What are cotton buds for if not cleaning ears?

[Bestseller]

I j ow you're not supposed to put them in ears so what are they for?

The box says "ideal for babycare", but what aspect of babycare requires a spot of cottonwool on a stick?

Cleaning between chubby creases? Getting gunk out of tiny eyes? I sue them for tidying up my eyeliner.

Cleaning off bits of nail varnish if you haven't applied it very well me every time.

Definitely for make-up. I use it to clean up any residue mascara or eyeliner.
I also use it to tame my eyebrows by adding a bit of Vaseline to it and running it across the brow.

I use them for removing nail polish and tidying up my eyebrow pencil if it smudges during application

I don’t recall using a single cotton bud on either of my babies for any purpose whatever! And in those days, they were made of plastic, so an environmental menace. I think nowadays you can get ones on cardboard sticks, but I still can’t see any use for them. Mind you, I don’t wear make up either, so don’t need an implement to slather chemicals on or off my skin.

Cleaning the air inlet on the tumble dryer. Also removing crumbs from the random crevices of the toaster that some twat of a designer Jamie Oliver thought would be a good idea.
Sometimes I use them for makeup too.

The only time I used a cotton bud on my DD was when she was very constipated as a newborn and I was advised by the SCBU to pop some petroleum jelly just inside her bumhole!

I have never cleaned any part of a baby with a cotton bud. I removed eye gunk with a cloth, which is a lot less poke-y than a (then) plastic stick.

I think they're cosmetic devices - though those flat/pointy ended ones are rubbish, the traditional bud shape is best.

I use them to clean my piercings

If you’re not supposed to put them in your ears then why does it feel so good??

They are for my daughter to cut up into small pieces and for me to find those pieces in the bed.

I do my ears with them every day. I seem to be going deaf and was convinced I'd have impacted wax from using cotton buds every day, and that I'd have an easy fix to my deafness. Unfortunately, my doctor told me my ears are completely free of impacted wax.

Cleaning the mouthpiece of my ecig. Most useful.

We used to use them for glueing crafty stuff when we were kids. Since I moved out 15 years ago we haven't had them in the house and nobody has died.

You can clean your ears with them. Just don’t poke them into the ear canal!
So, around the ear.

I use them for cleaning out the straws/tubes that come with my kids water bottles. Really handy.

God, I love a good scratch in my ears with a cotton bud.

How are you meant to clean them if no cotton bud? My youngest has really waxy ears (very visible!) and a wash cloth just isn't going to get the job done.

When I remove the seals from lunchboxes I clean inbetween the lid seals with them. Super useful but disgusting to see what gets in those seals!!!

Cleaning between keys on a flute (disclaimer: don't try this at home unless you're also equipped with cleaning alcohol as a dry cotton bud could leave fluff behind)

But I do clean the very outer bit of my ear with them when hayfever makes my ears over produce wax.

You can clean all the crevices in your ear with them, Just don't shove them up your ear canal itself.

Pointillist painting in primary school!

I pop some baby oil on them and then give my kids' ears a good clean, about once a fortnight. They get all sorts in their ears. Mostly sand and dirt. I just don't put them in their ear canals.