Soap has long been a bathroom staple, but these tips prove that it can be used for so much more than just washing your hands.
Expert Home Tips have revealed the alternative ways soap can be used around your home, including training dogs and freshening up clothes.
Solid soap may be a good item to pack for your holidays as it has soothing properties and once rubbed on a bite will relieve you of the need to scratch.
Meanwhile liquid soap can be used to detect gas leaks.
Here, FEMAIL shares 10 of the best – and most surprising – alternative uses for soap…
Fresh ideas: Experts shared 10 ingenious alternative uses for soap in a handy online article
Stop squeaky floorboards
If you have a squeaky floorboard in your house, run some soap around the edge of the floorboard and it will silence those annoying sounds.
Perfect if you have a flatmate that arrives back home during the early hours of the morning.
Hide unsightly holes
If you would rather not pay out for a plasterer to fill in the holes made by nails from hanging mirrors and photo frames, rub soap over the holes instead.
The soap will mould itself into the holes and your walls will be as good as new. Just be careful to make sure the bar is the same colour as the wall.
Rub some soap on the legs of chairs to stop your pesky pup from chewing them to pieces
Stop your dog chewing furniture
No one likes the taste of soap, including animals. Rub a bar of soap on the piece of furniture that is being chewed by your furry friend.
While it may seem a little cruel, it won’t harm your pet, and it will teach it a lesson that it won’t forget.
Detect gas leaks
Believe it or not, but soap can actually help to detect gas.
Rub some liquid soap over the pipe and if it bubbles then there is a problem. Call for assistance immediately.
Make sewing easier
Make do and mend: Soap can be used to make your needle glide through material with ease
For those who make do and mend, soap will be your new best friend. If the fabric you are sewing is particularly thick or tricky to get through, run the needle over a bar of soap.
This acts as a lubricant for the needle, making your crafting session much more enjoyable.
A bar of soap can also be used as a marker rather than blue chalk. It glides along fabric easily and you can wash it straight off.
And if you don’t have a pin cushion to hand, use a bar of soap. Stick the pins into the bar – the soapy lubrication will also make pinning clothes much easier.
Dabble in DIY
Rub soap along the blade of a saw for a smooth glide, ensuring straight cuts for your wood
For those with a love of DIY, soap can help ensure that you saw in a straight line. Just run soap along the edge of the blade and it will glide through with more ease.
You can also use it to remove wall paper – spritz the walls with soapy water and it will peel off easily.
Soothe bug bites
If you’re on holiday and find yourself being bitten by mosquitoes, splash your arms and legs with a bit of soapy water, they can’t stand the taste and will leave you alone.
Freshen up smelly shoes
Wrap a bar of soap in a piece of kitchen paper, place inside the offending shoes and leave overnight. Wake to find them smelling as fresh as the day you bought them.
If they are really bad repeat for a few days to give your kicks a new lease of life.
Keep your nails clean
Running your nails along a bar of soap forms a protective layer and keeps germs and dirt at bay
Slightly unusual idea, but scrape your nails along a bar of soap, allowing it to get wedged under your nails.
This forms a protective barrier, keeping dirt away. Once you are done, just run them under a tap and your nails are germ and muck free.
Help clothes stay smelling clean
Wrap a lovely-smelling bar of soap in a piece of fabric, tie with an elastic band and pop it in your drawer or in the bottom of your wardrobe to freshen up your clothes.
Stop your glasses from misting up
Stop your specs from misting up after coming in from the cold – which is especially helpful during the winter months.
Wipe a small amount of soap onto your lenses, then use a piece of kitchen roll to buff off – it will keep them crystal clear whatever the weather.