yet somehow durable, foam cylinders are miracle problem solvers. It’s guaranteed you’ll be scratching your noodle in amazement over the affordable, all-purpose foam floaters.
1. Car Door Protector: Single car garage.!?
Keep your doors from slamming into the walls by cutting a noodle in half and securing it to the walls. This trick also works in crowded parking lots. Carry a pool noodle section in the glove box to slip on the door to avoid dings!
2. Electric Cord Holder:
Say sayonara to unsightly swaths of electric cords. The wheels of your desk chair will thank you. Fit all the slack into a noodle and hide it underneath the furniture, or secure it with duct tape.
3. Car Roof Barrier:
Instead of delegating a task to your nephew who drives a lemon, transport ladders & the like without damaging your car. Attach the pool noodles to the roof with duct tape to prevent scrappage.
4. Lincoln Logs:
If life-sized Lincoln logs exist, surely they’d leave a giant dent in your wallet. Make your kid the envy of the rest of the neighborhood gaggle by making your own, just purchase brown pool noodles. Cutting notches into each “log” allows for hours of interactive play.
5. Door Stopper:
Heavy door? Slap a pool noodle on there so the little ones won’t squish their fingers. Bonus: your toddlers need not enjoy the thrill of slamming doors with this cushion barrier.
6. Seat Belt Rest:
Napping in the car just got simpler with this pool noodle headrest. Wrap it around the belt, and any kids that complain of scratchy belts will give this handy trick two thumbs up. Actually, they’ll probably be too zonked out in the car to give a review.
7. Boot Shapers:
A knee-high boot poses a storage headache. Rather than buy an official boot shaper, save money by fashioning the same thing for much less. Pool noodles keep the shape of your boots & are customizable, from the slightly slouchy to over the knee.
8. Math and Fractions:
Arithmetic and summer fun don’t normally collide; however, this trick turns fractions into a hands-on learning experience. The foam of a pool noodle cuts easily, and it fools kids into thinking math is a game.
9. Trampoline:
With or without a net, trampoline springs can get ya! Protect all the neighborhood kids, and yourself from a homeowners lawsuit, by sliding these sections of pool noodles over the notorious pinchers.
10 Cycling:
This ingenious usage requires no additional steps. Avid cyclists use pool noodles to increase visibility on roadways. Also, it makes a physical barrier to enforce the three feet of safe passing distance required by law in over 30 states.
11. Pirate Ship:
If you’re brave enough to tackle a more involved project, build a play structure, like this pirate ship, out of the moldable foam noodles. It’ll be the most memorable gift at the party.
12. Lightsabers:
Getting cracked over the head with a hard plastic lightsaber puts playtime to an immediate halt. But whacking your buddies ’round the noggin with a pool noodle is just as fun, and nobody ends up in the emergency room.
13. Fishing Pole Hanger:
While you’re in the garage, consider another practical storage tip. Secure hard-to-store items in a pool noodle, not limited to fishing poles. Mops, brooms, rakes, etc all fit snuggly into cuts made in the foam cylinders.
14. Floating Candle Holder:
Set a romantic backyard scene by fashioning floating votive candle holders. This DIY couldn’t be simpler. Cut a pool noodle into sections, and then pop your candle into the center.
15. Floating Pool Tray:
Naturally, the noodles thrive in their intended environment. To step their adult aquatic purposes up, take your favorite plastic tray, fit the noodles around the edges, and secure with some waterproof tape.
16. Bed Rails:
Keep those kiddos from bonking their noodles by using, you guessed it, noodles! Here is an extreme version on a toddler bed, but the same effect can be achieved by securing a noodle under the sheet and directly to the mattress with tape.
17. Clothes Hangers:
Fitted on a hanger, the foam of a noodle keeps your delicates crease-free. It works on the bottom rung, like in the photo, or over the top of a hanger for a dress or blouse.
18. Lawnchair Arm Rest:
Scorching your arm skin on a violently hot lawn chair stinks. Forever avoid those 2nd-degree burns with a handy dandy pool noodle to cover the arms of metal chairs.
19. Line Insulator:
RV and tiny house living come with their own sets of obstacles, one being frozen water and sanitation lines. Next time you venture north, avoid that headache by covering the lines with pool noodle insulators.
20. Wine Bottle Sleeve:
A bottle of wine is the go-to gift for pretty much every occasion. Unfortunately, we’ve all heard that ominous clank of glass bottles whipping around the trunk of the car. A pool noodle cut into strips keeps your rosé secure when you’re running late.
21. Draft Blocker:
We recognize that a pool noodle isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture. Covered in fabric, however, it transforms into a functional draft blocker.
22. Haunted House:
After you’ve exhausted all the crafty noodle hacks, there is a fail-safe. Amass a ton of noodles to create your own foam-filled interactive space. Whether a maze or a haunted funhouse, no one can say navigating through noodles isn’t memorable.
