40+ Game-Changing Ways to Use Pool Noodles

We probably all have an abundance of ugly cords and cables streaming from the various devices in our homes. And there’s nothing worse than getting them tangled or not being able to tell which ones go where. That’s where pool noodles come in handy.

Cut a pool noodle along one side and feed your cords through. Group them accordingly, and you won’t have to worry about them becoming a tangled mess. This is also a great way to deter pets from chewing through cords, protecting both them and your electronics.

Even with the best intentions to keep your closet nice and tidy, there’s still a chance you’ll take some items off the hangers and be dismayed at how they look. Plastic hangers can often leave odd dents and wrinkles in clothing items. This can easily be prevented with a quick pool noodle hack.

Cut a short piece from a pool noodle and fit over the bottom of any hanger. It will provide an easy cushion without sharp corners or edges. Hang delicate fabrics over the pool noodles, and rest assured that when they’re ready to wear, they will come out of your closet looking as good as when you put them in.

If you’ve got a garage or pantry full of cleaning supplies that keep toppling over in a haphazard mess, you can easily fix this with a pool noodle. Cut a pool flat along one side, adhere to the wall, and make slits on the rounded side for various items.

This method works wonders to keep brooms, mops, pool cues, or other tools upright, organized, and easily accessible. Cleaning supplies can also dry properly, reducing mess and potential odor.

Pool noodles aren’t only good for helping people float — they can make virtually anything float in the water. With a few easy cuts, you can quickly turn a few foam tubes into cup holders for your various beverages, meaning you can enjoy them without ever leaving the water.

You can also adhere small pieces of a pool noodle to the borders of a cooler or plastic bin to hold more items. Put some ice in the bottom of the container, and your drinks will be accessible and cold all day while you enjoy your time in the pool.

If you sit at a computer all day, you may notice wrist pain after a few hours of typing. This is where a wrist rest comes in. But if you don’t have one, it’s easy to make one yourself from a piece of pool noodle.

Measure and cut a small piece of a pool noodle to your desired length, about the length of a keyboard. Then, cut one side so that it can lay flat on a desk or table while the rounded side is up, adjusting the cut to whatever feels most comfortable. Now, you have a soft rest for your wrists while you type.

Pool noodles provide excellent protection against light bumps and scrapes. And if you desire this extra protection for your car, you can easily fasten some noodles to the bumper. Start by cutting and then securing several noodles together to make a bumper of your desired size, and then you can easily attach it to your car with zip ties or a small rope.

This is a great trick for preventing damage to your car bumper, perhaps with a hole or small crack, from getting much worse.

Bathing your pets can often present quite a challenge, from getting them to stand still to even helping them into a tub. But with a bit of time and a pool noodle, you can make your own DIY pet shower to make bath time much easier for you and your four-legged friend.

Poke holes along one side of a pool noodle and then wrap it into a circle big enough for your pet to fit through. Make sure one end of the noodle is completely stopped up and that a hose can fit into the other end. When you turn on the hose, the water will shoot through the holes like a sprinkler, and you can easily bathe your pets while they stand comfortably outside.

While the luggage rack on top of your vehicle can make transporting large items easy, there’s always the risk of those items potentially damaging the roof of your car. This is especially true if you’re carrying ladders or other tools. So, instead of running this risk every time, you can easily avoid damage by fitting pool noodles to the rack.

The pool noodles ensure that whatever items you transport don’t accidentally touch the roof of your vehicle. However, take extra care when fastening them down so that the extra cushion and height won’t pose any problems for secure transportation.

Pool noodles are a great tool for keeping your home neat and organized. In particular, they can easily be cut to fit into whatever size drawers you have to stop loose items from rolling around and creating a mess. For example, fitting small pieces of foam behind silverware organizers can help to keep the trays in place.

You can leave the pool noodles as is if they fit in your drawers, or simply cut one side so that they lay flat. Use these in junk drawers, desks, or throughout the kitchen to keep small items easily accessible.

Pool noodles can also make long car rides a little more comfortable for both pets and people. By fitting a pool noodle around a seatbelt, you can quickly and easily make a comfortable headrest for napping. Wrap a towel or small blanket around the noodle for extra comfort.

And if you’re traveling with pets, you often need an easy way to keep them in the backseat. By using a pool noodle as a barrier between the front seats, you can ensure your pets don’t climb into the front and distract the driver.

Mowing the lawn can be hard work, especially with a push mower. Part of the battle is holding onto the uncomfortable handle for an extended period of time, which can easily make your arms and hands sore. With some extra padding, this arduous chore can be a bit better.

Cut the pool noodle to the width of your machine’s handle, and cut off one side to slip easily around the handle. Whether for a lawnmower or other yard appliance, having a pool noodle to ease the grip can reduce the intense vibrations and make it easier to hold on to for longer.

While it may not be a pretty fix, using pool noodles to block drafts can substantially increase the comfort of your home and reduce the cost of your heating bill. Simply cut a pool noodle in half and wedge it under any door in the house that tends to let in a draft of cold air.

You can also use pool noodles in the same fashion to stop leaky windows and keep warm air inside where it belongs. This trick can also help reduce noise from traveling between rooms.

Another handy trick of pool noodles is that they can be used as makeshift curtain ties. This is especially convenient when traveling when you’d like to tie back the drapes in a hotel room or camper. Since pool noodles are easy to transport and often come along on vacations or trips, it’s a great way to repurpose them as needed.

Cut the noodles to your desired length and wrap them around the window coverings to keep them tied. Because the noodles are soft, there’s no risk of damaging delicate fabrics.

Few things are more frustrating than investing a good amount of money into nice leather boots, only to have them look sloppy and worn halfway through the season. And when they’re placed in a closet and are left to hang and fold over on themselves, it’s no surprise how this happens.

An easy fix for this is to use a short length of pool noodle and stuff it into each boot. This allows the leather or other material upper to remain upright and better hold its shape. Storing your boots this way will keep them from creasing and ensure they look new for much longer.

If you have an extra steel rake and a pool noodle, you can quickly make a squeegee or mop to clean your garage or shop floor easily. Simply cut a noodle in half and fit to the length of the rake’s head. Place the tines in the middle of the pool noodles and fasten them with zip ties for extra security.

Now, you have a squeegee perfect for pushing water across virtually any smooth surface floor. No need to invest in a mop — simply use this makeshift version to clean just as effectively for a much lower cost. And when the foam gets too dirty, tossing and replacing is easy.

Trampolines are great for providing the whole family with hours of entertainment and exercise. But nothing ruins the fun as quickly as getting hurt by one of the heavy-duty springs that attach the trampoline to its base. And this is almost too easy to do — one wrong step or even a careless dismount can result in a pinched finger or worse.

An easy and affordable solution is to use pool noodles as protective wraps around each spring. Measure the length of the spring on the pool noodle and make as many cuts as you can, then cut those pieces in half if necessary to fit over the top of each spring. Repeat for as many as you need, and you can now enjoy this backyard toy with much more peace of mind.

Because pool noodles are generally easily accessible — not to mention extremely affordable — they are a great tool to use in the classroom. They are easy to cut, colorful, and safe for kids of nearly all ages. And with just a bit of creativity, you can use them for educational purposes such as teaching basic math.

When you give kids physical props, such as the pool noodle pictured above, fractions are easy for them to visualize. You can use them for counting, colors, shapes, and more.

To really up the ante during a bath or a late-night swim session in the pool, use floating votive candles to create ambiance. Many pool noodles are just the right size to fit a small votive candle in the center, and when you cut one into small pieces, you have yourself many floating vases.

Whether you use a votive with a real wick or a battery-powered one, setting a handful in a body of water can make an aesthetic statement. This idea can even make for a beautiful backdrop to a wedding reception, date night, or dinner party — provided you have a pool or pond to utilize.

A pool noodle can create a makeshift tablet or phone holder in a pinch. A few cuts to a small piece of pool noodle foam can give you a custom-fit lightweight stand for your device. This helps watch videos, read, or look at a recipe while cooking — all hands-free.

This trick is cheap, simple, and won’t damage your delicate device. There will be no scratches or worries about whether or not your phone will fit properly. You can customize these however you like.

What’s better than one pool noodle to float on? Tying a bunch of them together to make an entire raft! With zip ties or rope, tie together as many small pieces of pool noodles as possible to make a raft of your preferred size. Then, attach two more pieces of the same size on top of the raft so that they can hold a makeshift sail or flag.

This is a great hack for enjoying the water without an expensive pool chair or another flotation device. Both kids and adults can enjoy floating on a raft, whether to soak up the sun or play pretend.

When it comes time to take your four-legged friends to the vet, they can often leave with a bandage or stitches for you to take care of. And this becomes difficult when your dog or cat can’t stop fussing with it. This is where a handy pool noodle can come in.

Instead of an uncomfortable plastic cone, you can use small pieces of pool noodles to cushion your pet’s collar and prevent them from reaching any wounds. This way, they can still remain comfortable while healing from their visit to the vet.

If you’re a card shark, try this easy pool noodle hack. Cut a small round off the end of a pool noodle and slice into one of the sides. This way you can slip a full hand of cards into the small pocket you’ve created and keep them secure throughout the game.

With this trick, you can safely hold onto your cards and not worry about any of them falling and revealing the hand you have. This is perfect for any and all card games, especially poker.

A new headboard can completely change the look of your bedroom. Unfortunately, this can be an expensive piece of furniture to invest in and a pain to build and install. If you have the time and patience, you can easily create a new headboard for yourself at home with just a few simple materials and some pool noodles.

By fastening pool noodles to a piece of plywood and covering them with your favorite pattern material, you can relatively quickly create a whole new headboard with a tufted look. Not only will you save a considerable amount of money doing it yourself, but the result is also lightweight and easy to install — and it’s easily replaceable when you need a new look.

To keep seedlings properly fed and hydrated while they get a good start to becoming full plants, it’s important to maintain a healthy environment. A great way to do this is to create mini planters stuffed with pieces of pool noodles.

The foamy material of a pool noodle keeps the seedling secured in place without damaging it. It also helps ensure sufficient water levels. The foam absorbs extra water so as not to drown the tiny starter but simultaneously maintains enough moisture to hydrate it properly.

You already know that you can use a pool noodle shield to protect your car bumper, but if you take this hack to the next level, you can create an entire protective barrier for the top of your car in the event of a severe storm. Protect your vehicle while it’s parked outside from potential hail and results of high winds.

Simply use full-length pool noodles and fasten them along the long edges to create a raft-like device. Then, when you need it, lay this gently over the top of your car and fasten it with gentle ties or even weights to keep it flat. Now, you can rest assured that your car outside will stay safe even in some of the toughest conditions.

Looking for a way to keep kids entertained and cool while outside playing in the heat? Try making your DIY water sprinkler from a single pool noodle and a regular garden hose. Poke several medium-sized holes along one side of the long edge of a pool noodle and stop up the other side.

Then, insert the end of a garden hose into the free end of the pool noodle. When you turn on the hose, water will shoot out of the holes and double as a regular water sprinkler. When the kids are done playing, you can use this to water the lawn.

Cleaning your makeup brushes is one of the best ways to keep them in good shape. Plus, regular maintenance will ensure they stay hygienic and will reduce the risk of bacteria and irritation on your skin. However, it can be easy to ruin the shape of your favorite brushes if you don’t dry them properly.

To solve this problem, take a pool noodle and cut slices along one side about halfway through to the center. Then, set the noodle on a countertop or ledge and place the handles of your makeup brushes upside down in each slice. This will hold each brush securely while allowing the bristles to dry evenly and retain their proper shape.

Using pool noodles can be a great solve for organizing your quilting supplies. There are multiple ways to keep things neat and tidy, such as wrapping individual fabrics or materials around pool noodles to keep them in good shape and easily accessible. You can also use small pieces of the foam as pin cushions.

Plus, while you’re working with several different materials, it can be extremely helpful to be able to pin them up so that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

Pool noodles can even be used as lures for certain types of fishing bait. For example, some catfish bait is too difficult to simply hook on the end of a line due to its consistency. When this is the case, having something easily disposable to cover in the bait can be helpful.

An easy solution is to cut up a pool noodle into small pieces to cover the bait. Then, the foam can be attached to the end of a line much more easily and dropped into the water. Try this affordable trick next time you’re out fishing and see how easy it is to reel them in!

Live in an area that gets snow during the winter. You might be familiar with the necessity of boundary markers to ensure your driveway remains visible after a heavy snowfall. Instead of flags, try using affordable pool noodles to mark the area. Because they come in bright colors, you can easily wrap these around existing flags or markers to make them even easier to see.

This is also a helpful trick for marking “no-dig” areas or setting the perimeter of your yard for various reasons.

A pool noodle is a great trick for holding multiple paintbrushes simultaneously while working on an art piece. What’s more, you can fit the piece of foam onto the edge of a water bowl so that the brushes drip safely into the container and don’t make a mess on the work surface.

When you’re done painting, wash the brushes and leave them wedged in the piece of pool noodles so that they can properly air out and dry in the correct shape.

When you’re working on a project that requires two hands, it can be tricky to figure out how to get the best lighting to see the necessary details. Fortunately, if you have a pool noodle, you can create a makeshift flashlight holder that can be propped or wedged into a corner and aimed at the right area.

You can even suspend the light by hooking it into the foam with some string or wire and hanging it from a close ledge. This way you can get the right amount of light for any projects requiring both hands.

To provide extra cushion to the legs of a ladder while propped up against the house or gutter, try using pool noodles against the backside. This ensures a padded yet stable stance, all while preventing scratching or other damage to the gutter or siding.

You can even use shorter pieces of pool noodle to wrap around the outside edge of each ladder rung. Using just a small piece that doesn’t cover much of the area where you step, you can still add the extra cushioning you need for your shins and legs as you climb up and down on the ladder or lean against it while working.

To keep your little one safe from accidental head bumps in the middle of the night, try using pool noodles to cushion the hard sides of a crib or bed. With some duct tape and a few noodles, you can easily and quickly line the inside of any bed.

This way, your children can safely get in and out of bed without bumping their heads, and you don’t have to worry that they’ll get injured during the night while sleeping.

Keeping fishing poles safe and protected is crucial during the offseason. These delicate tools can easily be damaged if they jostle around, especially when stored in a garage or other area that tends to be overlooked. Fortunately, a pool noodle can be just the fix you need to keep expensive fishing rods safe.

Stick a pool noodle onto the garage wall and cut slices into the side that faces out. From here, gently wedge multiple fishing poles into the foam so that they stay upright and avoid getting tangled.

Another way to entertain the kids is to set up a makeshift batting tee in the backyard with a pool noodle. Wrap a pole or flag with a pool noodle and use this to set a whiffle ball on top — the pool noodle shape is the perfect size.

This is also a way to save money on buying a real plastic tee. With a bit of creativity and time, you can repurpose these inexpensive pool noodles for various backyard sports and activities.

When the right season rolls around, holiday decorations can rack up quite the expense. To save money, try making your own at home. Pool noodles can be useful for this process, especially when making wreaths. A pool noodle shaped into a circle makes the perfect base for a wreath, allowing other decorations to easily be affixed.

Using affordable pool noodles as forms, you can save money on wreaths for every season. You can decorate to your heart’s content no matter the holiday or season.

To pack glass or delicate items safely for a long trip, try wrapping them in small pieces of pool noodle. This is particularly useful for transporting wines or other glass-bottled beverages. Simply cut the noodle into small pieces, cutting each into thinner strips if necessary.

Then, wrap a piece or two around the item in question and fasten it with tape or another adhesive that won’t ruin the product. Now, you can travel with peace of mind that your glass items won’t break and destroy the rest of the things in your bags.

While pool noodles are great for floating in the pool, they can also be used to create fun water games for the whole family. Take this example of a game called Spike Ball. Five pieces of a pool noodle are tied together as the base for a net, which serves as the goal for tossing the water balls.

Pool noodles can be used to create all sorts of water games. Pieces of lightweight foam, which stands up great to water and play, can support anything that needs to float.

Pool noodles can easily be repurposed for line insulation. This hack comes in handy, particularly with campers and RVs that require lines to be run outside and withstand the elements. In warmer climates, this generally proves no problem. But, in colder climates, it’s crucial to ensure that the lines do not freeze or crack.

To prevent this, wrap the necessary length of a pool noodle around the line. This lightweight foam does a good job of preventing cold air from reaching the line and reducing the chances of freezing, which eventually leads to the line cracking or even bursting.

Many will agree that when you open up the lift gate of your SUV or van, you will likely hit the garage roof or cross brace. As a result, you will chip paint off the car.

A carefully placed pool noodle will prevent this from happening in the future. If it slips away, simply stick it back on with duct tape. Opening up the truck will no longer be an arduous task.

For all of us who enjoy having a different headband for every day of the week, and then some, it can be annoying not having a place dedicated to storing or hanging them.

Have no fear — the following person created their own headband holder, with cut-up pool noodles being the key to its success. All you have to do is cover the noodles with fabric and ribbon and stitch them up accordingly.

Every kid should have not just a playroom or play space but also their very own clubhouse that they can have an extra level of safety and security.

In these clubhouses, one can snuggle up with one’s family, put on a good movie, or tell some spooky stories with a flashlight. This person constructed a clubhouse for their kids and bound it with pool noodles. Now that’s pretty neat!

While we are all prone to potentially rolling out of our bed occasionally, kids are more likely to than anyone else, especially when they are very young. They are still getting used to transitioning from a crib to a bed.

This person came up with the ingenious idea of strapping down a pool noodle on the side of their kid’s bed. With some duct tape to fasten it down, it acts as a bumper, keeping your child safe and asleep!

Trying to fill up a bucket with water from the kitchen sink can be extremely annoying. Most notably, the bucket might not even fit in the sink, so how are you supposed to get sufficient water in there?

Thankfully, one pool noodle solves that problem. Simply hook up one end of the noodle to the faucet and the other to the bucket; voila, you have your own extra-long funnel.

Who said that bathtub fun for kids only needs to resort to rubber duckies and balls? You can create a bathtub playground for your children with a bunch of pool noodles. Now, cleaning and having fun can be synonymous with one another.

They can use the noodles to have tons of water fights. Your kids should get hours upon hours of quality playtime, and all it took was pool noodles! We must say, it does look like a lot of fun.

Let’s face it — bodyboards for the beach or the pool can be expensive, so why not make your own? By bending a pool noodle and wrapping it with a lot of duct tape, you will have your very own bodyboard in no time.

You can even make your own design out of it. It looks like a lot of duct tape was used for this particular board, but depending on who is using it, we are sure it is worth it.

Have you ever been to a birthday party and seen many kids complaining that one kid got a bigger slice of cake than everyone else? You will never have that problem with cake pops, as you can make all the balls the same size before serving them.

But where would you place them? Well, take a look at the photo. Simply place the sticks in a pool noodle, and you have your own cake pop stand.

This hack is kind of different from all of the others. While most hacks on this list are ways to make good use of pool noodles, we can’t ignore the fact that we need to put our pool noodles somewhere after using them.

The answer is actually pretty simple. Simply take a 5-gallon bucket that you no longer use and put the noodles in there. The last thing you want is to trip over the noodles and cause some serious damage.

Here’s a simple way to cut your pool noodles into pieces without any harm. If someone in the house is good at putting lumber together, get them to make a three-sided jig like this one.

Simply use a hand saw to cut into the groove and over the cut-off point, indicating how long you want the piece to be. This is a very useful trick if you are going to try out many of these hacks.

If you park your vehicle in a garage stall with a tight fit, you may be familiar with the pain of opening the doors and nicking the adjacent wall — or worse, scratching the car door itself. Fortunately, there’s an easy and affordable way to fix this issue and prevent further damage to the garage and your car.

Figure out where to place the pool noodles by opening the door as far as they can go and making a mark on the wall where they touch or near. Then, take the noodle and adhere to the wall with glue, nails, tape, or whatever is appropriate for the space. When it’s in place, your car door will open into the soft foam instead of hitting the wall. No more dents!

It’s no secret that pool noodles can be used for a wealth of DIY arts and crafts, tools, and more. In a pinch, some creative imagination and a few supplies can turn a regular pool noodle into a toy that will provide entertainment for hours. For example, they make great Star Wars lightsabers for kids to play with.

Even better, these lightweight foam noodles are great for rougher play and are virtually indestructible. And if they do get ruined, they are cheap to replace. Dress up the bottom of a pool noodle with tape, markers, or supplies to create a faux lightsaber, and let your kids’ imaginations run wild.

If you have children, you may be familiar with slamming doors in the house. Whether by accident or otherwise, a door slam can be loud, damaging to the door itself, or risky for caught fingers. To prevent injury, you can use a small piece of pool noodle as a door stopper.

Cut a few inches of pool noodles away from the rest, and then cut this piece in half to fit it around the edge of a door. When in place, it acts as a stopper to prevent the door from closing. Again, this can be a great way to reduce noisy slammed doors and prevent small fingers from getting caught and hurt.

Even the most comfortable chairs can be marred if they have uncomfortable armrests. And when it comes to lawn and pool chairs, this can often be the case. But, if you have a pool noodle, it’s easy enough to turn those metal or plastic bars into cushioned armrests.

Simply slide a pool noodle onto the bar or cut it in half to fit over the top of the rest. You can even use pool noodles to pad headrests or chairs without cushions. And because they’re designed for the water, you won’t have to worry about ruining upholstery.

Pool noodles can be used for all sorts of things to add cushion or protection. Another example is wrapping these foam tubes around the bars that support an awning, whether on a porch, camper, or elsewhere. If possible, you can slip the entire noodle onto the bar before connecting the awning to its support.

If not, simply cut each noodle in half to fit around the bar and then tie or tape the two pieces together to remain securely wrapped around it. When your awning is up, there will be less risk of painful head bumps if anyone accidentally walks too close to the support bars.