People reveal useful hidden features in 10 everyday items that most people probably don't even know

Surprising features of everyday items.

Even though we use a lot of items to get through our day, we always seem to miss out on important features that they have. Such features are usually not advertised by manufacturers and so most people end up using their products for a long time without ever knowing about such a thing. Finding out about these features can be quite fascinating and reveal new uses for many items. A Reddit user asked the community, "What's an everyday item that has a hidden feature most people don't know about?" Here are 10 of the most surprising answers that people had to share. 

1. Rubbing alcohol for car windshields 

Rubbing alcohol can clean the inside of your car windshield. Ever notice how the inside is kind of smeary, it's from off-gases from the plastic from the dashboard. Just put some alcohol on a paper towel, wipe the glass well and then get a clean paper towel or microfiber, spray glass cleaner, dry all and you will have the shiniest window. u/suseeq1974. If your windshield wipers are just streaking your windshield, you can also use alcohol on a paper towel to clean your wiper blades. They'll wipe like new again. u/The_JuJu_Guru

2. Hearing aids to help focus 

Hearing aids, believe it or not, are also used as an aid to distract your brain from tinnitus or other very annoying audio intrusions. u/BellasVerve. I was reading recently that there is a coincidence of hearing loss with Alzheimer’s and dementia as well. I’ve been pushing everyone in my family to get their hearing checked after watching my papa, my favorite person in the world besides my son, go through end-stage Alzheimer’s. u/IchStrickeGerne

3. Internet at libraries 

Many libraries in the U.S. have portable wifi hotspots and laptops that you can check out for a month at a time. u/situationalsprinter. My local library has a "Library of Things," and I love it! You can check out wifi hotspots, telescopes, laminators, a home theater projector, an external CD/DVD drive, and lots more. It's really great for when you need something for a project but don't want to invest money in it because you'll only use it once or twice. u/Tempest_in_a_TARDIS

4. Metal ring on vegetable peelers 

Most vegetable peelers have a metal ring on the side. It’s to dig out black spots from potatoes. u/101_210. I was taught that before I was taught how to use the peeler part because we had a peeler that lost its peeler blade and it gave me something to do when I would bother my parents about when dinner would be ready. And it wasn’t as sharp as the peeler and my parents still didn’t trust me with sharp objects. u/amh8011

5. Printer staplers

The stapler built into the work printer is the best stapler in the office. If your stack of documents can fit in the slot at all, it’ll staple. u/D3monNextDoor. In my last job, I taught all of my partners to use the stapler in the printer. It saved us all SO much time. And then I feared the day we ran out of staples so I taught our receptionist to use it too. She was like “Oh. Oh, I will NEVER let this run out of staples” lol. u/Gar_Eval

6. Walking stick usage 

Most people hold walking sticks wrong and get like 5% of the support you could get, the handle is supposed to face forward, like with crutches, it keeps the weight distribution correct and in line with your shoulder. u/noettp. There’s a huge learning curve with mobility aids that I never expected. I watched a bunch of tutorials and did some reading when I started using my cane. I never came across anything about the handle direction so I’m curious to try that out. u/satanandco

7. Old-school stove cleaning made easier 

If you have old-school stoves with heating coils on top, the entire top can be lifted up like a car's hood to clean underneath. u/God_of_Trepidation. Most appliances can be taken apart to clean, or have holes somewhere to accommodate cleaning tools. A particular stove I had in 4 or 5 different apartments (and see all the time on home remodel shows and when home shopping) had a hole in it that nobody seemed to know about because there was always stuff trapped between the glass panes when we moved in. u/Brie_is_bad_bookmark

8. Adjusting a dishwasher's top rack 

The top rack in most dishwashers adjusts up and down so you can fit taller things in the top rack. There are little clips on the sides of the rack that you use to adjust it. Go take a peek at your dishwasher. u/Pathological-PplPlzr. Nice one! We are always hitting the rotating sprayer on top. This just gave like an inch and a half more room on the top and we haven't ever had a problem with the bottom. Gonna try this out for a while. u/geccles

9. Smartphones have compasses 

A lot of people forget that most of our smartphones have compasses built in them. u/Down-Bad_For_Chun-Li. When smartphones first became popular some of the earliest apps had really clever uses of devices in the phone to do things that weren't intended. For example: the compass in your smartphone can be used as a metal detector! Yep! Someone made an app for that. Also, the gyroscopes in the phone make a pretty decent level if you're trying to level a picture or similar. u/Bluegobln

10. Microwave can work silently 

Many microwaves have a secret silent mode. The most common methods to activate it are holding either 0, 1, or 2 for about five seconds. If none of these work, try holding Start or Cancel for five seconds. Otherwise, search for your microwave brand and include the word “mute”. u/sidartha. Very true. Have been doing this for a few years. The only downfall is that a lot of times I don’t remember to get my food and the beep would usually notify me. So a lot of times I’ll remember to get it after my food is cold lol. u/Howdyivy