text: They are usually used to trap coffee grounds when brewing filter coffee at home and are perfect for catching oily sediment from your cup of Java. But these lint-free, tear-resistant  paper cones can be life-savers in many other situations, too. They can provide an inexpensive way to complete a range of household tasks, from being transformed into temporary dish covers and snack bowls, to cleaning varnish off your fingernails when you've run out of cotton wool. Scroll down for video . They are usually used to trap coffee grounds when brewing filter coffee at home but paper filters have a myriad of other household uses . Here FEMAIL has rounded up the 20 unusual things you can do with coffee filter papers . 1. As a makeshift lid . Worry not if your only microwave-friendly bowl has lost its lid. Simply turn a filter paper upside down and place it over the dish when you pop it into the microwave. 2. To strain juices . Use them as filters when you are straining freshly squeezed citrus fruit juices such as lemon or lime juice. Or a bottle of wine which has bits of cork in it. 3. As cupcake holders . Forgotten to buy baking tin liners for when you’re making cupcakes? Line your cupcake tin with filter paper and start to pour your cake batter in. Lint-free and tear-resistant filter paper cones can be life-savers in many other situations, too . 4. Disposable bowls for parties . Use them as disposable snack bowls for nuts, popcorn, and mini pretzels when you’re throwing a party where you don’t want to put out plates. 5. To prevent rust . Place a filter on top of a cast iron pan so that it soaks up all residue moisture, preventing any rust from occurring. 6. Vegetable crisper . Keep celery crispy by storing them with a coffee filter, which are far more absorbent than kitchen roll, and will absorb moisture from the vegetables. 7. Butter cake tins . The next time you’re oiling a baking pan or cake tin, spread your butter or oil with a coffee filter instead of using a brush or a paper towel. 8. Stop messy ice-cream spillage . Wrap a filter around the centre of an ice-cream cone to keep little hands clean from ice-cream mess. 9. To hold your bouquet garni . Use it as a bouquet garni holder the next time you’re making soup or stews. Simply pop in the herbs you want into the bottom of the filter and tie with twine or string before popping it into your pot. Wrap a piece of coffee filter paper around your sticks of celery to keep them from going soggy and limp . A few drops of essential oils onto a couple of filter papers when drying will keep them smelling fresh . 10. Quick and easy tea strainer . Looking to brew a cuppa with fresh leaves but misplaced your strainer? Measure a teaspoon of leaves, and as with the bouquet garni, place leaves at the bottom before tieing the top ends of with string. Then put your DIY teabag at the bottom of the mug and top with hot water. 11. When weighing wet foods . Weigh chopped wet foods without making a mess on your kitchen scales. Just place the ingredients in a filter on the scale. 12. Instead of cotton wool . Need to remove nail polish but you’ve run out of cotton wool? Simply dip them in your nail varnish remover and start gently scrubbing. 13. Absorb nasty smells . Make your own odour-eaters by placing a heaped teaspoon of baking powder at the bottom of each filter, then gathering it up the top ends together and tying it up with string. Place in stinky shoes. 14. Keep your face oil-free . They make inexpensive and absorbent face blotters. Place tea leaves and herbs in the middle of your filter cone and tie it up with string before brewing . Add a dab of shoe polish to a paper filter and use it to shine your shoes . 15. Keep delicate crockery safe . Moving house and in possession of delicate crockery which absolutely cannot break? Simply place coffee filters between your china when packing to protect them. 16. Keep clothes smelling fresh . Put a few drops of your favourite essential oil onto a couple of filter papers before chucking them in the tumble drier when you’re drying your clothes for an inexpensive way to scent them. 17. Pot plants without soil spillage . When repotting a plant from the nursery, pop a coffee filter at the bottom of the new pot so that soil doesn’t leak out on the floor. This is especially useful for house plants. 18. Composting . Place a filter at the bottom of your kitchen compost pot so that there are no leakages or spills. Simply empty the whole lot out the next time you are adding to your compost pile. 19. Polish your shoes . Coffee filters are perfect for polishing leather shoes as they are lint-free and so won’t leave unsightly streak marks on your shoes. Apply a dab of your favourite shoe polish on the filter and use it as an applicator. 20. Clean mirrors and glass . As they are lint-free coffee filters can be used to polish glass, and clean mirrors.
target: Lint-free and tear resistant filters are good for a range of household tasks .
  Wrap one sheet around celery stalks when storing in fridge to keep crisp .
  Use it to polish shoes, keep laundry smelling fresh and even as a plate .